don't forget to breathe: Majors of July

Welcome to the July post. This has been the busiest July I've ever had (that I can recall). So much has happened that I can barely remember it all. I'm going to do my best, so here we go:

There was a lot of back and forth between home and Bridgetown, visiting and such, wedding related activities in both places, plus one of the weddings. We also had some visitors! Julie was the first visitor and super houseguest in May (wrong post I know) and Kristina made an appearance as well!

To the two beauties: thank you so much for coming to visit!

Ok, so July! Our next set of visitors was Q's Dad and Grandad. They were having a little road trip to come see us and then head back home through the mountains. It was so nice to have them come down and check out our house. It also happened to be Q's Dad's birthday the day that they arrived. Happy birthday Sean! They only stayed one night but it was a great visit. A few days later, we had a bit of scare at the house. Mr. Floyd had not eaten or drank any water and he would barely move. So being the terrified pet momma I am, I brought him to the vet to find out that his bladder was completely blocked and was on the verge of bursting. Emergency! My boy was on the brink of death and in order to treat him they had to put him under anesthetic and express his bladder via catheter. I was given the worst case scenario so I could prepare myself emotionally: that he may die while under anesthetic. HOLY S**T! Naturally I burst into tears and had a very hard time letting him go. Once they took him, I left and decided to go back to work to keep busy instead of going home and fixating my thoughts of the horrible tragedy it could be. A short while later I received a call from the vet saying that they were successful and that he was alright for now. They did however want to keep him overnight for observation. Overnight turned into two days. Two days without him! They were so kind and good to him and to me. They invited me to come and sit with him for as long as I wanted. It was great! And incredibly sad to see him with an IV in his arm and looking hopeless. They had said that after I had left he was improving so much that I could pick up later that night. A humungous thank you to Dr. Kate and Mandy for everything you did for Floyd! I'm so happy that he has the best doctors. Thank you! I was also lucky enough to be able to stay home for three days to watch and care for him. Bliss. Pet momma and her boy got to spend 72 hours filled with sunshine lunches, movies and naps. I insist that you do this (minus the heart-wrenching scare and sick pet).

Taking in the sun feels extra special nice when you are super sick.

Almost two weeks of medication, a heavily sedated Floyd was on the mend and has been flare-up-free ever since. Hoorah! During the last few days of his medication we brought home the newest edition to our little family: Arkham.

Now our home is 50/50: 50% brunette and 50% ginger. Thankfully Floyd and Arkham get along really well and play often. Naptime seems to be a favourite too.

Oh. My. Goodness. Cutest. Moment. EVER.

Now that everything is sunshine and lollipops, the first big event we had to attend was the wedding of Brianne and Matthew. I had never been to Taber before so I made sure to leave extra early. Turns out Taber isn't that far from Bridgetown and the location was a breeze to find. So I had an hour and a half to kill until the ceremony. I decided to explore the country roads after hitting up the nearest 7-11 for a coke slurpee and my favourite gummy candies : Big Foot. I recommend you do what I did: get a sweet and refreshing snack, go for a drive and park on the side of the road (one where there are no other cars coming your way), crank up the Hawksley Workman tunes and just enjoy the view of canola fields, sunshine, and birds. It may look strange to others that happen to drive by but I tell ya, it was serene. Happiness. I attended the ceremony solo and as representative for three others due to work schedules. Later on we all attended the reception as en entourage. A damn good looking entourage.

Anyways, the ceremony was at the Valgaardson residence in Taber. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING LOCATION. See for yourself:

Look at that dress! Moreover, look at the bride! Absolutely gorgeous.

Now keep in mind that this is a private residence, these people rent out their home for weddings. Great idea! There was so much more to see, for example: the guesthouse that rivals the main house in size and architecture, and all the colourful gardens and water features, but the memory card only had so much space :( . It was a scorcher that day, and wonderful considering it had been nothing but rain for near 3 weeks prior to this day. I got me some sweet tan lines now ;) . It was a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding, very classy: black, white, and deep red, live saxophone player and many happy and beautiful people. The beaming couple looked amazing and the reception was soooo much fun! Congratulations Brianne and Matthew and thank you for a great time!

Well I'm going to take a little break but I will leave you with a couple photos Q and I took when we went for a walk around Henderson Lake.