A day for the Calderwoods -- baby blessing and Birthday

On Sept 13th, Laura and Tyler blessed their third boy, baby Austin.

It was a beautiful blessing. I'm grateful we were able to be there and be a part of such a sweet event.


That afternoon, the celebrations continued with Mason's Birthday!

The big 5-year-old!

There was quite the crowd!

Grandma with sweet baby Austin!

It was a long weekend, but full of everything we love: family, friends, and of course cake. We missed  you, George!

Happy 10th Birthday, Lance!

Sept 11th found us up in Ashburn again for a very fun weekend. Not only were we going to celebrate Lance's 10th Birthday, but Laura and Tyler were also blessing baby Austin. Poor George was working that weekend and had to miss out on the celebrations. The life of an Emergency Medicine Doctor...

We got there around bedtime, so Grandma let the kids take a bath in her huge tub. 

That night after the kids went to bed, Amy and I stayed up and worked on Lance's cake.

The next day, Lance headed out to Gettysburg with Grandma and Grandpa for his annual Birthday trip while I stayed back and finished the cake:

Lance wanted a StarCraft themed cake, so I tried to deliver.

I bought these little bottlecap figurines off the internet and they worked out perfect!

These boys played while we waited for the Birthday boy to come back from his trip.

Every year, my mom and Glenn take Lance on a day trip to somewhere special. Last year they visited Lurray Caverns and the year before that they went to the Spy Museum in DC. This year, since Lance is studying American History in school, they went to Gettysburg.

Chatting like old friends:

Even with the rain, they had a great time and I think Lance learned quite a bit. He was rattling off facts and names for days afterward whenever I'd ask him about the trip.


That evening, we celebrated Lance's Birthday with family. We usually do a party with friends, but this year I convinced him to do a family celebration with cake and then a Busch Gardens trip with a few buddies later in October.

I think he liked the cake.

Grandma Brewer was there too! She flew in for Austin's blessing. I love it when she comes!

Callie and Bryce came over with Jen, along with George's Mom and Dad and Laura's family. We had a full house!

Uncle Tyler is the best!

Happy, happy Birthday Lance! We love having your in our family. You constantly keep me on my toes with your funny personality, your spunk, and your feisty spirit. You are growing up so fast. I love hearing your ideas and watching you discover new things about your ever expanding world. We are so glad your are ours! Love you, sweet boy!

Karl and Neha--an Indian Wedding

Sept. 5th George and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of a good friend from George's undergrad days. George and Karl first met at Glee Club about 10 years ago and have been friends ever since.

Karl is one of the nicest people you could meet. He's kind and funny and when he talks to you, he makes you feel like you're the most important person at that moment. You don't find many people like that. I'm so happy he met Neha!

Neha is Indian and this was a true Indian wedding. It started with Karl riding in on a horse, leading the wedding guests down the road to the site of the ceremony, and circling the crowd 9 times. There is meaning and symbolism behind every part of the ceremony, with each new stage being an important "step" in the bride and groom's journey toward marriage.

It was great to see Matt and Lindsey again! Matt is doing a Residency program in Ophthalmology in Richmond and while they're only an hour or so away, we don't get to see them must. 

Frank Albinder, the conductor for the Glee Club.

The ceremony lasted about an hour and while it was long, it was totally enjoyable. Luckily, they had a booklet typed up for all the guests that explained the importance behind the rituals.

Beautiful bride:

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After the ceremony, we attended the reception and were able to enjoy a delicious vegetarian feast. I don't know what exactly I ate, but I enjoyed the majority of it--quite a compliment as I'm not typically overly fond of Indian food.

There were several members of the Glee Club present and George had a good time catching up with some he hasn't seen in years. 

Karl made the mistake of rubbing his eyes after riding the horse and about 6 Benadryls later, his eye still looked like this:

It's okay. If I recall, it looked like George's lip was rotting off on our wedding day (a weird reaction to some fruit cleaner he used a couple days before).

The Bride and Groom!

Glee Club:

Thank you, Karl and Neha, for inviting us to celebrate this wonderful event! We are honored to call you friends and wish you all the love and happiness the world has to offer!