Jim and Julie's Wedding Week

We made it to Chicago without a single hiccup... easy flight, little traffic, no problems whatsoever. We got to my parents house and then things started unraveling. Luke wasn't feeling well and was running a fever that wouldn't go down with tylenol, Matt caught a nasty stomach bug (I'll spare you the details but trust me when I was it wasn't pretty), I caught the stomach bug a bit later. Needless to say we were all run down and feeling lousy for the first few days. I ended up taking Luke to the health clinic after two days of his fever and just not acting like himself. The doctor did a strep culture. The 10 minute culture came back negative but the doctor was sure that the 24 hour one would be positive since he had all the symptoms so he prescribed amoxicillin anyway. That seemed to do the trick and Luke seemed to be back to his normal self shortly. ***Remember this for an upcoming blog post***

Luke had a great time playing with cousin Micah aka "Mac" as Luke likes to call him. They played together great for the most part. Luke is in the delightful stage referred to as "The Terrible Two's" where everything is 'mine', sharing is from the devil and hitting is an acceptable reaction to whenever something doesn't go my way. That said, we had some challenging moments, but overall they had a lot of fun together and were so much fun to see interacting.

Luke thought rides on Pops' tractor were every bit as much fun as anything at Disneyland

Uncle Aaron took him on his first bike ride, which he LOVED! I'm thinking we may have to invest in some bikes and a baby buggy... we'll see.

With everyone in the DeBoer clan feeling under the weather for the first few days and the overall busyness of getting ready for the wedding and family coming to town, we did a lot of watching Buzz (Toy Story 1, 2, and 3), Cars, Elmo, and Thomas.

Elin seemed to think the little chairs that Pops and Nee Nee had were pretty sweet too.

But she was much more comfortable and content to be laying out on the blanket with her cousin Caleb

...when he wasn't punching her in the face, that is.

As I'm typing this I am realizing that I this is the first time I have mentioned Caleb, our new nephew! Introducing Caleb Wilson Klingenmaier - born June 2! Healthy baby boy (he was as big at birth as Elin was at 1 month - ounce for ounce, inch for inch.) We are so thrilled to have him as an incredible addition to our crazy family! Welcome Caleb! We love you!!

Speaking of incredible additions to our family ~ Jim and Julie are married!!! It was an absolutely gorgeous wedding. We were honored to be able to participate in it. I wasn't able to take as many pictures as I would have liked - a combination of being in the wedding party, trying to keep an eye on the little ones and my camera is on its death bed (seriously, I have to shake, smack and squeeze it to get the screen to show up. I need a new one in the worst way!) So, you'll have to forgive my lack of pictures from such a special occasion and take my word for it that it was beyond beautiful. We couldn't be happier to have a new sister-in-law! Welcome Julie!!

The newlyweds shaking their stuff on the dance floor

Luke and Micah were the studly little ring-bearers - looking smashing in their tuxes

Mmmm, wedding cake.

To think that someday Matt will be walking Elin down the isle... makes me a little teary just thinking about it.

Elin was awesome all day. There was no shortage of people willing to snuggle her at the wedding so she got passed around quite a bit. I'm sure on some level she loved all the attention.

The day after the wedding was a party at my parent's house, as the tradition goes. We Thomsons have to stretch everything out as long as possible, especially when it comes to partying, so this was no exception! It was so great to be able to spend more time with family and friends that we don't get to see very often.

Luke and Matt were a little worn out from the previous day's events and took nice long naps.

We went to a parade the morning of the Fourth of July. Luke was pumped about seeing all the trucks and horses and even Buzz Lightyear made an appearance!

Elin wasn't quite as excited about it.

(this is quite possibly the worst picture we have of her, but I couldn't help posting it!

Check out the chub!!)

Again, we partied on the 4th with a BBQ at my parent's house. Dad T smoked some ribs, we played yard games, the boys swam in the pool... it was your typical, all-American way to celebrate the 4th.

Chillin' with Katy

Pops takes a break from Grill-Masterhood to hold his grand-daughter. Good trade.

We had a great time in IL overall. Matt and I even got out one evening for a date! (which we pathetically spent going to dinner then Target, so romantic.) As always, the time went by far too fast and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. It was easier knowing that we'll see Pops and Nee Nee in September for Elin's baptism and the Klingenmaier clan for Thanksgiving. (Jim and Julie, you guys need to plan a trip west sometime soon!)

Thanks for everything Mom and Dad T! We love you!