September

September turned out to be quite the busy month. At the beginning of the month, Emma started kindergarten. She had a bit of an adjustment period to go through, but she's doing great with it now. She loves it so much! Her teacher says she is doing great, and seems to be showing an extra ability in art.

The second weekend of the month, I started a new job. I work weekends at one of my church's 4 locations. I do custodial work, which involves cleaning and set-up and tear down for various events. I work 10 hours each day, and while it is exhausting, I am so thankful for the extra income.

In the middle of September, I celebrated my 33rd birthday! As is usual with birthdays as an adult, it was pretty uneventful. Todd and the girls baked a cake on my birthday. Then the following weekend we ate out at Famous Dave's. Yum!

The end of the month was probably the most anticipated part of the month. Emma and I flew out to Portland, OR for my sister Julie's wedding. This was the first time that I had been to Oregon, so I was pretty excited to go! Emma was the flower girl, so that alone made her excited! Here are some pictures from the wedding.

Julie and Emma before the ceremony.

Nemo and Emma play while pictures are taken.

Emma, Julie, and Nemo pose for a photo.

Emma walks down the aisle!

Julie, Mom, and Dad make their entrance.

We had a great time at the wedding. Emma and Nemo really enjoyed the dance floor! Because of the time difference though, Emma was asleep in my arms by 9pm. It felt like midnight to her!

The day after the wedding, everyone met up at the house where we were staying. We made a brunch for the guests, and we watched Julie and Jeremy open their gifts. After that, Emma and I went with my parents and my sister Michelle and her family up to Multnomah Falls. I'd always heard it was beautiful. It was gorgeous! We had a great time up there. Emma really liked hiking up to the bridge, which was probably about a third of the way up to the top of the falls.

The view from Vista House.

Emma and I pause for a picture in front of the falls.

Emma, Nemo, and Mia with Grandpa and Grandma.

Emma was so excited to be there!

This is the bridge that we hiked up to. The rest of the way up to the falls would've been too difficult for the kids. I'd love to go back with Todd and the girls when they are a bit older!

Overall, we had a great month. We are back in Michigan, and headed straight into fall! The weather is finally turning colder and the leaves are starting to change. I love this time of year, so I plan to savor every minute of it!