Sorry, it's Erin!

I know you all like Niall's posts better but it's me here.  :)  I am impressed that Niall has done the last two considering how busy he has been.  These last couple of weeks have by far been the worst in terms of stress and studying.  But, he is pushing through, and I have been doing my best to leave him be!

It's close to 9 am and Niall has his last final exam at 9:30.  We have been up for a few hours (Niall studying, me puttering around the apartment!).  We're spending the last 45 minutes having a coffee downstairs:

I'm just as excited for him to be DONE!

All in all, if studying is the worst thing lately, our lives our pretty good.  A little update from my point of view... I have been staying very busy working 4-5 days a week at the cafe and running our side business-- airbnb.  :)  We have had several guests this month from all over the world!  I particularly enjoyed chatting with 2 young couples from Sweden (represent!) who stayed at our place while we were away last weekend.  In July, I am doing 4 weeks of teaching through the language school where I got my CELTA certificate.  I am looking forward to getting some experience and hoping it will open up some doors for me in the fall-- we'll see!  It's tough being patient with job opportunities over here, but God's been teaching me to be grateful and to not worry.  Makes day to day life much more enjoyable!

We very much enjoy our homegroup and still meet every Tuesday evening.  Even though most 'connect groups' take a break during the summer months, I think ours is going to continue because we all really love it.  Our summer softball league has started, we have games on Sunday afternoons-- we say it's 'just for fun' but there's really no such thing.  :)  Games are quite competitive!  I still play on my tag rugby team Thursday nights as well.

I can't remember if Niall talked too much about our most recent trip to California-- needless to say it was lovely being home!  I enjoyed every minute and of course the Stephen wedding was a big highlight (Heather... I am still waiting for you to email me some photos!).  

I wish they all could be California girls...

One thing I always realize when I go home is how much I love my old friends!  I have met some wonderful girls here and I don't ever feel lonely, but there's something about my Santa Barbara friendships that seems irreplaceable.  With that said, I am SO excited for Cindy and Nick to get here in just over a week!  A couple of weeks after that Heidi and Seth are coming too-- we will be so happy to have these friends here.

another highlight-- meeting Rhett!

It didn't take long for me to love this little guy... he's the cutest!  Niall and I are hoping his hair keeps that ginger color.  :)  I really, really miss being an Aunt who can be there for my niece and nephews, but that doesn't mean I love them any less.  They are hilarious and I hope someday seeing them will be a little more convenient.  :)

We've had some really nice weekends with Niall's family and we always feel grateful to have them just a couple of hours away.  Some of these photos are from awhile ago but thought I'd share anyway...

can't remember what this place was called but it was a beautiful walk!

the infamous Madden family hug (I'm usually in there)

more photos from the Punchestown horse race weekend!

where we lost all our money

sometimes when it's cold, I get grumpy

Horse with no rider!!

A couple of weekends ago I drove down to Bruff for Ben's communion.  I was so happy to see the Noonans and chat with some of their extended family who I hadn't seen in years.  It was a very special day!

mass was held at the local church in Bruff

smile Ben!  :)

Ben's twin cousins were part of the ceremony as well

Irish kids are hard core-- it was a freezing day and raining, but that never stops them!

Well, now it's after 9:30 so Niall has begun his exam... I better wrap this up because I'm headed to work soon.  All in all, things are going really well over here.  Of course I am looking forward to having my happy husband back next week!  The weather isn't great but we have sunny moments here and there and when it's clear, it is BEAUTIFUL.  Everything is so green now that the summer months have arrived.  I'm praying for sunny days while friends are here so that they can see how amazing Ireland is when the weather cooperates!

I love and miss you all.

xxx

erin

It's a good time to be a sports fan!

I'm at home studying on this Saturday afternoon. My wife is down in Limerick for Ben Noonan's communion. During this time I'll do anything for a break - even blog!

Unfortunately I won't be blogging about the rest of our Californian trip because my wife took the camera with her and all our photos along with it. They say a picture paints a thousand words and I'm not interested in substituting an equivalent number of words in lieu so that post will have to wait. But we've been busy since we got back - and most of that business involves sport!

Firstly, the race for pink has begun - the Giro d'Italia - the world's second biggest bike race! And it all started here in Belfast. Stage 2 is half way down the Antrim coast en route to Belfast right now as I type and let me tell you Ireland is not like they paint it in the promo video. I don't know which sucker on the organising committee they fooled with this video but he had obviously never been to Ireland before.

The rain is practically horizontal for the riders at the moment. Stage 1 yesterday had better weather, which was good because I skipped some work in the morning so Erin and I could ride the track just after the closed the roads and before the pros hit it.

Jon's Giant in Belfast - The beginning of a new,
much more hostile life for the bike. In the background
the start line.

Pre-race set-up

The finish line in front of city hall

BMC team village

Ormeau Road action

Samson and Goliath (the cranes) watching over proceedings

Last weekend we headed to Naas to catch up with my fam. But before we headed down I brought Erin to her first Ulster rugby match. She has been giving me a hard time for never taking her even though she has lived here for 2 years and we can see the stadium from our balcony. So I got us tickets to Ulster v Leinster (Erin is a Munster fan from her days in Bruff fyi).

This guy (Johann Muller - South African) goes to our church and retired after this game

Luckily for us we got to see this try (touchdown for you yanks) right in our corner:

After that we headed to Naas to attend something very Irish and very Kildare specifically - the horse races. All the photos from that day are on the big camera as well so the only one you'll get to see is from my phone. As you can see from Erin's expression we didn't fare too well. $60 worth of bets were placed and not a single winner in the bunch!

I forgot to show you - even my lunch was Giro-themed on the day

So was my lovely waitress

Lastly, but by no means least... anyone who was over at the Dohm's house while I was there would know that I monopolised Jon's TV at times to watch basketball - probably the one sport he doesn't have an interest in. I'm sure this bothered all involved but I had a rare opportunity to watch my team, the Blazers, play in the playoffs live on TV! I had to take it. A bit of background - every since I've been a  Blazers fan they have rarely made the playoffs. And they have never in that time made it past the 1st round of the playoffs! So just to see them play would have satisfied me. But down 2 points with 0.9 seconds left on the clock clinging on to a 3-2 series lead this happened:

Oh I would have paid so much to be there!

Damn you to Hell, Gibraltar!

Another year, another piece of Niall Madden left on that damn road! 0 for 2 now. Only this time was worse. Perhaps I was foolhardy; emboldened by a reasonable performance in my rookie year where I kept the bionic-legged Heather Dohm in my sights until just before the rock and only emptied my stomach at the top of the Eliminator (without putting a foot down). This time I puked before halfway, the taste of fruit snacks and lemonade tinged with the acidity of failure. My choice not to eat lunch (for this very reason!) was proving to be another oversight. With the ensuing dizziness and shaky-leg syndrome that comes after a good round of gut-heaving I was sure I would be chalking up my first DNF next to my second DQ for puking. 

After 5 minutes of contemplating the ostracism I could face from the Dohm family (ridiculous over-achievers if you ask me) I gingerly resumed my ascent. My time of contemplation on that mountain was a scary one. As Erin passed, and then Jon, to leave me at the back of the field alone standing in a pool of my own sweat and bile I felt I could become a statistic that day. The flies buzzed louder in my ears, the sun beat down on me so hard I felt I was being flattened by it, birds of prey were circling overhead.

[Spolier alert - I made it, though I left any dignity I brought to CA on the road half-way up the mountain.]

Happy campers at the summit - all but one

Caveat Emptor
Marry into this family at your peril
Humiliation guaranteed

Back during happier times - before the climb

A 1000+ veteran of the climb, Jon Dohm is always forthcoming with advice {you're starting out too fast, playing tennis beforehand is not a good idea - respect the mountain!, fruit snacks are not appropriate pre-climb nutrition, water!!!}. You'd think I'd listen. 

My only consolation is now I have another member of the extended Dohm family to share in the misery with. Mark, too, got smoked by his wife. A rookie Gibraltar-climber himself, Mr. Stephen was my saviour that day. I met him at the rock contemplating his own demise and we lamented our situation together. We hadn't even started the Eliminator yet, and if it weren't for Mark I wouldn't have done it. What kept us going when every turn seemed to present another endless ascent (it didn't help that I had forgotten where the top was)?! The thought of drinking every single Coors Light that Jon had in the house that night while occupying his hot-tub! How dare he so ruthlessly dispatch with 2 men less than half his age in such an athletic endeavour?! And then how dare he bare 2 offspring (GIRLS, no less!) that even more ruthlessly dispatched with us! And finally, having the last laugh, marry them off to us for a lifetime of similar humiliation! Well played, Mr. Dohm.

I don't know who has it worse, Mark or me. He married the cycling machine. I, at least, stand a chance against my wife! But Heather doesn't have a competitive bone in her body and is loathe to elevate any feat of hers above her husband. The diametrical opposition of this is embodied in her sister Erin. When I lose I know about it. Score-keeping is a tenet in our marriage. Andy, for the sake of your sanity and your marriage keep that wife of yours off a bike, surf-board, tennis court, and anything she has the potential to compete with you at.

I intend to tell you all about our whole CA trip soon. Of course, our main reason for us being there was marriage of our sister and Mark. We were so very excited for that event. But until that post I'll leave you with this worrying sign of the second coming....

Mrs Dohm engrossed in the theory of
wormholes and time travel