hfd!

Happy Father's Day to all of the great dads out there... we wouldn't be who we are today without you. I missed seeing mine today. And to think, last year at this time we were in Barcelona still dealing with the shock of his stolen wallet and getting ready to embark on our European cruise. This year (oh wow, I am starting to really sound like my latest and greatest youtube obsession JohnRoberts who does the last year, this year and hey, happy new year bit) he and Joanne are cruising their way through Greece. I love my dad and our relationship. He gets me and is always looking out for me. I am thankful for all of the time that we get to spend together, the trips that we have taken and that I get to be his daughter.

I always think of Pop-pop today and how he shaped our family. He was truly an amazing person and I wish I could know him at this point in my life. I so loved his sense of humor and perspective. His life was by no means easy but he always put family first and made the time to tell you a crazy story/teach you how to parallel park/cheer you up. I miss him so.

It was a terrific weekend spent in Ocean City celebrating Kendall's 21st birthday. The fact of the matter is - we will never get this right. I have tried repeatedly in several countries now and it is never the thrown down that I imagine or that she deserves but practice makes perfect, right? So we hit BJs, Fagers, Seacrets and Fish Tales and got to sit on the beach and hang with lady baby and just be - one of my favorite things to do. My pictures turned out pretty fantastic if I do say so myself - is it too late to be a beach photographer? We hit the outlets and a lunch spot on the bay on our way home and got to have dinner "on campus" and catch up on our weekends. I can't help but think that everything is going my way - and it is damn good feeling. I should know more this week about what is going on work-wise but after talking to MM and RJ last week, I feel excited and about ready to do this! (Regardless of not knowing exactly what "this" is and where it would be) I know, finally, right?

"stuff happens"

I pretty much only have one job for the wedding - and that is to take care of the hotel room block. I thought that I had done this until we were spending a near perfect summer day at Chrissy's with Kate and little Lucy and the phone rang. Apparently one of Kevin's friends tried to reserve a room and was told that there was no group under that name. Ahhhhhhh! I panicked a bit and was able to get the girl on the phone that I had talked to about a month ago when we set all of this up - or I thought that we had. Needless to say, there was a bit of paperwork that followed, a few emails and now bada-bing we are all set and back in business - errr - in business :) I was telling my soon to be stepdad this later and his response: stuff happens. I had to actually take a step back and think about how right he is. There were a gazillion different ways that one could have responded to this and his way was just perfect and unexpected considering the circumstances. He is someone who has been through so much and seen things that I cannot imagine at such a young age. He was forced to grow up cruelly on the other side of the world while fighting in the Vietnam War. His stuff happens attitude and his overwhelming love and embracement of our family is mind-blowing. Stuff does happen - and its all about how we deal with it.

bad blogger

I have been so bad about blogging lately - I really need to step it up and hope to. No promises though.

The past week on recap backwards. Yesterday ended up being quite a perfect Sunday evening. It amazes me how small the world really is and how you can connect with someone at a certain time in a certain place and then get to reconnect across the country and its almost as if you just blinked and not that so much has changed and months have gone by. I got to hang in a different part of DC that I loved and even see some fire dancing that let's face it doesn't happen everyday. Or maybe it does and I just am not where it usually happens. Was able to return the favor and take Dad and Joanne to the airport for their European cruise...oh Europe. It has only been just over a week since I have been back and yet I could go back already :) Saturday was mom's bridal shower at this adorable tea house. It was such a fun and celebratory afternoon with some fabulous women who all mean so much to her. I love seeing her this happy. I love their story and I love that this time next month they will be married. I got to hang with Makenna who is eating baby food now and if its even possible just seems to get cuter and cuter. I am obsessed. I spent a few days last week at the beach which was rather last minute but so nice. I spent a lot of time by myself and got to catch up with Kristen, Shelly, Rick, Grace and Helen. In a few days we are headed back to OC to celebrate Kendall's birthday beach style!

scottish highlands

My Scotland trip has come and gone and while it was wonderful, it was so very different than what I expected! For starters, it was so crazy rainy. I did an amazingly poor job of packing and thought that the rain that I saw on the weather forecast actually meant nice, light, caribbean-like showers. Not so much. It down poured almost everyday. I guess this is the reason why the countryside is really so green and beautiful, but try telling my feet and body temperature that!

I did the Wild in Scotland 6 day tour because it included the Isle of Skye. There were 9 of us that started in Edinburgh and headed north to the highlands for sheep and hairy coo spotting :) (No puffins - I have no idea what this even is or looks like and so I didn't know what I was missing.) The places we drove, saw and stayed were extremely remote with waterfalls, standing stones and lochs all around. One of my favorite spots was the Isle of Harris where we stayed in thatched roof cottages and were introduced to Harris Tweed. Of course, I couldn't help dropping a few dozen pounds in the tweed store :) We weaved our way down The Golden Road which was the most expensive road to build in Europe because of the terrain and rock. Around every bend was another picture spot but with all of the twists and turns and the crazy way that the Scots drive, I was happy when we came to the other end of the island. We got to go scallop fishing in Plockton on a small fishing boat. The very best part of that was eating the live scallops and then enjoying some cooked right there with garlic and oil - not a bad mid-morning snack. I may have even learned a thing or two about myself and certainly more about different parts and cultures of the world on the communal, backpacking trip. Thankfully, it was a good group and I totally made everyone share their favorite part of the day...ha

Edinburgh was an adorable town and a nice contrast to the highlands. I spent days navigating the streets and people watching. I did note that no one seemed to be wearing flip flops like I was...hmmmmmm....I loved the views of the castle, Princes Gardens, the cathedral and all of the downtown spots that are hundreds of years old. I liked learning about the history of the town. I learned what stag parties are and how very seriously they are taken in the U.K. I also learned that sometimes the accents are so thick that it really could be a completely different language all together. When it was time to move on to Paris, I was sad to say good-bye to this patriotic and charming country that I had grown to love.