Something Fishy is going on!!

Last week we had a funeral for Sam, the only fish at the time in the tank! We went outside and dug a hole and all said a few words. Johnathan put Sam in the grave ( since Sam belonged to him ) and then I buried Sam. We went to the pet store and let Johnathan pick out 2 new fish!
Deja'vu Yesterday Johnathan came home from school and fed his fish....a couple hours later....

Yep it was belly up!! I don't remember this one's name....let's face it, it was not here long enough for me to get attached ( not that I would with fish any way )! Johnathan was very sad about this one though! Luckily the fish was still under warranty with the pet store! Yep! PetSmart gives you a two week guarantee on all their pets. So after Davone was off from work we took the dead fish to PetSmart. I gave Davone the receipt from when I bought the fish and he took the fish to the "Fish Lady" at the store. Davone held up the bag and said " I would like to exchange this one for a live one!" So needless to say we got a free one and now there are two fish again!

If the new one (the bigger one) dies then I will think the little one Murdered him!! Watch for the updates!!! ;)

How long will they last?

With school starting the kids had their Annual eye exam! When my Grandmother lived with us we took her to an awesome opthomologist who helped give her back her sight! Since then he has retired but the kids are able to see his son! Dr. Henry in Fayetteville is the BEST!! Imanni had been complaining of head aches and her eyes being sore so I thought she should get in soon!! Turns out Johnathan still has his same problem with one eye being a little weak and turning in... it has a technical name and as soon as find the paper about it I will let you know what it is! :) The Doctor said we found it way early and that the glasses will fix it. The problem is that Johnathan's glasses don't ever last long!!! The last pair he had were broke in less than a week!! He put them in the window sill and some one ( either Imanni or Johnathan ) shut the window and completely broke them! He has lost a couple pairs outside, Kiannah broke one pair! I am sure you can see the trend! My brother Kenny was the EXACT same way!! He always lost his glasses too. Must be hereditary! During Imanni's Eye exam it was determined that she needs glasses too but only for reading. Kiannah has since had here eyes checked also and it was determined she has 20/20 vision!! Good Job Kiannah...Keep eating your carrots!! :)

All good things must end!!

Davone had so much fun in New York!!! He was able to go out with the Missionaries, visit with family and friends, see the sights and most of all he got to be HOME for a little while!
Wanda and Carlos we able to take Davone to LGA and see him off!
Although Davone is happy to be back in Arkansas he misses NYC and all the people he loves who are there also!
Don't worry..... He will get to go back to the Big Apple soon enough!!!

A country boy can survive!

I know what you are thinking......Davone....a country boy?

I have come to the conclusion that yes he is country! He loves shooting BB guns, says words like " Dag Nabbit " , and he loves to go camping ( and hoping to soon ). So I would have to say that he is officially Country!!!

So Davone went around New York City to go shopping and sight seeing. Lamar and Jalessa went with him to act as his body guards...Not really but it is always a good idea to travel with "the locals". Davone is no longer considered a local of New York City!!!!

Wanda also decided to join them and go out on the town!
They went to go and see Times Square and Davone felt right at home there amongst all the weird New Yorkers!

At one point in the night he thought he was Bruce Lee! I will remind him of this when he thinks the kids do something weird!

Davone enjoyed trying to barter with the shopkeepers and looking for good deals. Times Square was a lot of fun for everyone!

The group also headed to Grand Central Station!

The next day Davone met up with Gloria his friend since Jr. High...I think. They went to The Top of the Rock....Or Rockefeller Center observation deck! They got to see a lot from their Vantage point!

I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Central Park....Especially at Christmas! It is so pretty!

Here is the United Nations Flags....How pretty!

Davone survived walking down the street in NYC and crossing the cross walks! Davone also survived all the rides on the buses and on the subways, He managed to survive the neighborhood and most of all he managed to survive being away from his wife and kids for so long! So I guess a Country Boy can survive in the big city!!!

Hunting the elusive Kangaroo!

One of the most important stops, according to Kiannah, was the Zoo! While looking at the website before the trip we learned that on Wednesdays you can get into the Zoo for FREE! That is right.... Free....They do ask for a donation though. Lamar called in sick to work.....I mean Lamar was real sick and the Doctor said he should go hang out with Davone!!! So Lamar and Davone made the pilgrimage to the zoo together! Davone thought the gophers were real cute!
He tried to blend in with them hoping that he could stay! I think they spotted him!
Kiannah is totally in love with Kangaroos. We do not know how she has developed her fascination with Kangaroos. Let's face it Arkansas doesn't have wild Kangaroos!!! Wild Chickens and Wild Wal~Martians ( employees of Wal~Mart )YES but Kangaroos.....I have never seen running around town! Regardless she loves them! She jumps around the house daily saying she is a Kangaroo. So the main purpose of Davone's trip to the Zoo was to get a picture of a Kangaroo for Kiannah! Here it is one of the pictures of the "Kangaroo"!Okay so it is not really a Kangaroo! Technically it is a Wallaby!! But they are all related! This was good enough to pass for Kiannah! She loves to look at the Kangaroo everyday!

Lamar and Davone found a nice little waterfall and thought that they would pose in front of it and get a cute picture for their wives!

Lamar's pictures turned out real good!

I guess Lamar doesn't know how to take a clear picture!!! That is okay we still love him!

So like I said the main point of the trip to the zoo was to get a picture of the Kangaroo....all the other animals just happened to be on the way there! Needless to say there were a lot of people there!

The mission was accomplished and the crowds just kept getting bigger so Davone and Lamar called it a day! They guys got to hang out without anyone bugging them and Kiannah got her picture plus a cute mug and mask.....So everyone was happy! Good job Davone!!

Party at Wanda's!!!

Davone was able to spend his birthday with his mother this year!

So what better wayto celebrate then to have a party!!!

Parties always attract a lot of people. Family, Friends and even neighbors came to welcome "The President" home! His mother made sure there was plenty of music and plenty of food. Momma's little boy had to have a cake too!

His Mother and His Father ( Divine Ingram ) were both there with him to blow out the candles on his cake!

No party in that neighborhood would be complete without the Raggae and the Dancing!

Watch for that video soon!

People to see and Places to be!

Most all of Davone's family lives in New York, so he had plenty of people to visit. Number one on the list....Mr. Lamar Drayton. He is Davone's best friend!Lamar and Davone have known each other since they were 12. They lived in the same building so they got to hang out everyday!

Also on the list is Davone's sister Nijiah. They had never met each other! She is his sister on his dad's side. They were able to meet up and go to lunch together.

Davone also visited with his Uncle Mike and his Great-Grandmother. She was one of the most important stops! Davone loved seeing his Great-Grandmother and listening to her tell stories.

She is so country believe it or not! Davone had to do a lot of traveling around town to see everyone. He took a picture of the subway car to show the kids.

I was surprised at how clean they actually were! They looked nothing like you see on the movies! Davone was also able to see Mr. Ike. Mr. Ike is an adopted Grandfather to Davone. Mr. Ike is so cool he didn't even get off the phone to take a picture with Davone!

Davone didn't get to see everyone he wanted to but he tried! Maybe next time!

The President of Millbrook is BACK!!!

After a 3 hour Non-Stop flight to New York city Davone was greeted by his.....ummmm .....Step-Dad? Here is the thing. Carlos Valentin WAS married to Wanda. That is how Davone got the last name Valentin. There is alot to that story but that is all that is needed to know. Wanda stayed home to get things ready for Davone. They took a few pictures and talked for a while. Davone hadn't seen Carlos since he was 12 years old so they enjoyed catching up on things. Wanda was happy to have her little boy home and even called to let me know that he was never coming home. She said she was keeping him!!!! I don't think so!!! I informed her he could visit for a while but he had to come home. Davone was excited to get to see Lamar and his family as well. Davone was very tired and had a lot of plans for the next 10 days so he went to bed early!

I bet you want to know how he got the name " President of Millbrook", Here it goes..... He received the name from Lamar. Millbrook is the name of the projects that Davone lived in. Davone would always go around with the big Kool-Aid man smile and talk to everyone who he could. He would shake every one's hands and help people when needed. So Lamar , always looking for a way to make fun of anyone started calling Davone President of Millbrook. He said Davone was always acting like the politicians. How funny!

Our part to stimulate the Economy!

Davone hasn't been "home" ( back in New York ) since 2003, So when the government sent us our economic stimulus check we figured what better way to stimulate the economy then for Davone to go to New York!!!!

No you aren't seeing things! Yes Davone is wearing a sweatshirt in the middle of August ( with the airlines charging for all the extra baggage now we had to be a little creative in the packing and in case he got cold on the plane ) and Yes he did carry his basketball with him on the plane ( so that he can try to squeeze a game in with Lamar )!

The kids and the wife stayed in Arkansas while Davone went to New York. The government only sent enough for him to go :) and the kids had school!

So.... this is just the beginning of Davone's vacation story. It all started with a horrible economy, a mother's day present, and XNA! The rest of the story will follow shortly!

Final Goodbyes?

After resting for the weekend we woke up Monday morning and helped Goldie clean the Neighbor's OLD apartment. Kiannah really did enjoy cleaning Aubrey's room! I thought maybe it would help her to see that nothing was left inside, but she still looks for Aubrey. I am sure she will for a while! We wish Trevor and MaryAnn well in Little Rock. We all know they will have no problems making friends! They are awesome people and we have enjoyed so much the friendship and memories we have with them!

Kiannah's saddest day!

MaryAnn and Trevor finally got moved!!! We knew it was coming for some time now, but we were hoping somehow they could stay closer. Trevor Graduated in May from the University of Arkansas. While looking for a job he interviewed in Helena Arkansas and in Little Rock Arkansas and was eventually offered a job at both. He took the job offer in Little Rock and started the search for an apartment. A ugust 16th.....to Kiannah it is the day mean Uncle Trevor took Aubrey and Coleman away.....to everyone else it is the day the McGarrahs moved to Little Rock. We tried to make it fun for Kiannah and Aubrey and took some pictures in the moving truck. Everyone loved the truck, especially Coleman. We worked hard packing the truck and then it was time to go.

It was Aubrey and Kiannah's first road trip together! They had so much fun throwing Doritos at everyone and everything. They laughed and giggled about absolutely nothing, sang songs and even took a nap. Once we got to Little Rock all the kids were excited to get out and run around. We had them in the apartment but later took them outside to play in the yard while unloading the truck. Aubrey and Kiannah collected some rocks and Coleman just wondered around trying to stay balanced while looking at his new yard.
Before we had time to get comfortable it was time to go. We had dinner and took a couple of quick pictures and said our quick goodbyes. Kiannah asked for Aubrey a couple of times on the way home and I nearly cried knowing that she didn't understand what was going on!
The days following haven't gotten easier for her. She sometimes think she is in trouble and will say "I sorry mommy I can play with Aubrey" or "Please tell MayAnn ( her version of MaryAnn ) to come out for Aubrey". I know she loves her best friend and misses her very much! I am sure we will try to go and visit soon!