It’s June, which can only mean one thing. Time for the annual O’Brien vacation to the ICU. It’s not exactly the Caribbean. Instead of beach chairs we have wire frame chairs. Instead of steel drum music, we have beeps from the vitals monitor.
This father’s day, I am reminded once again how lucky I am to be able to spend it with my dad. When I first saw him before his surgery, I did let him know that in the future it really may be easier if he just asks me to come home instead of creating some elaborate medical emergency. Continue reading »
We were still enjoying the excitement of my brother’s engagement on Saturday as we started to get ready for the main reason my family came into town…Grace’s baptism.
As is typical with two kids, planning isn’t always easy and we found ourselves running around trying to get everyone ready and out the door. My suit was pressed, tie was the correct length, I had other clothes to change into for my show immediately following, but one thing was missing.
My parent’s and sister arrived a few hours after Nolin’s school performance. This would be the beginning of an event packed Memorial Day Weekend for our family.
Friday morning we went to Winter Park to walk around and then eat lunch, but we had a hard deadline to be back at our house by 2:30 pm. My brother had created an elaborate scheme to ask his girlfriend Valentina to marry him at her school in front of her class and in front of us via Facetime.
At one point there was going to be a fire alarm involved and I could only imagine that this had potential to go horribly wrong all while we sat in amazement watching via computer screen.
We got everything set up, but unfortunately the connection kept freezing a lot, so we could only make out portions of the exchange. That didn’t stop my mom from crying the entire time. As he was asking the kids if they could do anything in the world right now (Stop the sun from exploding, jump off a cliff and stop global warming were a few of the answers) he came over to Nolin and asked him. Nolin simply replied…I want Uncle Happy to be happy!
Perfect segway into the proposal. Only problem the camera froze right after that. Next thing we saw was a lot of commotion and screaming. I hope she didn’t run away was all my mom could say.
But alas everything turned out great and we are very excited to welcome Valentina into our family.
As Nolin is getting older we are just beginning to approach the next phase of parenthood…school plays, sporting events, etc. It offers the opportunity to experience extreme enjoyment watching your child achieve something and also great anxiety as they find their way.
Thursday the 23rd, was the last day of Nolin’s first year in school. Again, I can’t describe what a great experience this has been watching all of the kids in Nolin’s class grow up over the year. There have been numerous art projects, hilarious daily update letters from his teachers, and tons of new songs to add to Nolin’s repertoire. Continue reading »
We pulled up to the airport and I said goodbye to my sister and parents as they made their way back to Virginia. For some, I guess, this could have actually been the start to the best week ever, but it was actually the ending to a few very action packed and memorable weeks for me.
So although this is slightly out-of-order, we are going to go back before Nolin’s birthday to a Homecoming of sorts. It was Grace’s first flight and my first attempt at flying solo with two kids. The adventure didn’t disappoint. Continue reading »
It’s June, which can only mean one thing. Time for the annual O’Brien vacation to the ICU. It’s not exactly the Caribbean. Instead of beach chairs we have wire frame chairs. Instead of steel drum music, we have beeps from the vitals monitor.
