Birthdays and weddings.....

Whew. Busy weekend. We celebrated Luke's birthday on Thursday night just with my folks, because they were the only ones in town. I didn't have the energy to plan a big party with kiddie friends- plus my cousin's wedding was the weekend and the boys were in it so it was smart to lay low.

My little guy has just grown up so fast and I can't believe he is already 3. He wanted a CARS birthday, so this past week, I was excited to have the opportunity to make a cake..... and he was very impressed. Not that they would really care what it looked like. Let's be real- a cake is a cake to a 3 yr old. But I enjoyed it.

Ian picked out a little Lighting McQueen for him and it was a huge ordeal trying to get him to understand that he didn't get to pick out a toy for himself as well. Then of course- he wanted to play with Luke's new toy all night, since we preach about sharing 24/7. The world through the eyes of a child, must be so complex....His new bike from Grandma Lynn and Papa Tony....

CARS movie from Grandma Linda and Papa Larry....

Then Friday started the wedding marathon. The boys were the ring bearers and just convincing them to do it was a challenge. They are reaching their summer limit and are ready for the school start-up routine and better naps, etc. So, I was a bit stressed as to what this was going to look like. Especially having a newborn to manage through the whole thing. Fortunately, I had my folks, and an incredible husband, plus the help and understanding of everyone in the wedding...We decided to tell them they would earn a new transformer if they did their important job and did it well all weekend. (rehearsal, pictures, waiting for it to start and the wedding itself...) We pushed through it and they were troopers. Ian wanted a new Starscream (transformer) because his is broken. He was SO excited to get it and did an amazing job walking down the aisle. He met Dad in his seat at the front of the church, only to find that somewhere in the transition of opening the package and getting it ready at the front- Starscream was missing an arm. Awesome. Of course Ian was devastated. I don't think he made much of a scene, but we quickly realized having them sit at the front of the church would steal the thunder of the wedding for sure. I escorted them out....

Here are a few pics I managed. We're working on "natural smiles"....

My cousin was a beautiful bride and the wedding was wonderful. Congrats!!!

We tried family pictures- but we all know how that goes...

Today is my last day of summer. Tomorrow I show up at 8 for a training. I am taking Libby with me this week. Students don't come until next Tuesday. It will be a crazy week. It will actually be easier next week when school starts. Although our home life will be hectic. She is getting so big. Jer and I both saw her smile last night. I can't wait until she interacts with us more. I should use this last nap time to get our house/life into the best order it can be, recovering from such an eventful weekend and headed into another one.