Road to Athlone

We packed up and headed off from Bushmills on Monday, stopping in at Lisa and Ian McGarel's house in Ballymoney for a visit. Lisa is a Pampered Chef director that Sharon knows. The boys had a good bounce on the trampoline and watched Willy Wonka while stuffing themselves with all manner of cakes and biscuits. Fortunately these did not make a reappearance on the drive south to Belfast and on to Dublin. Angus slept for a good part of the journey. We had a break for a snack at Liffey Valley shopping centre then belted down the final stretch to Athlone. The new roads certainly make a big difference.

Nana and Papa were delighted to have all six grandchildren under the one roof, as Edel was already at Ardilaun with Barry and Hannah. Barry was beside himself waiting for his pal Angus to arrive and was Angus was equally delighted to see him. After dinner there was much playing in the garden and running about to use up the energy that had been pent up in the car before tired boys were sent to their bed. Sharon and I were staying across the road in a spare bed in an empty house which was rather odd, especially the following morning when we had to cross in the pouring rain.

Tuesday was a bit of a lazy day, watching the showers and reading the paper, cooking and eating and clearing up and then starting all over again. Sharon took the big five (including Barry) to the nearest soft play while I had a stroll around Golden Island shops and Tesco, picking out the food for the dinner. Sean and Finn were great minding Hannah, who is closing in on her first birthday and is crawling about and threatening to try and stand. She's a smiley wee girl and the boys have really taken to their first girl cousin. Sharon loves her to bits and would spoil her rotten if she lived any closer. Edel left with Barry and Hannah after dinner and Sharon and I went round to the Coosan Tavern for a late pint, Sharon having met Tommy Colsh earlier in the evening and then bumping into his parents in the pub.

Wednesday started a little overcast but the rain held off and the boys eventually found their way outside to play with the Murtagh children, kicking a ball about Ardilaun and generally running about in a gang that obviously brought back childhood memories for Sharon. She took them down to the play park by the Leisure Centre while I cooked the dinner and watched Andy Murray struggle to overcome a Spanish player to win his Wimbledon quarter-final, coming back from two sets down. Angus insisted on staying up until Adrian and Olivia arrived, Adrian having been over to Sweden for an interview at his former college. He's not optimistic of getting the post but we'll see.