Jack Johnson, Wedding Bliss & other tales...

(WARNING: Be prepared for a long post with LOTS of pictures!)

I've been trying to get to this post for the last week but life has been so busy that it just wasn't possible. Oh well... better late than never, right!?

As you know, Jon and I had the awesome pleasure of going to the Jack Johnson concert in Vancouver on Aug. 21 and what a show it was. I'd say the only "down" side to the concert was the fact that out of the 21,000 people that were there, approximately 20,900 of them were smoking pot. That meant that the 100 of us that weren't smoking it, were pretty much high by default by the end of the concert. But as for Jack's performance, it was INcredible! He sounded great live and his interaction with the crowd was very entertaining.
The concert was outdoors at the Thunderbird Stadium on the UBC campus and though we got decent seats on the huge field, our little camera still wasn't strong enough to zoom in on him from that distance. It was good that they had the big screen up.

Susie & Jon gearing up for the upcoming greatness of Jack...

The very wonderful Hailey & Danny Taylor...

Jon's sister Susanne got tickets from her boyfriend but due to working out of town, Juergen wasn't able to come. Thankfully, our cousin Annette was able to make it at the last minute to take his ticket.

Cousins...

I got a few little clips of the concert on our camera. Here they are for your listening pleasure. Sorry if they're not very clear but the crowd was pretty loud...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day it was time for me to start my whirlwind trip to Saskatchewan. My flight left Abbotsford at 6:30am the day after the Jack concert which meant not a lot of sleep that night. But with bleary eyes, I headed off to the airport at 5:30am and boarded the Westjet flight bound for Saskatoon. My closest childhood friend Michelle was getting married and had asked me to sing at the ceremony. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford for both of us to fly so Jon decided to stay home for the weekend. The reason I say it was a whirlwind trip is that I only arrived in Saskatoon at 10:15am on Friday and was already back in Abbotsford by 8:30am on Sunday. Yeah... not much time to fit in a wedding and time with friends that I hadn't seen in years. But nonetheless, it was well worth it and I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

The ceremony was held at our home church, Hepburn MB and they did such a beautiful job of decorating.

Geralyn, Carly & Amanda lighting the candles...

Darren & Michelle had their siblings as their attendants.

Michelle's brothers and sister-in-law...

Darren's sisters and brother-in-law...

The exquisite bride making her entrance.
It was tough to keep the tears back at this point... she was absolutely stunning!!

Jared Wohlgemut & I sang "The Fear you won't Fall" by Joshua Radin...

(you can click on the link above to hear Joshua's version of it.. its a beautiful song)

The receiving line...
I love this picture of Darren & Michelle...

Grade 5 & 6 buddies.
Donovan, Darren, Michelle & I were inseparable in elementary school.
So crazy to think that Darren & Michelle ended up together all these years later :)

Posing with their get-away car...

One of the best things about weddings is re-uniting with friends that you haven't seen in a long time. It was awesome to catch up with my good friends Traci & Donovan.

Me & Traci...

The "girls"...

Darren & Michelle had their wedding at Shekinah's new lodge, just a short drive from Hepburn. It was like something out of a fairytale...



The happy couple, Mr. & Mrs. Huebert...


And of course, I had to add the faces of the next newlyweds-to-be,
our wonderful friends Carly & Aaron!
Their big day is coming up really soon... October 11!
Jon has the honour of being a groomsmen and we can't wait to share in their special day!! Only a month and a bit to go... :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's see... as for an update on us, things are going really well! Life has been ridiculously busy as always, but full of blessings and fun stuff :) We are in full swing of reno's on our townhouse and are looking forward to a completely finished house. We are finishing the painting of the rest of the house, we re-did the upstairs bathroom and upgraded the ensuite and powder room and the best thing of all is we're getting our kitchen cabinets & countertops re-done next week. Our existing cabinets & counters are pretty "blah" and seeing as I'm working for a custom kitchen cabinet company now, we can get them done for a smokin' price. I am SO excited about it!! The cabinets are going to be done in a dark espresso colour and the counters are going to be a rich, granite-look-alike laminate. Stay tuned for pictures!

I've been really busy with music lately. I was asked to sing for our church's fall kick-off carnival and have been practicing with the band every week for the last couple of months. It will be my first "mini-concert" and though I'm a bit nervous, it will be a ton of fun! So if you live in the area and want to join us, come on out to Central next Sunday afternoon. The BBQ and carnival start at 11:30am. Or come out for the worship service first (10am) and stay for some great food, fun and fellowship! Oh, and as well as our band, there will also be a concert by Greg Neufeld, one of Canadian Idol's Top 10!

The newest member of our family...

We said good-bye to the Volvo a couple of weeks ago.  It was a great car and we made a lot of great memories with it, but it was time to let it go.  Time to invest in something that wasn't going to require $3,000+ in repairs in the next few months (honestly... we did the calculations and the Volvo was probably going to need $3,000-4,000 worth of repairs, and knowing our luck, it probably would have all happened at once).  

Fair well good and faithful friend... 

... Say hello to the newest member of our family... 

We got a 2008 Toyota Yaris and absolutely love it so far!  And I am LOVING the gas mileage I'm getting with it.  Just to give you an idea, I only got about 25-27 mpg on the highway with the Volvo and the Yaris is already getting about 50-53 mpg.  Let's just say that I will now be seeing the benefits of that raise I got at work a few months ago.  It will finally be going back into my bank account rather than into my gas tank :)    

Jack Johnson LIVE

We get to see Jack in concert on Thursday night at the Thunderbird Stadium @ UBC. I CANNOT wait! Both Jon and I are huge fans. Plus we get to spend the evening with the Taylor's which makes it even better. Its going to be an awesome night!

Strawberry Shortcake turns 2...

Our beautiful niece Ava, celebrated her 2nd birthday yesterday. Well... we had her birthday party yesterday... her actual birthday isn't until next Sunday, but in order to have the whole family there for the occasion, Erich & Naomi had the party a week early.

It was so much fun watching the excitement on her face as everyone arrived and the gifts started rolling in. Last year was cute too but she was still so young and didn't really understand the concept of the party being just for her. It was more entertaining just watching her experience cake for the first time. But this year was much different. She knew very well that it was her birthday and she was extremely excited about the festivities! The funniest thing was watching her snatch the card out of Naomi's hand as soon as she would start to read it aloud for everyone, and then Ava would pretend to read it herself. The picture above captures it perfectly... I just love this picture... look at her cute little toes!

Seeing as Erich & Naomi took the kids to Saskatchewan to visit family last week and didn't return home until Saturday afternoon, I volunteered to prepare Ava's birthday cake. Now obviously baking a cake isn't that difficult and I've done it many times before, but this was my very first attempt at a kid's "theme" cake. The theme for the party was Strawberry Shortcake and let me tell you, the decorating was highly intimidating for me. It didn't take long for me to question why I had volunteered for such a daunting task. Naomi has made such incredible cakes for the kids' previous parties and I soon felt very "out of my league." Probably doesn't help that I'm a total perfectionist when it comes to "artistic" things. But after a lot of fussing and re-icing, I think the finished product didn't turn out too badly. Pretty amateur, I know, but hey... practice makes perfect and I'm sure this won't be my last cake decorating experience :)

The kids entertained everyone with a little 'swimming- goggle fashion show'...

These pictures make me laugh out loud! The expression on Ava's face is totally priceless :)

And Calvin worked his magic with that lovable, squeezable, kissable face of his...

I think Ava really liked her cake and after a few attempts at blowing out the candles, she was finally victorious!

Happy Birthday Ava Indiana! We're so proud of you and love you oh so much!!

3 Years

It feels like just yesterday that I was writing about our 2nd anniversary, and already we're onto #3. As cliche as it sounds, I have to say again how amazingly time flies.

I remember that special day so clearly. It was a scorcher and the morning just couldn't pass quickly enough. I was so eager to get the "show on the road." :) The ceremony was at 2:30 in the afternoon so considering I was wide awake at 6:00am, and we were done hair and make-up by mid morning, the waiting was agony. I don't remember ever having a second thought about the commitment I was about to make. No cold feet. Just incredible joy in knowing I was about to tie the knot with the most unbelievable man I had ever known.
I remember walking up the trail with my Dad, through Minter Gardens, to the bottom of the hillside that looked up to the gorgeous white tent. The sun was shining and I was completely flattered by the many tourists that kept pulling out their cameras and snapping shots of me... complete strangers, but eagerly trying to capture pictures of me on my wedding day. They were so friendly and generous with their compliments. I felt so beautiful and so special. And I remember the proud look on my Dad's face as he stood beside me, holding my arm tightly. Still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.
And then it all began. The guests were seated beneath the big tent and my wonderful friend Leah began my favorite Amos Lee song on her guitar. Time to go. We walked up that long, winding path to the many smiling faces of friends and family.

And then our eyes met. I'll never forget the look on Jon's face as he saw me for the first time that day. A moment that will stay frozen in my mind forever. Through his teary eyes, it was the look of deep love. The kind of love that melted my heart in that instant, and continues to to this day. The kind of love that everyone should get to experience in their lifetime. The kind of love that fills your heart to the brim and spills over the edge. Life felt perfect in that moment.

As many of you can probably relate, the rest of the day was a bit of a blur. From pictures in the gardens, to pictures on the railroad tracks and the basketball court of Rosedale Middle School, to the receiving line before the reception. Greeting the wonderful people that had come to share in our special day. Eating amazing food, enjoying laughter and reminiscent memories during the open mike, and the many speeches and tear-filled thank-you's. The day passed by so quickly even though we didn't get away from the reception til after 10:30pm that night. I didn't want it to end. Such a joy-filled day. Such a sweet, lingering memory.

Three years later, I'm still amazed at how my love for Jon grows deeper and deeper every day. He's my best friend, my comforter, my pillar of strength in times of weakness, my spirit-lifter when I'm feeling down, my buddy, my confidant. He's the smiling face at the end of every day that reminds me of why I can be content in this life. He's God's gift to me.

Jon-- Thank you for choosing me. For investing in me and for loving me when it feels like the world is too much. Thank you for being here no matter what. For walking this journey of life with me. There's no one I'd rather spend my life with. I love you more with every breath.

Happy Anniversary honey.

Beach bliss...

Nothing like a day at the beach with the girls...

Jen & Vicky looking pretty for the camera...

Finishing off a perfect beach day with the perfect summer treat...
I'm so thankful for such wonderful friends! Love you girls!