To Blog or Not To Blog

This would be the question of the day...or shall I say week...or really to be honest, almost month. Not that I don't love blogging and love being a blog stalker to others, I just find that I am so lacking in extra time around here. This month seemed to fly by. I know, I feel like I say that all the time, or at least every blog post. I know everybody is so busy and yet they still manage to blog...how? So let's see, what have we been up to? Well I think this one will be a long one.

Let's start with the beginning of August. We had the pleasure of watching a very good, close friend of many years get married. Our friend Bryan..whom some of you know...married his girlfriend Renee on August 1st. Mike was part of the wedding party, yes I was a bit bitter that Mike was called upon to stand up for Bryan when I've known him longer and he was my friend first...couldn't I have worn a tux?!?!? All kidding aside, I still got to be part of all of the festivities and enjoyed every minute. Mike was a busy guy, between the rehearsal dinner, the night before of "boys will be boys" fun, and then the all day affair that was the wedding. It was SOOO much fun. My hubby was looking really good in a tux so of course I got all dappered up and we enjoyed a night away from the kiddos. Its always so much fun, and refreshing, to just get to be a couple again...especially when we were looking so good. I love my hubby in jeans, shorts, comfy clothes...just about anything...but seeing him in a tux is always a pleasant surprise!! It was cool because we both knew so many people at the wedding. It was just a huge celebration with a ton of friends of both of ours. Lots and lots and lots of fun. Here are some pics from the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself. Congrats Bryan...we love you both....thanks for the good time!

So that was our most recent celebration. Otherwise our month has been pretty normal. Van has been playing soccer and tball through the city of Orange all summer long and really enjoying both. They both took a day or so to warm up to, but eventually he got the hang of it and had a good time. I think he just liked doing something special, just him. We are so excited for him to be 4 (yep I can't believe it either) next year so he can actually join a league and play a sport for a team with uniforms and all. Here's a couple of soccer and tball pics...for the sake of keeping this post semi-short, I won't post too many.

okay really how many of us have this same picture from years ago...I thought it was funny (and yes he had to wear that shirt...it was the smallest the coach could find)

this day he was on "the green machine"

must have been an all red day??? what was I thinking?

"point, step, and throw"

the "shovel"

Let's see...oh yeah, in early August we had Vacation Bible School. What a hectic week this was. I was teaching the 2-4 year old class with another mom. That meant, up, dressed and fed (me and both kids) and out of the house by 9am, everyday. Boy were they tired. It seemed to get worse and worse as the week dragged on. They had a great time, but we were all just so beat by the time we got home everyday. Ava pretty much ran amuck in the class the entire time, since she was a little younger than the actual age group, but Van was a real champ. He practiced his questions every day and always knew his answer when he was called on. At the closing ceremonies, he even grabbed the mic from me to show how well he knew his answers to all of the crowd. For those of you that really know Van...you know this is just not him. He is usually one of the shyest kids around....but for some reason, when it came to showing everyone how much he had studied...he was all about showing off...those Billingsley genes coming through. Here are some cute pics from the closing day....

Well that's all of the big stuff that has been occupying our time. I've been working a lot and Mike has been super busy with softball and his band. You will be happy to know, they have finally "laid down a track"...okay not really a full track. But he is recorded playing his drums along w/ their guitar player on this song. Please keep in mind they are missing the bass playing and lyrics. But, if you have a minute, take a listen here. Also, remember, Mike has only been playing drums since February. I have to say, I'm really impressed. He was so excited to get to do this. Now we have proof of actually how good he is...I've been sending this along...even though he is pretty humble about it...but like I said, take a listen. Its cool to think that's really him playing.

Other than that...we've just been hanging out. Ava is still the most crazy monkey child I have ever seen. I was even joking with Mike the other night that we have to get her one of the "cat climbers" because she just needs some sort of jungle gym to always be climbing on. She is getting so big, I can't believe she is almost 1 1/2 ...time has been flying. I'd love to post a pic of her but believe it or not....in all of our August pics...there aren't very many...or even more than one where she is looking at the camera. Sorry. Van is starting school again in a week and we're pretty anxious for this. He's really excited to go this year so I'm hoping for a very smooth transition. I will keep you all posted. Alright...got to call it quits now...this one has taken me long enough to write and I'm sure long enough for you to read. I will try my hardest to not be gone again so long.

Thanks for reading,

B