The aftermath

of a few wild weeks means a neglected house, neglected workout routines and a neglected blog. To curb the emptiness brought on by my lost camera (NOW FOUND!), I borrowed my mom's to document some pretty big events around here. But for some reason she thought she needed it back for something as silly as her daughter's wedding. Sheesh mom. Priorities. So while I have numerous pictures to document the fun we have had recently, they are trapped on said camera until further notice. As soon as I get them back, you will see a slew of picture posts. For now, you are stuck with my thoughts regarding those events:

August 24/25-Annual Family Vacation to McCall: Just the 4 of us ventured to McCall again this year for a quick 2 day get-a-way. During that trip I realized that as parents we spend a lot of our time attempting to entertain and keep busy our otherwise bored children. We over plan, over organize and over stress about every detail (okay so I should be saying "I" not "we, " but I am hopeful at least one of you shares this quirk). I packed our family vacation with every touristy thing I could think of and was schooled in the art of simplicity by my two lovely daughters. They played for almost an hour with a bar of soap. You read that right, a bar of soap. Before this trip, they had never been introduced to bar soap. We are a body wash family, so when they saw the tiny little wrapped presents calling out to them from the side of the tub, they were thrilled. It really is the simple things in life.

August 26-Cora's First Day of Kindergarten: Cora is fearless and always has been. I knew she would have no problem with the transition to kindergarten. No tears from her, no tears from me. It was as if she had been attending elementary school for years. She has a wonderful teacher, so I had no fears about sending her to school. But I was a bit apprehensive as I watched that big yellow school bus swallow my itty bitty daughter on her second day of school. If I had my way, I would be safely shuttling her to and from school daily, but Mark says something about me needing to grow up or something equally lame. So school bus it is.

August 27-Claire's 3rd Birthday Party: Thrown together in 22 hours with the help of some spectacular friends and family and a gigantic blow-up water slide, the party was a hit. Claire dined on pizza, pinata candy and a Dora birthday cake, before blowing out her candles and tearing open her gifts. She loved being the center of attention. We loved that she loved it.

August 27-Michelle's Bachelorette Party: After a day of frantic party planning and a sweet birthday party, my dear bride-to-be sister told the remaining 3 sisters that she expected us to be "hot" when we went out on the town to celebrate her pending nuptials. We looked at each other and laughed. If pit stains and ponytails define hotness, we were in. So we plowed through my closet in search of miracle dresses to transform our sorry appearances. It took about a hundred wardrobe changes and a ridiculous amount of mascara and deodorant, but we managed to fancy ourselves up and hit the town.

August 28-Rehearsal Dinner and Bridal Party Sleepover: Yummy food, check. Tons of family, check. Crazy girls running wild through Walmart for last minute manicure sets, flip flops and candy, check. Running into about half the town of Payette in the only place open after 8pm on a Friday night in a sleepy little town, check.

August 28-Claire's Official Birthday: My baby turned 3. She is crazy. She is weird. She is silly. She loves her daddy like no one else. She is a hugger and a lover of all junk food. She likes to laugh and pout. She is very squeezable. We are sure glad she is around because she makes our lives pretty full. But, if you were to have wished her a Happy Birthday on her actual birthday, she would have looked at you like you were a moron and kindly explained that she had already turned 3 the day before. Where have you been?

August 29-Michelle Hurd becomes Michelle Gather: We trashed a hotel room while attempting to beautify. We consumed so many calories our dresses almost did not zip. We sprayed so much hairspray, it would have easily blown up the building if ignited. We painted nails and applied eye shadow, and then told joke after joke after joke to keep the bride from bawling and messing up her make-up. It's what good bridesmaids do. And then we stood in awe as a perfectly paired couple promised to love each other till the end of time. And then the party began. And oh what a fun night it was. I give my baby sister such a hard time. Mostly because we are so much alike it is scary. But I have watched her grow and mature into a pretty spectacular woman, and I couldn't be prouder. And my what a beautiful bride she made.

August 31- Claire Starts Preschool: I dropped her off and helped her get her slippers on and her lunch box situated. Then she told me to get out. Glad to see she is so attached. Now I have to figure out what to do with 4 hours of uninterrupted time. And if you say clean my house so help me....