St. Patricks Day in Dublin

On Saint Patrick's Day this year all the senior couples in Ireland met in Dublin for a fun day together. We traveled to Dublin with the McBrides and Sister Nolan and Sister Joins.

We met at the Finglas Chapel. Then we rode the bus to downtown Dublin.

Sister Hancock and Clarissa were ready for the day! Clarissa is a Dublin YSA and she was a great tour guide since she knows her way around Dublin.

Downtown Dublin, the spire.....

Fun face painting!

Sister McBride putting a tattoo on Elder McBride, getting ready for the big parade!

These cute wee girls were standing next to me while we were waiting for the parade. They were excited they were going to be on a American blog!

There was a good crowd, all wearing green!

Saint Patrick led the parade.

Cool band....

Bagpipes!

Colorful costumes!

All the floats were moving manually, no cars!

Lovely ladies!

It certainly was an interesting parade!

Definitely not your traditional Irish parade!

Sister Neely......

The Geilmans.......

Sister Nolan and Sister Joins........

After the parade.

Riding the bus back to the church.

Some of the doors of Dublin!

The Meriva convention.....

Elder and Sister Richins were celebratinng their 50th wedding anniversary so we had a little party.

Lots of good food.

Wee lepracauns.......

Better than kissing the Blarney stone!

We had a really fun day and enjoy being with the other senior missionaries. After we ate, the Finglas ward put on a wonderful cultural event with Irish music and dancing. We stayed for that, and then headed back to Belfast.

A Visit from Lorie and Katie

My sister Lorie and her daughter Katie came for a short visit on March 9th. They went to church with us at the Portadown Ward. After, Mena had us over for tea with the Family Home Evening group. They even sang Happy Birthday to me and we had such a nice visit. It was fun for Lorie and Katie to meet everyone and they enjoyed listening to the wonderful Irish accent!

One day we headed for Belfast. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great while they were here, but we didn't let that stop us!

The dome in Victoria Square.

Beautiful view of the city in every direction.

We took the open bus tour through the city. It was cold and rainy but interesting!

The murals in the city tell a sad story of war and peace....a lot of political and religious unrest still here....

We were told Belfast is the second safest city in the world for tourists...the Irish just fight among themselves.....

Downtown we did a little shopping!!! Great way to spend the day!!

Here we are at the Old Inn in Crawfordsburn. Thought Lorie should see where her ancestors lived!

Here we are at the Carrickfurgus Castle. We had fun picking out toy knights and princesses for our little grandkids!

Katie by the Irish Sea.

Climbing the spiral staircase in the castle.

Of course we took them to the Giant's Causeway!

We had dinner at The Nook, fast becoming one of our favorite places to eat on the Antrim coast.

I love turf fires....

The Nook....We have now eaten there with Jason, Lorie, Katie and the Hunsakers!

We went to the Hill of Tara. Many of the Kings of Ireland were buried and christened on this hill, along with some of our ancestors. It was very windy, but a very serene place to be.

Statue in honor of St. Patrick.

We love the Irish history and culture. The more I learn, the closer I feel to the heritage of these people and the legacy they have left.

Downtown Dublin

We had such a nice visit. It went way too fast, but we are grateful for the time we had and the good memories that were made.

YSA Convention in Glasgow

We attended the YSA Convention March 4-6 in Glasgow, Scotland. The YSA are so much fun. We were excited to be with them for a few days. We had 5 come from Belfast. There were about 130 in total from the British Isles.

Glasgow was a fun city to see. It's pretty large in comparison to Belfast.

Lots of old beautiful buildings.

This beautiful church was just around the corner from our church. At night it is all lit up....they have turned it into a nightclub!!! I thought it was pretty sad....... Saturday morning we had workshops. Elder Holt and I taught a class "Barefoot through the thistles". It was all about coping with life's challenges and trials. Then there were dance classes, scavenger hunts, and games all afternoon.

Dinner was served after a great day of fellow shipping.

Sister McDowell, Clarissa from Dublin, and Sister Holt. It was fun to sit and visit with the YSA.

Elder McDowell and Elder Holt wore their matching ties!

We were so glad the McDowell's were there. They are such good friends!

The Keiths all decked out in their tartan vests.....

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.....

We were excited to attend our first ceildh dance. This band was amazing.

Several of the guys dressed in their kilts. This is casual....

This is the McDonald tartan.....

The ones with jackets are formal....I thought they were all very cool and thought it was great these young men wore them!

EVERYONE enjoyed the ceildh.

The Neely's and Card's got out there!

They needed more men for this one and recruited the senior elders!

Elder Holt swinging his partner!

We loved every minute of the dancing and the music!

Robyn and Sam were having a great time.

Sam, formerly Elder Watt from England came and wish me a Happy Birthday! He is such a cute guy and it was fun to see him! I couldn't believe he remembered! He even showered me with gifts!!

The convention was a huge success and we were so thankful we were there. We made lots of new friends and were spiritually uplifted by these young people.