Out and About with The Hunter's

Out and About with The Hunter's We’re a family of 4 that is constantly on the go. Journey with us as we are ‘Out & About..’ with the Hunter’s! �

05/27/2026

Saturday night was one for the memory jar ⚽❤️

We headed to a Chicago Fire game, but the best part wasn’t just watching the pros play… it was seeing Charlotte experience it all through the eyes of a soccer-loving kid. 🥰

Charlotte plays through the Naperville Park District, and they got the incredible opportunity to participate in a special parade on Soldier Field before the game. Watching her proudly walk the field with a huge smile and soccer dreams was pretty magical.

And honestly? One of the coolest unexpected highlights of the night was walking through the tunnels at Soldier Field and spotting the doors to the Chicago Bears locker room. 🐻⬇️🏈

Now we’re officially ready for all the excitement the 2026 FIFA World Cup is about to bring! 🌎⚽✨

Ireland, you completely stole our hearts. 🇮🇪🍀What started as a family Spring Break trip quickly turned into so much more...
05/19/2026

Ireland, you completely stole our hearts. 🇮🇪🍀

What started as a family Spring Break trip quickly turned into so much more.

Over 10 days we explored castles, coastal cliffs, tiny villages, caves, cathedrals, pubs filled with music, winding roads, grocery stores, bike trails, sheep farms, and places that truly took our breath away.

We laughed through rainstorms, drove roads barely wider than golf cart paths 😅, listened to choirs echo through ancient stone churches, stood at the edge of the Cliffs of Moher, biked around Inisheer, drank Guinness in Dublin, explored castles on Easter, and somehow made memories in all the little in-between moments too.

But what I think I’ll remember most is the feeling.

The slower pace.
The kindness of the people.
The music.
The history.
The perspective.

Travel has a way of reminding you how big the world is… and how connected our stories really are.

Thank you, Ireland, for the adventure, the memories, and the moments worth bottling forever. ✨

Until next time,
The Hunters 🍀

Out & About — Day 9 in Ireland 🍀Today took us below ground! ✔️ Doolin Cave → We kicked things off heading deep undergrou...
05/05/2026

Out & About — Day 9 in Ireland 🍀

Today took us below ground!

✔️ Doolin Cave → We kicked things off heading deep underground into Doolin Cave—and wow, this one surprised us.
After climbing down (and yes… back up 😅), we stood beneath one of the largest stalactites in the world—often called the Great Stalactite.

Fun fact: it’s estimated to be around 23 feet long and weighs several tons, and it formed drop by drop over hundreds of thousands of years. 🤯

Standing underneath something that took that long to form definitely makes you pause for a minute.

✔️Dinner & Shopping in Doolin: how cute is this pink house! Cheers to climbing up and down 125 stairs! I think we earned our Guinness!

“On this small island surrounded by endless sea, we remember that a simple life can be a beautiful one.”One of our favor...
05/04/2026

“On this small island surrounded by endless sea, we remember that a simple life can be a beautiful one.”

One of our favorite days in Ireland was exploring Inisheer with THE Ollie from — and this one felt like a true adventure day.

✔️ Touring with Ollie → Having a local guide made all the difference. Ollie showed us spots we never would’ve found on our own and shared stories that brought the island to life in the best way.

✔️ Bike Life 🚲 → We hopped on bikes and made our way around the island — and honestly, this might be one of the best ways to see Inisheer. Ocean views, stone walls, quiet little roads were MAGICAL … and just enough pedaling to feel like we earned our snacks later 😂 Just a tip, I choose the ebike option and boy was I happy I did. There were some hills and that little extra zip made everything soooo much easier.

✔️ Shipwreck Stop → We made our way down to the shipwreck along the shore, which was such a cool (and slightly eerie) sight. The shipwreck is called the Plassey, a cargo ship that ran aground during a storm in 1960. All of the crew were rescued, and today it rests along the shore as one of the island’s most iconic landmarks. The girls loved exploring around it!

✔️⛪ The “Window to Heaven” on Inisheer: Near the ruins of St Caomhán’s Church (often called St. Kevin’s Church), there’s a small stone church with a very unique feature—and a fun local legend. The tradition says if you can fit through the window, you’re guaranteed a spot in heaven… the girls gave it a try 😄

✔️ Tea + Scones Break ☕🍪 → And then… We stopped for tea and fresh scones with locals — sitting, chatting, and soaking in the slower pace of island life.

This day had a little bit of everything—exploring, learning, biking, snacks (always important), and just being together in a place that felt completely different from home.

This was one of our most talked about days from Ireland! Thank you Ollie! Those of you who are thinking about an Ollie Tour, DO IT! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Hands built these walls. Whistles guide these dogs. Roots grow through limestone. Beauty lasts when we tend it well.”No...
04/30/2026

“Hands built these walls. Whistles guide these dogs. Roots grow through limestone. Beauty lasts when we tend it well.”

Not every travel day comes with sunshine… and Day 7 in Ireland proved that. It poured rain nearly the entire day, but somehow it still became one of our sweetest memories. 🇮🇪☔

✔️ Caherconnell Stone Fort → Standing inside this ancient stone fort felt like stepping back thousands of years in time.

A few fascinating things we learned:
* The fort dates back over 1,000 years
* Archaeologists discovered it was likely home to wealthy farmers
* Evidence showed people lived there, cooked there, and used it for protection
* The thick stone walls were built as defense against raids and harsh weather
* Excavations even uncovered jewelry, tools, and animal bones that help tell the story of daily life

Standing inside those stone walls while the rain fell made us think about how much resilience it took to survive and build a life here centuries ago.

✔️ Sheepdog Demonstration → Rain jackets on, muddy shoes and all—we headed to the sheepdog demonstration and loved every second of it.
Watching the dogs respond to whistles and commands with such incredible precision was amazing, but what made it even more meaningful was learning this skill has been passed down through generations of farming families.

And then the sweetest surprise…
Claire got to hold a newborn baby lamb 🐑🥹
Needless to say, that may have stolen the show.

Right down the street was the Poulnabrine, which is portal tomb that dates back to 3800-3200 BC. It’s one of Irelands oldest & most iconic megalithic monuments. Wished it wasn’t pouring rain but that made it a bit more mystical!

This day reminded us that sometimes the best travel memories happen when things don’t go perfectly—the weather shifts, plans get MUDDY and unexpected moments become the ones you remember most. Claire still talks about holding that baby lamb!

Rain and all…!

“Stand at the edge. Feel the wind. Remember how small we are—and how big this life really is.”Day 6 brought us to one of...
04/28/2026

“Stand at the edge. Feel the wind. Remember how small we are—and how big this life really is.”

Day 6 brought us to one of Ireland’s most breathtaking places—Cliffs of Moher. And somehow they were even more incredible than I imagined. 🇮🇪

This stop had been on my bucket list for years, and standing there in person felt a little surreal. One of those I can’t believe we’re actually here moments. 🥰

✔️ That First Look → Nothing prepares you for that first moment when you walk up and suddenly see the cliffs stretching along the Atlantic Ocean.
The wind was wild.
The views felt endless.
And for a moment… everyone got quiet and stood in awe!

✔️ Family Adventure Mode → We walked the trails, laughed at our very windblown hair, did our best not to lose our hats to the Atlantic, Charlotte even got ice cream on one of the trails we took! The girls loved every minute of exploring. Our Airbnb had binoculars we grabbed them before we left and spotted some amazing wildlife. Fun fact, The Cliffs of Moher are home to 20+ species of seabirds and one of Ireland’s largest mainland bird colonies. During nesting season, thousands of birds return there—including puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and kittiwakes.

✔️ A Little Perspective → This place has a way of making you feel incredibly small in the best possible way. It reminded me how big this world is, how much beauty there is to see, and how grateful I am to experience it with the people I love most. A bucket list dream turned family memory.

This day was one of our favorites!

Day 5 The Open Road & New Horizons “Not every meaningful moment is planned. Sometimes the magic is simply in moving forw...
04/24/2026

Day 5 The Open Road & New Horizons

“Not every meaningful moment is planned. Sometimes the magic is simply in moving forward together.”

✔️Car Rental Pick Up → We picked up our rental car in Dublin and officially began the next chapter of our Ireland adventure — driving west. Somehow we crammed all of our luggage in with just enough room for all of us to fit! There’s something about that first drive… navigating new roads, watching the landscape slowly change, and realizing you’re leaving the city behind for something quieter, slower, and a little more wild. On a personal note, driving on the other side of the road was pretty easy what I didn’t expect is how NARROW the roads are. Ireland calls their country roads two lanes but it’s the size of a golf cart path in the U.S.! 😬

✔️ Grocery Store Stop → We made a stop at a local grocery store. We had so much fun finding out what we wanted to cook for dinner, what different (and same) food we found. And of course we found lots of snacks, breakfast staples, and candy! And they don’t have Lucky Charms cereal in Ireland! 🤣

✔️Cute little Airbnb → How cute is this little Airbnb, perched along the coast, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I’ll do a separate post on our Airbnb options but this one was a 5 star place. That view was 🤩

Day 4 Resilience & Roots“Some crossed oceans with nothing but hope. Because they did, we stand here today.”✔️EPIC Museum...
04/22/2026

Day 4 Resilience & Roots

“Some crossed oceans with nothing but hope. Because they did, we stand here today.”

✔️EPIC Museum→ Walking through the museum felt less like reading history and more like stepping into the stories of millions of people who left Ireland to build lives all over the world. It was a powerful reminder that journeys don’t just shape where we go — they shape who we become. This museum is also very kid friendly and they do ‘passport’ stamps as your journey through each room!

✔️Jeanie Johnston Ship → Unfortunately we got there just after the last tour, which was a bummer, maybe next time! Instead we took we a stroll down the River Liffey and did some shopping of course, how cute are these sheeps! 🐑

✔️ Post Office Stop → In a world of texts and instant photos, sending postcards feels like a bit of a lost art. But we still love picking them out, writing a few lines from wherever we are, and sending them off into the world. Sometimes they arrive after we’re already home… but we like to think that just means the trip gets to live on a little longer in someone else’s mailbox. 📪

✔️ Temple Bar → One of our favorite nights in Dublin was stopping into Temple Bar for some live music. The place was buzzing, the musicians were incredible, and before we knew it the girls had made their way right up to the stage — completely mesmerized by the music. Meanwhile, we were enjoying a couple pints when the kids decided the band absolutely had to play “Sweet Caroline” for their cousin back home. They worked up the courage to ask and gave a few Euro tip and to our surprise, the band actually played it. Safe to say the whole pub was singing along. 🎶 One of those spontaneous travel moments that ended up being a highlight of the trip. Enjoy that last video it puts a smile on my face & gives me goosebumps when I watch it! 🥰

Day 3: Faith, Legacy & Bold Spirit“In a place built on centuries of prayer and story, we remember what grounds us — and ...
04/20/2026

Day 3: Faith, Legacy & Bold Spirit

“In a place built on centuries of prayer and story, we remember what grounds us — and what gives us boldness.”

✔️Family Breakfast → The routine of making breakfast in our Airbnb works out best for us, gives us the opportunity to sleep in a little & take our time before headed out for the day!

✔️Palm Sunday Service → Palm Sunday at St Patrick’s Cathedral was something we’ll never forget. Walking into the beautifully preserved stone cathedral, you could immediately feel a sense of peace and serenity. When the choir began to sing, their voices filled the entire space — echoing through the arches in a way that made you stop and just listen. I might have head tears in my eyes. A quiet, powerful moment from our journey in Ireland.

✔️ Guinness Storehouse → Of course this was on our Dublin adventure stop! There’s so much to see and everything was kid friendly. Here’s a few fun facts we learned on our tour journey. When Arthur Guinness started brewing in 1759, he signed a lease for 9,000 years at £45 per year. 👌Yes… really, that’s the picture in the ground of the lease. Also, the same yeast strain used by Arthur Guinness in the 1700s is still used today and carefully preserved. 🤯 The central atrium of the Guinness Storehouse is designed like a giant pint glass!

✔️ STOUTie Experience — We even got a selfie printed right onto the foam of a pint of Guinness. Only in Ireland could your photo become part of the beer. 🍺

Day 2 : Legacy & Living Stories“History lives here, but the best stories are the ones we’re making together today.”✔️Tri...
04/16/2026

Day 2 : Legacy & Living Stories

“History lives here, but the best stories are the ones we’re making together today.”

✔️Trinity College Walking Tour 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️→ Perfect way to hear about the start of this beautiful college that was founded over 200 years ago! The kids loved all the tidbits we learned like if you walk under the Campanile (bell tower) while the bell 🔔 rings, it’s said you’ll fail your exams — so students sprint away if it starts ringing! 🏛️ The “Heaven and Hell” Buildings at Trinity were also a hit, it’s two building that sit across from each other. “Heaven” refers to the Chapel , which is meant for prayers, ceremonies and contemplation and “Hell” references to the Examination Hall where students go take stressful final exams. 😆

✔️The Book of Kells → It’s over 1,200 years old. This famous manuscript contains the four Gospels of the Bible written and the calligraphy and illustrations are BEAUTIFUL! Can’t take pictures (sorry you’ll have to see it in person) but I did take a picture of the art you’d see in it.

✔️The Long Room → holds 200,000 books and looks like something out of Harry Potter! Books are currently being cleaned, digitised, and preserved so the shelves are pretty empty. 😩

✔️The Harp🪉 → The famous Irish Harp symbol all over Ireland is modeled after THIS ONE! 🤯

✔️Campus Architecture → was beautiful 😍

✔️Rugby Men → Charlotte was enamored with the Trinity College Rugby Team and now is a Rugby fan! 🏉

✔️ Donuts for Lunch 🍩→ Why not right?! They were not only pieces of art but they were mouthwatering

✔️ The Hairy Lemon → More traditional Fish and Chips for dinner paired with a fresh glass of Guiness but this time we left our mark on a dollar bill in the pub. It’s proudly pinned on a doorframe when you walk in so if you’re visiting Dublin please check to see if our dollar is still hanging! 📌💵

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