Bride To Be

One day while I was out on maternity leave, Starla called to casually mention that she was engaged to the gentleman below. I immediately started planning the wedding in my head and casually mentioned that since I couldn't be a bridesmaid that I would be her personal assistant for the day. That way I would get to be all in the mix on the wedding day and wouldn't miss a thing and it would put me in line to give my great pre-wedding pep talk and of course slap her if needed - I think she would forgive me later rather than one of her long time friends. Shortly thereafter I got promoted from Personal Assistant to the Bride (On "D" Day) to Wedding Planner. I was so psyched! First order of business - the dress! One Saturday we went dress hunting at a few of the local retailers.
Doesn't she look excited!
The tuck thingys are the latest in wedding gown fashion.
We looked at tiara's and veils too.

Happy Birthday Dominick!

In mid August, Max went to his first swim party! He and Daddy went ahead while Maddy and I went to pick Kisha up from work. The girls missed the pool part of the party, but the boys said they had a good time in the water.

Dominick is Markisha's little cousin. He was born about 6 months before Max. He is the youngest of five and all of his siblings are way older than he; the oldest being 19 or 20. Anyway that's him below. His mother always makes sure Max gets an invitation to the party. He is so much more mature than Max. They call him Man-Man; probably because he acts like a little old man instead of a toddler. His party theme was Spider-Man - Max's will probably be Backyardigan's or something from Nick Jr. Us girls showed up right on time for the food. You could smell the grill from a block away. Then of course it was time for the cake. I think the cake is a Blocker favorite.
If you pay close attention to the picture above you will see the icing on Max's face. If you give the same care to the picture below, right next to Spidey's foot, you will see the white streak on the cake. I know from a distance it looks intentional, but it was not. As soon as Pam uncovered the cake, Max ran his finger right across for a little taste of icing. I was very embarrassed, but Pam was real cool about it - I like her a lot.
The older kids stood around and talked with each other or interacted with the little children. Here Markisha stands with her cousins.
Maddy had on a cute little swimsuit under this dress, but she didn't get to show it off. We weren't at the party long before she got gas and started screaming. A nice older man that I had sat down next to, took the time to tell me that he did not bring his new granddaughter for that very reason.

The party was great and Man-Man got lots of cool gifts. The Blockers gave him a Spider-Man and Friends Memory game. I now wish I had gotten one for Max - it was real cute!!! I was thrilled when I found it because I had been looking for some age appropriate Spider-Man books, which don't exist. I was pleased to mix his theme with something educational. He loved it and was ready to open it right then!