May

Hannah's graduation! 

The boys spent a weekend at the cousin's and built this tree house. I talked to Silas on the phone and he said "Don't worry, I am not letting Rory use the machete."  

My aunt published a book and I am quoted and helped design the cover...so I am practically famous.

 

We went to Logan's baseball game and celebrated his birthday.

It was Marcia and Alan's birthdays too. It is a bit of pressure to be in charge of the cake for the our neighbor baker. I went with a box mix. They got the boys an ax throwing set for their birthdays and we had some fun with that.

 

Silas presented his prairie style house he designed for his ALERT architecture unit. Parents got to come to the "Tour of Homes" so Daron represented. Rory's class hatched chicks. Without a PE teacher all year, Ms. Snyder planned field day and it was the best the boys have ever had.

 

 

Silas had his 5th grade promotion. It was kind of lame. Zero decor, seating for only about 1/4 of the people in attendance, no songs, awards, photo slide shows, speakers, or fanfare of any kind. They also announced them as the class of 2030. Incorrect. He did have a star by his name in the program for the President's Award with no clarification as to what that entails. Also he finished quarter 4 with a B, so maybe they printed those too early. I am super proud of him though and hope middle school is an amazing time of new friends and experiences.

Banks Wedding

Hannah got married! She was literally the most beautiful person I have ever seen. The wedding had it all: sweet vows, lovely signage, popsicles, a choreographed father-daughter dance, Chipotle, family from far away, and a beach party. 

Here are some amusing tales from the weekend...

Brian

Hannah's in-laws were on the show Love It Or List It several years ago.  As any nosy family should, the episode has been screened by most of our side. A favorite part is the best friend/neighbor of Mr. Banks that was highlighted in several scenes playing catch with a football. He was touted as a big reason they didn't want to move, so we thought with that status there was a good chance we could get a glimpse of him at the wedding. After staking out the candidates for "Brian", Conn meets us in a parking lot huddle to reveal an update she had uncovered...the real Brian WASN'T EVEN FILMED and they had a stand in for the episode! (Greg!) What a farce we had been living. This was all brought to light at the rehearsal dinner where Daron was absent on kid duty. Trenton asked that we take a vow of secrecy so that he could go on thinking about Brian in ignorant bliss. Daron was eventually informed and with much shock he has come to deal with the lie we had all been believing. This is the real Brian and Trenton breaking the news.

Please Take One

Here is the longest story about cheese you've ever heard. My personal wedding saga centered around the hors d'oeuvres. In my desperate "Love me!" fashion I was happy to take on a task of some importance. Unfortunately, there were many missteps. We were going for a salami and cheese skewer in a paper French fry cup. Initially I thought the cup would show the grease because we could see spots on the outside after the first sample was made. Hence the purchase of 100 feet of parchment paper to be cut into circles. Attempt two revealed that parchment was unnecessary because the inside of the cup was wax lined and we had just touched the outside with greasy fingers. I wanted to wait until the morning of the wedding to prep so nothing would dry out. This had us on a time crunch. I awoke at 6 am to be ready for the 11:00 deadline. The next issue that arose was that the Colby cheese rounds were all stuck together and peeling them apart resulted in them no longer being round. Jane and I went to Publix and got the only round cheese they had...provolone. Back at the house the next problem was that the provolone was too stiff and would not succumb to the fork floret roll. The salami rolled lovely so we just chopped off the sides of the cheese, making squares that we arranged in a fan. (I now have 4 bags of cheese sides in my refrigerator.) We were moving along nicely until the salami ran out at only about 70 of the 200 skewers I was supposed to be making. There may have been some pilfering earlier (Mr. Roebke), but I  don't think it made that much of a difference. We had no car to get back to Publix so Trenton and Dad came in with the save, stopping on the way back from getting the keg. They rolled in at 10:00 where we made another 70 before we headed to the venue. Not quite 200 but there were 8 left over so I think it was about perfect. All hands on deck filled the cups with the skewers and crackers and it was quite presentable! Whew. I am sure those hors d'oeuvres will be a thing of lasting importance in the Banks' married life.

In more concise fashion...

Would it really be a Roebke affair without some sort of catastrophe? I think one missing car key and lock smith visit should do the trick.

On the way to the piano bar on Saturday, we were pulling up to the parking garage when I get a text from Conn saying, "Just tell them you are with Nathan and they will let you in." So I roll down my window and say to the attendant, "We are with Nathan."  This of course means nothing to her because Conn was talking about the bar, not the garage. I sheepishly paid my money and entered. Much amusement was also had by Uncle Steve's selection of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as a song request.

On Sunday, we had some down time, so we wandered about the shops looking for this specific beach toy that you throw in the waves and it surfs back to you. I always want one when I am at the ocean, but at no other time, hence I never purchase it to have while at the ocean. After about 10 shops we were coming down the last stretch with one final place to look. As a Mother's Day miracle, Bali Bobbi was there for the taking! (purchasing)

The rehearsal dinner was on a boat and we got to sit at the cool kids' table playing Chameleon with the Merrill kids and brothers. I enjoyed the reference list, my meal, and being new besties with the mother of the groom, Anna Wade, who I really do love. Skylar had an old man that wasn't even part of our wedding party ask for her number so he could send her a picture he took of her on the deck. I mean, he might have been sweet, but no. I had him send it to me. I am sure he was disappointed. It wasn't even good enough to make the blog. Ha!

 

When Daron dropped me off at the wedding to set up the food, he took the car to Conn's beach house about a half mile down the street in order to free up parking. I was busy prepping and it seemed to me that he was back in an instant asking if I wanted my sunglasses. This lead me to believe he had just decided to park at the event. When all the meat and cheese was out, I asked him to take the coolers back to the car. He is an amazing husband because he didn't even balk and away the coolers went. About 10 minutes later I am trying to summon him and call asking where he is...he is walking the mile with the coolers to the car which he had indeed parked at Conn's. He was a bit blistered and salty on the return. I was just picturing him going to the parking lot. I still feel pretty bad about that one.

Hannah's new poodle, Nova, was part of the wedding party and sat by me on the front row. I think it was her first time on the beach and she was having the time of her life digging under my chair leg so that I kept tipping at a more and more dangerous angle during the ceremony. Kind of hilarious.

Some people went on a fishing expedition (not me) but their boat drove right by us while the kids were swimming in the freezing pool.

I don't know why I didn't expect it, but the weekend felt like we were in turbo mode the whole time. I am sure all weddings have a touch of chaos with so many details and moving pieces. Everything turned out nicely and now that we are past all the stress, I think it was a really beautiful time with lots of memories made celebrating Hannah. Also, my boys were angels. I am so glad I come from a family that always shows up! 

Here's to the happy couple! 

April

April seemed crazy with baseball, random plans, and 4 Jones Gap trips for school.

Rory was in a weekend tournament where his team got 3rd. He was very excited about the trophy! I was excited because Gaston's concession stand was legit! I can't wait to see him move up to 8U next year. He has improved so much and loves to get in the yard and practice. He hit a homerun almost every game. (*Homerun constitutes pretty much any ball that makes it to the grass.) He did get out at the plate once for dallying. His words, "Can we let that go already?"

It is a tradition for the 5th grade to tie-dye shirts for promotion and Silas's teacher got some for the parents that work at the school. Silas did mine and was so cute planning it. He made me a scavenger hunt for me to find it when I got home one day. I loved it. I told him he was so clever. His words, "You could use to say that more." He also had fun on his ALERT field trip to the Whitewater Center in Charlotte.

The chickens grew in stature and stink and we had fun watching them peck around the yard. They are a tight group and Silas convinced Julianna to keep them together when they headed to the farm. She also tells me that none are on the list for consumption! I took another round of glamour shots and did some footprints before we bid them farewell. Rory cried. They are missed but I am sure they are happier. Photo shoot #2 was a bit more difficult than the first.

 

 

 

 

Jane flew in so we could go to Hannah's shower. She got to come with me to work and happened to see the Superintendent. She also got to catch Rory's game.

 

These are spring school pictures I am not buying. May is bringing lots of fun things...including summer break!