Miss Bossy Pants!

Lately we've had quite the bossy little girl around our house (and it's not me for once) - it's little Brooklynn!  Here's a video we took on Easter of her talking to Kenz.  Get 'em girl!

The Easter Bunny Spoiled Us!

Every year it seems that holidays just get more exciting with the girls.  Last year we had a blast dying eggs with Brooklynn, but this year we got to share the excitement with both girls.  I was thrilled, because the girls are just loving hard-boiled eggs.  They did a great job and only cracked a few this year.  Here's Brooklynn making her favorite purple egg.

 And of course Chandler tried to eat the eggs - shell and all!

 The girls woke up to Easter baskets filled with fun toys (no candy since we'd gone to 2 Easter egg hunts already)

 Playing with their new tea party set.  As long as Brooklynn controls the teapot they're having a good time!

 The family came over for an Easter brunch at our house.  Of course the festivities had to begin with the annual Easter egg hunt.  I think Makenzie had an advantage over the girls, but soon enough I'm sure the hunts will become more competitive and possibly violent.  Chandler even did pretty well - she just wanted to open the eggs immediately and get the candy!

 Makenzie seeking out the eggs early - cheater!

 Cousin Love!

 After getting really hopped up on sugar we headed to Mark & Char's for another Easter celebration and another egg hunt. 

 Brooklynn talking Tyler's ear off at dinner.  Of course he just nodded and ignored her.  A typical conversation between boys and girls, right?

 Chandler just loving Uncle Ron!

After a long day of too much candy and excitement, we were ready to call it a day!  Luckily the girls returned to their normal routine and diet easily but they sure fell in love with the holiday and the Easter Bunny!

We have spring fever!

We have really caught some spring fever in the Wesling household.  We try to get outside every chance we can get, which hasn't been much with the cooler weather and wind!  Last weekend we went to Jackson's 3rd birthday at Anderson Farms.  The girls had a sweet time riding the train, going on a hayride to feed the cows, and just checking out the farm animals. 

Chandler milking the cow with good technique

 Climbing the train

 All the kids digging in!

Our next opportunity was to meet our friends at Stapleton for a picnic.  The weather was gorgeous!  The park there is so unique and geared towards the small kids.

Brooklynn, Hazel, and daddy spinning

 Brooklynn actually going down a slide - she's been afraid of them this year.

 Happy Birthday Laurel & Bobby

 Then Sunday it was off to the Easter Egg Hunt.  The weather looked promising, but on our drive the wind picked up!  By the time we arrived at the park it was a full-blown hurricane.  Uggghhh...oh well the girls had fun opening the eggs and finding all their candy!

Chandler's face of determination - not even wind will slow her down!

 Brooklynn, on the other hand, very reluctant to get out there in the wind.  But the temptation of candy couldn't hold her back.  Isn't that a face of pure joy?

 She even posed with the Easter bunny - what a trooper!

 Then it was off to start the summer garden.  Brooklynn really enjoyed helping out putting the dirt into the pots and even dropping the seeds in.  It's our first attempt at a garden, so we'll have to see how it goes.  We're hoping for some yummy veggies!



When does it get easier?

The last couple weeks have been a trying time in the Wesling household.  I'm not sure if it's the spring fever or the terrible toddler stage, but it's been chaos!  Brooklynn has been really good transitioning from diaper to no diaper during naps until recently.  Almost every afternoon we hear, "Mommy I went pee pee on my floor", or even worse we find poopy wipes all over her room.  The frustrating part is that she's awake when she does it!  She just refuses to come out of her room to use the potty even though we've been encouraging her and (sadly) even bribing her to do it!  The other day she came out covered head to toe in Vasoline.  She explained how she had to go diarrhea, and her "booty" hurt, so she put cream on herself.  Of course I was fuming outside, but sort of laughing inside seeing her shimmering hair and body!  (I didn't break out the camera because of the anger and didn't want to encourage her).

Chandler has hit the height (at least I hope) of her "curious" stage.  She's into everything!  I turn my back and she's sucking on the toothpaste tube or she's dumping every puzzle piece onto the floor.  Trying to take her out in public is a nightmare - making a game from running me as fast as possible.

What can I say?  I guess motherhood isn't all glamour!  I just hope we can quickly move past this phase and onto the next.......

Here's a cute pic of the ladies attempting to help me. 

Ireland: Part a dó

Trying to decide what to write about on the blog has been difficult - there's just too much!  First, here are some pictures from Carrie & Josh's sweet crib.  The live on Compass Hill overlooking the harbor in a HUGE house.  Here's the view from the garden.

 Their garden - they actually have a gardener

 View from atop the garden (their house is on the right)

 Friday after we dropped the boys off at the train station, the 4 of us went back to Cork for some more sight-seeing and shopping!  Here's a church in Cork and they call it the "Four-Faced Liar", because each clock has a different time.  Of course when we were there the times were all the same, so we just call Carrie the liar.

 Later that afternoon we drove to Fort James, which is one of the two forts on the side of Kinsale harbor that protected the city.  Seeing and touching a building that is over 400 years old is pretty amazing!

 What's left standing

 Gotta love the weather!

 Saturday morning we hit the road early to drive to the Dingle Peninsula (the Deegans favorite Irish sight).  The peninsula has something to offer the rest of the island didn't - mountains!  The highest pass (Connor pass) is an astounding 1,500 feet (nothing for us Coloradoans), but the views were spectacular.

 

 Quaint town of Dingle

 The lighthouse we hiked to

 Every corner we turned in Dingle there was something about the "Fungie Dolphin" tour, and since we didn't get to ride the ferry to the islands, we knew we needed to get on a boat - seeing a dolphin was just a bonus.  We started our nice ride out of the harbor and after some waiting finally spotted the dolphin.  We were in awe and raced around the boat to beat the other tourists snapping pics.  Then Fungie swam off unamused by our curiosity, then the captain geared up the boat to chase him.  No commentary about the harbour, history of the city, etc.  It was all about this dolphin.  There we sat for an hour chasing this poor dolphin around the harbour.  What a tourist trap! 

 Gotta love the signs in Ireland

 Cow we had to pass on our hike - he graciously let us go through!

 So cold........(we actually got sick after this day from the cold & wind)

 View from Connor Pass (highest point in Ireland)

 For some reason every time we got in the Fiesta for a ride, I snoozed.  I never sleep in a car, plane, or anything but a bed, but each time we were headed somewhere I was excited to get some nappy time.  I'm sure I missed some beautiful countryside.  This was right before I was awakened by a slap!

 Sunday morning we got up and drove to Fort Charles (the other fort that protected Kinsale) on the opposite side of Fort James.  It's well intact with loads of information about Ireland history.

 The Bros

 Then we drove to Cobh for the afternoon.  It's another coastal town fueled by tourism.  Cobh was the last place the Titanic docked before it sank, making it the town's "claim to fame".  The streets in these small towns are so cute and colorful!

 Large church in Cobh

 We went back to Kinsale to check out their local fair and shopping the rest of the day.  It was nice to see the town starting to buzz and not seem so empty.  Steve just had to buy a local hat. 

 Sunday evening we ate at Bulman's (favorite local hangout with great views of the harbour). 

 Enjoying the last Guinness of the trip.  Boo!

We left early early Monday morning to return home to our sweet girlies in the afternoon.  The trip was perfect, but we were happy to get home and snuggle with them.  

Oh Ireland!

Where do I even start with this post?  How do I condense one amazing week into a few words, a few pictures?  Here's my best shot.  I decided to break it into 2 parts - with the boys (Zach, Josh's bro, and his friends) and without the boys.  Although we thought it may be harder to travel with such a big group, it ended up being a blast with the boys.  After traveling for 16 hours (with very little sleep) on Monday (uggghhh), we arrived in Cork Tuesday morning ready to see Ireland.  First up was lunch in Kinsale (small town Carrie & Josh live in).  We were ampted to dine in the culinary capital of Ireland.  Kinsale is a harbour town that thrives in the summer with tourists.  Carrie & Josh live within walking distance of everything!  Here's a street in Kinsale:    

 After lunch we did a mini-walking tour of the town, stopping at this church and graveyard that was pretty cool.

I was completely wore out, so when I went back to nap the boys, Carrie, and Steve went to Old Head, a golf course in Kinsale right on the water.  Beautiful pics!

 Then they drove to the sandy beach (of course the weather is not typical beach weather).  Steve really enjoyed it as you can tell.

 That night was our first pub experience.  Although we kept it low-key, I still was anxious to try the Irish cider beer called "Bulmer's".  Delicious!

 We woke up early Wednesday morning and drove (3 hours) to the Cliffs of Moher.  We all packed into the tiny cars for a long drive.  The cliffs are absolutely amazing, and I don't think the pics do it justice.  They are 600 feet high and beautifully green.

 Of course being on the water, it was extremely windy, but we couldn't complain, because it wasn't foggy.

 The boys showing off to see who could get the closest to the edge. 

 And Tom thought he'd take a little dip in the pond.  He promised he'd get in the water at some time.

 We stayed in Doolin that night at a B & B that was perfect.  It was such a small town, but had a pub which was all we needed.  We started around 3 and went into the wee hours of the evening.  We enjoyed some traditional music, traditional food, and some traditional Irish drinks - Guinness, Harp, Bulmer's, and of course we all had to try the Jameson shot.  Ouch!

 The evening ended with a local Irishman serenading me with a somber Irish song.

 Our waterfront view from the room of our B & B

 Thursday morning we had planned on taking a ferry to the Aran Islands, but the wind and water were so fierce we couldn't go - good thing because we may have been stuck at the islands for days.  So we walked to the water before heading out of Doolin.  Notice the hipster who snuck into our pic.

 On our way back home we stopped at the Blarney Castle and the infamous Blarney Stone.  According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of eloquence.  Of course after climbing the winding stairs and throwing yourself back and upside down to kiss it, I hope you're given something - not sure if it's eloquence though. Thank God there's somebody there to keep you from falling.

My turn right before peeing my pants - I was freaked out!

View from atop the castle

Group pic in front of the castle

After the castle we drove to the city of Cork.  The boys went to the Hi-8 pub, a historic pub where you can't even use your "mobiles".  Us girls went shopping!  We had to make it home for the anticipated "Gentlemen's Hour" Josh had been planning all week.  Carrie & Josh have this formal living room with highback chairs, so they thought it'd only be appropriate to converse with gentlemenly topics while drinking whiskey (out of real crystal glasses) and smoke pipes.  They even got dressed for the occasion.

While they were busy doing gentlemen-ly things Carrie and I were planning our April Fool's Day pranks.  First we sewed all the boys' coat sleeves shut and then put their toothbrushes in salt.  Unfortunately their hour was up before we could do any more pranks.  It was well worth it to see Tom put on his jacket in the morning!

Up next:  Ireland #2 (without the boys)