Family vacation | Northern Ireland

This is a long-awaited trip, for sure! I’ve wanted to take Matt to Ireland ever since I visited in 2014- we thought about going before Felix was born for a babymoon, but we were set up with his real mom so quickly (two weeks after the live broadcast) that we gladly never did. get a chance!

Then we are planning a trip for summer 2020 🤣, then we are trying again for summer 2021 but quarantine requirements mean we will be spending between 5-14 days in a hotel room. We were thinking about summer 2022, and then our sweet Teddy was born, so when we finally arrived at Dublin airport in May 2023, I was SO READY!

This was our first trip abroad with the two boys (we’re taking Felix to Spain in 2021 when I fly out for a Lindale Studio brand shoot in El Puerto de Santa Maria!), and I’m so grateful we had the opportunity to travel with our friends. children. It’s a different headspace for sure than when we traveled pre-kids, and adventuring with young children means adjusting my own expectations of what we can do, how fast we can move, and how quiet times are. It was satisfying in a different way than solo travel has ever been, and I’m so, so grateful for the opportunity for our boys to be exposed to new places, people, and cultures!

We’re in Northern Ireland in County Londonderry, and with the smells of farmland and the sounds of nature, and all that green as far as the eye can see, I feel like I can do it. breathe better when i was there. I want to experience it with my family, to slow down and take long walks along narrow country roads, to breathe deeply and be present with my children without worrying about having to return to my office.

Does anyone else with a toddler/preschooler + baby feel like their older child has more photos? I put the Teddy on [Harry Potter!] Ergo for most of our adventure so most of my photos are OF Felix & Matt. Sorry, dear Teddy!

I love some of the WEIRD photos of cows from our trip. The house we live in (owned by our friends) is across the street from the clearing where these lovely girls are housed every day, and Felix really shines for them. This one was specifically named “Bessie” and we made a quick walk to the gate to say our favorite cow.

This one. The sun didn’t set until almost 10pm, and I looked out the window one night and saw this and ran outside IMMEDIATELY. Felix was still awake (thanks, jetlagged), so after a few minutes out there alone, I got him out of bed and took him outside too.

At home, we talk about how beautiful sunrises and sunsets are a gift from God, which are never the same from one night to the next. I also love that there is no *purpose* for a beautiful sunset, other than to amaze us at the majesty of it all- for me, sunrises and sunsets are an opportunity to sit back and admire God’s creativity!

Felix has shown it himself, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to experience this one with him!

Felix fires the shutter for the next one!

We headed to the Giant’s Causeway for the morning – I wish we had more time here! It is SO beautiful and the basalt columns are so curious. We walked the half mile way down from the parking lot (but took the 2euro bus back, and Felix had fun scrambling along the column while Teddy enjoyed Northern Ireland’s dirt & rock selection :).

Then we went for a drive in the mountains and ended up in a spectacular view – the photos don’t do it justice. I could live in there for hours with my journal and camera – maybe next time!

Later in the week, we headed to the Mussenden Temple, an absolutely stunning stretch along the coast – you’ll see the temple itself below (a rotunda with stairs leading up), which sits RIGHT on the edge of the cliff and looks down onto the strand under. This is probably my favorite morning in Ireland – the grounds are HUGE, and we took our time to walk along the paths.

I loved this place so much that I came back later that afternoon for a run so I could see more of the park!