Birthday Extravaganza

We had two birthday parties this weekend.

Happy 4th Birthday, Jude S!

Where: CDC Upstairs Gym

Highlights: The perfect party place, familiar to the kids, minimal decorations, and inexpensive. Max, Maddy stayed with Cousin Ann for the first time to take a nap, had a blast!

Happy 4th Birthday Hannah!

Where: The Little Gym

Highlights: The very huge, very delicious, princess cake, complete with castle from Mickey's. The children had a blast! Nothing like almost controlled free play.

2009 Holiday House

My weekend started off with planned visit to the annual Holiday House. I got surprise free tickets and had an unplanned girls night out. Rodney took the kids with him to pick Kisha up from school, so I was free as a bird.

I was supposed to be shopping for Christmas presents and decorations, but it didn't turn out that way. I bought earrings for me, a wallet for me, a new hat, scarf, & gloves set for me, and I got some headbands and hats for Maddy and Be'yah, but I have been wearing the headbands for the last few days. I think the only unselfish gift I picked up was Be'yah's Christmas present. I also got some mesh and a new tree topper that matches the new Christmas balls KWK picked up at Sam's. So maybe I accomplished a little bit. I also got some cool new sauce that's for marinade of meats or can be served with cream cheese and crackers.

Ended my night with okay food, terrible service, and plenty of laughs with my good friends that I call my City Hall Crew. Surprisingly no drinks, but I still woke up the next day with a hangover. If you ever get an opportunity to try the Wine-A-Rita frozen drinks just try one. They had a booth at the Holiday House, it's this mix, 1/2 bottle of wine and ice. Best frozen drink I ever had. Unfortunately, I had two teaspoon size samples and I was buzzing. I went back the next day to buy some for entertaining but my head was hurting so bad I forgot to make that stop again. I did buy more stuff for my self and picked up a hat for Grayce.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Olivia had her 6th birthday party at The Jump Zone.Maddy had a blast; got her footing right off and went to business. Maddy and I conquered the Incredibles slide with great triumph. I was worn out after we got to the bottom. It was hard carrying 30 extra pounds up that steep slick plastic thing they call a ladder.
The cupcakes were homemade and had a really cool chocolate hand made kitty cat head on the top that was really good. Maddy really enjoyed the cupcake.

This was Max's 2nd trip to The Jump Zone. The first visit he sat on the bench and whined most of the time. He doesn't like unsure footing. he was inspired by his little sister's bravery this time.

He did find time during his first visit to go to the baby area and bully a few of them. he visited it again this time. He is such a wuss some times.

I was glad he was in the kitchen though because there was a television there and it was playing the Razorback game. They actually won that one. I have a little cousin that plays for them team that I really don't know, but I used to have a pretty good relationship with his mother. Go Joe!

This was my first self portrait since the creation of digital cameras. It was taken from inside the big carousel bounce house that the kids lured me into. I really got a workout that day.

I forgot to mention that I am testing some new hair products that my stylists recommended. Or really I should say old school hair products - spray curl activator! Can you believe it! I promised to commit for a week, but I can't shake the smell and I don't like the stickiness. I only have two more days to go.

The Party - Part 4 - Randoms

As the party winded down Kobi Janai took a few moments to get her model on! There are about a dozen different poses of this one. This is the best of about 10 shots that Rodney tried to get of the kids.
Preston who had been in Max's class since day one got a chance to come to the party. He has graduated to the big kids school with his older brother and sister. Max was glad to see him and I was happy to visit with his mother.

Poor little Kennedy was worn out after they took him out of that hot costume.

High Profile: State Representative Darrin Williams dropped by to wish Max a happy birthday.

Rodney was actually at the party. This was the only picture we have of him out of the 200+ that were taken. His costume was "Angry Yard Man."

I was supposed to be a glamour witch but I never had time to put my make-up on. So I was just the hostess in the black dress with a witch hat.

Rodney says the party was really for me, but it was all about Maxwell and he loved it!
Happy Birthday Baby!

The Party - Part 3

Double, double, toil, and trouble,
Fires burn and cauldrons bubble . . .
Calling all witches, goblins, and ghosts,
The Blocker family will be your host . . .

That was the wording on the invitation and so they came all dolled up in their costumes . . .

Uncle James and our newest member of the family, our nephew Kennedy. We still haven't figured out his costume. He was some type of blue sparkly monster.
Kason was the white ninja from G.I. Joe - Storm Shadow, I think.
Elena was a really cute Minnie Mouse. Hannah was one of our many princesses.
My niece, Kobi Janai was a super cute flower.
Jude was Optimus Prime from the Transformers - Max's ally.

The Party - Part 2

Maddy was up early that day and ready to party -- until the action started and then she was just plain cranky. She floated from arm to arm, in and out of sleep for hours that afternoon, but didn't get her real sleep on until about 7 PM. Poor kid was also hungry, but didn't ever eat because she was just too excited or mad.The cake by Robin Abdullah was a smash hit. It was cute and it was good. It went fast and as usual there was nothing left. I ordered one the following week so that I could just have one to eat at my (our) leisure. The cake is always my favorite part.Max has finally got this birthday thing down - he knows the song very well and is familiar with the tradition of blowing out the candles. So much so that as soon as I got them lit he blew them out, but that was before another of his party guests could beat him to the punch. They were ready! That's him smiling during the birthday song - his favorite part! He cares nothing about the cake.

My friends S & S - the least likely to be holding babies. Neither one of them really like children, but somehow they always end up with one of mine or my nieces or nephews.
After the Balloonman, before and after the cake, the children ran and played in the yard. You know, the one I never go into. They discovered the cool rocks on the side of the driveway and climbed their hearts out. They collected sticks and leaves and played chase. Rodney huffed and puffed about doing the yard because he wanted to wait until the last leaf had fallen, but I insisted and even hired one of my brothers to help. Thank you Rodney and Kobi; it was well worth it.

Of course the yard looks like it has never been raked again!

My nephew Kam. He was Megatron! There were a lot of Transformers running around!

The Party - Part 1

The birthday party will continue to be a multi part blog because there were so many pictures. So finally I got it all organized and here we go. The guests and their parents arrived and were seated after taking a family photo on the porch with our Halloween/Fall backdrop. Aryshona and Be'yah were among the guests that sat in the kitchen while the magic happened. Mostly Max's uncle, sister, her boyfriend, other adults . . .

The children really enjoyed Mr. Don-The Magical Balloonman. Max was his special helper for all of the magic and balloon creations. We were also the test group for some of his new stuff. The older children and some of the adults were totally amazed by him.

Max passed out the balloon creations to his guests. Oh, and he was Bumblebee from the Transformers, but somehow we never got a good shot of him in action.Larry the Cucumber from Veggie Tales was one of the more non-traditional creations.Spider Man was also a very complicated creation; he drew the face and spider on him. The more traditional poodles and swords were also present.

Party Pics are coming

I have been so busy trying to get the gifts inventoried, the thank you's ordered, prepping for the dozen or so more birthday parties that we will attend through February, returning my house to it's normal state, and enjoying Blocker's day shift that I haven't had time to go through all 300+ pics to choose what I wanted to put on the blog for the actual day of Max's party.

But I guess you can enjoy all of the previous blogs until I get them posted!

Halloween House

It was a long time coming, a little planning, and a lot of hard work, but I pulled off another successful event for Mr. Max.

So let's start from the beginning. I ordered a "Happy Halloween from The Blockers" banner to hang out in the yard. I put some scarecrows and fake mums out on the porch and in the yard (the kids picked them). That handled outside, which was pretty easy. I had also ordered some ghosts that hug the trees but they didn't make it out in time. The leaves were just being finished up in the yard when the first guest arrived.

These are pictures of my living room before I started transforming the house for the party.

I started off simple by gutting the room of most of the furniture and fixing up the mantle complete with floating candy corn candles and spider web scarf. And then I rearranged the furniture that remained to clear out space for little tables and chairs.

Then came my favorite part of the room decor - the giant spider on the ceiling! And boy was it labor intensive, well more than I wanted it to be. I thought it was one piece that you blow up, instead it was several pieces and an hour later . . . .

I had originally ordered a giant piece of black carpet to cover the floor, but the delivery date was going to be too late. Gigi had a brilliant idea to use felt; it was 50% off at the fabric store and it was 1/4 of the price of the rug I had ordered. Yea, Gigi! It was perfect after I made the right cuts. And then I put the tables and chairs out. They were blue and red, but I just covered the tabletops and kept it pushing. Then I put the remaining furniture in places for parents to sit. Maddy thought the party was for her. She was very early and already seated when the magician arrived.

Each table was set with Halloween tableware, a Halloween bowl filled with individual chip bags, a Halloween tray filled with hot dog condiment packets, and a witch hat cooler filled with assorted juice boxes. I realized after the tables were set that I didn't need those cups!

The entry hallway had spider webs in the doorway, tombstones against the walls, a gift table with an old ghost pinata, and Max's Halloween book (Max and Ruby is a cartoon about rabbits). The star rail had sparkly pumpkin garland running down it, there were decorative gourds, with little figurines and a family photograph in the hallway also. The bathroom door was marked with a pumpkin bucket and there were Halloween hand towels in there and a Halloween soap pump.

The bar was shielded with spider webs too. So no children would be tempted to climb up there and grab at the bottles or turn the faucet on like my little ones do. I had intended to have bear and wine available for the adults but I got so busy that I didn't have time to go buy the wine and I think my husband is the only person in the South who drinks Coors Light.

Of course there were balloons everywhere. Thank you Javon for helping me go through those very quickly. We didn't even pass out and still had enough energy for a 1 am trip to Wal-Mart.

This was the dining room during the process and then after. It was set up with food and snacks for the adults. The menu was chips and salsa, tequila lime chicken wings, white bean chicken chili, sodas and water. In addition to the hot dogs and chips.






And then the guests started to arrive . . .

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet!

This year for the first time ever Max got to go trick or treating!

Yes, after the party and after we opened the last gift and after the kids played for a few more hours. Shana and I decided to take them all out in the neighborhood for some holiday fun.

Max and his cousins and friends loaded up in the car - 5 total and off we went. Yes, we cheated and drove - have you ever been to my house in "the mountains?"The kids were so fun to watch. They were just running around every where trying to get the hang of it. Max was slow to start but by the 4th house he was leader of the pack; he was also the one that always ran off in no particular direction after he got his candy (never waiting for the group), and the only one that almost had a run in with an oncoming car. Next year, if I do this, we will have a small briefing session before we head out.There is this one house in our subdivision that always goes all out for Halloween and does this big cemetery for most of the month in the front yard (they have a circular drive). Never been out on Halloween so I didn't know that they add live creatures (people), fog, and black lights to complete the ambiance on Halloween night. Most of the kids stuck it out, but one stayed back. They had a gate complete with the Crypt Keeper passing out the candy. It was awesome!

This is what Kobi looked like after she returned to the car with a stranger. She did not get out at any more houses after that one and she asked at every remaining stop if there were "monsters in that house." And yes, that is Maddy's costume, but the time we decided to go out their anal Gigi had already thrown her costume in the washing machine. She was also very traumatized when we put her candy in Kamron's bag because hers was so full that the handle broke. She didn't understand that she was getting it back.

After the last house - outs - we sorted all of the candy and took out what we wanted and left them with Gallon sized bags full of candy. Max's pumpkin is hiding in my closet; he can't eat all of that candy. I found the last of last year's candy in Maddy's closet when I cleaned it out and got rid of stuff a month ago.

Happy Birthday to Max . . . I mean Rodney!

In spite of the fact that we were having the big party at the house the day after Max's birthday, his father insisted that we do something to acknowledge his birthday on the actual day, which we usually do pretty small - cupcakes at school or something and we don't even show up for that.

But Dad has a new schedule and was home so we had pizza and ice cream cake from BR.No candles for the cake though so he just grinned while we sang happy birthday!
His cousins were over to help him celebrate and they all had a good time. Javon even stayed up til 2 am helping get the party stuff together.

I also got a new hairdo that day to go with my witch costume. Check me out!

I Will Survive

After the party I was still able to smile. We had about 60 people at the house the day before this for Max's party. The party started at 1:00 PM and the last child left at 1:30 AM. I will explain all of that later. But I thought these pics were cute so I posted them.
My boys watching Kungfu Panda - The Legend of the Furious Five for the 100th time. Look how they are so interested - as if they have never seen it before. They have grown up so much. I love to seem them peacefully interacting with one another and/or agreeing to do the same activity without a fight.

I forgot to mention why I was smiling. While I was outside entertaining some of my late guests. Sharon, James, KWK, Markisha, and Bob broke down the entire party. I walked into a clean room. They took the tables and chairs down and put them in the corner, they cleaned and folded the tablecloths, they dumped all of the trash, shook off and folded the felt that was on the floor and cleared away most of the food -- and vacuumed. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Daycare Halloween Celebration

While preparing for Max's big party I still had to get the required items together for their school Halloween parties. Max had to have treat bags which I tried to avoid like the plague because I had so many other things to get done. I kept telling Rodney to watch out for the list so we could sign up for something simple like juice boxes or chips, but we didn't make it in time. When I got to the list there was one slot left -- treat bags! But thanks to Gigi and Daddy for helping out. I took a short cut on this one and I think it worked out.


Maddy only had to have a bag of cheese puffs - we were the first to sign up on her list. But I did treat bags for her class too, what's another 9? I am used to doing 24 for Max's last two classes; they were two separate classes that shared the same room with a very small divider. This year there are only 12 of them and they are very much separated from the other class.

Max was BumbleBee from The Transformers

Maddy was a butterfly

Happy Birthday Max!

Max's Birthday was on Friday Oct 30!

He had a big party on Halloween . . . . pics to come later.

Too tired!

Greg & Tiffany's Birthday Party

Greg, a member of DW's (my boss) "Boys Club" and someone I have been getting to know over the past few years since he, my new boss, and my old boss are all friends that go way back, celebrated his 50th birthday with a big "all black" party in conjunction with his younger cousin Tiffany who was turning 30. Rodney and I were invited - I felt all special and stuff!

Greg, Tiffany, and her new fiance' - he proposed during the party!

Me, Rodney, Virgil, and his ex-wife overlooking the river. Terri is in the background.

At some point during the party Gabrielle Union joined in the fun; she was so regular. She was in town for a speaking engagement and looking for something to do. That's her in the pic with Greg and his wife. Dave Hollister also performed several songs.

It was a good party and I had a blast! I had three straight weekends of adult entertainment. John Legend, this birthday party, and then Maxwell. That hasn't happened in at least 5 years and probably won't happen again for a very long time. It was fun while it lasted.

The Pumpkin Project

Each year we get this assignment. This year I stepped it up a notch. I got everything cleaned upstairs and got the laundry done. Started on downstairs and discovered the assignment as I was cleaning the kitchen table.



I never blogged last year's pumpkins so I added them to this post. I think this year's pumpkins would eat last year's pumpkins alive!

This is Max's from last year.

Black one is Max's.

Orange one is Maddy's - complete with her signature "never leave home without it" hair bow.

Maddy's from last year.

7 days and counting . . .

My house is a mess right now. I have all of the party stuff and Halloween decorations spread out over the place. I am also in the midst of my Fall cleaning. I have one more room to clean upstairs including shampooing the carpet. And I have to shampoo the hallway carpet. And I still have all of downstairs to do; I have done a few of those windows already.

I started the laundry before I took a break for a late evening birthday party for one of Max's classmates who had a T&A around the same time he did. So she celebrated her birthday late. Happy Birthday Jacey and welcome to the crew! She's new to his class. I forgot to take the camera so no picks. I was knee deep in wet carpet right before we walked out the door.

After the party I came home with the intent to finish upstairs but Maddy and Rodney were asleep so I came downstairs and wasn't motivated enough to do anything but sit on my behind. I have this big project at work that I have been working on for weeks; should have had it done last Friday. So I have been working on it for the last several hours. The program is slow so I have time in between sessions to blog, play computer card games, and do laundry. I thought I was almost finished but I just saw where there was an additional 5000 documents added to my 8000. I wonder if I am supposed to do those too. I only have about 500 left on the current set. I guess I'll plead ignorance and see where that gets me.

Party next week!

Pumpkin Carving 101

We finally got around to carving one of those pumpkins we picked up in Mayflower. I ran to the store as soon as we got home to get one of those pumpkin carving kits but it took me a few evenings to get motivated.Thought the kit would make the job easy. It's been years since I carved a pumpkin; probably when Jamey was a kid or maybe once when I lived by myself at the old house.

Yes, that's a watermelon. Such an oxymoron, but KWK decided she didn't get enough watermelon this summer (even though we brought back 4 or 5 from the Hope festival).
It was hard work. Maybe because of the help/semi help from the kiddies. Or maybe it was just plain difficult. Notice I said one. We decided to save one for fun with daddy.

The directions make it seem so easy. Half the crap in the kit didn't work the way it was supposed to so I had to improvise. Fric n Frac were totally fascinated - beats watching TV.

For extra fun I had Max pick the pumpkin seeds from the flesh to take to school for Friday's show and tell. I figured his teacher could use them for some fall project. They ended up smelling. I probably should read up on how to dry and store them for next time. I think you can eat them.

Did you know that you don't put an actual fire in them now. They sell some fake tea light thing that they recommend you use instead. I do kind of remember the handle on my last Jack O'Lantern burning up or something.

I guess we did all right because Uncle James thought we had someone make this one for us.

Max in the Middle

Max and I went to see "Where the Wild Things Are" this weekend while Maddy and Blocker watched the Razorbacks get whipped by the Gators. The movie was amazing - happy but yet sad. They did a really great job of bringing the book to life and Max loved it! And I don't think it had anything to do with he and the main character sharing the same name. It's one of Max's favorites; we will definitely buy the movie on DVD when it is released.

"Let the wild rumpus begin!"

We met Maddy and Blocker afterwards for dinner - I enjoyed my date with Max.

Cowboy Max

Max is typically frightened by the live animal displays and heads the other direction. I can still remember Aryshona taking them to the zoo one weekend when we were out of town and her calling me to say that they only stayed for a short visit and that Max said, "I want to go home. The animals gone bite me." It was just a few goats and ducks or something.

He is starting to grow up. He asked for the pony ride and he had a blast. I started off walking beside him, but he told me I could stand on the side line. Freaked his over protective dad out, but I say let him go with it - it's a pony for crying out loud. Maddy was pissed because we didn't let her get on, but I didn't realize that she had an interest until she started screaming.

Getty up, Max! Mommy was so proud!

Maddy vs. The Slide

Maddy discovered that she loves the slide on our pumpkin patch visit. It may have had something to do with the fact that the slides on the farm were not those playground standard super safety models. They were old school - slide or die type kinda slides!

The first round ended like this. Backwards, but she loved it and went back for more.

After a couple of backwards rounds and watching the other children she figured out from which direction to approach.

It ended with that face, but she kept going back for more.And yes we were all dressed in our Arkansas gear even though they had lost the day before. They got robbed!

Pumpkin Patch

20 minute drive from home

$10 hayride and pumpkin picking straight from the vine

$6 for icee's

$5 for handcrafted hair bows

$5 for decorative assorted gourds and dried corn

$3 Pony Ride

Sunday afternoon with your family smiling non-stop - PRICELESS

Rodney was fascinated with this tractor. He remembers his grandfather having a few of these on the farm that he spent his childhood summers.

Oh, and I haven't mentioned in any of these blogs that he finally shaved his head. He's been talking about it for years; he finally did it and I am getting used to it. I just wish he would stop messing with his mustache.

Max was scared to death of the hay tunnels but we finally got him to go through a couple of times. It's crazy how he will jump off a three feet jungle gym with out balking, but has the nerves to be afraid of the dark.

Maddy discovered and fell in love with the slide.

Best three hours of unadulterated cheap fun we've had in a long time. They were passed out in the car before we got back on the expressway heading home. We didn't even miss the fair this year. They had livestock on the farm premises. If I didn't know any better I would say that living on a farm is cool - the mowing alone would do us in.

Preston's 4th Birthday

Preston's birthday is always the 2nd one of the year. He celebrated this year at Chuck E' Cheese's. Max was only one week into his recovery, but we didn't want to miss it. Preston is at another school now and we really like his family.


Chuck's place was jam packed that day; they had like 20+ parties that day and were jam packed. Maddy stuck close to me, but Max had a blast! Somehow we didn't get any pictures of Preston or the cake. I think Max was in the bathroom at the time.

It's always amazing to me how we end up with all of these great picture of our children at other folks birthday parties and events, but it's always questionable when we host our own. I guess it's hard to play hostess and photographer at the same time.

T & A

Get your minds out of the gutter. Well, if it's not, I have to admit that that's where mine went the first time that term was thrown out at me. Max had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy a few weeks ago - T&A. We had to stay at home for two weeks for the recovery. I slept the first 4 or 5 days - guess I was tired. He never missed a beat. So much for the old days when you laid around and ate ice cream and Popsicles and jello all day.

I ran out to the store to stock up on pudding, jello, applesauce, bananas, and Popsicles. I still have a stock pile of that stuff it will take us until next year to eat it. Brother man left the hospital asking for pancakes and pizza. His appetite has actually picked up since he had the surgery. He was his usual talkative, busy little self for the entire two weeks and I was worn out.

Below is a picture of him on the third day with his goody basket and Get Well balloon that Mrs. Ellis and her family sent him. It was a very nice surprise. Thanks to you all and everyone else who called to check in on us during the recovery period. If I didn't make it to the phone, he probably had me tied to a chair or something . . . . Let's just say he and I both were glad for him to go back to school on the third week.

My New Baby

Shortly after Aryshona and Be'yah arrived home we went over for a visit. We had not seen the nursery in it's finished state so we got to check it out. It turned out super cute and thanks to Godfather James for the wonderful paint job and furniture construction.

I was all excited to see her all cleaned up and smelling like Johnson's baby products.

Maddy is pretty excited about her new baby cousin as well. I hope they become good friends.

Max is already very protective of them both.

Welcome Be'yah

September 22, 2009



Aryshona was highly impatient and so one day after her due date her doctor sent her to the hospital so that he could induce her labor. Of course she went hair combed and makeup done.

Greta and Neil - Proud grandparents await the coming of Be'yah.

After waiting all day for her, leaving work early in a frantic panic to get to the hospital before 5 (Greta told me that's what time the dr said the baby would be here), and taking Maddy to the ER for respiratory distress - Be'yah - 6 lbs 9 ozs of sweetness arrived.

Mother and baby survived the process with no complications. Shona's hair was still in place. Be'yah was bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Juju and her new baby!

Auntie (Cousin) Taki and her new bundle of joy. Awww, she's so sweet!

I get to babysit for the first time on Halloween.

Proud parents!

Luke's 3rd Birthday Party

The annual birthday party circuit has begun. Luke kicks it off every year with his late September birthday. This year he celebrated with everything on wheels!

Max had the same type of party last year and wouldn't ride his bike. This year he was like Evil Knievel.

We took the wagon for Maddy! Of course that involves parental participation.

All of the kids had a blast. My children's favorite part of any party is the food.

Luke had help from his friends with the candle blowing, so we staged a second shot.

Maddy's first dance with her dad.

Then she decided to take the trike for a spin.

Me and Starla.

Luke was fearless with his new skateboard!

Rodney's 42nd Birthday

September 11, 2009

Ice Cream and Cake do the ice Cream and Cake!

I thought the man was already 42 but he claims he was not. I played along with him, but I think he's starting to lie about his age.

We celebrated with our first ice cream cake. That Baskin Robbins commercial really had me going. Great job, who ever did that ad!
My nieces and nephews were visiting so all of the children loved the cake! We had dessert first and then Rodney and I went out for dinner. KWK kept all of the children. My little nephew is getting big. He's starting to grow into those perky little eyes of his. Isn't Baby Kennedy a cutie pie. They call him Israel, but in keeping with the K's it's Kamron, Kobi, and Kennedy for me.

Max and Maddy are always ready for a treat!

More Kennedy!

Max's 4th Birthday - Sneak Peek

He delivered his invitation MTV style on Friday in his Jack o Lantern shirt with his pumpkin pail and candy. I mailed the others last week.

Plans have begun and the Blocker house is in transition to host the greatest Halloween Birthday Party ever!

Moo - Month 17

Aryshona came by this particular day. We watched the Wiz while I beaded Maddy's hair.After spending all day to make this work. The daycare called the next morning and said that she had to take them out because they were a choking hazard. It was worth the try.
I am still looking for creative ways to keep her hair neat and to do as little damage as possible. Keep the coming. I think my thighs and butt are growing with my hair.

Moo - Month 16

In August we hosted a baby shower for Aryshona. Be'yah was due on September 21.This is Maddy and I after the shower. We hung out on the deck with Shana, we where all tired. See how big my hair is getting.
Maddy had a good time playing with the other children and eating during the shower.

Aryshona looked absolutely beautiful and we can't wait for Be'yah to arrive.

Moo - Month 15

In July Rodney's family reunion was in Little Rock. We did not participate in the actual reunion, but we did host a fish fry at out house on July 3. It was supposed to be small a few cousins and Aunts, but it turned out to be about 70 people. i think everyone came to our house after the meet and greet was over.

We handled it though. One of Rodney's cousin and his wife came early and help us pull it together. Thank you Ronald and Jackie. We had a really great 4th of July weekend.

While in town, Rodney's favorite Aunt Emma wanted to meet Maddy, but it was always after her bedtime when they were around, so on Sunday afternoon he took the kids over to his Aunt Geneva's for a first visit.Maddy finally got to meet her Aunt Emma.
And she got a chance to visit with Aunt Geneva too.

Talladega, AL

This one was a big deal for Rodney and Max. For Max it was like real live Lightnin' McQueen from Carz which was his last year's birthday party theme. i have to admit that I thought it was pretty cool too. I have passed it bunches of time and never thought twice about it. I had no idea it was actually a a NASCAR thing.

The Blocker family giving the thumbs up in the winner's circle.

Max and Kisha at the wheel of an old disassembled NASCAR.

Max and Maddy. Maddy didn't like this leg of the trip much. She and Kisha were bored after the first 30 minutes. We spent several hours - we did the tour of the race track, and the Motor Sports Hall of Fame.

The museum entrance. We got cool t-shirts and actually considered bringing Max back for the races which are being held on his birthday weekend this year instead of throwing him a party. We opted for the party - the thought of NASCAR fanatics on Halloween in Alabama frightens me. Maybe we will try it next year.

About 30 outside of Talladega is when I noticed my rings were gone. Good-bye rings.

Back to Little Rock! All in all it was a good time, but I was ready to get back home. We arrived in Little Rock at 1 AM; I was at my desk at 6:30 AM working my heart out.

Greensboro, NC

Our entire vacation was centered around one thing. Going to Kiandra's high school graduation. And we finally made it! Kiandra is my first cousin Vernard's only child. We are very proud and excited for her and her plans to be emancipated from North Carolina.Kisha and Kiandra after graduation.
Me and my cousin Gina (Vee's sister); not hard to tell that our mother's were sisters. We look more and more alike every year. She fell in love with Maddy and is now her Godmother.

The Blocker family

Gina and Dwayne

Vee, Kiandra, and Gina (her mother).

We call them Gina-sister and Gina-wife to distinguish between the two.

The diploma and the reason for our journey; check out the Cum Laude seal.

Me and Maddy. I keep thinking that if I hold up to my face enough times that she will start looking like me instead of her dad and sister.

Fric and Frac before we left for the auditorium.

Funny story: During graduation, right as the graduates begin to march in and everyone is asked to remain seated and all entries are sealed, Max announces that he has to go to the bathroom. He's three and potty training has just been mastered so there was no telling him to hold it. I take him down to the floor (we are sitting on the very front at the very top) and head for the bathroom. Halt, I was stopped by the security guard who informs me that I can not cut through the area to get to the bathroom because the graduates are already moving. The pee-pee dance ensues. Oh no, the white suit, I think. I inform her that he is three and he can't hold it. Another guard comes by to scream at me that they are not letting anyone through and then stands in front of me to block our path. I inform the nicer guard that we can just slink down the side wall where no one will see us. She says no; the mean guard glares at us. Pee-pee dance continues. So I say to Max aloud to be sure that both guards hear me. "Baby, if you get to where you can't hold it, just whip it out right here and go. We don't want to mess up your white suit and I didn't bring a change of clothes for you." He says, "Right here." I smile and say, "Yes baby, right here, and be sure to aim in that direction [towards the mean guard]." By now the nicer guard has gotten on the radio and another guard has shown up to escort us to the bathroom. While in the bathroom a woman and her daughter appear and I ask if they gave her a hard time, she said no. So I guess it was worth telling Max to pee on someone to pave the way for all those who came down after us. I heard her telling her daughter later that I was crazy. SMILE!

We stopped in Charlotte and hit the Dave and Buster's and the outlet mall before retiring in Atlanta for one more night before going on to Talladega.

Kitty Hawk, NC

On the way back to the mainland we had to pass Kitty Hawk. This was Rodney's thing; the history buff in him wanted to visit the birthplace of human flight. Of course, I didn't mind. As a child of James Knight all of our vacations were filled with more historical and educational activities than just plain blow your mind away fun stuff. The theme park was always last on our agendas, after the museums and monuments.

Kitty Hawk was amazing. I hate that we didn't have the foresight to pick up a kite; it was perfect weather. Above is a metal replica/scene enactment of the first flight.
This is Rodney and me at the base of the actual monument. This I think is the last i will ever see of my rings. We got rained on on the way up, but it was so far that there was no way I was turning back. Kill Devil's Hill was murder on my calves and thighs and I was pushing Maddy in the stroller. BTW . . . that is the actual name of the town where the Orville brothers did their flight testing. I learned that in the museum.

The monument.

Family portrait in the museum. The kids loved the museum and all of it's different attractions and areas. It was very interactive.

Kill Devil's Hill. This area was once all sand and dirt. This shot was taken from the parking lot. It was a very long walk up to the monument. But well worth it. There are four views from the top of the hill - the metal replica, the barn where they lived and stored the gliders and planes, the museum, and I can't remember the third. But it was really nice. The monument is actually shaped like a bird's wing from the side view.

On the way out we stopped at a local Wal-mart and a side of the road cafe for lunch and to visit a small scale light house. Off to Greensboro . . . .

Corolla, NC

From Atlanta we travelled to Corolla, NC - The Outer Banks. It was the outer most portion of the peninsula off the coast of North Carolina. The ocean baby and it was cold! We forfeited a night's stay at our resort because we left Atlanta late and were still travelling but we got there in time to watch the sunrise over the beach. Everyone else unloaded and went to bed. Max and I suited up and headed for the beach, he had waited so long to see it. He asked me every other hour that we spent on the road or doing something else, "Are we at the beach yet?" We walked around and collected sea shells and watched the seagulls fly by. We were the only ones there and it was so peaceful.

At some point the waves came to shore while our backs were to the water and all I know is that I felt the stabbing cold around my ankles. After the initial shock, I turned around to find Max, who had been digging in the sand near my feet. He was missing, my initial thought was, "Oh no, he can't swim. I am watching the shore line going crazy and then I here his voice screaming, "Mama, the water, the water!" I follow the direction of the excited screams and there he is standing at the base of the steps leading back to the resort, a very long walk in the sand away from me. All that talk about the beach and the boy runs at lightening speed in the opposite direction the minute the water hits the shore.

We headed back up to the room to corral the rest of the troops and everyone joined us back on the beach after a couple of hours. I actually left him in the room playing with trains while Moo and I went down to enjoy one of our resorts three outdoor pools. I looked like a beach whale in my too little swimsuit so no pictures of that; I packed the wrong suit; the look very similar when they are folded.

Kisha rented a body board and enjoyed riding the waves while I sat under the umbrella we rented on the beach and watched Max dig holes and build his sand castles. Maddy ate a lot of sand which made for a very horrible diaper later.

Rodney soaked in lots of sun and enjoyed the freedom of being shirtless on the edge of the water. Eventually I took a nap since I had done most of the driving. Then we enjoyed lunch at a local beach side diner and drove around town. We tried to catch a tour of the lighthouse before it closed but we missed it. We had dinner at another town favorite, did some laundry, and packed it all back up to head to Greensboro the next morning.

I spent a lot of time on this trip looking for a car charger for my new 120 GB Ipod, so Kisha and I struck out on our own later in said search. Didn't ever find a place that had one, but we did find a mall and a bunch of cool beach wear stores. We got a little shopping in before we left the next morning.

It was a beautiful peaceful time and we definitely plan to visit again.

Atlanta, GA

First stop Georgia Aquarium. I didn't know that you could have an aquarium in an area that didn't seem to be near any particularly large or significant body of water. Surprisingly, it was very nice, we took advantage of everything they had to offer. We stayed all day and still didn't get finished.



We visited the Titanic display where they give you a ticket up front with the name of a real passenger and then you have to check the roster at the end to find out if you survived. I can't remember who did and who didn't. We saw an animated 3-D film who's main character was a fish named Deepo (we picked one up in the gift shop) and the main theme was conservation and saving the Earth.

Then we went to meet Gina, Dwayne, Vee, and Nancy (my hairdresser from my college year in Atlanta) for dinner at this really cool burger joint.

The kids were zonked and we couldn't resist taking this picture of the peaceful Mohicans.

Before we went to visit the Art Institute we had breakfast with my best friend Denise and her hubby Michael. I hadn't seen her since I was 9 months pregnant with Max and drove the 8 hours to make it to their wedding. So she got to meet both of the baby's and we got to chat it up for a few minutes before we got out of town.

The Art Institute visit was great! Campus was awesome, we have to figure out how to make it happen. Pray for us.

Blocker Family Summer Vacation 2009

Staycation, smaycation, we went all out this past summer. So I have to interrupt my tribute to Maddy with the highlights of our family vacation. It all started with a few little words from my three year old, "Mommy, I want to go to the beach!" The beach I say, what the hell does he know about the beach! Some crap they learned at school.

We were already planning to go to North Carolina for my cousin Kiandra's graduation, so we tried to find a beach on the way or in the near vicinity. What we found was a piece of heaven on Earth. Corolla, NC was awesome. Max's request turned into a request from everyone else. Kisha got to visit the Art Institute in Atlanta, a school she wants to transfer to next Spring. Rodney got to visit the Kitty Hawk monument and the Talladega Speedway. All I got was to plan, pack, and get everybody moving everyday. I did get to see some of my favorite cousins and they got to meet Maddy for the first time. Oh, and I lost my fabulous 3.5 ct diamond and platinum wedding rings at the last hotel. I hope that maid is enjoying her very big tip.

Over an 8 day time period we logged in about 2,300 driving miles and about 46 hours of driving time. We all know I hate to drive and I ended up logging in a bunch of this time just so that we would make it to our next destination alive. Rodney gets so excited about road trips and then he's sleepy within the first 30 minutes. I knew it was going to be a long trip when we had to stop and change drivers before we got to Memphis.

Imagine this: 2 adults, 1 teenager, and 2 toddlers in a small SUV packed to the gills, huge cargo thingy packed on top, for all of that time. We travelled from Little Rock to Atlanta, Atlanta to Corolla, Corolla to Greensboro, Greensboro to Charlotte, Charlotte to Atlanta, Atlanta to Talladega, and then back home. Whew!!!

They had a blast! I enjoyed seeing them have so much fun. I needed a vacation from the vacation.

Moo - Month 14

On June 10th, Maddy lost her reigning title as baby of the family. Israel David Kennedy was born to my brother and his wife. If you look very closely you can see me holding him with the other arm. Maddy was very excited about the baby, but she did not want him cutting in on her lap time.

Me and nieces and nephews. We just need one more to make a basketball team. Poor Kennedy lost in the sea of toddlers. You probably know all of the characters but in case you forgot. Standing up on the coach is Kobi Janai, my 3 year old niece. In my lap are Maddy and Kennedy. The boy with his eyes closed is Kamron, my 5 year old nephew and the other child is my 3 year old Max.

Here is a closeup of Baby Kennedy. I am sure he is happy to be saved from the pile of siblings and cousins.

Moo - Month 13

Right before her first birthday she started cutting these teeth. Yea, they finally got here! Sad to say she still only has six. But her little 6 toothed grin is to die for.

Moo - Month 12

My last official blog entry was about Maddy's 1st birthday, so go back a few and check out all of the great pictures from her Easter Egg Hunt party.

As an aside, at the beginning of April one of my friends got married and she let me help plan every detail of the wedding between the engagement and the honeymoon. We had a great weekend in El Dorado, AR. Congratulations Starla and Corie!

Maddy and Starla at the church during or after rehearsal.

Maddy teetering around the church while we decorated. She was still getting the hang of walking. Starla's mother became her new bestest friend; she's charming like that. Oh, her auntie braided her hair - I do not possess those skills.

Moo - Month 11

Here she is enjoying some of Gigi's 62nd birthday cake.

Hair is a little suspect, but I am getting better.

Moo - Month 10

We celebrated my 35th birthday at Golden Corral with the children, Gigi, Shana, and her new old friend Stephen. It was our first time meeting him - we felt very honored. Maddy slept through most of it so she had this dazed look on all of the pictures.

Moo - Month 9

Maddy got caught up in Gigi's Obama madness. This is the hat Gigi brought her back from DC.

Moo - Month 8

Maddy's first Christmas was a very good one. She didn't know what was going on, but she really wanted to rip paper off of the boxes. She also started pulling up that month.

Moo - Month 7

All dressed up! I think we were on our way to a birthday party. She wasn't walking or pulling up at this point.

Moo - Month 6

Maddy and Aryshona at "Boo at the Zoo."

Who knew that one year later Aryshona would have her own newborn baby to hold this Halloween.

Moo - Month 5

Celebrating her daddy's 41st birthday at Copeland's.

I know . . . he's too old to have a newborn baby! People are starting to ask him if Max and Maddy are his grandchildren.

Moo - Month 4

The hairstyles begin. Watch my parts get straighter over the months.

Moo - Month 3

I think we were on our way to church in this shot or just getting back. Watch how my hair changes and grows as Maddy grows.