My birthday...

Today Esther, Aunt Hazel and Uncle Thomas all suprised me after breakfast with a necklace for my birthday! Then Aunt Hazel informed me that I was making dinner. She wanted sloppy joe's. So I got those made and also made some chocolate chip cookies. They said that ours are different so they wanted me to make them. They actually turned out pretty good consider I BUY the cookie dough at home! :-) After dinner, they suprised me again with a birthday cake!

Mom and dad called and then Krista called. Team Bentson sang Happy Birthday and then I got to talk to Abbie and Drew before their naps. I'm not sure where Evan and Owen were.

Tonight Esther, Samuel and I are going out for a little while.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Candy...

I hope you all have a sweet tooth because I am bringing back lots of sweets. The majority is going to Grandma but I did get a little something for everyone!! I have tested most everything and believe me... IT IS ALL GOOD!!!

I forgot to mention that I weighed the bag this in currently in... 30+ lbs!!

Guess where I had lunch today!

Today has been an absolutely beautiful day! I was up bright and early and went for a walk around the park and then over to get the paper. After breakfast I walked over to the store and got cans of caramel so I can make bannofee pie at home!! I saw Edith, Matthew and Rebecca on the way and Margaret works there so I chatter with her for a few minutes. Then I walked up to Aunt Christines for a visit. She was happy to see me again and told me to be sure to stop by again tomorrow.

I didn't get back to Thomas and Hazel's in time for lunch so I walked to SUBWAY and got a sandwich. You guessed it... Turkey and Ham on Italian Herbs and Cheese. It was really good!!

Uncle Thomas had his nap and once he got up we took him out for a walk. He was so glad to be out in the fresh air and sun. Let me tell ya, the hill in front of their house is HUGE when you are pushing a wheelchair. We walked over to the pharmacy and then he wanted to stop by Aunt Christines, so we did. She was so surprised to see him outside her door. He was very proud to get out of the wheelchair and walk in the house. We had a nice visit and once again as we were leaving, she told me to be sure to stop up tomorrow.

I plan to walk over to the store later to get the few things that I need to bring home. I wish I knew how many miles I put on in a day here!

Uncle Thomas

I thought that Uncle Thomas was overwhelmed with Iowa Hawkeye things on their last visit to the US so I thought I would even it out a bit with some Minnesota Gophers...
~It's not Attitude, we are that good.~

Good morning!

Well it is about 6:30am here and I have been awake since about 6:00. I figured I could update my blog quick while I am waiting for it to get light enough to go walking. The weather has been absolutely amazing since I have been here! It has only rained one day and it doesn't look like it is supposed to again before I leave. It is hard to believe that I only have four days left here.

Tuesday night I went over to Brian (Uncle Sammy's Son) and Ediths for dinner. Matthew (5) was in bed already and Rebecca (9) went to be soon after I got there. Margaret (Uncle Sammy's daughter) and Stephen were there. It was fun to catch up with all of them again. And the Banafee Pie was EXCELLENT!!! (Brian and Edith are the first picture and Stephen and Margaret are the second.)

Yesterday was a busy day. Lisa and I walked up to see Aunt Christine for a bit in the moring. We came back to Uncle Thomas and Aunt Hazel's and had lunch then Lisa left for the airport. Since I didn't walk in the morning, I went for an hour and a half walk in the afernoon. I walked out to the edge of town and got some nice pictures of the country. My cousin Margaret picked me up and took me to visit Uncle Sammy. Then I went to her house for dinner. It was a lot of fun to visit with her and her daughter Stephanie.

Today I will visit Aunt Christine again and show her all of my pictures that I have taken. She is going to Bill and Pauline's on Saturday for Easter. Not sure if I will see Bill and Pauline.

Esther returns tonight so we will have to see what kind of trouble we can cause in the next few days!!

I better get ready for my walk since it is now almost 7:00!

Killyleagh Castle

Lisa and I drove over to Killyleagh today to see Esther and so that I could finally see the castle where she works. It is huge! I feel sorry for Esther having to keep track of kids in that house. There are a ton of hiding spots and so many stairways you can easily get lost!! They have a beautiful view of Killyleagh, especially from the tower.

After about 17 years...

I finally got to see Samuel and his family. His wife Yvonne and children, Clare and Robert. Esther, Lisa and I drove to Bangor where Samuel lives. We had fun visiting about his trip to Orlando, FL (he just returned yesterday) and my stay so far in N.Ireland. Their kids were anxious to hang out with their friends since they had been away for two weeks. Samuel, Yvonne, Esther, Lisa and I went out for fish and chips. Yes-I ate them and it was really good. Yes - I had them with ketchup! Samuel said that they would come over either Thursday or Friday so I will see them again before I go.

Carrickfergus Castle

Today Uncle Thomas, Esther, Lisa and I went for a drive to Carrickfergus. (Aunt Hazel stayed home so she could keep an eye on our dinner) We didn't tour the castle as we did that last time I was here. Lisa and I walked around the castle and Esther and Uncle Thomas waited in the van for us. It was a beautiful shunshiny drive.

Belfast Giants

Last night Lisa, Phil and I went to the Belfast Giants hockey games. It was a good game. The Giants scored within the first 10 seconds of the start. After that it slowed down a bit. It was a quick game as it was over in just over 2 hours. The important thing is they won 3-1.

Giants Causeway

Well, we headed out this morning about 9:30... Uncle Thomas, Aunt Hazel, Esther, Lisa, Phil and me. We drove up the coast road to Giants Causeway. It was a beautiful drive but a little hazy so I didn't take a lot of pictures (besides I have a lot from last time!) Giants Causeway was wonderful as always! I even remembered to take the bottle for Jaden's 1st birthday and through it in the sea. It will be interesting to see if anyone picks it up.

After our visit to the causeway, we went to Bushmills Inn for an early birthday lunch. We took the shorter way home. No sea, but still a beautiful drive.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures.

I finally got to see Uncle Sammy...

Esther and I finally ventured out to find Uncle Sammy's home in Ballymena. She has figured out that I am not much help with directions! He is doing pretty good. It is sad that him and Gretta do not live in the same home so he does not get to see her much. I did have him record a little something for Grandma (3 1/2 minutes!) Then he was walking us out and fell. I felt so bad that I was not able to stop him. There were four nurses that came quickly to help him up and make sure that he was OK.

After we returned from Uncle Sammy's I went back up to visit with Aunt Christine again. She was happy that I came back for another visit. I tried to get her to do a message for Grandma but she said it would be to emotional.

Lisa and Phil get in tonight around 8:00. I am in charge of dinner so we are ordering pizza!!

I am very excited about going to Giants Causeway tomorrow! Uncle Thomas and Aunt Hazel will be going with us so it will be a full van! We are planning to leave early morning and have lunch up there and then get home so Uncle Thomas can have his nap.

Uncle Thomas and his afternoon snack...

It's raining today...

Well, today I got up a little late so I skipped my walk. Turns out it was raining anyway. Esther and I had lunch with one of her friends and then we went to Antrim to do a little shopping at an outlet mall. Jenny - you would have loved it! I only bought one thing so it was a much cheaper trip than our last trip to the outlet mall!! Which by the way... had a SUBWAY in it!! For the record, Esther hasn't let me take her to Subway yet. I am not sure that I will be able to get her there either!

Aunt Hazel made shepherds pie for supper and we will have bannofee pie later (at least I will anyway!!)

Tomorrow night Lisa and Phil will arrive. We are planning a trip up to the Northern Coast, to Giants Causeway, on Saturday and then back to Belfast for a Belfast Giants Hockey Game! I am very excited for that! Too bad I didn't bring my jersey with me that Esther gave me last time I was here!

Belfast

Today Esther and I went into Belfast shopping.

Ballyclare, Northern Ireland

Hello Everyone! I finally have pictures of Ballyclare to share with all of you! Uncle Thomas said he was about to send out a search party since I was gone for an hour and a half!! It is a wonderful, sunshiny day so I was really enjoying it! He was napping anyway so I wasn't missing much at home. I hope you enjoy the pix! Jenny and Judy - I will meet you at Subway tomorrow!

Snacks for Grandma...

I picked up a few things for Grandma. Think this will hold her a while?! Not to worry though, she is not getting it all at once. I told her that I would keep it at my house and I would take her some every now and then. Although that Caramel Cadbury egg I had today was REALLY good!!!

My morning walks...

This park is located right behind Uncle Thomas and Aunt Hazel's. Every morning I have been getting up and going for walks. About the time I am getting back, they are coming downstairs.

Aunt Christine

Today I went up and spent the morning with Aunt Christine. We had a nice visit and went through some of her old photo albums. I thought the picture of Grandma, Grandpa and the boys (for those of you that don't know... my dad is the one on the front right). Aunt Christine thought this was taken about 1958.

She wanted to take me out for "tea" so we went to a diner down the road. We walked inside and I thought I recognized a man sitting at the table and it turned out to be my cousin Brian and his wife Edith. They are supposed to call tomorrow to arrange a time when I can go and visit at their house with them. Brian also said that he would take me to see Uncle Sammy soon.

I did a little shopping in Ballyclare but didn't find anything good to buy. I did get Grandma some chocolate!!! Esther will be home again tomorrow night so we will be able to go into Belfast and do some serious shopping!

Last night Esther and I went to the Odyssey in Belfast last night to see a movie. You wouldn't believe the theatre we were in! It was recliners for the seats! Good thing the movie wasn't bad or we could have easily fallen asleep.

Uncle Thomas and Aunt Hazel just had family photos done over Christmas. This was my favorite picture of them. Their family picture turned out really nice also.

Today Esther and I walked over to Ballyclare and then we had lunch. Aunt Hazel made lamb. Yes I ate it. It wasn't bad. Esther had to head

back to work so I won't see her again until Tuesday night.

Today Uncle Sammy is supposed to be out and about with Brian so he was going to bring him down for a visit. It is 3:00 and I haven't seen them yet so hopefully they will be here soon. If I don't see Aunt Christine today, I will walk up and see her tomorrow.

Aunt Betty

Hi everyone!! I made it safely to Ireland yesterday!! It was a very long day of travelling Thursday. I started at the Rochester airport at 7:00am. Made it to Minneapolis on time but then (because it was foggy out east...) I spent an extra two and a half hours there. Oh well, that just meant two and half fewer hours in Newark. I was very thankful at that time that I had the extended layover so I wouldn't miss my flight to Belfast!
The flights were all good, all though the last one was a little bumpy so I didn't really get much sleep. Once I arrived in Belfast and gathered my luggage (which I broke one of the straps that hold my bags together) I was headed out to find someone to call my Aunt. To my suprise... Uncle Thomas and Aunt Hazel were sitting there waiting for me!!! I was very excited to get to see them!
Uncle Thomas is doing great. He is getting some of the feeling back in his left side but is having no problem going up and down the stairs and is getting better at walking. His balance is still way off so he uses a walker. The best therapy he is doing for his hand... he does the dishes after every meal. I am really anxious to see the improvements he makes over the next couple of weeks.
After our short trip to Ballyclare, Aunt Hazel made us breakfast and then we visited for a while. I was falling asleep talking to them so soon after lunch, I went to take a four hour nap!! This morning I was up at 7:00 and out for my walk. It was so nice quiet walking around Ballyclare. Of course then when I returned Aunt Hazel made us and Ulster Fry for breakfast! MMMM it was good!! I am going to bring some soda bread and potato bread home for Grandma. Esther and I went to a mall near Belfast and did a little shopping. All we got was a CD and some candy so will have to shop harder next time!!
This afternoon we went to see Aunt Betty. She has changed a lot since I saw her last! Her memory and eye sight is not so good. When I called her to see if she was up for company, she thought I was Grandma!! We had a nice visit though.
Tonight we are heading over to Ballyclare for pizza and then Esther will head back to Belfast for a movie.
I hope everyone at home is doing well and I will keep you posted on what is happening over here! I will also work on getting some pictures posted...