Alia was worried when we left Michigan that she wouldn't have a fun birthday away from "home". She changed her mind last night.
We started the day off with a "no school today" announcement...that went over GREAT! Then we Skyped with Grandpa and Grandma Weerstra, had breakfast and played while Daddy finished his business calls. Then Mommy and Alia got a taxi and went off to have a just-girls morning! We started with Alia's first mani-pedi, window shopped, rode the carousel and had snacks before heading home. Here are some pics from the outing.
Alia and Mommy got mani/pedi's for her birthday! It was her first time getting her nails done by someone other than Mom.
Alia's birthday mani/pedi and the cool little cubby we sat in while they did our nails! Total for getting our nails done: ~$20 (mommy chose a color from the "expensive" polish and Alia wanted 4 different colors).
After getting our nails done we finished off our girly morning with watermelon shakes and donut pops! Total for our snacks ~$2.00
After lunch, Alia opened her gift...a new doll! A "baby-looking" doll with a "soft head" as requested.
Alia had been missing having a "baby" to take care of since she chose to take her teddy bear on the trip. We felt that the desire to nurture a baby was important enough to warrant another lovey along on the trip. So, "Goldie" named for Alia's golden birthday (8 years on April 8) joined our family. Notice also Alia's birthday "crown".
Rest time was necessary for mom and dad (also mandatory for the kids) before heading off to Zoofari for a SUPER fun evening! Owned by an expat here that we met our first week in country, Zoofari is a child's dream play place! A 2 story building with 5 levels of kiddo endorsed fun! All 4 kids had a blast and were all bummed when we had to leave 4 HOURS later! Here is a link to watch the video we took!
http://youtu.be/RqcqgQXk6X4
We are thankful the kids now see that birthdays can be fun no matter where you are in the world! Now the boys are trying to guess what will be available to do for their birthdays in the countries where we will be at that time! Yay, for opening eyes to new possibilities!