Ireland, Part 2

One weekend we rented a car and drove from Cork to Killarney. The drive was beautiful! Every view was breathtaking.

Our first stop was Killarney National Park; a beautiful nature preserve. It reminded me a lot of the Pacific Northwest.

Me and Angie in our backwards Irish car

Pretty Ang!

Love birds!

There were blackberries growing along the side of the road everywhere!

And next to the blackberries, beautiful flowers.

Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park

One of my favorite things about traveling in Europe: random castles.

Beautiful Torq Falls

We spent the night in the town of Killarney, and visited nearby Ross Castle and Muckross House.

Quaint Killarney

Yum!

Ross Castle

These boats were docked near Ross Castle. I just loved the way the light was hitting them.

Muckross House

The grounds had loads of beautiful flowers and we took lots of close-ups. This one is my favorite.

This greenhouse reminded my of Harry Potter!

Stopping on Muckross grounds for a spot of tea...

Observing the flora and fauna

And I don't remember where this picture was taken, but it was on our little road trip somewhere. Maybe near Inch Beach? Wherever it is, though, it's just another example of how absolutely beautiful Ireland really is.

On the last leg of our trip before returning to Cork, we stopped in the picturesque seaside town of Dingle. A lovely end to a great trip!

Whew! Lots of pictures, I know. And this is only half of our trip! More to come!

Ireland, Part 1

WARNING: Lots of pictures ahead!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I present a few shots from my recent trip to Ireland.
There are so many photos that I am completely overwhelmed at the prospect of scrapbooking them!

In any case, Ireland was fabulously chilly and rainy and lush and green. And gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

Our Irish journey started in Cork, where Preston spent the summer working at Tyndall National Institute. Since Preston was working, Angie and I wandered Cork on our own much of the time. Here's what we saw:

First stop - University College Cork
I can't imagine going to school in a place this picturesque!

Ye Olde Gate

Nevermind the ruins in the hall...

Beautiful Crawford Observatory

Lovely grounds and moss/ivy-covered buildings

Next up - St. Finbarr's Cathedral
One of the most darling churches I've ever seen! We really enjoyed our time here.

Old graves - so cool-looking!

Me and Angie at St. Finbarr's

Angie looking over some headstones on St. Finbarr's grounds

Ornate entrance

Beautiful stained glass

Some shots of Cork

Angie at the street sign on the corner near our B&B

Loved all the water around the city!

Crazy algae-covered rocks

Me in front of a lovely little bridge

Cork

We did actually see Preston from time to time, like when he took us out for Fish and Chips at a local spot.

One GIANT piece of cod with "chips", tartar sauce, and "mushy peas"

 Just a quick bus ride from Cork is Blarney Castle. Angie and I resisted the temptation to kiss the Blarney Stone (can you say unsanitary? I can!) And toured the grounds instead.

Blarney Castle

The Dungeon

Angie wasn't too happy in the Dungeon. We didn't stay too long...

This is probably where the St. Bernard lived or something, but who knows

The grounds at Blarney Castle were like a fairy land!

 More to come in another post tomorrow!

The Verdict

It's a boy!

Probably...

We went in for my anatomy scan yesterday afternoon. Preston was so excited to see the baby for the first time, and we were both anxious to know what kind of baby we had on our hands. The baby is growing right on track (which I was worried about since I've been so ridiculously sick all the time), and all systems are go. (Whew!)

The ultrasound tech seemed so certain when she told us he was he, and Preston and I were willing to take her at her word... Until the doctor came in.

Let me back up a bit by saying that my doctor sends all her patients to a high-risk office for their anatomy ultrasounds, so this doctor was not my wonderful doctor. The sonographer told me to stay in my current state of undress and that the doctor would want to come in and take a look for himself.

He did not.

He looked over what the sonographer did and told us that he wasn't entirely convinced that baby was a boy. He said that the ultrsound tech is very good and she was probably right, since she saw the ultrasound in real time, but that he thought that the boy parts she identified could easily be the umbilical cord.

I didn't think at the time to demand that he take a look at the baby for himself. I was just dumbfounded. So we left feeling uncertain what to think. Preston decided to believe the sonographer, and I see no problem with that, as long as we save receipts...

So... it's probably a boy. :)

Place your bets!

So excited for my upcoming 20 week ultrasound! If baby cooperates, we'll finally be able to call it by a name instead of "it".

I haven't had any premonitions about the gender, so... I'd love to hear your predictions. What do you think we're having?

Take the poll on the right side of the screen to cast your ballot! :)