Scottish wedding recap

Last September we flew to Scotland to attend my brother's wedding. Aye, he married a Scottish lass.
It was the best wedding I've ever been to besides possibly my own...
Picture this: green rolling hills, fluffy sheep, mostly sunny (that's the best you can hope for really), bridesmaid dresses to die for, a barn for the reception, fake mustaches and Scottish folk dancing.
Oh yes, and some less than sober Scottish relatives with hilarious stories to tell.

Can it be beat? I dare not say.

But I must say that it was one of the happiest and proudest days of my life, to witness my brother step up to the plate and commit to a lovely woman for time and all eternity.

Saving dolphins and Hollywood mingle

I love weekend trips.
This weekend trip was the first without Lois. Still woke up at night when she would have woken me up normally. Typical.
Stayed in Santa Monica. Lovely place. Joggers are out bright and early, bums sleep under streetlights, and places to eat are open most of the night. Won a giant stuffed animal on the Santa Monica pier at the ring toss booth. Fair and square.


If you've never seen the academy award winning documentary The Cove you should. It's heart wrenching and eye opening. We where invited to a fundraiser/benefit event for Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.
I gotta say, rich/famous people are fun. And weird. In a fun way. Mostly.
After finally settling on what to wear (scared of being too dressed up or too dressed down) I started to get excited to meet Ric. Soft spoken and gentle in his demeanor he thanked me for coming as I thanked him for being a champion for creatures who cannot defend themselves against humans. Remarkable man with a remarkable life story.


Of course some of the typical women where there. 50+ giant blond hair type, 40+ too much facial surgery type, 60+ loud colorful activist extraordinaire type, 30+ tall blond ex-model type.. and so on and so forth. Stereotypes come from somewhere in every culture I'm afraid.


There were some familiar faces there as was expected but some less than others and I found myself trying to place people to remember where I'd seen them before. Impossible. 
I talked to some actress for 10 minutes about art and had no idea who she was until just now when I saw her face on IMBD... Slightly embarrassing in retrospect.


I was standing in a doorway when the (then unbeknownst to me) senior producer of The Bachelor/ette told me I had "good hair" and asked if that was a weird thing to say to a person. I told him it might have been weird had he patted my head at the same time and then I said that I though he had a good beard. He thanked me and mingled on.


There was a Swedish (of course) male model there who I recognized but again couldn't place. I said soccer player. Kimball said surfer.


The soccer player guess came around again for a French fashion photographer who looked Moorish. I was a little bit afraid of him (as would you be!) after having made eye contact a couple of times. Spent the rest of the time trying to avoid him until I accidentally backed into him while trying to get out of the way for someone passing by. Luckily two girls came out of nowhere and started talking to him so I could hide again. Odd moment.


Sophia Bush. Abigail Spencer. Jillian Michaels. Michelle Rodriguez. 
Michelle was the DJ, having philosophical conversations with people while mixing tunes and drinking something clearly pretty strong... Nice gal though.


Wish I could have seen Kelly Slater but he wasn't there.


All in all, it just goes to show that people are just people no matter where they are in the world and as far as I could tell these people were generally good people trying to do the right thing by supporting a friend and a cause.


The dolphin hunting is on a slow but steady decrease as the demand for dolphins and other sea mammals is becoming less and less due to the documentary and raised awareness.


Way to go Team Dolphin!

Mahalo and I'm coming back.

Hawaii is DREAMY. 


The smell of damp earth, plants and flowers.
The tickling smell of roasted something or other.
The chatter and humor of polynesian people.
The rain and rainbows.
The lush green Jurassic Park forests.
The art and craftsmanship of locals.
The turtles and birds.
The waves of the incredibly blue ocean.
The sharp volcanic rock.
The sharp warm winds.
The humid air and warm temperature.


When can we move?

                                    

I truly believe.

Is it just me, or are there more still borns, early terminations, extreme pre-mees and miscarriages around you too than ever before?


Is it because I have a child myself that I'm suddenly acutely aware of the painful side of childbearing, namely the loss of one so dearly wished, expected and hoped for?


This past year it seems like there have been so many sad news from friends and family, the latest one being today were a father proclaimed on Facebook that his wife is now back to having only one heart beat and he thanks everyone for their love and well wishes.
Just a couple of weeks ago a dear friend lost her son in labor after a complete, full term pregnancy.
He had a name, a nursery and a family anxious to meet him.


I want to cry.
I don't know what I would do if it were me.
I hope it's never me.
But at this rate, I can't say "That will never be me".


I feel almost guilty for having a beautiful, healthy baby while others suffer through the pain of loss.
I want to hide her so that she won't remind anyone of what they lost.


Why? WHY?? I ask myself. 
But then I realized something that I'm sure has occurred to more people than just me.


With the knowledge that I have of this world, this life and our Father in heaven and his plan I've come to the conclusion that these sad events are indeed signs of our time. 
The return of the Savior of the world is close.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we understand the sad things in life with a perspective most people don't have. We believe we will see our loved ones again, that our children will always belong to us, and that hope is never lost.
Our children that were taken too soon where meant for other things, greater things beyond this world. That they do have a mission to accomplish, a purpose to fulfill. 
I don't have all the right answers nor do I claim to know all things, but this I do trust: the Lord has a plan for all his children.
It's not destiny, it's not fate. It was predetermined as we proved loyal to His plan as it was presented before the beginning of time. We were foreordained to be who we are because we already were somebody before we came here and we will continue to be somebody when we pass beyond the veil of death.


To those who do not share my belief, all I can say is, each person must find truth in their own life. It's their duty and privilege to acquire knowledge so that they may make informed decisions for themselves. They owe it to themselves to explore ALL possibilities. 


But no matter who you are or what you believe,
this IS truth and I will stand for it and trust it now more than ever:
That God is real, a Father in heaven that DOES care, that does know our hearts and that He can indeed speak to us as we are willing to listen. That He yearns for us to return to Him because he loves us.


That Jesus Christ was no mere mortal, that he is the Son of God, the risen Lord, the conquerer of life and death. The only Begotten who gave his life to save ours.


That this life is our time to be tested and tried as we choose between good and evil, between what is popular/politically correct and what is righteous, between a love of the worldly and a love of our Savior.


If it is my lot in life to experience the pain of loss of a loved daughter or son, I will not despair for their sake. All I can do is my very best to deserve to have that child again, to deserve to return to my Father and to deserve the blessings that God is waiting to pour down on me by staying faithful to the One that gave me life and those lives that I will bear as my children.


Those around me that have suffered the excruciating loss of a child have borne it so well, with so much dignity, power and love. Their examples mean the world to me as their faith is stronger than ever, because faith must and will always endure.