Our whirlwind Utah trip

My youngest sister, Brittany, got married last weekend. Even though I have a few pictures, I didn't take nearly as many as I wanted to. We flew all day Wednesday and enjoyed the dry, pleasant, mosquito-free evening. On Thursday I put together all the bouquets and boutonnieres and went to the wedding dinner at the Lion House. Friday morning was the wedding, putting together the centerpieces and other arrangements, then the reception.
I LOVED working with these beautiful fall colors. I might just go into business, but then again, I'm not sure I can deal with that kind of stress on a regular basis.
Brides are Rachel's most favorite thing. Brittany made one gorgeous bride!My adorable red princess.
The niece and nephews and the new Uncle Ben
My handsome boys. And the looming storm in the background.
Their cake.
The centerpieces
This little guy couldn't get any cuter.
Despite the light rain and strong winds it was a beautiful night. The full rainbow was spectacular. I thought the bride and groom looked pretty classy holding the umbrella too.And a typical amazing Utah sunset.
This is Rachel peeking out of her room window looking down on the big farewell. Too cute. She of course came down and didn't get to bed till way late. I think this trip is the most sleep deprived my kids have ever been.Such a cute little helper that next morning
Then off to go boating at Utah Lake for our Herway Family Reunion.
She's getting a little too mature for me.
Jake's brother Steve is headed out to New Jersery to serve a full time mission for our church for two years. His sister Nicole just got back from Paris after serving her mission for 18 months. Jake hadn't seen his other sister Natalie and her family for 3 years, since they live in Texas. So it was a fun reunion to be all together again...and it was no small miracle that it worked out.
Last time Rachie went boating she whined the whole time. This time she was all giggles and smiles, she LOVED it.

Great Grandma Packer, teaching the girls how to do headstands and somersaults.

That Saturday night we went to the BYU game against Florida State, which was a huge upset. But it was still a lot of fun for me to be back on my old stomping grounds. I sure miss that place.

And here we are, all the Herways (and Portugals)...a picture worth a million bucks to Anita, my mother-in-law :)
Rachel and her cousins Bryn and Scarlet.
We flew back to Charlotte all day Monday. I really really wish we could have stayed a few days longer, but it was great to see EVERYONE in our families in those few quick days.

"Uh-Oh"

The culprit? I'll let you guess.
After an hour of scrubbing there's still a hint of rainbow visible. This happened in a matter of a couple minutes! Tommy is fast, destructive and all over the place. We're about to fly to Utah and I don't know how we're going to manage with that kid. We're going out for my sister's wedding and a Herway family reunion. So friends, I won't get to see you, but I love you and we'll be back at Christmas time.

C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me

Rachel and I made "Not Baking" cookies. They have oatmeal and some peanut butter protein :) but I think the sugar cancels the nutrition out. Jake and Tommy on the other hand, think they are healthy...

The Zoo

For Labor Day we took a day trip to the Zoo down in Columbia, South Carolina. We had a great time! Some highlights being getting up so close to the animals, Rachel's first pony ride, and the penguin feeding. I'm excited to go again in the spring when they will have kangaroos.




If you're wondering about the matching Duke shirts...there wasn't a game, just free chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A :)

September

Yesterday, the first of September, was the start of two things. Preschool and cooler weather. Preschool went really well. Our theme of the day was "All About Me." We talked about how we are the same (body parts) and how we are different and special (hair color, eye color, favorites, etc.) I read some cute books, one being "I Like Myself." I got it from the library but I may have to purchase a copy, it's so cute. We made "All About Me" books, had snacks, playtime, and "dance class." We danced with all different body parts to "What a Miracle I Am." The day could not have gone smoother, I was really pleased (except my own child needed a couple time outs). My favorite part of the morning was lunch time and hearing the conversation they had between themselves. "Oops I spilled, sorry, it was an accident" "That's a beautiful shirt Ellie" "Rachel, are those cucumber or zucchinis?" "Do you like zucchini?" "Will you please share your banana with me?" "Sure" "Can I have some too?" "Just one bite okay?" "What color lunchbox do you have Dylan?"...aren't they the cutest! One of the girls started to cry when her mom came to pick her up. I'm so happy they had fun, hopefully they learned a little something too :)
It may be all in my head, but as soon as September hit the temperatures and humidity dropped. We've spent more hours outdoors in the past couple of days than we did in the whole month of August. I'm loving it! Now those pesky mosquitoes just need to go away.

Unfortunately, as we have gone outside, bugs have found residence inside. Cockroaches, grasshoppers, spiders. I'm not kidding. We have had more than I can handle just in the past couple of days. I almost can't sleep at night.