Fort Lauderdale Beach-Day 6

The Fort Lauderdale beach is were all the locals go to relax. It was tucked in the neighborhoods and the parking was a lot cheaper than Las Olas Beach. Kura had to return to Georgia early for a mid-term exam so we visited the beach shortly before she had to travel to the airport.


I love the sound of the waves crashing onto the shoreline. Acalias and I walked up and down the shore line. This time around he thought the sand between his toes felt funny so he giggled.



I love how Acalias is looking at Uncle Greg, his body launguage says, "Hi...I think I like you!"

Acalias and Grandpa.



Acalias misses you Aunt Kura, we can't wait to see you in July!

Las Olas Beach-Day 3 in Florida

We managed to take a few hours off to relax at the beach. It was a nice breezy day, Acalias was content to play with toys on the beach towel while Kura and I played Phase10 dice.



Acalias wasn't sure about the water. I thought he would love it because he loves bath time so much, I think it was the feel of the sand that threw him off.





Loving all the attention from Auntie Kur Kur:)






On the boardwalk, there were so many bright things that caught Acalias' attention. We left just as the crowd was arriving. There were thousands of young college students there enjoying their Spring Break vacation.

We still had a lot of things to do prepare for grandma's party, we were happy to visit the beach and relax.

Event Planning in Florida Day 1-2

Leaving my husband behind at home is always hard but I’ve been so excited for our trip to Florida and Grandma’s surprise birthday party. Acalias did wonderful on our flight from West Virginia to Georgia and from Georgia to Florida. He draws a lot of attention by his 6-toothed smiles and wants to playfully interact with anyone around us.

We arrived to Florida on Wednesday evening. Immediately after departing the airplane we were greeted with the humid tropical air. Acalias and I walked through the Fort Lauderdale airport hearing the familiar native language of my father, Creole.

My dad’s flight arrived a few minutes after ours; we met up in one of the terminals and dad helped with my bags and car seat. Dad’s luggage was delayed so I fed Acalias while waiting and while dad chattered in Creole with everyone and anyone around us who spoke the language. I felt like I was in Haiti being so submersed in the foreign language.


After retrieving dad’s luggage we were finally on our way to our destination. My little sister Kura had flown in earlier that dad and was anxiously awaiting our arrival at our cousin’s house. The plan was for everyone but dad to stay away from Grandma. The first night Kura and I caught up with each other’s lives, the last time we spent a lot of time together was at our sibling camp trip in 2009. It's so refreshing to learn that my sister is doing so well in college and has some great goals that she is striving to accomplish.

The following day I woke up early to enjoy a long run in the beautiful weather. In Coral Springs Florida there is a paved pathway throughout the entire suburb, a rare commodity in West Virginia. The weather was so nice that I had a tan line of my watch and iPod after a 45 minute run.

Dad snuck away for a few hours so that we could purchase all the items needed for the party. He has a lot of family in Florida so he told grandma he had to visit a few people.

Acalias looked super cute in his summer outfit and flipflops.


Next I was happy to learn that all of the packages I had ordered for the party had arrived in a timely manner so we jumped into gear to prepare for grandma’s big day. My sister Kura was my right hand, thank goodness she was around to help especially since Acalias needed my attention as well.


Kura did most of the candy wrapping while I taped questions behind dinner plates. I planned to ask each guest to share a specific memory of grandma.


After preparing the bulk of our items for the party we went out for a stroll during sunset to relax.

Acalias enjoyed sticking out his little toes while swinging his feet. He babbled in happiness throughout our entire walk.

Happy 14th Birthday Siloni Moriah!

I had to hold Loni's hands down, she was too impatient to wait for the cake so she ran her little hand across the frosting and tried to put it in her mouth!

It's Loni Baloni's birthday today. I called her first this morning to sing her happy birthday but her friends had kidnapped her and took her out to breakfast. My friends did the same thing for me when I was a little younger than her and I remember how exciting it was. I'm glad that she has great friends who care about her.

Siloni is my youngest sister, my Mom let me give her a middle name so of course I chose Moriah after my favorite singer Mariah Carey (she still is my favorite singer!)Today I was looking through my box of pictures and I have so many pictures, it was pretty difficult to select only a few to show off. One of the reasons for my elaborate collection of Loni pictures is because I was her babysitter 24/7. I'm not even exaggerating. I remember being resentful as a teen because I couldn't hang out my friends, I had Loni to tend to. All my high school friends remember her as my constant companion, wherever I went, she went. My mother was working so much so I had to tend to a lot of loni's basic needs like baths, diaper changes and feedings. We had a good time, I learned a lot from Loni. She was a curious but, shy child and full of affection for the people around her. I remember blasting my radio (as a teen) and she'd stun me by saying "Tiva turn it down, I wanna talk". She was only 4 years old at the time. We had great times together and my resentment turned into gradtitud for such an amazing sister.



Loni was happiest after a warm bath and a bottle.



Loni started dancing at a very young age, she started dancing before she could walk. We have footage of her pulling her self up to standing positon by the couch and shaking her little diapered bum:) Over the years, through many performances her shyness has turned into confidence.



Loni has taught herself how to play Piano, Guitar, Ukulele and to Sing. She continues to dance, anywhere and everywhere. My friends still call me to request a performance from her. She is definitely the one who posses all the talent in our family. Loni is excelling in school and has a supportive network great friends, which I hope doesn't change Lon! She is a light in our family, my brother is lucky to have her in his home, she gladly helps him out with my nephews.





Loni thank you for your consistent phone calls and sweet messages. We love and miss you, give yourself a hug from us!