Camping on the far west coast of Ireland

So most people wouldn't go camping with such a young baby... We did and it was amazing! We drove down to County Galway, through Connemara and camped at an eco campsite right on the beach. That part of Ireland is just stunning and hours and hours of just what you expect the  wild west coast of Ireland to be - mountainous, green, quaint and full of history and charm. The weather was amazing since we were still in the record breaking heatwave (about 25-30 degrees every day for a few weeks!). We lay about in the shade, swam in the ocean, walked along the beaches and just relaxed with friends, it was bliss. But being us we couldn't stop work altogether and approached a lovely local gift shop who's owner just loved our books and now  you can find our positivity all the way in Clifden, County Galway :)

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara

A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara


A Journey to a Dream - Camping in Connemara



Rights of passage start early in our family :)

When I was pregnant I read about other cultures traditions around pregnancy, birth and children. We adopted a few of them for our own family, taking the parts we love out of religions and cultural traditions to make our own traditions. It's something we did for our wedding too :) 

So the one thing idea we loved was to make a big deal of the first time you place your baby onto the earth. How we ended up seeing it was, until you place your child onto the ground he is still more connected with the sky, the universe, and the heavens than with earth. So the moment you place his feet on the earth the ties from the sky break and new ties are created, ones that keep him grounded and connected to nature and fully part of this world.

We have always found the top of mountains particularly spiritual places so we decided to challenge ourselves. To climb Slieve Donard and place Ché Phoenix on the ground at the very top. Slieve Donard is 850m and a tough climb (without a baby!), it took us 4.5 hours to reach the top and 2.5 hours to get back down. We are so proud, the sense of achievement is still buzzing inside us and the hike was nearly a month ago! 

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
In the car park ready to go!

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
About an hour in, sandwich and milk time :)

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
Around half way, you can see the sea in the background near where we started

Looking forward from half way, at the top is the wall which runs along the peaks of the Mourne Mountains, when you reach there you know its only about an hour to the top but it feels like 3!

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
Giggles with Daddy at the wall :)

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
A fellow hiker offered to take these next two pics :) 

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
We made it! The very highest point for hundreds of miles!

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
The reason for it all...

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
love this shot! cape blowing in the breeze and everything! Epic!

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
We sent positive thoughts and love from the top to Nelson Mandela who was in hospital at the time.
We wished him peace and happiness he will always be one of the people who inspire me most to
be the change I want to see in the world.

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
We stayed at the top for about an hour, I could have stayed so much longer!
But the mist was rolling back in so we headed back down. Slowly, on shaky legs...

A journey to a Dream - Slieve Donard hike
The lower half of the hike runs along a beautiful crystal clear water way, which starts as a spring and by the time you reach the bottom is a beautiful river with rocky waterfalls and pools, we sat by it for a while, Ché Phoenix loves to watch water. This was the first time his feet dipped in a natural water way :) On a side note it was shocking and disappointing to see rubbish in such a stunning pace so we filled our backpack with every piece we saw on the way down, starting with the can in this photo...

Naming Ceremony inspiration :)

When we were planning Ché Phoenix's naming day we knew we wanted to keep it simple. We wanted it to be fun, personal and beautiful. We ended up taking inspiration from our favourite of Ché Phoenix's toys - our new ones from The Little Woodlanders.

A journey to a dream - little woodlanders cupcakes
Our awesome cupcakes! Decorated like his favourite toys! and spelling out his name :)

A good friend of mine Naomi and her mum run a little cake making business in our local area and they made us a beautiful selection of cupcakes decorated like his beautiful wooden toys! Everyone loved them and I couldn't believe how awesome they looked and tasted! The wee cake Factory ladies are super talented and can make practically anything into cake art!

A journey to a dream - little woodlanders cupcakes

A journey to a dream - little woodlanders cupcakes

A journey to a dream - little woodlanders cupcakes

A journey to a dream - little woodlanders cupcakes

A journey to a dream - little woodlanders cupcakes

A journey to a dream - wee cake factory cupcakes

A journey to a dream - wee cake factory cupcakes

A journey to a dream - wee cake factory cupcakes

A journey to a dream - naming day cupcakes

Little Woodlanders are having a christmas in july sale now until 17th July. There is 15% off everything, no need for a discount code - everything is on sale - have a wee nosey around, your bound to see something you like!

Naming Ceremony Part 2...

Part 1 family photos here :)

As part of the ceremony we spoke a bit about the people who will play a big part in Ché Phoenix's life - our family and our friends. We are really lucky to have so many wonderful people around who love him so much. Amazing people who he will grow up around, be inspired by and learn from.

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
'Auntie' Lisa


A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
'Aunties' Phoebe, Lisa and Naomi

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Aine, Caitlin, Kelly-Ann, Aoife and Patrice (his adoptive Aunties and cousins!)

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Such a happy wee girl!

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Ché Phoenix and his favourite adopted Auntie - Auntie Patrice

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Proud Granda Michael - Al's dad

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Al's cousin Natasha

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
David and Aoife - Ché Phoenix's wee friend :)

Patrice and Stevie

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Love love love...

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Al and his cousin Mark-Anthony :)

Happy the rain went away :)

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
I cant throw a party without bubbles!
A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Proud Granny June introducing him to all the wee cousins

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Meeting wee Erin for the first time with Marie-Therese :)

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Telling the boys Aaron and Stevie big stories!

:)

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Phoebe and Pip enjoying the sun :)

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
Cute daddy and daughter pic :)

A journey to a dream - Naming ceremony photos
A big day for such a little boy... 


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