A Party post

On Saturday of last week - Papa and Gaga's second day in Kuwait - we hosted the twins' sixth birthday party!

I had looked around at several places in different areas of Kuwait to host the party at, and found them all to be CRAZY expensive. Like, $15KD per kid ($49.69), and the others that were slightly more affordable (like 11KD a kid) only allowed ten guests.

Um, no.

We thought about having it at our apartment, but then I'd have to clean and organize and have a ton of people in our space for who knows how long.

Um, no.

I was talking with some other moms at Tball about this, and one of them who has been in Kuwait for two years suggested we just host it at a park.

PERFECT.

Back in Portland, we could never count on good weather in the end of March to plan an outdoor party.

Kuwait is PERFECT in the end of March!

So we picked our favorite park/beach area, and invited all our Kuwait peeps to come out and celebrate with us.

The night before, I put these two to work making a treat bag assembly line...

#freelabor

That morning we woke up and got ready, and my mother in law and I headed out to pick up some snacks from a local (delicious!) bakery, and go get things set up.
I *kinda* had an idea where the bakery was as we set off with our favorite driver, but a few minutes into my directions, it became apparent that I was way off.

Luckily, Hussien knows everything, and was able to find the bakery.

This detour made us really slightly late, and we ended up arriving at the park about five minutes before the party was supposed to start.

I felt terrible about this, until I remembered we're in Kuwait, and nothing nothing nothing nothing NOTHING happens on time here.

These are my people.

My sweet friend arrived with a table we were borrowing, and the three of us set to work on setting things up in what was the windiest day I've ever experienced here in Kuwait!

Seriously, it was CRAZY blustery!!

A few more friends showed up, and it took five of us to tape down the tablecloth.

 I had to put the plates on top of the cake box because the lid kept blowing away.

We taped up balloons, and one by one they flew away.

My hair - that I'd spent time curling that morning - whipped across my face and stuck to my freshly applied lip gloss.

We got things as set up as we could, more people started arriving, and the party officially began!

The kids were SO excited, and I felt so filled with gratitude. With each group of people that arrived - Tball friends, Homeschool friends, neighbors - I felt more and more blessed.

Here we've been in Kuwait only seven months, and we had so many friends show up to celebrate our kids' birthday with us. 

Thanks be to God.

Our boy with two buddies...

Me with my sweet friends Barbara and Nathia...

 I don't mean to be sappy, but I was overcome with gratitude multiple times during this day...the fact that exactly two months prior, I'd been laying on a gurney in the ED in excruciating pain and genuinely afraid that I was about to die was not lost on me.
I'm so grateful for each day, and for my health as well as the health of my loved ones.
Standing there, feeling the crazy wind whip across my face, on a beautiful beach, watching my babies celebrate turning SIX YEARS OLD, with my in laws here, and so many new friends there...well, I could have curled up in the fetal position and just wept.

Instead, I offered up a silent Thanks, and did my best to soak in every moment. 

Buddies...

This sweet girl was having a pretty good time...

Her parents were as well...

The little ones in Baby Jail might not be having that great of a time...

...but such is life when you are a one year old.

We had a pinata, (that my sweet friend Nathia brought! Have I mentioned how thoughtful she is?! Such a blessing in my life here!!) but zero plan as to where to hang it up.

Oops.

A few of the Dads came up with the idea to throw the rope up over this street light.

Genius.

Dave was in charge of pinata time.  

Because being near the thing being beaten with a bat is a Dad Job if I've ever seen one.

(I'm a feminist only when it doesn't involve big spiders and things being beaten with bats) 

(and the moving of heavy objects)

Everyone got a turn, and we even went around the line again!

A little strategizing...

Finally, the pinata burst open and the kids made a mad dash for the candy...

Since everyone was already gathered, it seemed like a good time to cut the cake.

We sang to each of the kids separately, and it was so windy we couldn't even keep the candles lit! Luckily the kids didn't really care, and made wishes anyways =)

The wind was INSANE at this point, and several pieces of cake flew right off people's plates! Luckily, we had a large cake, and there was enough for everyone, even though some ended up on the ground.

Birthday Cuties =)

My sweet in-laws in the Persian Gulf!

At one point, a soccer game broke out...

...and someone on the beach had a super cute, friendly pug that loved kids...

...REALLY loved kids!

There was lots of running on the beach...

...and playing in the ocean...

And then it was time to say our goodbyes...

We did our best to get things cleaned up, which included fetching plates from the surrounding area that had been blown away. 

The wind was still in full force, and at one point a piece of cake flew into David's mom's hand!! We don't even know where it came from.

Hilarious!!!!

We loaded up all the gifts in the taxi and headed home to open them.

Unfortunately, with the wind, most the cards had blown off the packages. Even though some of them had been spared, they were no longer matched with the correct packages, so we have little to no idea what came from who.

But we do know we have some very thoughtful and generous friends!

It was a birthday party I know we'll never forget, both because it was our first in Kuwait, and because the wind made it memorable =). At least we were spared from any heat!!