commas and ampersands

I still haven't gotten around to tagging or captioning these pictures (and more) in my gallery, and I also realized that I haven't actually posted a picspam of the last bit of summer yet, either. So... here we go--some pictures of August, mostly more weddings.

( This way for pictures )

Picspam first, real entry later!

( Lots of pictures, right this way )

I'm having issues posting on Saturdays this month, apparently. Or Tuesdays, for that matter. Heh. I'm such a dork, especially given the fact that I haven't actually been concerned with posting every single day, like I used to be.

Hmmm. What's new? Jakob broke his elbow, poor kid, and has to have surgery on it in a week or so. He slipped coming down the ladder to a bunk bed, his arm got caught in the rung, and it twisted as he fell. Ah, he's such a little boy. It was funny, though--I was talking to Kat this evening, and she put Jake on the phone, and he told me about what happened and that he had to go to the doctor because his arm was broken, and then, "Uncle Colin? Can I talk to him?" Hee. I totally know where I stand with him! :) I'll have to get Colin to give him a call--he'd appreciate that.

He's getting so articulate. Jakob, that is, not Colin. It's so cool to listen to him tell a story now, because he's putting his information together in full sentences and answering questions and actually telling details. It makes it a lot easier to talk to him on the phone, too, when I can't read his body language.

Other than that, life is pretty uneventful. Really, life is just life, no matter where you live, and even living somewhere "fun" is still living. That sounds depressing, but I don't really mean it that way. I mean, you choose where you live based on many criteria, but when you get there, you still just live your life. So even though it's L.A., and people can tend to be all, "Oh, that's so cool!" (just like they did when I lived in New York), that doesn't eliminate bad days and boredom and tedious work and PMS and everything else that makes life just life, regardless of the fact that I'm still slightly awestruck at the palm trees out my window.

I did connect with the choir director at church today, so I'll go to rehearsal on Wednesday night. I think that'll be good for me--it'll be good to connect beyond just sitting in church on a Sunday morning.

What a party weekend! Heh. Kayla's first birthday dinner was on Saturday night, and my parents' 30th anniversary party was on Sunday afternoon and evening. Lots of fun, and just a few pictures for you...


( Kayla's birthday )

( Mom and Dad's anniversary )

Oh, there are tons of pictures in this post. Lots and lots. Mostly from the Stampede Parade, but a few other cute ones, too.

( Not quite dialup friendly )

There are more, but that's enough for one post. The rest of the gallery is here, though. Go take a look!

Colin and I saw Ratatouille last night. Very cute. Then again, I love movies that turn anything into art. Any story that explores the passion and artistry of something that doesn't seem artistic at first glance is something that I just love. That's why I liked Proof (the play more than the movie, but still--I like the story). I'm not a math person, but I was intrigued by the idea of math as art. Heh. As if it wasn't already obvious where my brain is...

Happy Canada Day (plus one)!!

We didn't actually do anything patriotic yesterday, but it's been a good weekend. The weather has been gorgeous, which is all kinds of wonderful, and I've been able to spend more than an hour at a time with Colin (on more than one day at a time), which is even better, and I have a really short (3-day) work week this week, and Colin and I get to go to the Stampede Parade on Friday with Kat and the kids. Yes. Exciting.

Saturday was Laurel and Ken's wedding. It really was beautiful--and everything ran incredibly smoothly, which was a huge blessing, since Dana and I were the ones who would have had to deal with anything that didn't! The only real complication was a mix-up in the flower order, but even that was easily solved. None of the bouquets for the ceremony were missing; just half the flowers for the centerpieces at the reception. Since those were just plain gerberas, though, as opposed to actual arrangements, it was pretty easy to pick some up and have them in time for the reception.

We had fun, though. Colin and Jon (Dana's fiance) helped us set up the reception hall, so that didn't take too long and wasn't all that stressful, and there weren't any big fires to put out during the reception itself, so we were able to enjoy it, rather than running around like crazy women all night.

Again with the "no camera," I didn't take any pictures, but karalianne took a picture of beauty_awake and me, and I'll post that once I'm at home and can upload it. Dana took a picture of Colin and me, too, so if she sends that along, I'll post that.

Jakob has decided that his new puppy (when he gets it later this summer) is going to be named "Uncle Colin". His reasoning? "Two Uncle Colin. One me, one Auntie." He may be talked out of that decision. Superpuppy, the other option, is probably a better name in the long run. Otherwise, it'll be kind of embarrassing to be 12 years old, explaining to his friends why his dog is named Uncle Colin. And apparently, every object in their house might be named Uncle Colin soon. They went to Calaway Park yesterday, and Aaron won a stuffed turtie and a stuffed fish for Jake. The fish's name? "Red Fish." The turtie's name? You guessed it... "Uncle Colin Turtle."

I've got today off, so right now, I'm just hanging out with the dogs. I'll probably head out of here fairly soon, and Janna and I are going out for dinner or something this afternoon/evening.

I feel so boring. I should start packing soon. Keep packing. Whatever. Put my possessions into boxes. That thing. However, it feels a little pointless to be packing when I don't know where I'll be living. The summer is going fast enough, though, that the time will be here before I know it, and I'll regret not doing it now. And regardless of where I'll be living, the moving date is the same.

Anyway. I'm going outside now. It's gorgeous out, and I'm going to go take a walk or something.

Ah, sigh. My internet connection is being stupidly slow, so I can't upload the rest of these pictures right now, but for the moment, here are some from the weekend.

( Pictures! )

( The newest pictures with Jake and Kayla )