Ireland, Day 6

A kid-rich day, even though we barely left the house:

- In the morning, we walked out to Dungaire Castle again. It had been open a day or two earlier, so we hoped it might be open again. It wasn't. Jack, though, got into walking the loop around it once we got there. Pointed out little tiny windows with bars on them: "I think THAT'S the dungeon." We also had further dialogue about the 'pirate ships' in the bay. There was only one of the green ships today, and we speculated about what happened to the other one. Heated battle with one being sunk? Got his treasure and went home? All possibilities were discussed.

- Kate became fascinated with Mikey, and tried repeatedly to engage him in conversation, chattering away busily and waving her arms demonstratively. Mikey wanted none of it.

- Laura and Niamh helped Kate draw, and color, and use stickers on a book. For a little while she was totally engrossed in what her older cousins were doing and saying to her, obligingly picking stickers, finding things to color, nodding in response to their questions. It was pretty cool, and a side of Kate I don't see very often: Patient, listening Kate.

- Jack played on the trampoline with me, Mikey, Abbey, Kate. His favorite thing was to run around saying "I believe I can fly!" and crashing into the net around it, then flopping onto his back. I think Mikey started it. When Mikey did it, then crashed to the trampoline, Jack erupted in peals of laughter. It was pretty funny.

- I played baseball with Jack and Mikey. As we got set up, with me pitching to Mikey and Jack fielding, Mikey suggested Jack (who wanted to stand near me) move back some. Jack wanted to stand where he wanted to stand. The first pitch I threw, Mikey hit a line drive that drilled Jack in the shoulder. There were tears. It was bad, and somewhat miraculous given that I threw about 100 more pitches over the next half hour and Mikey probably hit only two other line drives. After comforting to Jack, I reiterated, imploringly, that he move back some. Jack looked at me with sad eyes. "But I'm TIRED," he said, and it was evening; he was. Fortunately, he rallied after that and we were all good, taking turns with me pitching to Mikey and then Jack. It was a nice green area.

- Robin folded a heckuva lot of laundry.

- Emily made her bunny cakes.

- We dyed Easter eggs. As per usual, Jack was impatient, wanting to take the eggs out of the dye mere moments after placing them in. Then when I wanted to take his green egg and dye its bottom half purple, so the Hulk egg we'd make would have purple pants, he didn't want to do that either. "Jack," I explained, "we can't have a naked Hulk." Ended up making the red egg into a Spider-man and a blue egg, at Jack's excited suggestion, "Into Mr. Fantastic!"

(As I write this, we're having a discussion about the eggs. Jack: "I don't want to eat my eggs. I want to have them forever." I explain that eggs get rotten and stinky. Jack is sad. I say, but you know what, I took a picture of you holding your eggs yesterday, and when we get home I'll print it out and put it on your wall. Jack brightens. "Did you get a picture of Mr. Fantastic Egg?" I give him the egg and take a picture of him with it, so I now have one with that egg and one with his other two eggs. "I will have these pictures forever!" says Jack.)

It was a good day.