Party of the Decade (part 2)

When we arrived at Dubai Mall for Kaitlynn's Favorite Things scavenger hunt, the limo driver dropped us off at a fancy entrance by stores like Tiffany's. I asked the girls to pose for a group photo, and apparently we created quite the scene because several shoppers were taking our picture and asking to get a photo with Kaitlynn. Dubai Mall is known as a hub for celebrity sightings and I guess Kaitlynn was the celebrity of the day.

I handed out the badges and shopping list for the girls and explained the rules of the scavenger hunt. They took off excitedly and wasted no time knocking several items off of the list. I was having so much fun watching them debate various purchases while minding the budget. We went from store to store to store, using the Dubai Mall app for navigation and store ideas. The girls had their own wallet with money and they managed it all by themselves!

I was SO impressed with the girls' brainstorming and purchase planning. They ended up completing the entire list of items under budget and in plenty of time. Towards the end, everyone had run out of energy so we had to make a quick pit stop for some food. What better place to stop for a snack during Kaitlynn's birthday party than the spot with her own initials - KFC!

While we were waiting on the food, Kaitlynn's friends all started whispering to each other and then came over to me to ask if they could use the rest of the scavenger hunt budget to buy Kaitlynn an extra birthday gift. Oh my goodness, girls are SO sweet!! They ran back to the nearby bookstore and secretly purchased a special "K" book for her.

After the girls ate a quick KFC snack, we made our way back through the mall and to the limo awaiting us. The girls were happy to climb back in and resume their carpool karaoke. They all presented Kaitlynn with their secret gift and then resumed belting out tunes on Kaitlynn's playlist. It was such a fun and special time with this precious group of friends. Jeff and I were so thankful to witness the momentous occasion for our girl.

As another surprise, I had enlisted Connor's help back at the villa to set up the party table with goody boxes for each of the girls. So when we returned back to the villa, each girl had a zebra gift box with their name, full of zebra-striped items and party favors. They also had their souvenir photo from earlier in the party. They were all squealing with delight at the surprise.

While we waited on a late lunch of pizza to arrive, we had yet another surprise for the girls. Before the party, Kaitlynn and I had blown up balloons with a tiny slip of paper inside, each with the name of one of the party guests. One by one, we popped open the balloons to reveal a name. That person was then given one of the "favorite things" gifts the girls had purchased during the scavenger hunt. It was a fun surprise twist to the end of the game.

When it was time for cake, there was more singing and celebration. I also overheard some super cute girl talk as they all enjoyed their pizza and ice cream cake.

As we waited for the girls' parents to arrive to pick them up, everyone wanted Kaitlynn to open her birthday gifts. I thought it was really neat how the girls were all so excited to see her open the gifts. There was a definite theme to the presents that went right along with the party - ZEBRA! Ha!

When the party was over, we were all in complete agreement that it was the perfect day and such a fun party. Nothing describes the success of a party like seeing the aftermath. Based on the mess in the villa, I'd say this one was a home run!

We still had one more surprise up our sleeve for our birthday girl. With tremendous help from Connor and ALL of Kaitlynn's amazing friends and family, Kaitlynn was given a special birthday video of short messages from around the world. Connor had been working diligently for weeks to make an iMovie of the many video clips, and he did an amazing job. We sat down as a family and watched (and laughed, and cried) as we listened to SO many loved ones send Kaitlynn a special birthday message. What an incredible tribute for our sweet girl.

Kaitlynn asked for a memorable 10th birthday party, and I'd say we delivered in a BIG way. I was so thankful for Kaitlynn's amazing friends who made this day so special for her, and I truly believe we created memories to last a lifetime. Happy double digits to my baby girl!

Party of the Decade (part 1)

In our house, celebrating your first decade (double digits!) has always been a big deal. We don't typically host elaborate birthday parties but for age 10, we offered to throw one for both Connor and Kaitlynn. Connor ended up choosing a big gift instead (his beloved XBox!) but Kaitlynn had other ideas. She wanted a party, and not just any party. For months leading up to her birthday, she brainstormed ideas about the perfect party - venues, activities, decorations, you name it. Her party request was simple: she wanted something "memorable." We both threw out various ideas but had trouble landing on the right path. We invited her closest friends and told them to save the date in May (due to our crazy spring schedule), but we still didn't have a party planned yet. That is, until one day, I was driving home from school and somehow came up with a big plan. I discussed it with Jeff and we decided to keep it secret from her except for a few details. I was nervous but excited for her party of the decade.

Even before we knew what to do for her party, we knew what the theme of her party decorations would be. Anyone who knows Kaitlynn is aware of her zebra obsession. Anything with a zebra print is her absolute favorite thing. When we shopped for her party, we were so excited to find zebra print decorations, and I managed to get some additional zebra items shipped to me from the new Amazon.ae that had just gone live in Dubai. Jeff even found the neatest unique zebra chair on Dubizzle (Dubai's version of Craigslist).

When the party day finally arrived, we decorated our villa in all the zebra madness and Kaitlynn was beyond excited! Decorating has never been a strength of mine and quite honestly, I can't remember when I've ever decorated for a home party. But we were all pleased with the outcome.

When it was time for the party, Kaitlynn's best friends all began showing up around 10am. When they first arrived, we asked each of them to sit with Kaitlynn in the zebra party chair for a quick Instax photo (the new version of the Polaroid camera) so that we could get souvenir photos of each friend with Kaitlynn. Then Kaitlynn led them over to the "snack bar" so that they could each make their own personalized snack for the upcoming activity.

We had informed the girls of our party plan: a scavenger hunt in none other than Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world! The theme of the scavenger hunt was "Kaitlynn's favorite things" and the girls' job was to go from store to store inside the mall locating each item while following some rules and sticking to a budget. Each girl would take turns at different roles in the game, such as Navigator, Timekeeper, and Accountant. During each round of the game, they would wear a name badge and perform the duties of their assigned role. Kaitlynn and the girls were all so excited!

But the biggest surprise of the day was yet to come. When it was time to head out to Dubai Mall, I told the girls to file out to the car with their snacks. Some had already figured it out, but Kaitlynn was the most surprised. The girls' ride to the mall was none other than a stretch party LIMO!!

I'm not sure which of us was more excited. Kaitlynn was shocked and couldn't believe we had arranged this for her! The girls were giddy and wasted no time climbing into the limo and enjoying their snacks and cold drinks. It was my first time riding in a limo as well. We set off for the mall but made a stop for more photos along the way. The girls were jamming out to a party playlist that Kaitlynn had made on her device, and everyone was having a blast. I was so happy that we had managed to pull off this surprise for Kaitlynn!

More to come on Kaitlynn's party of the decade!

Random Spring Updates

Time for another collection of random updates from the spring.

I snapped this photo at the baseball fields in mid-April as proof that our Dubai spring weather was unseasonably cool this year. I actually needed a jacket at one of Connor's evening games. I was soaking it all in because we all knew the oppressive Dubai summer heat was just around the corner.

Connor made an unexpected visit to an eye doctor in early May when he ended up with a scratched cornea from his baseball buddies throwing rocks and dirt at an evening baseball practice. Boys!

Kaitlynn's elementary school hosted parent conferences in the spring and this year they made sure the kids were interactive with their parents. Kaitlynn had an entire lesson prepared for me to participate in, including a writing assignment about the Revolutionary War and a math lesson about long division. (Can I just say, they teach math SO differently now?!) Kaitlynn was so excited about her role as "teacher" and I believe she may have found her calling.

Even though Kaitlynn's birthday wasn't for another month or so, we were hosting her party early due to our upcoming crazy schedule. Due to some scheduled days off from school, Kaitlynn and I were able to dedicate a full day to the planning and shopping for her birthday party. She was loving every moment of the planning experience. Much more to come on the big event.

In preparation for her party, we also did something I almost never do -- blow dry and style Kaitlynn's hair. Neither of us take much time to fix our hair but I thought it would be nice for her to have a good wash and style on the night before the party. By the time I was finished, we couldn't believe how different her hair looked. So long and straight and beautiful. And yes, that is a zebra onesie which has become her favorite set of PJs, ha!