street performance world championship

We went into town on the weekend of 15th June to Merrion Square Park for the Street Performance World Championship 2007!!



We took the Luas and strolled up along St. Stephen's green to Merrion Square.



Georgian houses on St. Stephen's Green





The area around Merrion Square, the Government Buildings and the National Gallery was cut off for the day. So nice to see these normally busy streets car-free :)



The trees in the park had been decorated for the occasion



Bright colours everywhere...

And the performers, of course... the performers!! What a blast! Jugglers, stilt-walkers, clowns, fire-eaters, unicyclists, sword-swallowers, mime artists, acrobats, comedians and all kinds of street performers. The Australian sword-eater (pictured above centre) captivated the crowd and was voted winner of the entire championship.

We got to practice walking on starter stilts :)


...and to swing in the playground.

...and blow bubbles...

...lots of bubbles!

Before going home, we popped over to say hello to Oscar...

...and then, in a sleepy daze, grabbed the tram back home at the end of the day.

just because

Jaime planted a heap of bulbs and new plants in our front garden this spring. Come June, they all started blooming :)

food fiend

Lorcan is very passionate about his food (to put it mildly!!!).

This photo was taken when he was 14 months old. He goes wild to eat everything his big brothers eat. So... yes, that's chocolate ice-cream all over his face... and, yes, he wants MORE!

(see also videos below)

feed me.... PLEASE!!!

Click to Play

Lorcan (filmed here back at the 14 months mark) does NOT like to be made to wait for his food... as you can see:

i want it now....

Click to Play

(AND I've got the hiccups!)

fond farewell...

Maeve splashing in the garden!

This was taken back in June, just weeks before Maeve and her family got ready for their big move to Canada. If you're reading this guys, we hope the move went well. Liam still misses Maeve and wants to know when she's coming back!!

Music class in Dun Laoghaire just won't be the same without Maeve, Ciara and Jimena this year :(


We all had a lovely meal in the garden... The little guys...

... and the big guys...
Jaime made one of his scrumptious "paellas"... and we all thoroughly enjoyed it!




Ciara munched away too!...



Later it got hot and we got the garden hose out to cool off...
Poor old Lorcan was innocently fiddling away when... splash... the hose got him... right where he least expected it!!!!

tim and sarah

Our long-time friend Tim and his gorgeous girl Sarah ran away somewhere exotic and got married a while back. Earlier this summer they came to Tim's hometown of Dublin to see family and celebrate their yummy union with the old Irish crowd.

We all got together at their cousin's place in town and had a party. Everybody looks just as young (ahem) and lovely as they did in the days of our Debs :)

Thanks for the invite guys.We had a blast!

You make a great couple.

Claim to fame: Tim co-wrote the score for the Hollywood feature film "Stomp the Yard"... currently for rent on DVD at your local video store ;)

girl in the garden...

Every now and then a girl comes to play in our garden! This time it was Anna's turn...


There was lots of pirate ship playing :)

We ate some healthy stuff (strawberries yum!)... and then some not-so-healthy stuff (blue ice-pops!)

A pirate ship full of multi-coloured balls... and an orange slide!

Tending to the veggie garden.

growing our own!!

Take a little plot of moist, rich soil...

Add lots of loving care and water regularly...

Soon what you sow will begin to grow...

And grow....

... and GROW!!!

... wait patiently for your fruits and veggies to ripen...

... then reap and EAT!!

This year we've grown and eaten our own lettuces, onions, broad beans, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and gooseberries (the blackberries and figs are coming out slowly)... and that's not to mention the herb plot on the other side of the garden that's bursting with thyme, rosemary, mint, fennel, chives, etc!

school to zoo!

Jorden, Liam, Tadhg and Paul: the cutest quartet ever on their first ever school trip!

Me and a couple of other mums volunteered to help the lovely Miss Cooney out on their day out at the zoo!

The kids were great-- ah, the excitement -- lining up, getting the bus all together...

... queuing, getting in!

oh, and seeing the animals, of course!

We split the class into manageable little groups. I had this fabulous four!

After seeing ALL the animals in record time and having lunch in the picnic area, the kids did some environmental education activities with the zoo staff.

It was a great day. And it didn't end there for me! The day after the excursion, Miss Cooney had the boys in the class make this for me:

Precious boy art! I love it!

dublin on a sunday in the rain

Umbrella boys going to catch the tram to town on Sunday in June.

Us under the rain on Grafton street

Liam letting the world go by.

It rained all day on and off. But the boys in their wellies didn't care!

But that didn't stop the energetic ladies (and some gents) taking part in the annual Women's Marathon from doing their thing!!

Ah... and eventually the rain stopped completely :)))

We went to Eddie Rockets on South Anne street for lunch.

And then to Stephen's Green for a stroll.