On the Road Again...

Growing up I had two brothers, and one sister.  I know it's not how the saying goes, but a sister from another mother and father.  My cousin Cassie is my only cousin from the Andersen side of the family.  We did everything together.  We played together. There were many Barbie get-togethers, swimming, going to parks, sleepovers, and random days up North where we were pushing the chairs on the three season porch together, sitting on our "bunks" all day and talking.  We did girls scouts, birthday parties, Church camp, summer camping, and Sunday school.  I know I am missing things that I will think of later and kick myself for, but you get the point.  We were inseparable.

You grow up...things change and people change. But, in the end you hope your relationships with other people can last through easy and difficult times.  Without taking our relationship for granted in any way, I know I will have Cassie in my life forever.  

She is my sister.  She is a friend to my husband.  Andy can joke and laugh with her and feels comfortable around her.  She is an auntie to my kids, although not officially.  But, what does that really mean?  She is there for the birthdays, the trips to the zoo, the casual meals out and the random days here and there.  She is a Godmom to my Little Man.  I know she will be an excellent role model and guide for him.  

And by the way, they both love her unconditionally and feel comfortable around her.

We headed up North on a rainy Saturday morning to celebrate Cassie's first 30 years of life.  It was almost black out because of the rain and Aiden slept the entire way.  Although Alex didn't sleep, he was a good little guy. The rain was very scary for me and Andy and the other vehicle traveling (my parents and Luke) will laugh at me for it.  There was a point when we could barely see the road.  I drove on the way back, phew. I am a horrible backseat driver, especially with poor Andy.  We pulled out the activity bin from the weekend to Milwaukee and Alex was set for the trip up North.

When we got up there, Aiden was ready to play.  They gave Cassie their homemade shirt.  I was very impressed with their handprints.  We used fabric paints for the shirt, which might not have been the best idea since it dries so quickly and impossible to get off their tiny little hands.  But, it worked great!

My dad built Cassie a bed to either grow a garden or flowers.  Luke gave her the flowers.

Before the official party started, Alex got to enjoy some time outside.  Andy was working on finishing up some electrical work for my Uncle Jeff's mancave.  I went out to the garden and Alex was busy digging and finding rocks.  Which I think was okay?  He sure loves his Uncle Jeff though.  He was hoping to go fishing, but we will have to reserve that for another time as we ran out of time on this trip.  When he was digging he found quite a bit of Army Worms that he has been talking about nonstop since.  Supposedly, they are taking over up there and that is not a good thing.  Aiden was finding money in the mancave for Great Grandpa.  I think Great Grandpa was getting a kick out of Aiden giving all the money to him.  Innocent fun.

Like I said, Aiden loves his Godmom.

Cassie took the boys on a ride in the ATV.  Aiden loved to drive.  She took Alex to Lake Five and he got to throw rocks in the lake.  Ever since, we always have to throw rocks into the pond by our house.

 The newly built mancave.

Aiden spent some time eating with Uncle Luke and Alex spent some time coloring with Grandpa Johnson.  The both enjoyed finding people on the other side of the window.

The women of the Andersen family.

Happy birthday, Cassie!

The Andersen Family

Before we knew it, we were on our way home.  Both the boys were exhausted and slept the entire 2 1/2 hours.  The woke up when were pulling into town at 8:30 pm and quickly fell asleep when were home.  I am thankful for a nice trip home.

Celebrating Joel

Everyone was up and ready to go Sunday morning of our trip to Milwaukee.  I couldn't believe it was Sunday already, it went so fast!  Mike and Krista had borrowed a bouncy house for Joel's fourth birthday and the kids had at it.  It was very muggy and hot that day, but they did not care.  They jumped away.  Aiden was so excited and wanted to jump so badly, but he just couldn't get his footings.  He kept falling all over and finally found and loved the slide that goes off of the bouncy house.

Krista, Kristen and Kathy were busy at work in the kitchen getting ready for Joel's birthday party.  I try to help, but I always feel like I am more in the way than anything. But, I will always jump in on good conversation and if you ever need help...I will always help!

That bouncy house is hot!

I keep a pretty tight reign on Alex when he is at home.  I am not ready for him to play outside by himself or leave my sight.  But, with older cousins, I think I should learn to let go a little bit.  I followed him around the block one time and then let him have fun with his cousins. 

I find that to be one of the most difficult things.  I don't want to be an overbearing helicopter mom, but I also don't want to be to relaxed on my parenting.  I think it is a fine line, and I will always have to keep reassessing the need.

I can be a big kid too, mom!

They might be having some fun together?

Jumping rope.

Playing Bags.

Swinging.

Eating a delicious lunch

Happy fourth birthday, Joely!

Eating Cake.

Mmm...Chocolate.

Joel was so excited to open his presents he was shaking.

Aiden found some friends his height to play with, and perfect...they have a tractor!

It was so cute when Joel brought a gift bag over for Aiden.  He opened it, showed it to him and left with it. 

Cousins...forever.

We had a great trip out to Wisconsin.  We were packed with plans for Winona, the hotel, the Milwaukee Zoo, eating out, the Twins game, camping, playing with cousins and celebrating Joel's fourth birthday.  It was a great first mini vacation for us.

Go Twins!

Tailgating is something I think of with "old-fashioned" baseball.  The Twins don't have a great spot for it and I have never really done it before.  We did it for the Twins game in Milwaukee.  It was fun.  We didn't grill, but Andy and I enjoyed some beers and the boys enjoyed some chex-mix.  Isn't that tailgating?  Truthfully, I think we all enjoyed watching the crowd and others.  It was an experience.

The whole purpose of traveling out to Milwaukee in the first place was to get together with and celebrate my nephew, Joel's, 4th birthday.  It was so fun for our family to get together and do something special like this. (Of course we missed Nate, Abby, Dave and Kathy.) What a fun idea! 

The kids and adults alike were decked out in their Twins (and Brewers) gear, ready to cheer on their beloved team.

The boys were in awe of everything going on around them.  Miller Park is amazing to see and experience.

TC was there too!  We didn't get to see him go down the slide when we got a home run, unless I missed that part.  But, the Brewer mascot went down, which I thought was kind of rude.  Shouldn't you invite your guests to play, too?

The first hour was pretty warm, but it cooled off quickly when the sun went behind us.

Joel and Alex enjoying the game and peanuts from Uncle Matt and Auntie Kristen

The Gang

Besides his little nap at the Milwaukee Zoo, Little Man did not get his big nap in today.  We went for a short walk and he quickly fell asleep.  He slept for 2.5 innings during the game also.  He can be a sound sleeper.

Miller Park was amazing and I don't think there was a bad seat in the place.  We thoroughly enjoyed the game and hope to do it again some time.  My only regret, not meeting up with one of my good friends, Steph.  I didn't realize she was at the game until the last inning when my mom sent me a text saying, "You should text Steph, I think she is there too".  That would have been the cherry on top.

TWINS WIN!!!  A wonderful end to the night.

I had/have such a great relationship with my cousins.  I love that my kids are getting experiences like this with their cousins.  They just enjoy being around each other and watching each other.

God is good!

Alex looks up to Aaron all the time.

Watching the grounds keepers clean the field.

Cheese!

After the game we headed towards Andy's brother and sister-in-law's house and stopped for a quick bite to eat.  We had some good conversation and catching up time.  We were such a big group that they put us in a room by ourselves.  Which was great.  The kids could be loud, or themselves.  After dinner they ran around the room. Kids being kids.

 

I love this little guy.  There is absolutely no one in the world like him.  He makes me laugh every time I talk to him.  I was taking pictures of the kids side and he says to me, "Lissie, take my picture!" (mind you, he is smiling like he is camera ready) So, I quickly turn the camera to him to take his picture and he makes this face...

Love.

The birthday boy and his momma.

I think it had to have been about 11 o'clock before we got to Mike and Krista's and the guys set up the tents.  Alex and Aiden were wiped out and slept in the car.  We quickly transferred them from their seats to the tents, changed them and they never woke up.  Until 5 AM when Alex turns to me and says, "Mommy! We're camping!!"  He then went back to sleep, but he was so excited.  He had been so looking forward to sleeping in the tent and it didn't matter what time it was, nothing could contain this little guy's excitement.

An unforgettable experience.