The Beach!

One of the highlights this summer has been spending a full week in Florida with all of our family. Both Dee’s family and my family got together for a week of fun in the sun a couple of weeks ago. We rented four beach houses on a quiet beach near Destin... I can't tell you the last time that I have laughed so hard. What a blessing it has been to have a chance to spend time with everyone all at once! Here are a few pics from the week. Hope you enjoy.

Caller Number....

I must have been in elementary school... or maybe even middle school when my father first instituted the game...


It was early on a Sunday morning and I was the last one to come to breakfast... I think my sister made fun of my stick-up hair... and we all sat around quietly eating. I guess that the sugar in the Capt'n Crunch must have kicked in because I suddenly remembered that it was Father's Day. Not too eagerly I chimed in - "Happy Father's Day, Dad". Dad - in that all too familiar laugh- said... "Congratulations! You are the first!". He called mom over and asked her for the thing that he had given her before. She pulled out a crisp one dollar bill that had a yellow stickey note attached to it. It read, "To the first son or daughter to wish me Happy Father's Day". I, being the youngest, of course did a victory lap or dance to rub in the victory over my sisters... and the annual game was born.


This year I got up around six in the morning. I knew that it was Father's Day but I didn't want to wake my parents... so I waited to call. I ended up calling around eight. My dad answered the phone in an animated voice saying, "Thank you for calling The Father's Day competition, I'm sorry but you are caller number..... (Long pause as if he was calculating) Four!" Caller number four! I couldn't believe it! Dad said that Sherry called first... Quickly followed by a tenant (from a rental property) and then Jenny... all of whom wished him a Happy Father's Day. So, no dollar for me this year... but it was fun playing... and I think that it helps to make the day a little bit more special for my dad... Isn't he fun?

Sweet Home Alabama....

What was my first thought as I stepped off the plane? Woa…! It is HOT! The sensation of having a hot wet blanket wrap around you as you instantly break out into a sweat is one that is unique to this part of the states. I can’t say that I ever really minded it until I moved away… and now I am ever aware of it. Needless to say that was my first thought… but I didn’t dwell on it long. Dee and I walked down the long concourse to the large glass wall where our families were waiting on us. We had already been delayed for several hours in Atlanta but Dee’s parents and sister were there waiting on us… and my sister – Jenny- and her three kids were still there too! What a welcome… there is nothing greater in life than the hugs you get in an airport!

Bean Town

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed spending time in Boston. This was our third time to go to the city, but it really was our first real chance to see and do a lot of things there. Our two weeks there really flew by… but we were able to spend a lot of time with Dee’s twin sister & her husband… and that was the real reason we wanted to be there. We spent a lot of time just hanging out with them and their friends…. What a welcomed change to our very busy last month in Ireland. We had a lot of coffee… breakfast chats… video games to play… ‘Gilmore Girls’ episodes to watch… and things to get caught up on… It was a blast.

Boston itself is really an amazing city. I was amazed by the amount of history that seemed to be on every corner. I have grown up hearing things about “The Boston Massacre”, “The Battle of Bunker Hill”, “The Old North Church” and “Paul Revere’s ride”… but I honestly did not know the history and how Boston had played such an important role in the American Revolution. I guess that growing up in the south where we were so far removed from the historic sites and in many ways are so overly aware of the civil war we just never spent much time studying the revolution.

In addition to the historical side of Boston I really loved the young and energetic side of the city. It seemed like every time we turned around we were passing by another university. “Oh, there is Harvard again”… “Next stop Boston College”… etc. The energy was there because of all these universities, and I have not felt that in any other city.

Finally, I loved the fact that Boston was a city in love with Baseball! It seemed like everyone was talking about last night’s game… had a Red Sox hat or jersey… and watched the games on TV (or live). We were able to go to two games while I was there… and I truly fell back in love with the game. I think that the highlight (sightseeing) was when we all took a tour of the ball park. We sat in the press box – climbed on the top of the ‘Green Monster’ (the giant green wall in left field) – and learned the amazing history of the club and park. Fenway with its wooden seats and manual scoreboard still has the feel of the old parks… and the old way of baseball.

Dee and I really loved our time in Boston… and I can’t wait to go back soon.

The Road...

Just a note to say that I have not been able to post this weekend... We have been in the process of traveling across the county..... Seriously... From Boston to Alabama... I'll be posting a few thoughts in the next day. In the meanwhile... I've added some new pics (from our time up north) to our front page. Hope you enjoy.