Summer update

 I seriously CAN NOT believe the summer is almost over.  This time next week both my kids will be in their classrooms.  Crazy.  I'm not sure if the cool weather was a contributor, or the fact that we have been extremely busy, but it seems like there should be another month left before school, not a mere 7 days.


The first big event of the summer was Lisa and Dave's wedding.  A highlight for Emily, to be sure.  First time as a flower girl.  She loved every minute of it.  The dress, the hair, the throwing of the petals.  Justin and I were the MCs, so between getting Emily ready, ourselves ready, and making sure we didn't forget anything, we did not get a picture of the 4 of us together.  But we'll all be dressed up again this weekend, so maybe we can make it happen when....

 This lovely lady gets married :)

 Tim's mom and I threw a shower for Lauren at the beginning of July.  We wanted to do one big combined shower of both families and friends, so we prayed for a nice evening to have it outside.  The weather was perfect and the evening went very well.  I forgot to take pictures of all the decorations (I really am not great at remembering to take pictures!) but you can see a bit of the decor in these few photos. 

Every Tuesday we headed out to the soccer fields where Jacob played soccer.  He was SO excited for his first practice.  He liked it all year, but by the time the last few practices rolled around we really had to convince him to go.  But he had fun and we're glad we signed him  up.

 Aunt Jill and Toby came out to watch one of the games.

On August 11th Jacob turned 4.  We had two parties.  Of course on the day of his friend's party it poured all morning so the kids were stuck inside.  A little face paint helped take away the disappointment

Family party with my side

Multi-tasking:  eating a homemade cookie from great grandma and opening gifts :)

 Jacob started to love lego this year, so we put in a special request in the gift department.

 A Yoshi cake made my Aunt Jill.  He loved it.

 Emily attended Make Much Music camp at our church lead by Joan.  Joan teaches music lessons, sewing, weaving, and probably anything else you asked her to teach you!!  Emily LOVED it and the parents were very impressed with their week end performance.  Here she is getting her certificate from Joan.

 These two girls became inseparable over the last few months.  They are from the same mold, let me tell you. They find each other hysterical (when no one else does!) and come up with the craziest games and ideas.  It will be so interesting to watch them grow up together.

This weekend we are celebrating Tim and Lauren's wedding.  Emily gets to be a flower girl again, I am an attendant, and Justin is a co-MC.  So hopefully we can all get to where we need to be on time and be presentable.

On July 1st, I threw my back out while bending over to sweep up a pile of dirt.  I couldn't move much the first week or so and once my back began to heal, my leg started to hurt.  Since then I have had terrible sciatica pain caused by either a hemorrhaged disc or just some general back problem in my sacroiliac area.  My family doctor who prescribed some meds, a chiropractor, and a massage therapist did not help.  I made an appointment with an osteopath and after a month long waiting time I finally found some relief.  The pain relief is not 100% and only lasts for a short time, but it is helping.  I'm hoping that after a few more treatments my bones and muscles will start to stay in the correct placement and the relief will be more substantial and last longer.
But compared to the suffering of many others I know, sciatic pain is really nothing. I am still functioning and able to do most daily tasks.  I am grateful that this will go away in time.

So that's our summer so far. Lots of good memories made and still more to come.