I Rock. According to My Nephew.

I rock.

Obviously.

If you can't tell, this is a drawing of me, courtesy of my 7 year old nephew, Jackson.

I have an egg-shaped mid-section.

Stick arms & legs.

Only 3 fingers per "hand".

And, flipper-feet.

But, you know what?

I LOVE IT.

Besides hugs & kisses, this drawing means more to me than anything Jackson has given me. EVER.

Jackson made this yesterday, while he & Riley were over at our house, hanging out & playing Wii.

Riley's OBSESSED with coming over to our house.

Ever since the last time she & Jack spent the night with us (about a month ago), my sister says she asks just about everyday if it's time to go back to Rah-Rah & Mop's house.

(If you're not a faithful reader of this blog, "Mop" is what they call Matt...although now, they also call him "my Moppie" or "Moppie". It started when Riley was 18 months old. We were trying to get her to say "Matt". She had a cold & her nose was stopped up, so it came out sounding like "Mop". We thought it was so cute...and, it just stuck).

Anyway, I love the fact that she wants to come over & play with us. I never knew it was possible for a 4 year old to make ME feel so special.

And, here I thought I was supposed to make HER feel special?

Amazing how love works.

Yesterday morning around 11:30am, I get a phone call from Riley.

"Hi Rah-Rah. Can I come to your house today?"

"Hi Sissy! You want to come to my house?"

"Yes. Can you draw a rainbow?"

(Here is where I must the rainbow business. For the past 2 years or so, every time she has come over, we always get out the markers & paper & sit at the kitchen table & draw. The first thing she ALWAYS asks for is a rainbow. She tells me what colors she wants & what order & I draw it. And, then she usually asks me to write her name by it...each letter in a different color).

How can I say no to her?

I can't.

So, Matt & I pick both Riley & Jackson up & we went to the mall to get Matt's hair cut. While we were there, we had to get pretzels. It's a tradition. Go to mall. Get pretzel.

They also got balloon animals. Riley got a purple teddy bear & Jackson got a black & grey sword & belt. Except that the sword popped in the car, so Jack turned it into a hat.

Riley is holding the popped sword. She made it into a "jumpy thing" for her bear to bounce up & down on. (Yes, she's in a car seat because I haven't had time to get her a booster seat yet. But, she didn't complain).

Jackson's trying to be very still so that his new hat doesn't fall off.

Anyway, when we got to our house, Mop & Jack played football on the Wii, while Riley & I drew...you guessed it: a rainbow! We also drew a birthday cake with candles & balloons.

We also played checkers & a muddy game of touch football in the backyard.

They had fun playing with Maisy & trying to get her to chase them around the house.

We must have worn Riley out because on the drive back to my sister's house, we did everything we could to keep her awake...which included playing Kenny Chesney's new song over & over.

The kids were disappointed they couldn't spend the night with us, but Matt & I already had plans to go to a local bar & watch his friends' band play.

Which, by the way, they ROCKED! If you have iTunes (which, who doesn't?), search for Fundamental Elements. The lead singer's a guy Matt graduated high school with.

Anyway, it was awesome to get to spend the day with J & Riley. We sure do love them!