We returned on Thursday from our little hop across the Irish Sea after a predictably fun but also incredibly busy six days.
The kids - wonderfully marshalled by big cousin Katie - kept out of trouble and in the sun.
Apart from when they went indoors.
Then back outdoors (when it wasn't sunny).
Before seeking shelter once again.
I suggest there are worst places to go to visit in-laws.
Meanwhile, there was time for the grown-ups to have some fun too.
Well, I mean, we were there anyway. And, of course, it was especially nice to catch-up with Mr & Mrs F after our recent dalliance in Tenerife.
It also gave my old Japan tour teammate Sean and me an opportunity to compare notes on final preparations for the Oliver Turkington Memorial Dinner which is now a mere two weeks away.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the event, around 18 months in the planning, has taken over my life in recent times. But I suspect it will prove to be worth the effort. Some tickets remain available from the school office at Coleraine Inst or by calling the madster who is Diane Armstrong on Tel: 028 7034 4331.
And there's also the Great North Run, next Sunday (7th). I kept my word and completed a 12-mile shuffle along the North Coast last weekend - and have felt the effects ever since. Six miles are planned for tomorrow morning and a handful more on Tuesday or Wednesday, and that will be that for the training. Whatever energy I have left will be used for fundraising which, thanks to the generosity of a growing number of kindly souls, has taken my "running total" (boom boom) to almost two thirds of the self-set target amount. Feel free to click on HERE if you'd like to help me inch a little closer.
Which brings me on to the biggest news of all - which I can't tell you about yet.
I'm not a natural risk-taker if truth be told. But, after seemingly endless consideration, I've finally decided to do something which even I concede is bold and, one way or the other, life-changing.
I invite you to wander back here on Monday to decide for yourself.
