Moving to Ireland -- the arrival

We arrived in Ireland on March 5th and were able to drive right to our new home in Ballina, Co. Tipperary. The landlords had left the house mostly furnished, which was wonderful because it meant we had beds to sleep in and pans to use for cooking.

The house and grounds are simply gorgeous! And the set-up works very well for the kids. We give them the run of the kitchen and sunroom and just shut the door to the rest of the house. When our sea shipment arrives, we'll use the baby gates to block off the tv and the stairs and then we'll be able to open up all of the downstairs (except the master bedroom) for them to roam.

We were lucky to receive our air shipment only a week after we arrived in Ireland. In that shipment were the cribs, high chairs, and the all-important Runabout Triple Stroller. We can walk nearly everywhere in Ballina and nearby Killaloe, so this stroller has been a lifesaver.

I walk to town most every day, either with my parents, Jeff, or by myself. We walk by the most gorgeous scenery.

We live in Ballina, Co. Tipperary, and we can just head across the bridge to go to Killaloe, Co. Clare. There's a few more shops over there as well as the post office.

And on Sundays, they have an outdoor market we've been to about every week now. It is in the parking lot in front of the church pictured below.

The kids get a kick out of the market, but mostly they like it when we go to feed the ducks in the nearby water.

There's also a pretty spot to sit and feed the ducks on the Ballina side of the River. This is the River Shannon, but we are just at the tip of what they call Lough Derg, a lake that forms (basically a wide spot) in the river.