Over the past few months the team has been taking lots of trips around the country and beyond, some for work, some for family, and some for leisure. In May, Kathleen spent a couple of weeks in Oregon helping her sister, Carolyn, prepare for her wedding. With all the flurry of activity that wedding planning can bring, she still managed to have time to explore Portland and have quality time with her sister and future brother-in-law, Omar.

We as a team wanted to hear more about her time there! Here is Kathleen to answer questions about her recent trip…

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KAREN:

 Describe your relationship with your sister growing up.

We shared a room growing  up…need I say more? Haha..we definitely fought a lot as kids. Out of all my four siblings, we probably fought the most. But somewhere in our teenage years, we started to value each other and became close friends. Someday we’re going to have a house across the lake from each other. Thats the plan.
How do you see your sister and her husband being a good match?

They do everything together and talk about everything. They put each other ahead of themselves and are building a life of togetherness, headed in the same direction. They take care of each other and they just ‘get’ each other. It’s beautiful to see. Last Christmas, I asked Omar for gift ideas for Carolyn and he gave me a long list of things that were perfect for her – both things she would want and/or need. Things that she never even thought of for herself. It was really sweet to see how well he knew her.

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ANDREA:

Were there any moments during the wedding day that made you tear up?

There were many, but one in particular stands out – they were about to head out, and I was hugging them goodbye, and there were no more words left to say, we just hugged, hearts so full, knowing that God is so good and He was and is here with us and has blessed us and we are so grateful.

Was there dancing at the wedding…are you a good dancer?

I’m a terrible dancer, but oh…we danced :) We salsa’d, box stepped, and even did a little (I’m embarrassed to say) gangnam style. But my favorite dance was one I watched. There’s this tradition where you tack a little money to the bride’s veil (or the groom’s jacket) for a turn to dance with them. It warmed my heart to see my traditional Lancaster county family fight over dancing not just with Carolyn, but with Omar too.

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CHAR:

Tell me about one of your favorite local cafes/restaurants you visited!

There’s a place called ‘County Cork’ that Darren (my husband) and I go to every time we’re in Portland. It’s a small local Irish Pub and it was the very first restaurant we ate at in Portland when we helped Carolyn move there two years ago. It sounds strange, but they have the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had. It’s out of this world.

I love nature! How does Portland’s landscape compare to Lancaster?

I remember the first time I visited Portland with Carolyn to check out the college being struck by how green everything was – even in March. The rolling hills and lush green landscape reminds me a little of Lancaster. Just replace all the farmland with city. And then there’s this big beautiful river in the middle of the city. Everywhere we went, we were going over soaring bridges that gave you a gorgeous view of the city. I loved that.

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GRACE:

What inspired you most about Portland?

Every time I’m there, I’m so inspired by the health and environmentally conscious lifestyle. Everyone recycles. Even the homeless guy. There are bike lanes and public transportation everywhere. The grocery store chains carry everything that we have to go to a health food store for and there are organic/local food cafe’s on every street corner.

Could you ever live there?

 My sister lives there…so YES! Of course!

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JUSTINE:

 How many years apart are you and your sister? 

Two and a half years.

What is your favorite thing to do with your sister?

We love to find a cozy local cafe, grab a cup of coffee, and talk about life. Life’s problem’s are just never too big when you have a sister to help you solve them, laugh at yourself, and have faith for you when you just don’t anymore. When you grow up with someone, there are just things that you get about each other without having to talk about it. That’s really nice.

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ANNA: 

Who was the most interesting (unforgettable) person you encountered and why?

We were cleaning up after the wedding and there was this really friendly, super-skinny guy with bad teeth that I didn’t recognize running around being one of the most helpful people there, so I asked him how he knows my sister. He said he didn’t. ‘Okay, then how do you know Omar?’ He didn’t know him either. He claimed to be a friend of a friend of a brother. I guess he heard there was a party, so he showed up. (Which is very Portland culture apparently) And then he stayed to clean up. He made me smile.
What was your part in the wedding?

Oh my…where to start….aside from all the sisterly/maid of honor sorts of things that I had part in I also did Carolyn’s makeup and helped do her hair. I don’t claim to be a makeup expert by any means, but Carolyn knew exactly what she wanted, and with lots of instructions and recommendations from Grace (yes, the CHAR team stylist!) we managed to create the flawless, soft look Carolyn was wanting. I honestly felt that after spending a half hour with Grace teaching me a few makeup basics, I learned more than I had picked up in my entire lifetime of makeup experimentation. It was so nice to be at Carolyn’s side throughout the day, helping her get ready, and watching her nerves calm and excitement grow with each passing moment.

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Sigh…now I want to visit Portland!

So what about you, where are you traveling this summer??