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Oh goodness, I don't really want to write about this day.  I think as far as all Kennedys are involved, we would like to completely forget that this day ever happened.  However, it's good to remember that the bad makes us appreciate the good, right? The day started off with a bang.  I was upstairs, ready to come down, thinking, "Gosh, I wish Hannie would make us breakfast," when within minutes, Allison and Mark walked through the back hall door with groceries in hand, ready to make breakfast!  And it was our favorite Kennedy kind of breakfast:  blini with fresh fruit, bacon and sausage.  Oh so good.  I will admit that it has been such a treat having the kids cooking over the weekend.  It's just so nice not to eat my food all the time (and not need to prepare every meal either). Then, it was picture time.  We need a Kennedy family picture for the Christmas card, and this was the one day to make it happen.  Unfortunately, I was three d...

THIS was the day I was most excited about in the grand scheme of Thanksgiving.  I had planned it out myself, and it was pretty much my most perfect day.  Minus the necessary driving.  And an exciting addition was Allison who had never been to Philly before this! Getting our entire family to the temple at any given time is proving difficult as everyone grows up and moves away.  Either someone inconveniently lives out in Utah and spends most of her life there, or some other persons decide it would be fun to have a baby so they have to tag-team it, or someone else is frequently on call, or someone else has decided that concerts and rehearsals take top priority.  Yep, it's not always easy.  (I would like to point out that I am always completely available...) So, the idea of having everyone at home and under my rule of thumb made me happy indeed.  And what better way to spend time together than in the Philadelphia temple, a temple that nobody but my...

I love Thanksgiving.  It feels like a sampler of what life will be just a few short weeks afterwards.  Mark calls it a "teaser", and he doesn't have as good of feelings about the three weeks that bridge Thanksgiving and Christmas.  However, when you don't have children at home most of the time, three weeks feels like a small price to pay to have everyone home two separate times within a month of each other.  I love how all the Kennedys ducklings return home to the roost.  Or is it a lake?  What a blessing to have everyone together again. A blessing for our Thanksgiving this year was having Allison with us.  She's become such an integral part of our family now that I actually can't imagine a holiday without her (although we'll find out what it's like this coming Christmas).  She brings a smile and happiness along with some pretty amazing food, so she's a joy to have around. This Thanksgiving, another family member was joining us too.  Baby...

Oh happy day!  November 19, 2016 will always be a happy day in the Kennedy annals.  It was Allison's baptism day. We had been fasting and praying for her for months.  So much fasting and so much praying.  I honestly never knew how much I could care about someone who is investigating the church.  I wanted to take her hand and lead her down the path...or maybe I wanted more to pile every bit of knowledge and faith that I've acquired over 40 years in the church onto her and force her to see how wonderful it is.  However, it was a study in free agency, that's for sure.  And trusting that the Spirit can work. She had such a great team of support in the sister missionaries and Mark that the rest of us were really just bench players.  However, we gave everything we could to her to let her know that we cared and that we supported her. What a testimony it is to Allison and her own faith that she made the decision to be baptized.  I believe sever...

The morning of Allison's baptism, the Kennedys were busy running off the stress of life, and enjoying the last few moments of Fall. Ethan, Mark and Rebecca signed up for a Turkey Trot in Dexter, Michigan.  Rebecca signed up for the 10K, and the boys signed up for the 15K aka "the Iron Turkey".  This was quite momentous for Rebecca, seeing as she's never run that far a distance.  For the boys, it was just a run in the park (get it?  see what I did there? #punny). Little did any of us know how it would all play out. The boys showed up for their start time, thinking that they would just run 9 miles, but it was actually a split run.  They ran the 5K with anyone who was running the 5K, and then they waited for the 10K to start.  This wouldn't normally be a problem, except while waiting (in their damp, sweaty clothes), it started SNOWING.  Like horizontally, blowing snow.  So they started getting really chilled.  I mean, the rest of us, spect...

This is going to sound cliche, but I can't live without shelter.  If it's too hot outside, I want to be in the cool.  If it's too cold, I want to be where it's warm.  Too, I want to be in a place without bugs or dirt.  I like shelter. One of my favorite shelters harkens back again to Tallahassee (no wonder it's "my happy place").  My grandparents had a screened-in back porch that ran the length of their home.  The screen was necessary considering the population of mosquitos in northern Florida (although it didn't deter the lizards from getting in).  In the corner of the porch hung a wicker, egg-shaped swing chair, and above it hung a ceiling fan.  One of my favorite parts of the day was to head out to that swing (on that porch), turn on the fan, and read.  It was like being outside without the bugs and heat.  I loved that porch. I guess it really comes down to feeling comfortable.  I can't really relax if I don't feel comfortabl...

Dishwasher:  I never fully appreciate my dishwasher until I'm stuck renting a place without one.  There is something that drives me crazy about a sink full of dirty dishes, followed by a counter covered with drying dishes.  I guess if the process all happened at once (dishes washed immediately after eating, followed by someone drying them and putting them back in the cupboard), I'd be okay without a dishwasher, but it never does.  There's something satisfying to me about "storing" my dirty dishes in the dishwasher until it's full and I can press the START button, and then "storing" my clean dishes in there until I can get around to unloading them. Hair dryer:  My life wouldn't be complete without a hair dryer.  Seeing as I have naturally frizzy/curly hair, when I'm without a hair dryer (which I use to straighten my unkempt hair), I feel like a walking mop.  Plus, I don't always have the fortitude to wake up 3-4 hours before I need to be...

In a general sense, cats are probably my favorite animal.  I've had them since I was born (literally, there are pictures of cats sleeping in my crib with me), and now that everyone is gone during the day, they are good company. The octopus is probably my favorite animal otherwise.  They are intelligent and solitary and just awesome all around.  (If you want to see their awesomeness up close, just search "octopus opening jar" or "octopus coconut shell". There's nothing like seeing one change colors as it tries to escape our torches.  When we dive, and when we find one, I would be happy using the rest of my air just watching it. Markio: Definitely Raccoons. If you've ever read the story of Rascal, by Sterling North, you know just how cute they can be with sugar lumps and milk jugs, stolen pennies and diamond rings, or hunting for crawfish(: Being a tactile creature myself, I think I like the way Raccoons experience the world around them by touch. If...

I always think that the latest vacation I've taken is the best vacation, and seeing as we don't have many "bad" vacations, it makes sense.  However, there are two that stand out: Iceland.  I know, I know.  It's really the most recent vacation I've taken, but on the scale of "where would you most like to return", Iceland is the top locale. Alaska.  Back in 2003, I took a two-week live-aboard adventure with National Geographic Expeditions with my mom  along the passage that connects Seattle with Juneau, Alaska.  While things were dicey with my mom, the trip itself was one of those trips-of-a-lifetime.  The boat only held 40 or so people, plus the crew, so we were able to visit islands that larger boats couldn't.  And we had the chance to kayak around the islands, or hike over them, most of which didn't hold any residents...well, except the furry brown kind.  It was remote, and raw, and beautiful.  And every night, I would come back to ...

I am so thankful that when my grandmother died, I was able to get a few pieces of her furniture.  My favorite piece is what she called the "Chinese cabinet".  I'm not sure it is so much Chinese, seeing as she bought it when she lived in Thailand, but it is what it is.  It's really beautiful on the outside with hand-painted decoration and inlaid wood, and the inside is lined in velvet.  My grandmother used to keep her silver in it, so anytime we had people for dinner (which was honestly almost nightly), I would fish what we needed from the drawers. I love it too because I realize that I design my own house after my grandmother's taste.  She had traveled the world with my granddad compliments of the Air Force, and she collected furniture from every place she lived.  None of it "matched" per se, but it was so eclectic, that it all worked.  I've tried to do the same thing, and it seems to be working out okay. The reason I love the Chinese cabinet the...

I think everybody in the Kennedy family can agree that some of our happiest memories together are from our summers at Interlochen. For me at least, between the music and beaches and lakes and campfires and good food and sun and the camp experience, it all just coagulates into one big feeling of pure joy. Knowing too that if I was at Interlochen, I was free from school definitely promoted that good feeling. It's not quite the same, (in a different, but maybe even better way?) but two weekends ago I got to go with Allison to Sleeping Bear Dunes again! We drove up to Northern Michigan originally for a regatta we were coaching, but figured if we drove up early, we could enjoy hiking the dunes without a ton of people around. Of course, as any self-respecting frequent visitor of Northern Michigan should, I had hiked the dunes before. That experience though was something in and of itself... I'm not quite sure why, but it was just me, Glo and Daddy. Already that makes f...

Post a picture, or share your thoughts about something new: A new bed.  Over the past year, John and I have gone all out, and upgraded our bed to the best.  Honestly, I don't think it gets much nicer than the bed we have now.  A new headboard and footboard from Pottery Barn, and a memory foam mattress.  We have spent most of our lives, grunting our way out of bed in the morning, suffering from allergy issues and back problems, but those are things of the past.  We now happily look forward to going to sleep in our king-sized bed and waking up refreshed.  Hmm.  Maybe it's time for a nap.... Something new I always like is a new car.  I do not like paying for a new car and often our new cars are actually new to us but used by someone else, but it is always fun to have a new car.  I have happy memories of buying our first sienna van in Germany, my little volvo in Germany, our yellow honda s2000, the monte carlo when we bought it, mommy's volvo...

Holy smokes, 27 years!  I can hardly believe John and I have been married that long, and yet I'm so thankful that we've had that long to be together. John and I took full advantage of the fact that it was Veterans' Day (as it always is on our anniversary), and hit up all the restaurants that we could for free food.  Honestly, eating out is one of our favorite activities anyway, so why not spend our anniversary doing what we love to do? First stop?  AZKABAN!  Sorry.  Just kidding. Our first stop was TGI Friday's (after seeing the almost hour-long wait at Texas Roadhouse).  Burgers were what was offered, so burgers were what we ate.  Glo joined us after getting out of school and had wings. Next?  Sweet Frog's.  Hmmmm, there's nothing like frozen yogurt topped with fresh fruit and chocolate. Honeybaked Ham was offering a free sandwich, so John got one to go.  Don't think though that I didn't want to go in and get my own, see...