Christmas Travel

We travelled to Co Limerick, Ireland over the weekend to spend Eoin's first Christmas with the Murphys. Francis and I were a bit nerous for the flight because Eoin had a cold, Eoin didn't have a seat, and it was a single aisle plane. The flight got off to a rough start when we were delayed because the equipment used to push back the plane was broken so we were stuck at the gate. We left about an hour and a half late, which meant we we'd be arriving at 10am instead of 8:30am and it meant the likelihood of catching our 11am train had decreased dramatically. Luckily the delay was the only problem with the flight. Eoin's ears didn't bother him and he slept on our laps or in the baby bjorn on Francis most of the way. When he was awake he was happy out and entertaining his fellow passengers. We arrived in Dublin and raced to get our bags, but of course they were last coming out so by the time we got a taxi to the train station the train was gone. We had to wait another 2 hours for the train. At this point Francis and I were getting tired, but we got an Irish breakfast to keep us going. I also got a Butlers Hot Chocolate which I love and miss so much living in Chicago. Eoin was holding up well too. He wanted to get down on the ground and play pretty badly, but he settled for playing with mom and dad. Finally, we got on the train and Eoin, Francis and I all took a much needed nap. The train ride went smoothly with Eoin again providing entertainment to his fellow passengers. He also had an opportunity to roll around on the train so he was delighted. We arrived in Charvelville just after 3pm Irish time. Eoin's grandparents met us off the train and helped us carry our bags to the car. Finally, the weary Murphy family arrived in Derraulin, Co Limerick at 4pm Irish time (10am Chicago time) after 17 hours of travelling. Francis and I were so impressed with Eoin's ability to cope with the long day, lack of sleep, and the travel. And now he's in the care of his adoring Grandparents so he is being well rewarded for his efforts.

Below are pictures of Eoin waiting patiently for his train, Francis and Eoin enjoying the train ride, and Francis and Eoin recovering from the long day of travel.

Visit from the GodFather

Francis's brother came to visit us for a week on his way home from Australia. It was great to have him here. It was a bit of a shock for him to go from Australia where the temperature was over 100 degrees to Chicago where the temp was below freezing. However, we still managed to show him a good time. We love visitors!