When we think back on our magical trip to Ireland this fall with our 3 young kids and our 2 weeks spent there, most of those memories that linger will no doubt be from the week we spent at Ballard farm! Not that we didn't enjoy the first week we spent in another part of Ireland, but our stay at Ballard farm was quite possibly the most extraordinary time we shared as a family -- from waking each day and gathering eggs for breakfast with our kids, to eating fresh pears and apples straight off the tree, to playing with the three sweet farm dogs, which quickly became our kids' favorite part of Ireland, to spontaneous soccer games, to reading Harry Potter for hours in the yurt, to sitting and just admiring the incredible green hillside, it was such a relaxing and rich experience for us all that it's difficult to fully convey how much we loved our time there. Michael Sloan, despite on his way out of the country the day after we arrived took the time that first evening to demonstrate sheep herding (with good ol' Jock the dog) to our kids. They so loved this! So glad we captured a video. Denise was around most of our week and we enjoyed our chats with her so much. She felt like a surrogate grandmother to our children by the end. Our kids were delighted when her grandsons came over one day and all the kids could play for a while. We had initially thought we would stay in a gorgeous castle hotel during this trip, and that would've been a mistake. We would've not only missed having a full kitchen to cook in (might add our roasted chicken came out perfectly in the small oven) and comfortable space to spread out in (the Granary house was so cozy, beds and bedding very comfortable, shower fantastic) but we would mostly have missed this chance to have such an authentic human experience with getting to know Denise and her family. We hope to return someday soon. Thank you so much, Denise, Michael and the Sloan dogs (Raja, Jock and Dillon)!