Phew!

We have had an interesting few weeks here in our family. It started with Jake and Shara's wedding (and all the preparation leading up to it), followed by all kinds of 'end of year' celebrations at school between Jessalyn and Ethan's classes, moved along to an amazing funeral (yes, I just said those two words in one sentence) and ended with a Bar Mitzvah. Add in the usual things in between and you will understand why my blogging has not been up to par lately!

The wedding was beautiful. Shara and Jake did a wonderful job planning and executing this special day. It was a blessing to all of us who were involved and everyone who was able to attend as well.

The funeral was for a dear friend who battled cancer for the last six years. He and his wife (who also happens to be my cousin) were a MAJOR influence on Josh and I as we developed our relationship in our high school/college days and the exact couple that modeled the type of marriage that we strive for. The funeral was an great celebration of his life and an amazing testimony at the very same time. Although very saddened by this loss, everyone went away with a feeling of hope, and even left feeling encouraged.

The Bar Mitzvah was for the two boys that Kirsten has helped care for over the last 10 years. Our families have developed quite a relationship over the years. We are invited to their home several times throughout the year...with our annual Lupine walks and our yearly invitation to celebrate a day of Hannukah with them. Both of these are highlights for us and especially our kids! They have enjoyed learning the different traditions held by a Jewish family and have now come to know what to expect! Latkas, Dreidals...even some of the blessings in Hebrew are familiar to my kids. They boys love to play with Jack and Aden. They love to put on concerts with with all of their musical instruments. Our trip to this household is not complete without some trampoline jumping, bike riding and basketball playing that happens in the barn....oh, and I can't forget about the dancing!

This was our first experience at a Bar Mitzvah though. Jack and Aden did an awesome job and it was a pleasure to watch them both participate in this special occasion. I wasn't able to stay for the whole service becuase my kids weren't able to sit quitely for quite long enough...although, they did a pretty good job in my opinion:) We were also asked to not take and photos during the actual ceremony, so I don't have any shots of this.

The reception was another story! I have to say, that I won't ever turn down an opportunity to attend a Bar Mitzvah (if another opportunity arrises!). This was a FUN party! Lots of yummy food and GREAT band and dancing, dancing, dancing. Oh. And did I mention that there was dancing?

At this point I most definitely got out my camera to take some pics and quickly found myself pirched up on the side of the trampoline, holding onto the pole that holds the saftey netting up. I was hanging on precariously while the kids (including Jessalyn) were busy bouncing away on the inside. It turned out to be a great place to get some decent pictures...although, I found myself having to time my shutter clicks just right as I could feel that the jumpers were in mid air. If I timed it wrong I ended up being bounced and got funny looking pictures!

I posted many (many) of them on my smugmug site...but I will post a few (or probably more than a few) of my favorites on here as well.

Have I mentioned lately how much Ethan has taken to any sort of dance party? The boys has some moves and suddenly is NOT afraid to jump in and share them with everyone. Notice that he is the only little kid in the circle of dancers. The rest of the kids were busy jumping on the trampoline while Ethan was one of the first to jump out on the dance floor. He didn't miss one single dance. Anyone who "knows" Ethan will tell you that he will hide behind my legs if you try to have a conversation with him...but give him some music and a dance floor (that is "big enough", according to him) and he is not shy AT ALL:)