We celebrated Regan's birthday a little early this year for several reasons. The biggest reason was that she really wanted to have some of her school friends come and since her birthday is so close to Christmas, she is always on Christmas break for her birthday. Another reason is that we will not be here on her birthday. Regardless, it is hard to believe that she is almost eight years old! She really wanted to have a giraffe party. I wasn't sure how we were going to do that, but with several months of looking at cake decorating ideas and hunting for the right ingredients, I made her a giraffe cake. It was a first for me and I had a lot of fun doing it!
Her special day started with lunch. (She was out of school due to some construction problems at the school.) She asked our Ayi if she would fix this meal...her favorites that our helper cooks...green beans, onions, and wu gua (sorry I have no idea of the English translation for that veggie) She was a happy camper.
Then, several of her friends came form school and they sang a nd ate cake and ice cream. We bought all the icecream at 2 different stores for the party :) I'm sure they thought we were crazy since it has cooled off a little. She also wanted it to be just a girl party, so the only boys there were her dad and her brother :)
The party took place in her bedroom since it is painted to look like a giraffe. I think it is so neat that she has friends from all over the world. This was their attempt at a pyramid. Lauren was supposed to be on top, but she was scared most of the party. I think it was too loud and too many new faces for her.
One of her gifts! She sleeps with it every night now.
Two of her best buds...Catherine and Ruthee.
This was her gift from us. We have been planning it for a long time! She has been taking piano for a year, but has not been able to practice regularly. She has really been wanting a keyboard to practice with. We found a good deal on this one and have been hiding it for about 2 monhs (not in our house) She will have to teach me some things :)
The kids also got a long lost package (sent in Sept) from a friend this week. The kids loved the treats and goodies and have been loving the VBS video performance that was sent! Lots of fun!
Benjamin was excited about the Smoky dog Bobble head :) It was actually a good thing that it took so long for this package to get here. My friend had sent in the box a package of Double Stuffed Oreos (mmmm....very good). Well, when I was making Regan's cake for her party, I realized that I did not have any white icing left and was trying to figure out how to do the eyes on the cake. Benjamin had the idea of using the inside of the oreos. We had 3 left, so 2 became eyes. It worked great and Benjamin went around the rest of the day saying, "I'm a genius! I'm a genius!"
The kids also got several Christmas presents in the mail this week. We put them under the tree for a little bit, but then decided to go ahead and open them :)
Lauren smelling my new shower gel.
And my random culture pictures for the week...I guess no one will be playing basketball on this day since all FOUR goals had clothes hanging from the rim to dry.
And then of coarse, you have the meat drying right in the middle of all the laundry and the school bus in the background.
We celebrated Regan's birthday a little early this year for several reasons. The biggest reason was that she really wanted to have some of her school friends come and since her birthday is so close to Christmas, she is always on Christmas break for her birthday. Another reason is that we will not be here on her birthday. Regardless, it is hard to believe that she is almost eight years old! She really wanted to have a giraffe party. I wasn't sure how we were going to do that, but with several months of looking at cake decorating ideas and hunting for the right ingredients, I made her a giraffe cake. It was a first for me and I had a lot of fun doing it!
Her special day started with lunch. (She was out of school due to some construction problems at the school.) She asked our Ayi if she would fix this meal...her favorites that our helper cooks...green beans, onions, and wu gua (sorry I have no idea of the English translation for that veggie) She was a happy camper.
Then, several of her friends came form school and they sang a nd ate cake and ice cream. We bought all the icecream at 2 different stores for the party :) I'm sure they thought we were crazy since it has cooled off a little. She also wanted it to be just a girl party, so the only boys there were her dad and her brother :)
The party took place in her bedroom since it is painted to look like a giraffe. I think it is so neat that she has friends from all over the world. This was their attempt at a pyramid. Lauren was supposed to be on top, but she was scared most of the party. I think it was too loud and too many new faces for her.
One of her gifts! She sleeps with it every night now.
Two of her best buds...Catherine and Ruthee.
This was her gift from us. We have been planning it for a long time! She has been taking piano for a year, but has not been able to practice regularly. She has really been wanting a keyboard to practice with. We found a good deal on this one and have been hiding it for about 2 monhs (not in our house) She will have to teach me some things :)
The kids also got a long lost package (sent in Sept) from a friend this week. The kids loved the treats and goodies and have been loving the VBS video performance that was sent! Lots of fun!
Benjamin was excited about the Smoky dog Bobble head :) It was actually a good thing that it took so long for this package to get here. My friend had sent in the box a package of Double Stuffed Oreos (mmmm....very good). Well, when I was making Regan's cake for her party, I realized that I did not have any white icing left and was trying to figure out how to do the eyes on the cake. Benjamin had the idea of using the inside of the oreos. We had 3 left, so 2 became eyes. It worked great and Benjamin went around the rest of the day saying, "I'm a genius! I'm a genius!"
The kids also got several Christmas presents in the mail this week. We put them under the tree for a little bit, but then decided to go ahead and open them :) 
Lauren smelling my new shower gel.
And my random culture pictures for the week...I guess no one will be playing basketball on this day since all FOUR goals had clothes hanging from the rim to dry.
And then of coarse, you have the meat drying right in the middle of all the laundry and the school bus in the background. 
