Trip to the U.K. – last post!

While we were in Belfast, we went to the zoo. Luke really enjoyed it – and so did we, aside from the short downpour we had!

Here’s Luke and Tim looking at a cow:

And here’s Luke getting a close up of a tortoise in the rain forest exhibit:

Here’s a bird that got out (from under the fence):

The other boy in the exhibit, who was about 3, was terrified of the bird, but Luke was fascinated:

The next day we went to Junction One for some more shopping. I missed Luke’s original reaction to the Thomas the Tank Engine ride – apparently he screamed at the top of his lungs! Here he is:

And here is is pushing the buttons to make the music go:

Luke is one boy who LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine! When the theme music comes on he gets so excited and starts clapping and dancing! And lately he’s taken to sleeping holding on to one of his “ch-ch” shirts like a stuffed animal!

Another new word Luke learned while he was away was “i-o-lee” (=ice lolly = popsicle). And Grandad was the soft touch who always let him have one

Derek and Katie Brown came over to Belfast. We had a great time! We did a tour around Belfast and went to see Harry Potter!! We also took Luke to the park down by the sea. Personally, I was shocked to see kids running around in t-shirts and shorts (it wasn’t that warm! and it was very windy!). Here are a few photos of Derek and Katie’s trip:

Here’s Tim and Derek at the Glentoran football grounds:

Luke was chasing after two guys playing football in the park wondering why they wouldn’t play with him Poor boy was so sad

Our flight home was long but surprisingly uneventful. Luke was such a star. The trip home included a drive of just under 2 hours to Dublin, a 2 hour wait at the airport (we like to get there early), 30 minutes to Shannon, another hour waiting at the airport, a 7 hour flight home, followed by an hour and a half drive back home. And other than a few minutes on the descent and the last 10 minutes of the final drive, Luke was a happy little guy.

Here’s one final picture of Luke the morning after we arrived back that I thought was too cute to share. Please know he was wearing a shirt, but decided he didn’t want to wear one anymore, but did want to wear the hat!

Trip to the U.K. pt. 3

On the 13th of July we watched the 12th of July parade on tv and then went down to watch the parade on their march home at the end of the day.

Luke was very proud of his Ulster flag:

We moved the car to a place a few feet from where the parade would march by. Luke wanted to give the car a go. He’d never driven on the “wrong” side of the road in the “wrong” side of the car!

When the parade was approaching, we got out to watch … in the beautiful Belfast summer weather:

Here are some pictures of the marchers:

The next day we went round to see Luke’s great-grandparents (Cairns). Here’s a photo of four generations of Cairns:

Luke, Tim, Sylvia (Nanny) and I went down into town where I got to do some shopping and the other three did a couple touristy things. They went up the observation tower at the Victoria Centre:

And then Luke went running around at Belfast City Hall:

Hope you’re enjoying  these photos – we’ve still got lots to come! Including a visit from Derek and Katie Brown (friends of ours from Regent, who are now living in Edinburgh).

Trip to the U.K. pt. 2

So on Wednesday afternoon we flew to England to visit some friends.

First stop, Eastbourne (well technically, first stop land @ Heathrow, then pick up the car, then drive to Eastbourne and narrowly avoid getting run off the road by a complete and total lunatic driver from Germany in a huge caravan/bus – not sure which to be honest – I was fuming at the fact that the moron almost caused a serious collision … but I digress). It was great to see Emma and Glenn!

Luke was thrilled to find lots of ‘tones at the beach to play with:

It was a gorgeous view:

But Luke wasn’t interested … back to the ‘tones:

After spending some time at the beach, we drove into London.

On the way into the city, we stopped at a McDonald’s. Aside from his general miserableness, Luke preference for milk over french fries and chicken mcnuggets alerted us to the fact that something was wrong:

Before our friends were home from London, we went into the city to take some pictures of Luke at a couple of notable landmarks. Here’s Luke and I in Trafalgar Square (in front of living art)

And Luke and Tim in front of Buckingham Palace:

And here’s Luke being pushed round the garden by Cordelia:

Poor little guy was sick the whole time we were in London. But eventually he got healthier (when we got back to Belfast). After being sick, he’s discovered a real appetite for bananas (“bo-bos”) – he absolutely LOVES them!!

Tomorrow we”ve got pictures from the 12th of July parades!

Trip to Northern Ireland pt. 1

On July 3 we left at 11:45 pm to leave for the U.K. We flew into Dublin landing early and groggy, followed by a drive up to Belfast. Luke was great on the plane, but did get into quite a panic when he woke up at 3:30am wondering where on earth he was. But eventually he settled down and slept til just before we landed. He fortunately switched straight onto U.K. time – which is no small feat!

On the 5th we celebrated Simon’s birthday at the Cultra Inn. Luke was quite fond of the dessert:

He didn’t want to leave a drop of ice cream!

Then it was back to Nanny and Grandad’s house for some birthday cake:

Luke was a little less happy when he realized that it was going to his uncle:

But don’t worry – Luke got some cake!

The next day we went up to the north coast (Portrush/Coleraine) to visit some friends and go out for dinner, but not before Luke demonstrated his piano playing ability at the Boyd’s house:

Stay tuned – tomorrow’s post will highlight our trip to England!