Summer Catch-up!

Things have been busy around the Bing house, and I have had no energy to blog, I still don't, but I didn't want to fall further behind in my blogging. I enjoy doing it and I enjoy reading everyone else's. I've been working lots at Chapters and still enjoying it, I love being surrounded by books, organizing them, and reading them it's great. Lately I've been working over night as we've been preparing for some renovations in our kids area, it's going to be AWESOME when it's done, the area is getting bigger and more interactive for kids. I didn't mind the over nights, I made sure to have a nap before, and made sure to just keep moving and they were not so bad at all! I won't say I'm not glad they are over, it's feeling good to get back in a normal sleep routine, and to be back on the sales floor helping people and talking books.

***

During my over night work weeks, we had some busy time. One of my closest friends from elementary school, Laura got married. It was a fun week leading up to the wedding. It started on Sunday afternoon with a bridal tea party for the bride to be, we wore fun hats and played great games. It was a lot of fun. I think what made it the most fun was having all my girl friends together, Denise was in town from Ontario, Nicole was in town from out west and Meg joined us later on from Ontario too. It was a blast catching up and laughing together!

All the girls at the tea party... there were some awesome hats there!

Wednesday brought a trip to the spa, we all get pedicures, it was great to sit, be pampered and laugh like crazy. I'd never gotten a pedicure, so it was a lot of fun and my toes were a very pretty color for the wedding.

Here is a group shot from the spa!

***

Friday was a busy day, we found out that the twins were going home earlier then we planned. So Keah had to make a quick trip home to get things tidy, and grab some food, all in prep for her girls going home. That left mike down at the hospital with his two girls, and a recovering knee from surgery. So mom and I both headed down to give him a hand. I loved every minute of that afternoon, I got to snuggle with both girls, it was awesome. From there I headed to my first wedding rehearsal, it was a lot of fun, and we all got a little teary as Laura practiced walking down the isle with her dad. We gathered for some food at her parents house and she gave all the girls sweet gifts, even the honorary bridesmaid, which I was one.

***

Saturday brought BIG things. Emmy and Finley went home to bridgewater and Laura and Mark got married! I'll share some wedding pic's first. The morning was overcast, and I saw Laura in the morning getting her hair done, and she'd come down with a cold, poor girl! Things perked up though, the weather cleared up, and Laura was able to get herself feeling a little better. It was BEAUTIFUL day for a wedding, the service was simple but pretty, with a quote from The Notebook being read, the couple love that movie. Mark got a little teary during the service and it was so sweet. We all headed to the dingle afterwards for picture time. It was great snapping away and making more memories from this special day! We had a blast and laughed a lot. The reception was later on in the evening, and it was a great celebration of the couple. I loved having my friends and Brandon around, the girls are getting to know Brandon a lot more and it's awesome. They just love him and think that he is hilarious! We were able to dance and have a blast with everyone before Brandon had to go to work. Laura and Mark are a beautiful couple and had a perfect wedding day!! Love you guys!

Mr. & Mrs Mark and Laura Lantz!!

Laura and all her girls, bridesmaids, honorary bridesmaids, junior bridesmaids and flower girl! So many ladies who love this bride so much!

Mrs.Bing and Mrs. Lantz... friends since grade primary!

Honorary bridesmaids having some jumpin' fun!

The wedding party having some jumping fun... Mark is awesome in this picture!

Brandon and I sitting at table six... he's always a great sport at my friends weddings. He is always tired from working the night before, but he smiles, has fun and takes pictures whenever I ask him to. Thanks sweetie you are the best!

***

Another great moment of that Saturday was that Finley and Emmy were released from the hospital and headed home to bridgewater. They made a stop at mom and dad's to meet their cousins. Which was such a wonderful moment. The kids were BEYOND excited to finally see and hold their little cousins, Miss Georgia especially. Brandon and I had been down thursday to visit and cuddle the girls, and then I went again and Friday, so I resisted every urge to hold the girlies again and just let the cousins enjoy the moment. I made sure to snap lots of pictures though. Here are just a couple from that day!

Sweaty kid Cooper... all he wanted to do was touch the babies!

isn't he just a handsome little boy... his hair goes super blonde in the summer- Love you Jake

EEK! she is growing up way to fast, she'll be in the double digits next year and that blows my mind, it feels like yesterday that Jessica entered my world, and I love her to bits, we've spent a lot of time together as she's grown up!

A family with three beautiful daughters, how did they get so lucky! Sarah Grace has awesome curls, and a perfect little smile. She turns EIGHT this year and will get baptized, I'm so excited for her!

I love this shot of the girls, their dad and their cousin!! Sarah is holding Finley and Mike is holding Emmy!

Georgia couldn't stay away, she loves her new cousins, this is her with her mom and her cousin Emmy!

***

We headed over to my in-laws for a visit with Brandon's aunt who was in town. We hadn't seen her since our wedding, so it was wonderful to visit with her and catch up. We hit the lake, and did some boating. Ian loved the explorer 200, and was determined to pump it up and enjoy it on the lake. The boys also did some wake boarding and water skiing. I wish I had a bigger zoom to catch some shots, maybe next time. We also stopped in to visit Meg and Jason, I hadn't seen Meg in a few weeks and her little baby bump has grown so much. She had her first ultra sound and all is good with Baby Stewart, at the beginning of August they find out if the baby will be a boy or a girl, and they've invited the family to be there, I'm thrilled to have the day off and can't wait to find out if I'll have another niece or nephew! After a delicious BBQ dinner we had a bon fire and set off some fireworks. It was the first night that it actually felt like summer vacation and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Ian working on pumping up the boat

taking aunt beckey out on the boat

Meaghan and he adorable baby bump

Outside enjoying the little fire work show!

***

Following later on in that week was the arrival of my latest little niece. Clara Lane Nelson was born at 11:51 on Thursday July 22nd. She weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and is a total cutie. I worked an over nighter the night she was born, Sonja text messaged me at 11:36 and Clara was born shortly after, Sonja is a champ at baby delivery! The next day as soon as I grabbed some sleep, we headed down to meet little Clara and snap a bunch of pictures. We had a nice visit and some great snuggles. She looks a lot more like her daddy, whereas her siblings look more like mom, I'm interested to see what she'll look like in a few months when she passes the new born stage. She's a total doll and I can't wait to go visit again!

Clara Lane Nelson... she is adorable with big hands, maybe she'll play the piano

Oh I just love new born babies. I could snap pictures of them all day!

***

Brandon and I went and saw the movie Inception this afternoon, and it was awesome. I love a movie that makes you think and pay attention. I'm not always a lover of Leo, but he looked quite handsome in this movie, also enjoyed Joseph Gordon Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, and 500 days of Summer) he was awesome in this movie. I also finished reading a book this week too, I feel I should start sharing more about the books I'm reading. I've been reading thr Sookie Stackhouse books, also known as True Blood. I have one more to read in the series, but they've been great so far, they can be a little racey in some spots, but the story and the characters are awesome. Brandon and I have been enjoying talking about them and comparing the books and the show, I read them he watches them... If you enjoy Vampire books, you'd enjoy these books. I'm now reading Charlie St.Cloud, and am so excited to start it tonight, and then see the movie.

***

Hope you've been having a great summer and keep those updates coming!