The Emerald Isle

We arrived at Belfast International Airport on the afternoon of Friday April 19. We departed from Belfast City Airport on the afternoon of Monday April 22. Two full days and two "bits" was not enough time, but I'm so grateful for what time I had. I look forward to, and plan to go back.

The flight from Leeds-Bradford to Belfast International was the shortest of our entire trip. It was a beautiful day and the flight was perfect. I sat between Caitlin and a business woman who I shared a friendly conversation with . Caitlin sat by the window and I leaned over frequently in anticipation of my first view of the land of my birth. Just as we reached our cruising altitude we began to descend. I couldn't stop looking now, knowing that at any moment I was going to see Ireland. Suddenly there it was. Beautiful. Green. The Emerald Isle.

This is me and my cousin Barbara in 1975... the last time we saw each other. And here we are nearly 38 years later. I had messaged Barbara shortly before the trip and asked her if she thought we would recognize each other at the airport or if I needed to send a photo. She said of course we would recognize each other. We did. Barbara and her husband Fred were very kind hosts to Caitlin and I for the entire weekend. Caitlin LOVES Barbara! She has a big soft spot in her heart dedicated just to her. 

After taking us to our B&B to check in and freshen up, Barbara and Fred took us to Carrick Fergus Castle and to dinner. You can barely see Belfast Lough (pronounced Lock) near the bottom right corner of the castle.

After dinner we went to visit my Mother's cousin Marilyn. This was an especially tender moment for me. You see, Marilyn remembers me as a little four-year-old girl (see the picture on my sidebar). As she greeted me with an outstretched hand and the words, "it's nice to meet you", I could see the emotion in her eyes. I felt very aware of the love she must have had for me when I was a child. I put my arms around her and said, "we have met before." 

I was also very excited to discover that Marilyn's younger brother Bill and his wife Mina were visiting from Canada. Mina's mother has passed away and her funeral was the next day. Now the reason I was so excited to meet Bill and Mina was because they live in Canada where Jeremy served his mission. Jeremy became acquainted with them during his mission and saw them again when he returned to visit Toronto a few years ago. The first thing they said to me was, "are you Jeremy's mom?" We enjoyed our evening visiting with them and some of Marilyn's children.

I've promised to write a post about a B&B where I stayed in England in 1997 (which I will when I finish writing about this trip), but on this trip Beechgrove Farm, where we stayed for 3 nights, was my favorite B&B. This is a beautiful view of Belfast Lough from my bedroom window. In fact, this picture doesn't even do it justice. Every time I looked out of my window and took in the full view of the length and breadth of the lough, I imagined what a sight it must have been to see the Titanic sail away from this very lough over 100 years ago. And since the B&B is much, much older than the Titanic, I also imagined that someone must have been standing at that very window more than 100 years ago watching that magnificent scene unfold.

I loved our cozy room, with the beautiful view of the lough from the window. Our room had a keyhole with an old-fashioned key which we had to use to open and close the door. The doorknob and keyhole were lower than the knobs on my doors at home... more than once I had to get down on my knees with key in hand, and peer into that keyhole to find the location of the mechanism to get that key to work.

I loved the breakfast room where we dined every morning. The same place settings were prepared for us each day. The white tea/coffee pot was filled with hot chocolate just for the two of us. It was delicious. Every evening, Mrs. Barron the elderly lady who owned the farm asked us what time we wanted our breakfast served the following morning. Usually it was just Caitlin and I, and sometimes one or two other guests who sat at a different table. On our last morning Caitlin didn't come down to breakfast, so I went alone and visited with a young couple from America who were road tripping through Ireland. I loved our stay at Beechgrove Farms.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Two weeks ago I arrived home after 15 days in Great Britain. I've finally loaded the pictures onto the computer and now it's time to blog. I'm doing this mostly for me as I consider my blog to be a journal of sorts, and although I kept a daily journal whilst on my trip, I would like to go into better detail here. You are invited to come along if you'd like, but these posts may be lengthy.  I know there are readers and scanners out there. For the readers you will undoubtedly enjoy the details, and for the scanners, I will type in bold the highlights so you can pick and choose what you want to read. I wasn't quite sure how to format my Britain posts, so... I'm just going to start at the very beginning, they say it's a very good place to start.

More than five years after the initial idea and one year after the "we'll go next year" commitment, and six months after the applications for passports which means we-are-going-to-go-because-I'm-not-paying-this-much-money-for-nothing commitment, and four months after the airline tickets were purchased which constitutes major financial commitment... Caitlin and I boarded a plane and headed to London, England at which point I turned to her and said with a twinkle in my eye, "now do you believe we are going to England?"

It was early in the morning on April 12 that I arose from my comfortable bed after a sleepless night. You know the kind of night I mean, when you set the alarm for an early hour but you're afraid to sleep just in case you don't hear it. The bags were all packed the night before so it didn't take long before we were ready to leave. After a prayer with our family of three Michael drove us to the SL International airport. It was shortly after 6:30 am when we said good-bye; we wouldn't see each other again for 15 days.

Caitlin and I navigated the airport like pros. Mike had printed our boarding passes for us the day before so all we had to do was check in our baggage. Our next stop was security where we removed shoes, belts and jackets before going through the screening. Once we made it through we could relax until our departure which was at 8:30. We found McDonald's where I enjoyed my favorite oatmeal for breakfast. For someone who is nervous about flying I was quite calm as I took in my surroundings. The airport was a place I had been many times in my life before the events of September 11, 2001 which resulted in an increase in security which makes it virtually impossible to go into the depths of the airport unless you are a passenger. I found that during the previous decade the airport had transformed into an updated version of a very recognizable place. We made our way to our departure gate where we waited to board. It was only then that I remembered David. David. My little brother. He works at the airport. I quickly sent off a text message to ask him if he was at work. Shortly after that we were called to board the plane. As I sat in my seat I received a message back from David wanting to know what gate we were departing from and where our seats were located. I quickly texted him back the information but all to soon we had to turn off our phones as the airplane was backing away from the gate. As the plane got into position I watched out of the window hoping to see my brother. The plane was moving now and picking up speed when suddenly I saw a truck on the runway right next to us. The driver was in full control of his vehicle as it kept up with the airplane and he glanced over every few seconds as if looking for someone. I said to Caitlin, "is that David!?" Yes! Yes it was! We began waving frantically from our window and David waved back just as enthusiastically. It appeared that he was trying to take our picture. He was successful at taking a video of our plane as it lifted off the ground and headed for New York (he sent us a video text which we watched when we arrived).

Our flight was as smooth as smooth. We were served peanuts, pretzels and sodas and watched the movie Parental Guidance. We had a 3 1/2 hour layover at JFK which when I booked the flight Caitlin initially had complained would be "too long" but after our flight Caitlin said, "good call Mom." We enjoyed the time we had to walk around, find the restroom, get something to eat, and spend time on our phones. Just before boarding our plane I spoke to Mike one last time before turning off my phone for 15 days. As the passengers gathered at our departure gate I could see that this overseas flight was going to be a lot bigger than our previous flight. I'm still not sure which makes me more anxious: a big plane, or... a bigger plane. I did realize something after being on six flights in two weeks. I'm more nervous waiting in the airport than I am on the plane. I remember on one particular flight entering the brightly lit cabin of the aircraft, cheerful music playing over the sound system, people talking and laughing together, and the friendly crew already busy doing their work. That environment helped me to relax and settle in for the duration.

Our flight from JFK to London, Heathrow was the one I dreaded the most. Flying into the night over the ocean is not what I call fun. Caitlin and I were quite happy with our seats on an aisle and a window. We each had our own screen on the backs of the seats in front of us. We could watch movies, TV shows, track our flight (I find it completely unnecessary for the pilot to announce that we are cruising at 36,000 feet, I mean... who really needs to know that?), we could play games or create a playlist and listen to music. All on that ipad-sized-screen. I watched some of Downton Abbey season 3 and I tried to sleep, but it's next to impossible for me to do so on an airplane.

At some point Friday turned into Saturday. It was light outside. I began to feel the excitement of our arrival in England. As the plane descended we looked out of our window at the earth below. It was England. We were here. We arrived at 7 o'clock am. At home it was just midnight.

I had planned very carefully all of the details of our journey. I chose Heathrow because we could catch the underground (subway) from the airport into the city which would be less expensive than the Heathrow or Gatwick express. I planned that we would travel to Kings Cross where we would catch a train to Wakefield. That is where my Uncle Derek and Auntie Dorothy would meet us. I had purchased my train tickets on-line in advance taking into consideration that we needed to get through customs, buy our oyster cards (passes for the underground), spend an hour on the underground train (tube), and then once we arrived at Kings Cross go to a self-service ticket machine to claim our tickets. I decided that three hours was plenty so I booked our train for 10 o'clock am. It worked out perfectly. Of course we also allowed ourselves a few moments at the airport to stop for the essentials. We do love our British sweets.

When we boarded our train at Kings Cross we were weary travelers. We had reserved seats with a table which Caitlin immediately laid her head on and fell asleep. I could not enjoy that luxury. I had to stay awake. I didn't want to sleep through our destination, besides, this was a part of our journey I had looked forward to... a train ride through the English countryside.

There was a group of a dozen or so young men whose train had been cancelled and so were now on our train. They were very loud and jovial. I couldn't help but smile at their eruptions of loud laughter. They were just happy chaps enjoying their day, but... their language was terrible. I remembered that my ipod was in my purse so I took it out and proceeded to listen to my favorite Tab Choir hymns. I was exhausted after the hours of travel, but felt such a relief that we were here. The familiar hymns that I love replaced the "noise of the world" and I felt peaceful and safe as I watched the English countryside roll by. Shortly after twelve noon we arrived in Wakefield. I could see Uncle Derek and Auntie Dorothy waiting on the platform for us. At home it was 5 o'clock am. I had been awake for more than 24 hours.

The Day Before

The middle of August to beyond the middle of September is always a significant time of year to me. September 16, 1991 was the last 24 hour day that I had with Ashleigh (click here if you would like to read about it). Today was very different than that day of twenty-one years ago. The best part of today was going to see Mason in his primary program. He sat so reverently on the stand, he said his part perfectly, and he sang the songs with all of his heart. Of course I had to sneak a few glances at my baby boy, the proud daddy who had a big smile on his face... which brought tears to my eyes as I reflected on primary programs of not so long ago.

I realize that this time of year is significant to many others as well. On the 15th my niece Megan celebrated her twenty-first birthday. Megan was born less than 36 hours before Ashleigh passed away. As I looked at pictures that Megan just posted on facebook I can't believe she is already twenty-one... she is a beautiful young woman, inside and out.

September 17th is Caitlin's half birthday. She was born exactly 18 months after Ashleigh passed away. I am so grateful for Caitlin, she blesses my life daily. She is my best girlfriend. In some ways I think she saved me.

I have been blessed with some dear friends, and consequently, their daughters are my dear friends as well.

Stephanie Johnson Lambert was married on September 17th. I remember that day so well as I was privileged to be there in the temple with her. I was so happy for Steph. What a happy September 17th.

I remember the September 17th when Charity Johnson Dabel received the most precious gift as her baby son Kadon was placed in her arms. Kadon makes me happy every time I see him as he greets me with a huge smile and enthusiastic wave.

Two of the men in my life; my brother Alan and my grandson James share September 12th birthdays.

There are some sad and tragic memories associated with these few days in September. Six days before the 10th anniversary of Ashleigh's death was 9/11. I will never forget that day.

I had only one cousin that was my age and he passed away when he was seven... September 17th would be his 54th birthday.

Happy and sad... good and bad memories; some of the circumstances that make life... life. Of course tender memories surface each September 17th (which I like to refer to as "Ashleigh's Day"), bringing with them waves of emotions including tears and sometimes sadness... but also feelings of love and peace and the assurance that we will be together again.

Here's hoping that this September 17th will be a joyous one with happy new memories to add to the list.

Caitlin Goes Back To College

Today is Caitlin's first day of school at LDS Business College where she will be studying interior design. I can't believe that she is already in her second year of college.


This is "Walt"; Caitlin's new car. Just last Saturday Caitlin sold "Tink" who served her well driving back-n-forth to Utah State all last year. I'm sure that "Walt" will be even better.

Do you notice any significance in the names of Caitlin's cars? In the (very) near future we will be visiting the happiest place on earth. Can't wait.

Day 9: The First and the Last

It was just over twenty years ago that we announced to our three sons (ages 14, 12 and 8) that we were going to have a baby. Concerned that teenaged boys may not be enthusiastic about a new baby, we were pleased when Andy told us that he was going to teach the baby "his ways". Caitlin was born 3 days after Andy's 15th birthday; I'm not sure if he taught her his ways, or she just followed in his ways, or they are just siblings with similar ways... but they both love music, theater, and Disney.

Every once in awhile after band rehearsal Andy will stay late and visit with his mom and dad (we love it). The other night I was upstairs when I heard Mike calling from downstairs, "your boy's here to see you." When I went downstairs Andy was already playing the piano and Caitlin was singing Carole King (and doing a very good job of it). Pretty soon Mike had his guitar out and even I threw in some harmonies as I took these pictures. I am grateful for my first and my last (Andy and Caitlin); and everyone in between (Jeffrey, Jeremy and Ashleigh)... I am truly blessed.

Classics and Favorites: First Family Picture 1993

Last week was Caitlin's birthday, so it seems appropriate to share a favorite picture taken minutes after her birth.

When I went to my very first OB appointment I told my Doctor that I would like the baby to be born on St. Patrick's Day. My due date was so close to that day, and after all... I was born in Ireland. I was induced early that morning and amazingly it was my longest labor ever. Caitlin Rose (perfect name for a St. Patrick's Day baby girl) made it with just 55 minutes to spare. I came to the conclusion that Caitlin and Ashleigh had spent some time together, and waited as long as possible to say "goodbye".

Caitlin's birth brought a lot of joy and healing to our family. Just look at the smiles on our faces. She was, and continues to be a gift. Happy birthday Rose!!

WHAT.A.WEEK!!!!!!

Why is it that some weeks just meander on by with the daily routines and other weeks are filled to over-flowing with stuff!!?! I sometimes wish that the days and weeks could just "average" out. This past week has been a whirlwind for me. Here's my list:

Weekend- Caitlin came home for the week for her spring break.

Monday morning- I was up at 5 am to take Mike to his surgery appointment. I waited there with him for 3 hours before they took him to surgery. It made me wonder why I had to get up at 5 am. I didn't get home until about 1:00 pm.

Monday afternoon/evening- Caitlin wanted a quilt for her birthday (17th). I bought the fabrics before she came home for break and was just starting the project Monday afternoon. The picture below is of the 10 fabrics chosen for her quilt. All afternoon and evening was spent cutting this fabric into 80 squares (and I couldn't find my rotary cutter) and sewing them randomly back together. AM I CRAZY!?! Don't answer that.


Tuesday- The original plan was to take Tuesday off work and spend the day with Caitlin at Gardner Village. I really needed the time to work on the quilt, so... we spent a couple of hours at the Gateway instead. By the time evening came I had finished sewing the entire quilt top. Whew!!!

Wednesday- I went to work and I was glad to be there. I wanted to come home and forget about the quilt until Thursday. The house needed some attention and it was Andy's birthday. So I went to Andy and Kristin's for a party. I can't believe my firstborn is 34 years old!!!

Thursday- I had to be in Salt Lake at 8 am to pick up Mike. He had undergone foot surgery as part of a study. Now he was all bandaged up and in a boot. Poor guy (I haven't heard one complaint from him the entire week... seriously). My plan was to spend the day caring for him, and I think I did, but... I was running from store to store trying to find backing and batting for the quilt. So while he reclused (without complaint) I continued work on the quilt Thursday night. I did one of my favorite quilt tricks (to get the job done faster). I laid the top and bottom pieces of the quilt on the floor, right sides together, then I put the batting on the very top. I pinned it all together taking care to match and then trim everything perfectly (I am an Apollonian you know), and then I sewed it all together leaving about a 12 inch opening to turn it all right-side-out. Hence, the edges of the quilt are all finished before it is even tied. After tying it all you do is slip-stitch to close the 12 inch opening. And it is done!

Friday- Back at work (I never thought of work as a rest from my labors before). I rushed home after work because my mom (who had a small window of opportunity) was coming over to help me put the quilt on the frames. Shortly after my mom left, my niece Rebecca came over to spend the evening with us. I had the quilt tied and off the frames by 6:45, and then me and Becca went to the store to buy birthday supplies for Caitlin (balloons, breakfast food, ice cream and candles). When we got home we made Caitlin's cake. After Becca left, I slip-stitched the 12 inch opening. At which point Caitlin came home, and at 12:01 am I said, "happy birthday" and gave her the finished quilt. She loves it!!!


Saturday- Happy Birthday Caitlin!!! St. Patrick's Day. I made Caitlin one of her favorite breakfasts. Had family over at noon for cake and ice-cream. Took Caitlin to Five Alls for dinner. The house is a wreak (by my standard). Went to bed way late... as I had done every night this week (thanks daylight savings time... no LOL here).




Sunday morning- 12:45 am this morning awakened to the noise, and I mean noise, of five smoke alarms going off. Running from alarm to alarm to figure out which one started it cause that's the only one that will end it. The smoke alarms were going off every ten minutes for well over an hour, in fact, the longer it took us to solve the problem, the alarms went off more frequently. We finally solved (temporarily) the issue. My poor hubby with his surgeried, booted foot had to climb a ladder (still not a negative murmur from him) to spray the detectors with canned air and replace the batteries. I replaced some as well. It was such a commotion. We were finally in bed about 2:30.

Sunday afternoon- I went to church where I had a difficult time keeping my eyes open. But sacrament meeting was so good. I taught a Sunday School lesson and then enjoyed a wonderful relief society lesson. Church was very uplifting for me today. Much of what was taught... was just what I needed to hear.

Sunday evening- Decided to document my week on my blog. I didn't even do a classics and favorites this week... too busy. Now I'm going to sit with my booted hubby and then catch up on some of your blog posts that I've missed. Unfortunately the tone of this post sounds a bit "murmur-ish", but all really is well. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new week... and the calender is looking pretty good until Thursday. I think I'll have time to wash the dishes. Maybe.

Classics and Favorites: Caitlin and Granpa

This favorite picture was taken in between Sunday General Conference sessions in October 1998. My parents, and a friend (Margaret Ainge) who was visiting from their mission, attended the morning session of conference, and me, Jeff and Jeremy attended the afternoon. We had one little problem... Caitlin; she was not yet old enough to attend conference. After they were finished with the morning session, we met Granpa and Granma on the north side of the Tabernacle and we left Caitlin with them for the rest of the afternoon while we attended. Granma captured this picture of Granpa and Caitlin as they walked back to the car in the rain. I love it!!

Some interesting notes: Mike was out of town on his traditional Yellowstone trip with his dad and brother, and Andy was on his mission in Quebec. Jeff had just had his wisdom teeth removed about two days before but was determined to attend conference. As the three of us sat in the Tabernacle waiting for conference to start, some of the brethren walked up and down the aisles shaking hands and greeting the people. Elder Oaks stopped and shook Jeff's hand and referred to him as "Elder" as if he knew that Jeff was soon to be leaving on his mission. I remember wondering, how does he know that Jeff's an Elder? Maybe he was an investigator that we were bringing to conference... I guess he just knew.

Family Pics

I shared a "sneak peak" of our family picture at the end of June... tonight my sister (click here to see her photography blog) gave me a disc of the pictures I chose, and they are ready to be printed. Here are just a few. You have to agree... my family is beautiful!!!

My four kids

Andy's family

Jeff's family

Jeremy's family

Caitlin's family

Caitlin Goes To College

Today was the day we took our baby girl to college. Un.be.lievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where have the years gone!?! Does anybody know?

Caitlin insisted on checking into her apartment complex by herself... but I snuck in a picture.

We look happy. Don't we? If so, we fooled everyone. I suppose we are now officially "empty nester's"... in a "non-bird" way of course.

Moving into her room at her apartment (actually, most everything in the picture belongs to her roomate). I think she's going to be just fine... hopefully her mom and dad will be.

The Little Mermaid

Last week Caitlin and I went on our annual trip to Tuacahn to see Disney's "The Little Mermaid". This is all I have to say about it:


A.MA.ZING!!!

July

It has been a fun and busy July! Here are just a few of the highlights (the ones that I have pictures of).

Endless Summer performed at the city park for the Independence Day celebration.

It was my brother Tim's 50th birthday, so he was invited to be a guest performer. You should hear him sing Neil Diamond!!

Adam, Zach, and William got in on the act as well. We like to get them started early in our family.

We had a BBQ at the Nielsen's on the actual 4th. They always host a great party! My mom had hip replacement surgery 6 days before. Doesn't she look great! My parents are a wonderful example to us all, they both have a cheerful disposition and a positive attitude.

Caitlin and I spent a day at USU being oriented and registering for classes. This is the only picture that I took. I don't usually like this word, but the fact is... it is really true. They do sell it!!!

We got a front yard. Just the beginning... but I sure like looking out of my window and seeing it.

Adam and Zach had a sleepover, and I can say with no doubt... a good time was had by all. Previously I asked them for ideas for food and fun. They brought these notes to me a few weeks before. I think I followed through pretty well.

I had my birthday!!!! Here are my 5 oldest grandchildren, sorry... no pictures of the birthday girl.

Caitlin had her wisdom teeth out. What a good sport posing for a picture. She was a trooper!

Mike and I saw t'ocean. Just for a few hours... but I'll take what I can get.

Caitlin made bread for the first time (I think it might've been my second). She did a great job!!

She also mastered the fine art of multi-tasking. While her bread was rising she went on an 8 mile bike ride. Although, she found out the next day that it was really only 2 miles... when Hayden took her on a real 8 mile bike ride... oops, 8.5. She won't let me forget the point five!