Monday

How was your Monday?

Are you like me and have to drag yourself out of bed on Monday mornings? Or do you resemble Hughie and take off running?

I feel like the start of a week can feel daunting....

Once I get to work I try my best to copy Eli and JUMP right in!

And sometimes I'll even mimic Hughie and point my finger to keep me going in the right direction.

Both boys would probably tell me to just laugh it off...

But...if laughter isn't the medicine that takes away the Monday blues...grab a hand and hold on tight. 

And right when you are in the thick of it-

That is when you will brave your way through all the hard things that come your way.

It might be a loooooong week ahead....

But I know I'll get there.  

Dear Lily

Dear Lily,

Happy 5th birthday.

Thanks for letting me take you out for ice cream for your (HOLY-COW) 5th birthday!  This date was a long time coming and for me it lived up to all the excitement that went into waiting for it.
 

You were an excellent date and my heart melted faster than your ice cream did.  There were so many special moments.  Here are just a few-

1. You talked about Cinder-llella a lot.
2. You wanted chocolate ice cream with "swirl" on top.  But because I let you pull the levers all by your-big-self (we) accidentally put the wrong swirl on top.  You ended up with chocolate ice cream with pumpkin-cheesecake swirl on top.  But you know what--you ate it and didn't even seem to notice.  THAT is how I knew it wasn't so much about the ice cream, but the event was surely magical to you.  (and as a side note-it wasn't about the ice cream for me as you chose a chocolate/mint twist to put on top of my vanilla-also something I would not have chosen but ate without a second thought!)

(Our containers were the same size, the angle of the camera makes it look like I had more than you-but I put NO limit on what your little heart wanted to put into that cup. EVEN though you told me you had a small dinner -mashed potatoes and meatloaf!).

3.  You also accidentally spilled some water into your ice cream.  There may have been 1/4-1/2 inch of water at the bottom.  Again, my heart melted watching you still scoop it up.

4. I let you  put every and any topping on that you wanted. (Your welcome pw). You chose m&ms, snow caps, marshmallows, a few candy corns, white chocolate chips and chocolate covered sunflower seeds.  There may have been a few other toppings on but each one was a controlled amount.  Something your mom must have taught you.
5.  For your birthday you'd like a Barbie Hoola Hoop.  A Tangled Barbie.  Oh and some sparkly sunglasses.  Sparkly with Barbie. And if it can't be both Barbie and sparkly than just sparkly.
6. You told me in the car how you would be taking your bracelet off so it wouldn't get ice cream on it.  But little did you know you got ice cream all over your hand, sleeve and in your hair.  You showed me everything in your purse and you thought it was hilarious when I was driving and the keys in your purse started to make noise and I thought the police were after us!

7. You made sure to inform me that I was driving a different way than your mom and dad.  But you also reassured me that it was ok.
8. You tried to give me the $2.00 in your purse. awww.  No way!
9.  You told me about school, how hard it is to listen, and who would be coming to your birthday party.
10.  After ice cream we decided to walk along and look at the "Shops".  Then we stopped at the (grocery store) boutique for a small treat.  You picked out a princess balloon, some princess band-aids and a package of Rolos candy.

I'm one lucky lady.

You're one beautiful gal.

And even though somedays I wish I was 5 again so I could be your friend and not just your "aunt -fairy-god mother" I know that 20 years from now we'll still hang out.

I don't remember turning 5 but I'm sure someone must, even if there are just a few pictures.  And I don't know if you will remember turning 5 or this ice cream date, (even though I know you have a super power called "I remember everything right now") but IIIII will remember it forever.  And someday when you are old enough to have the interest you will look back at this blog to see the special moments we shared.  And then maybe your daughter or granddaughter will also want to see YOU turning 5.

I hope this next year is bright, fun, amazing, awesome, yummy, special, hilarious, goofy, energetic, healthy, sleep-filled, inventive, kind, sunny, beautiful, sparkly, playful, interesting and much much more.

Remember I'm just a phone call away (And I know you can talk on the phone).  There is only one of you and one of me and I think...we make a great team. And I love you a lot and all the time.

Love,
Aunt Raina  ps Don't forget all the things you promised to pack in your purse for our movie and popcorn date-a hat in case it's cold, and a phone in case you want to look at pictures.    

Quick Trip

We made a (not so quick if you were counting the hours in the car) quick trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Roeder this weekend. And although Hugh didn't sleep a wink on the way there and cried when I set him down when we first walked in the door, he quickly warmed up to everyone and asked for "cookie?" many times.  

And although it is always special to see all the cousins, this time around it was just us and Uncle Matt and Aunt Erika (and Baxter).  This made the time one on one and each boy got a lot of special moments with each grandparent (and I think they enjoyed this too!).  

-Eli got to play in the basement with both grandparents multiple times

-Books were read
-Cookies were eaten
-Games were played
-Toys were shared and built
-Oooold high school friends stopped by!
-Parks were explored
-Finally some fishing with Grandpa Roeder (And daddy and uncle Matt)
-"A-pad" was played with Aunt Erika
-Tomato plants picked and gardens explored

Don't forget that Hugh got a chance to talk to Grandma on the phone while he was standing right in front of her (see below)

Hugh is holding his "phone" in his left hand!

Don't forget the adults had some fun too.....chatting, eating, sleeping (napping and sleeping in a little!), sharing a glass of wine, fishing, trying out the park and even playing some wild games where you have to hold a pencil in your arm pit and start each sentence tsk and end it with izzle (you had to be there).  

BLESSED--completely.  

Watch out for Brotherly Love

A few weeks ago Andy and 3 of his brothers played in the Gus Macker 3 vs. 3 basketball tournament.  This was my first opportunity to really watch Andy play basketball as he stopped playing just about the time we started dating.  I was so excited to see him in his element.  His number one love after the boys, me and family is the sport of basketball.  I think it made up his whole world up until his Junior year in college.  And since all of Andy's brothers played basketball back in the day-they joined together to give it a go. 

I'm not sure who created the team, the team name or the shirts.  I did secretly smile at the team name they came up with "Brotherly Love" but let's be honest. These guys DO love each other.  I won't go into much detail about how they did not win didn't do as well as they had hoped but I will defend that they were in the top bracket for men because Andy and one of his brothers played college hoops.  AND the fact that his bro is 6'8".  I guess experience and height put you in the top category.  But they didn't take into account that one Bro is over 40 which makes for tough competition when you are playing 20 year olds.  

I had a hard time focusing because Hugh didn't always want to be in the stroller and Eli just begged for snacks.  Neither boy took the time to see the love, passion or determination in their dad's eyes.  There was loud music playing, cousins around, and hot sun beating down.  And if you know Andy, when he doesn't win-it's tough to talk to him.  And the games were short and fast.  

Watching them play was one of my favorite moments of the year.  They did amazing, despite what the score board said.  (One of their opponents ended up winning the dunk contest at the end of the weekend.)  PLUS a lot of the family came to watch and hoot and holler for these guys. 

 It all made me feel like I could understand what growing up as a Roeder must have been like---spending hours watching game after game (Andy also had 2 nephews and a niece playing in the tournament, often at the same time or overlapping games).

So maybe it's a funny team name for 4 grown men, but if you looked around there was a ton of love bouncing around!  I'm terrible at taking action shots and I'm sad I didn't get a few good ones.  But at least I can use this as a new goal for next summer when (these boys have already decided) they want to compete again next year-together.