oh canada

the 4th of july is one of my favorite holidays.  

a day/week/weekend of sunshine.beers.grilling.friends.beach.fireworks.usalove

this year, the o's celebrated our great nation's birthday in a different way.

we flew to canada.

(at My Father's Moustache, an awesome bar in downtown Halifax)

mr. o is from that large country that sits over our heads, more specifically, the province of Nova Scotia. he actually only became a citizen of the US of A in 2010.  when he was about 11, his dad got a new job and they shipped off to alabama.  if ever there was such thing as culture change, that was it.  while it may have been difficult for awhile, he can switch from a southern to canadian accent and back again between sentences and i think that's a pretty neat party trick.

some of ryan's extended family still resides in Nova Scotia so we decided to fully utilize the quiet week at work and go up for a visit.  

if you've never been to Nova Scotia, i highly recommend that you go.  it's lush with greenery, amazingly beautiful coastlines, great food, friendly people, and the list goes on.  i got to see the house that ryan grew up in, we spent a day/night in downtown Halifax touring around, a day at Peggy's Cove to see the famous lighthouse, and the last two days relaxing at his uncle's lake house just north of Halifax.  most importantly, i finally got to meet ryan's cousins, who are fantastic, and spend some quality time with his aunt and uncle who are the sweetest and most gracious hosts. 

sounds like a good trip, eh?

goshen

goshen is a lakehouse (aka: little slice of heaven) tucked away in the litchfield hills of connecticut.  i talk about this place as if i have some ownership of it, but it really has nothing to do with me. one of my best friends family owns this adorable lake house equipped with a sweet boat, a mama that's always one of the girls, a dock that was definitely made just for laying out in the sun, and an amazing dad that whips up fresh margs and award winning mashed potatoes at a moments notice. whitney, the middle daughter of 3 perfect young women and my friend, has graciously allowed us to partake is the "goshen experience" for many years. even when we were 15, we were never too cool for tubing (until recently, but only because we're old and get too sore after one loop around the lake), spent too many years not using sunscreen, and let go of any weird "plain turkey sandwich with mayo on the side" diet we had for some shopis family home cooking. 

a little bit about whitney? she is a fashion icon (i just recently found out that Mary Kate Olson is hers.  sadly, i had to google MKO to see what she looked like). whit puts my black stretchie pants and high school cheerleading tshirts, that I probably wear too often, to an all time shame. she also happens to be one of the kindest, most forgiving, and supportive friends I've ever had. how lucky am i to know this girl? so mix all that with a killer family, the little slice of heaven, and some other super cool chicks that also consider this place home, and we had ourselves a nice little weekend.

goshen was, and always will be, a sure sign that summer has arrived.

(from left: whitney, laine, heather, me!)

(whit creepin on the neighbors)

(typical day on the dock)

welcome, summer.

32 years

last week, my amazing parents passed another milestone: 32 years of marriage.

how much cuter does it get? these two met in a business school class at NYU, my mom lied about her age, my dad seriously burned his mouth on a chinese food hot pepper during a date, and the rest is history. i believe they got engaged after 6 months of dating which seems unbelievable, but obviously that means nothing since they beat the odds. 

so cheers to you Sal and Bill Val - you deserve all the hugs, laughter, and joys that the rest of your lives together have to offer. 

you are so loved.