If it seems like I'm always going to Glasgow -- city o' my birth -- it's probably because I've now been three times within the past year. That's more than I've ever been since I left 27 years ago. In October, Chris and I took my niece Rebecca back with us so she could meet her great grandma for the first time. That trip was such a hit that we hatched a plan to take my sister Jane, her husband Bill, Rebecca and her sister Olivia over for my grandma's 90th birthday in May. However, the girl's school schedule made that tricky. So Chris and I went in May and attended the wedding of my oldest childhood friend and celebrated my grandma's birthday, albeit a tad early. And we surprised Grandma with the news that we'd return in August with the whole gang. My sister hasn't been back since we left decades ago, nor had she seen our grandma in 15 years and my grandma hadn't yet met her other great-granddaughter Olivia. How's that for a lot of familial plotting?
In fact, it truly was a family affair to get the whole gang overseas earlier this month. It involved the donation of frequent flier miles from my father and my brother and hours of Chris' problem-solving to try to coordinate flights, etc. A Herculean task, really. And it all came off without a hitch. Well, unless you count major delays and much headache for the Browns (my sister's family) on the way there. Otherwise, a grand and completely exhausting adventure.
Following are a few posts chronicling our trip, mostly through photos.