Birmingham Blackwell birthday bonanza

Last Wednesday Taylor and I headed south to help my Grandaddy and my sister celebrate their big birthdays. And when I say BIG, I mean my grandfather turned 90 and Libba was welcoming in her 30s. And with such momentous milestones in the family happening, of course my mother flew down from Iowa to help party. Because ain’t no party like a Blackwell birthday party, ‘cause a Blackwell birthday party don’t stop. Seriously. We’re gangsta like that.

And because the before mentioned birthdays took place on Wednesday and Thursday, my sweet hubba had to stay behind to put bread on the table. And because I was less than thrilled to drive the nearly six-hour trek by myself with a sassy toddler in the back, we managed to borrow a friend’s portable-DVD player and Disney Princess movie library for the trip. And, OH MY GOODNESS!, it was a lifesaver. I kept having to remind myself that Taylor was even in the car... But the Little Mermaid soundtrack in the backseat was a good reminder. And wouldn’t you know that I still can recite EVERY word to that entire movie and sang along with all the songs. Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat, wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete... You can probably pick it up from there, Steph.

So we made it down to Birmingham just after lunchtime, beating Mom and Grandaddy back to his house and found this in the front yard:

That night, all of the local and visiting Blackwell family members gathered at a fancy restaurant to toast Grandaddy and his 90 tremendous years. Well, everyone but Taylor. Let’s just say it wasn’t a toddler-friendly environment. So Libba lined-up a friend to stay with T at her house for the two hours we were gone. And, I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty nice to be out with my family and actually be able to listen to and partake in conversations without interruption, savor my delicious dinner without someone grabbing the avocados off my plate and carry a purse that didn’t have an entire toybox full of attention-occupying stuff in it. Yes, it was nice. But at the end of the night, I was super anxious to get back to my little peanut. Ah, such is motherhood.

So, YES, Grandaddy’s party was a truly special event. And emotional. All 16 guests took turns standing up and toasting and thanking the matriarch of our family, and with the amount of vino flowing, you can imagine some got a bit choked up. And then the birthday boy gave his rebuttal, thank you toast, and didn’t leave a dry eye in the house. My grandfather is very special to myself and a lot of other people, and I felt very blessed to be able to spend such a joyous occasion with him that night. And I can’t wait to toast him again on his 91st birthday next September.

And to keep the birthday train rolling, Libba turned the big three-oh the very next day. And in trying to plan something totally wonderful and amazing for her big day, her husband, my mother and myself decided to throw a bit of a surprise party for her at one of her fave restaurants, Cantina. And other than a few balloon malfunctions and mid-day cookie meltdowns, the actual party was a total success. And we had one super happy 30 year old on our hands.

Another wonderful birthday party, this time accompanied by Taylor, a DQ ice cream cake, birthday girl tequila shots and lots of queso dip and guacamole. And Miss T was a social butterfly at the party, constantly keeping DIRKY and HER BEEBA at an arm’s length. That girl loves her aunt and uncle, and they seem to be pretty fond of her too.

Friday we shook off our post-party cobwebs and the Young women spent the morning shopping and lunching. Which, of course, was followed by naps. You know us Blackwell females, we require at least one nap and one bag of cheese curls each day of vacation. And after naps, Libba had an organized photo shoot of my precious daughter that I cannot wait for you to see the results of. Between the wedding and previous bridal parties, it had been some time since Taylor had some focused attention in front of Lib’s camera. And you all know how amazingly talented my sister is, so you only imagine the cuteness that you will all see once the edits are done.

And Saturday was the day T and I headed back home to the mountains, which resulted in another successful princess movie-filled roadtrip. A wonderful trip all-around, that didn’t even end with sad Goodbyes being that Lib will be visiting Asheville in the coming weeks and we will be seeing my parents again before the end of the year. Of course you’ll have to check my sister’s blog for more pictures of the adventure – It’s always pretty useless to have my camera around when she’s shooting. But without a bunch of photographic evidence, just trust me when I say it was an amazing trip, and a wonderful reminder of how truly blessed I am to be surrounded by so much love within my family. And I miss them already.