My Ireland Plan

My Ireland Plan

A few things before we get started.
#1 This is more for Kevin and me to see. We are inviting you along for the ride.
#2 We are going against the advice of others and are moving around a lot. It will be more tiring, but we've decided to go to Ireland as if it will be our only time to visit. That means we have a lot we want to see. We are okay if we fail on this point.
#3 None of these pictures are mine, yet, so look for links to the original source.


Day 1: Fly all day
Day 2: Land in Shannon. Check in at The Stables at Kiltannon House

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The Plan: Relax, Deal with Jet Lag. Grocery Shop for Breakfast the next morning. Pub for dinner with live music. 

Day 3: Check out from the Stables and go to Church in Limerick. Check in at Peter's Castle.

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The Plan: Meet Peter's Family. Go on a scenic drive. Make dinner in the castle. Sunset walk?

Day 4: Visit Galway.

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The Plan: Shop. Dance Lesson for Kevin. Book Store. Dance in a Pub to live local music. Stay in Peter's Castle again that night. 

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Day 5: Check Out of the Castle and drive to Cong, Ireland. Check in at Hazel Grove B & B. 

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The Plan: Our dream was to stay at Ashford Castle but for a nights rest from 600-3,000 euro a pop, we decided to just do the activities there and stay in the town they filmed "The Quiet Man". This day we plan on doing Horseback Riding, Archery, and eating in the Dungeon at Ashford Castle. 

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Day 6: Check out of Hazel Grove. Check into Lough Eske Castle. 

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The Plan: Before we leave Cong, Do Falconry at Ashford Castle. Have lunch in Sligo. Swim at Castle. Explore area. 

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Day 7: Check out of Lough Eske Castle and Check in at the Lighthouse in Coalisland.

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The Plan: Before we leave Donegal, go Blokarting on the coast. See the Titanic Museum in Belfast. Have Dinner at Fibber Maggees. 

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Day 8: Travel to the coast in Northern Ireland

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The Plan: Visit Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede Bridge. Stay at the Lighthouse in Coalisland again this night. Have dinner with our Hosts. 

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Day 9: Check out of the Lighthouse and check in at a Cottage by the River Liffey.

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(How close we are to the river) 

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The Plan: Possibly drive through Tollymore Forrest Park on the way to Dublin?? Grocery Shop for the following day. Visit St. Stephen's Green Park and Shopping Centre. See Belvedere Nights Show(or similar).

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Day 10: Check Out of the Cottage near Dublin. Check into Thatched Roof Cottage in Kilkenny. 

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The Plan: My Parents fly into Dublin this morning. We go to Church near Lucan Village. Drive to Kilkenny and relax. Sunset Walk near the cottage and make dinner indoors. 

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Day 11: Travel to Tipperary. 

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The Plan: Visit The Rock of Cashel, Hore Abbey, and surrounding Tipperary. Drive back to Kilkenny to stay in the Thatched Roof Cottage again. Dinner in Kilkenny. Visit the Castle. 

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Day 12: Check out of Thatched Roof Cottage. Check into Ardfield Farmhouse.

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The Plan: Drive to Cork via Waterford. Ring the bells in the Church Tower. Eat in the English Market for lunch or snack. Live Traditional Music in a Pub for Dinner. Either see Blarney Castle today or following day. 

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Day 13: Check out of Ardfield Farmhouse. Check into Coastline House in Dingle.

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The Plan: Lots of driving. Leave from Cork to Killarney National Park. See Torc Waterfall. Take a Horse and Carriage Ride through the park to see Ross Castle and Kenmare Estate or Muckross Gardens. Say farewell to my parents for the night and drive the rest of the way to Dingle. Dinner at a pub with live music. 

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Day 14: Check out of Coastline House and Check into Cappabhaile House.

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The Plan: Before leaving Dingle, we are kayaking to sea caves and seeing Ireland's only Dolphin, Fungi. After that, we are driving north, taking a ferry to save time and pulling into Doolin. Meet back up with my parents. See the Cliffs of Moher. 

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Day 15: Check our of Cappabhaile House. Check into Parkhouse B&B.

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The Plan: If needed or wanted, See Cliffs of Moher. We want a few days options just in case weather doesn't cooperate. Drive down to Bunratty. Spend the day doing the Folk Park. At night, Go to the Medieval Banquet. This is our final night in Ireland. 

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Day 16: Check Out. Fly Home. Love on the kids!

Copycat Butter Beer Recipe

Copycat Butter Beer Recipe

As soon as we heard Harry Potter World was opening, we made it a goal that one day we would visit! That day finally came this year. We were able to go for our Anniversary this year. It was an amazing experience. There was so much detail to the place, that it really felt like you were there. One of the things I was looking forward to was trying the legit Butter Beer. Our personal favorite was the original. Be prepared to pay a lot of money if you want the real deal! I wanted to try recipes as soon as we got home so it would be fresh in our mind. 

Above is the frozen version. It was good but a little to slushy for my taste. We ate at the Leaky Cauldron and the Three Broomsticks. The food at The Leaky Cauldron was more like eating in England and the food at the Three Broomsticks was more like what you would expect in Harry Potter.  

We were worried when we saw a line to get into the restaurant, but it was fast moving. We had our food in our hands in 10 minutes. The food at the Three Broomsticks was great. If you are choosing between the two, I would definitely eat here. 

I wish we had a place like this closer to us but a copycat version of Butter Beer will have to do until we can make it back!

The closest recipe I've tried came from Intoxicology. They actually give several recipes to try. It was so close I don't feel the need to try any others, and it is super easy to make. My kids were thrilled to try it. 

Ingredients
Cream Soda
Butterscotch Jell-o
Whip Cream
Powdered Sugar
Caramel (My favorite is Smucker's Salted Caramel Topping)

The Drink at Harry Potter World is very cold, and it is also not very fizzy. To make this close to the version I wet a mug and give it a quick drip dry and stick the empty mug in the freezer. In a separate cup I pour in the Cream Soda and a large scoop of the salted Caramel. I use the Tablespoon size spoon in my silverware set and make it heaping. Stir for quite a while. This helps combine the caramel and get out some of the carbonation. Set aside in the fridge or freezer to chill. If you want to put it in the freezer, you can add it to the mug. In a bowl, whip 1/2 cup Whipping Cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons of Butterscotch Jello Powder. The trick to this is to not whip it until it is firm like you would normally do to make whip cream. You want it to set up but still have movement to it. If you lift up your beater it will foam off, not drip and not stick on. Once this is made you can take two heaping spoonfulls of the cream and top it off on your mug of butter beer. If desired, drizzle a little caramel on top of the whip cream. 

Enjoy!

Shark Paper Bag Letter Review at Preschool

Shark Paper Bag Letter Review

I do an Ocean theme every year for preschool, but I like to change up what crafts we do. You can see other ideas here. This year we had a lot of boys so I thought it would be fun to learn about sharks. To make them, I turned the paper bag upside down so we could make it like a puppet. I drew triangles on white paper for the teeth and blue ones for the fins. The kids cut them out and glued them on as well as the eyes.

One of the kids wanted to make a hammerhead shark so I roughly traced out an image on blue paper for him to cut out. Once the puppets are dry, I cut a slit in the mouth area to feed letter fish to the shark.

We sit in a circle and the kids fish for letters and then feed the sharks when they find the letters. 

I like to try and find ideas for the kids to make a craft and follow directions, while focusing on fine motor and scissor skills, then I take it a step further and try to incorporate letter reviews and a game as well. Pinterest is a great place for a jumping off point when looking for ideas.