September?

To quote a friend on FB, "where did August go?  I swear I had it around here somewhere..."  How true is that statement?  Although, when you leave for half of it, I guess it goes by pretty quickly.  Leaving for the last two weeks of August proved to be a very smart thing to do because here in Katy, the temperature was around 105 degrees for almost that whole period of time.  During our two week adventure, not only did my brother marry my amazing new sister-in-law Liz, but Rylan is now less than one month away from being FOUR, and Callie Jae turned 6 months old...momma is feeling old :). 

We had an amazing time on our adventure up north.  It began visiting my very best friend Katie in Ohio.  Rylan and Ashlyn played hard for 2.5 days straight, Callie Jae and Ben did their baby thing of eating, sleeping, and a little playing (Ben tried to pull off Callie Jae's ear ;)), and Katie and I stayed up late to the wee hours of the morning doing what best friends do best...talking and sharing our lives with each other.  I really do not think that two people could be more alike.  We think the same, have very similar tastes, both have children the same age, both love being moms, have extremely hard working husbands, and people have even mentioned that we look similar.  I love her to pieces and am extremely lucky and blessed to have her in my life.  I hope one day we will be able to be closer to each other, but if not, we will always pick up right where we left off.

The second lag of our trip took us Up North to my parent's place in Northern Michigan.  I don't know what it is about Up North, but I get a feeling that I have never gotten anywhere else.  There is a sense of peace and serenity about the Leelanau Peninsula and it definitely deserves "the most beautiful place in the country" award (according to Good Morning America).  Rylan had a blast playing with his cousin and was so tired on a couple of occasions that he was seriously delirious.  They played long and hard most of the week and even took little Elliott, Liz's nephew, under their wing.  I called them the three little ducks because they just followed each other around wherever they went.

And then there was the wedding...  This was the second wedding that I have attended in Northern Michigan, the first one being my own :), and can I just say once again that it is a magical place.  Liz and Jim did an amazing job planning for the big day and it was perfect down to every last detail.  The rabbi that performed the ceremony was truly amazing.  The ceremony was very touching and sincere and the party was a blast.  Congratulations to the two of them and I hope that the magic of Up North continues through their lives as it has fortunately through ours.