July

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been busy, and our internet has been rather spotty. Hopefully, we're switching our service providers tomorrow, so maybe it will be more consistent in that area :P

Anyway...

Things have really been picking up for everyone, especially the past month. The wedding preparation is also speeding up. Earlier this month, most of the ladies of the church got together to look at the plans that the coordinators so far have done. The ladies are beginning to buy and gather up mason jars, Christmas lights, burlap ribbon, flowers, etc... for the decorations. We've also taken Mandy's wedding dress in for alterations and visited a flower wholesale shop to figure out flowers for the wedding party (the flower lady has also made a "rough draft" of Mandy's wedding bouquet). We finally also ordered invitations and finished the website. We sent out the invitations this week, and the first RSVPs are coming back, which is exciting. We're now just under sixty days to the wedding, and reality is starting to hit in. Mandy and Ben are starting to look for a place to live.

And, almost a week ago, Mandy had her wedding shower. The other maid-of-honor Bethany, a bridesmaid Caroline, the wedding coordinator, and myself put on the shower at the coordinator's home. We had a tea bar, all kinds of food, flowers, and presents stacked all over the stairs. Over sixty people (a mixture of family and friends) attended. Mandy was real excited to open all her gifts, and most of them are now either lining our hallway or filling up Ben's living room until they find a place. Pictures from the shower have been uploaded by Bethany on facebook, and both Mom and I shared the link to it on facebook. We've got a few more showers for Mandy happening in August and September, though I won't have as much involvement in those.

In late July, the guys (Dad, Seth, and Ben) took a trip with Jake B. and Uncle Josh and his older two boys to northern Minnesota, close to the border of Canada. They left on a late Thursday afternoon and drove for twenty-four hours, stopping for gas and food and to switch drivers. Then on Saturday, they paddled out into the Boundary Waters, which involved them walking a mile with the canoes and packs on their backs, and then rowed across various lakes to their campsite. And so for the next six days, the guys did serious primitive camping (no running water, no toilets, no showers, etc...). They went fishing and cooked their own fish on three different nights. They took exploring trips (and on one excursion Ben and Jake nearly got lost) and had all sorts of adventures. However, Friday proved to be their most challenging day. It started raining the night before and was still storming when they woke up the next morning. That meant they had to pack up everything in the pouring rain and hop into the canoes for a several-hour trip across the lake. At one point, it got extremely difficult with the strong winds and large waves, leaving the guys absolutely soaked in 48 degree weather. But, God be praised, the guys safely got out and back to the car. They then met up a group of boys from church who visited the area this week, went to a local restaurant for the best beer, burgers, and fries that they'd ever had, and then began the 24-hour trip back to Atlanta. They also safely made it home, despite the car threatening problems, the threat of running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and accidentally ending up on the wrong side of town because of bad highway traffic. We ladies met our men at the church and then they came home for a shower, clean clothes, and a delicious meal. They all had a great time, and we've enjoyed hearing about their many adventures.

Other preparations that have been going on is for school. I start up GGC again in a few weeks, and I'm ready to get back into a regular schedule. Mom also starts teaching science and music around the end of the month. Dad and I are also on a list of potential history teachers for the Geneva at Home program; nothing's been decided yet, as it depends on how many history classes are needed, but hopefully we'll know for.

So, yeah, we've been busy. I'll try to do better at posting updates.