Summer... Stuff

Usually posts about summer are all about fun and new adventures, but our summer has felt more like one to forget, until I uploaded our pictures and found that it was really rather wonderful!

In early May we got some news that made us think we should just take the summer to try to relax a bit and reflect on what might come next.  We decided to build Darren a swing set so he could enjoy the back yard a bit more and just see what happened. 

Getting started!

Grama and her drill - watch out!

As they added more slats this got pretty funny.

The boy doing his bit.

Game on!

Unfortunately, I was not able to help with the project because I landed myself in the hospital with the first of a summer full of medical procedures with little to no answers.  But it didn't stop me from LOVING every minute of the Sisters Rodeo!

These moms and babies were so beautiful!

My buckaroos

What followed next was a series of house issues that seemed never ending, and I certainly didn't make things better by driving the car into the garage!  Things started to feel decidedly against us.  In July, Darren and I spent ten days in Colorado for my brother Peter's wedding.  It was hot and crazy! Not to mention the first time my entire family has been together in who knows how long!  Darren loved being with his cousins and his aunts and uncles.  Suddenly our family expanded by almost 30, totally amazing.  Chris arrived just in time for the wedding and it was perfect in every way!

A little cousin time

When he should have been sitting in the church...

A wonderful and happy family!

The bagpipers brought the serious ugly cry for me!

My brother

And he is out!

Suddenly the summer was flying by!  Everything started to feel like it was ending, so Chris and I decided to host a neighborhood BBQ - our first party ever! - and it was a great success.  We cooked the meat and everyone else brought the sides.  Lucas, Miles, and Darren never stopped moving for a minute!  It was a really lovely way to wrap up the summer, hopefully it becomes  new tradition.

Approximately two minutes after their arrival.

The set up

The participants

This summer has been a wild ride, with a lot of life changing events, but good and bad we just keep on keeping on and in the end the good FAR outweighs the inconvenient.  Goodbye summer 2012, it has been real.