Summer Recap Vol. II

We had lots of highlights to our summer. Matt went on his annual guys canoe/fishing trip to the Boundary Waters. (For those of you unfamiliar with the northwoods, the Boundary Waters are a series of lakes between Minnesota and Canada.) Matt had a great time, as always, and really enjoys this time with his friends from college that we don't get to see all that often. Hopefully, though, we'll be getting back up to the twin cities and able to see these friends more often. Isn't it beautiful?

I also got to go on a trip of my own. I went with 3 of my friends (l to r Jessie, Nicole, and Stephanie) to Chicago for a girls weekend. It was nothing short of a miracle that we all found places for our kids while we were gone since all of our husbands are residents. We had a great time shopping, eating out (at places other than a McDonald's), and being without kids for a few days. We walked down to Lake Michigan (remember Steph?) after dinner one night and the sunset was just beautiful. Hopefully this can be a new tradition for us!
We spent a good amount of time in June and July celebrating the marriages of our good friends. Two of Matt's best friends got married this summer and it was so much fun as it was the same group of guys in both weddings. Erik and Angie Kuch got married outdoors in June and it was a beautiful ceremony---with a beautiful bride, as you can see! What a great night that was for all of us and we felt so honored to be a part of such a great day--a day we had all been praying for for many years!
And then Aaron and Gretchen Merritt got married almost exactly one month later and it was the same fun all over again. This dance was one of the most fun dances I had been to in a long time and we all had such a great time! We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and we can't wait to all get together again.
My sister Lindsay stopped by our place early in the summer to say goodbye for awhile. She spent the summer working with Campus Crusade for Christ at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. We had a great time with her before she left and we are so glad she is back. She had a great time in NZ and is planning on returning to be on full-time staff there next year.

This was one of my favorite pictures of Matt and Wyatt taken when we were at White Bear Lake in the twin cities. We actually lived on this lake right after Wyatt was born and Matt and I have some great memories from living there. The picture is so precious because it reminds me of just how fast life goes and how much can change. It seems like only a few weeks ago that we were living up there and I just had a little baby boy---when did he turn into a kid? And he looks just like Matt in this picture--I love it!
This is my favorite picture of the kids from this summer. We had just come home from church one sunday and we were waiting for Matt to come home from the hospital. Both kids were in great moods which doesn't happen all that often! (They both can be in good moods, but rarely does it happen simultaneously!) These are some of my favorite moments of being a mom!