Congratulations to the newlyweds!

If I had to choose between living in the mountains or by the beach, I would choose the beach. Who can live without hearing the crashing of waves? Or seeing the never-ending view of the ocean stretching out to the sky? The scent of salt and the sound of water lapping up on shore never cease to calm and comfort me.

When you see Andrea and Cristina together, you wonder how the right to marry could be denied to two people who love each other and are so entirely committed to each other. Andrea and Cristina live in Maryland. Same sex marriage isn’t legal there. But earlier this year, it looked like it might become legal. On the day the Maryland House of Delegates was voting on a same sex marriage proposal, Andrea and Cristina visited a potential wedding site in Maryland. The went in giddy that marriage would soon be legal for them. They left the site disappointed that the same sex marriage proposal had been left to die.

This incredibly upbeat and funny couple regrouped and decided they would marry in Washington, D.C. Same sex marriage became legal here last year. But where to hold the ceremony? Andrea and Cristina’s friend Gillian lives in a beautiful home in Washington, D.C., so they asked if they could hold their wedding there. Gillian (who’s also my friend) was incredibly touched by their request. Of course she said, “Yes!” And that’s how I came to find myself at Gillian’s last night, photographing one of the most emotional weddings I’ve ever attended. Everyone cried. And I do mean everyone. Including me.

Congratulations, Andrea and Cristina!

I threw my mom’s surprise birthday party at the beginning of May. Organizing this from afar was quite a task.

First, I had to lie to my Mom and tell her I couldn’t escape from DC for the weekend to celebrate a banner year birthday with her. In truth, I woke up early on a Saturday morning, drove down to Newport News and spent the morning of her party day picking up food from KFC, Domino’s and Mona Restaurant, a Korean restaurant that agreed to cater the bash even though they normally don’t serve such small parties. My sister and brother-in-law brought the cake and drinks.

Then, my Dad and I worked together to invite people to the party. Dad focused on church friends and I focused on Korean friends, many of whom don’t speak English. Ah, finally putting my hard-earned language skills to use for the first time in a while! I ended up leaving funny voicemails for almost everyone because no one picked up their phones. Luckily, enough people got the message and showed up.

Finally, I had to decide where to have the party. I haven’t lived in my hometown in a while and I’ve definitely never thrown a party there. I settled on the Virginia Living Museum, my niece’s favorite place to see her fishy friends Nemo and Dori (as well as furry and flying friend such as owls). Jennifer Turlington, the museum’s events coordinator, was wonderful in helping secure a party space and even coming up with the ruse for bringing my mom to the museum: why not have my Dad tell my Mom he was taking her to a flower show there? Not to knock my Dad too hard here, but I was suspicious my Mom would fall for this lie since flower shows aren’t exactly my Dad’s thing. Nevertheless, it worked. Jennifer posted a volunteer at the museum entrance. My Dad went up to the volunteer and said, “We’re here for the flower show,” which were the magic words for the volunteer to lead my parents through a side entrance, then down a path, then into a building, then down a hall into a classroom filled with all of us. Surprise!

The look on my Mom’s face was fantastic! She later said she wondered why she was being led to a “flower show” in a classroom in a building. She also said this was the best birthday she ever had.

August’s 8th birthday party in the beginning of June was a maelstrom of laughing, screaming, sugared-up kids exacerbated by a thunderstorm that led to much indoor horseplay and rowdiness. At the end, when everyone was gone and Eun and Marty were sweeping up and wiping down after their son’s celebration, they said, “See? No one ever tells you about THIS part of being a parent!” Haha! Those two crack me up.

Eun started out as my Asian American Journalists Association journalism mentor over 12 years ago. Over time we’ve become good friends to the point that I feel I’m a part of the Van Der Kim family: Eun, Marty, August and Reid (my godson). So I was thrilled to be at her 40th birthday party in mid July. The best part of the night? When Eun’s sisters-in-law appeared at the front door – they flew in from Arizona to surprise her!

(My mom patiently waited 20 minutes while I waited for the moment above to happen so I could photograph it. Oh, what is it like to have a child so intensely interested in something you don’t care about as much? Thanks, Mom!)

Assisi was by far my favorite stop on the Catholic Extravaganza Tour with my mom. The city is a landscape photographer’s dream: untouched by modern architecture, filled with winding medieval walkways and perched on a hilltop overlooking a vast, green valley. The city’s main draw is St. Francis Basilica, the 13th-century UNESCO World Heritage site that’s the final resting place for St. Francis, who founded the Franciscans. Walking around this old town I could imagine Francis and his followers (including St. Clare, or Santa Chiara, as she’s called in Italian) spreading the Gospel, much to the consternation of some family and friends.

Most everything in Assisi closed by 7 PM, so Mom and I had plenty of time to relax. For me, that meant attending vespers, taking pictures and wandering around. For mom, that meant attending vespers or evening services at one of the half-dozen churches. Mom and I wondered how such a small city – the population is about 3,000 – could support so many churches. Do they not have the priest shortage problem we have in the US? Or is the fact that Assisi is such a global tourist destination enough for the diocese there to keep all the Assisi churches well-manned?

One of the most pleasing and surprising parts of our Assisi visit was our stay at St. Anthony’s Guest House, which is run by Franciscans (of course). I booked a room only a couple days before we arrived, expecting something a step above a hostel. Indeed, the place was sparsely furnished but oh-so comfortable, friendly and pleasant. Every morning they woke up the guests for breakfast by pumping soft classical music over the speaker system. When I visit Assisi again I’ll definitely be sleeping at St. Anthony’s.

St. Francis Basilica

The start of my obsession with Santa Chiara plaza.

Santa Chiara Church, which I consider to be the most gorgeous of the many churches in Assisi.

Flags hanging from a building near Santa Chiara plaza

Assisi as seen from Rocca Maggiore, the hilltop fortress.

Playing with light in Santa Chiara plaza.

Even the grass near a parking lot was beautiful!

This was the start of my obsession with beautiful door knockers

Tourists sitting on a wall outside St. Francis Basilica

Mom standing in a perfect ring of light in Assisi.

Assisi is the home of St. Francis, founder of the Franciscans, known for wearing sandals

Red flowers like these hang everywhere in Assisi.

Sunset at Santa Chiara plaza

Doesn’t my Mom look so cute in this picture? This is as close* as she and I got to famous Paris monuments during what I’ve dubbed our “Catholic Extravaganza Tour,” a 2+ week adventure through pilgrimage sites in France, Italy and Germany. At this point in the journey – the beginning, that is – my Mom was still oh-so willing to let me photograph her. By the end, she was tired of her personal paparazzi. But hey! She now has some of the most awesome and candid vacation shots ever. I’ll be sharing more of them over the next couple weeks.

*We had planned to use our five-hour layover in Paris to venture into the city for lunch. But Air France didn’t cooperate with us. Our flight left DC late and we had just enough time in Paris to transfer from one airport to another, where we caught our next flight.

Playing outside with my niece on a warm spring day – what could be more fun?