Hattie's 9th Birthday

Hattie's party started off with the kids playing around while Harry and Sam grilled the burgers. We wanted to give everyone time to arrive, so Harry got busy cooking food. Here's a great picture of Harry and Sam grilling. As you can see our "grill" is not quite the same as we were use to, but it works great!

Once the kids all arrived, we played some fun party games. We played a game where we divided into three teams, and each team had to run down to a basket of balloons, grab a team colored balloon and stuff it in a bag back at the starting line. It was fun to see everyone work together on that game. We had to play it twice. Once the kids figured out who needed to hold the bag the game was very competitive. The next game was a startling experience for some. We tied balloons around everyone's ankle, and the object of the game is to protect your balloon while you pop everyone else's balloon. The last person to get their balloon popped wins. This picture shows the kids playing.The last game was the "gecho toss". We had some stuffed toy gechos that the kids tossed into a basket. Every kid got a chance to win a prize. They won a stuffed gecho to take home. It was fun to see their enthusiasm to toss the gecho.


After we were done with the games, the food was ready to eat. Harry cooked hamburgers and hotdogs. Now this might sound simple and ordinary, but remember we are in Thailand. Beef is not a normal thing we find at the store, and the store was out of buns. We were able to find beef at a store about 1 hour a way, and we had a local bakery make some buns for us. We did locate everything we needed to go on the hamburgers. It was a real treat. We also served baked beans and Som Tham (Papaya salad) with the burgers and hot dogs. For some of the Thai people who came to the party, this was their first hamburger, and for others, they just enjoyed actually having a hamburger. As a matter of fact, this next picture is of our friend Lee Lee. She made the most beautiful hamburger. Harry just had to get a picture of it. Beside her beautiful hamburger is baked beans on the right and Som Tham on the left.



Little Harry was proud of his setup, too. He really enjoyed his hot dog and baked beans right beside his toy snakes. I should point out that we also had potato chips and Fruit Punch Kool-Aid. I think the Kool-Aid was as big of a hit as the sweet tea that was served. BTW, you thought chairs were for sitting, right?? Well, they also make good tables for 3 year olds....


What a cake! We were so proud of ourselves. We found a place that makes cakes. Isn't it cool! The cake has blue icing, and it is decorated with dogs. Hattie still loves dogs. She loved her cake. It was pretty tasty also.















We finally got to the present opening part, and Hattie was so excited. There are many pictures of different gifts she received, but I picked out a couple of ones to show you. Gifts she received from friends included dart board, jumbo bingo game, CocaCola shirt, pencil case, hair decorations, Bobblehead Eyore, and much more. One of the gifts not listed here is shown in this picture.

Here you see Hattie holding her new hamsters. They are named Prince and Princess. The tan one is Princess, and the grey one is Prince. They have become a fun part of our family each day. This cage has already become to small for them, so we just purchased a new cage this week. The hamsters are now loving their home. Hattie is learning how to take care of her hamsters each day. She has to feed, water, play with them each day, and she also has to clean their cage. It is a smelly task, but she is doing it well. The hamsters have given Hattie something to take care of in her room. She has really loved watching them play. She is able to sleep through all their racket during the night too. (Just in case you don't know, they are nocturnal). She says she doesn't hear them at all...

Lastly, I want to tell you a little about what we gave her. When we arrived in Thailand we truly hoped that we would find somewhere that she could go ride horses. Well, we have not found that place as of yet, and we really felt like she needed some activity that she could do regularly to channel some of her energy. Harry peaked her interest in bike riding a month or so before her birthday, so we purchased a really nice bicycle for her birthday. She has been so excited to go ride with dad each day they go. At the bottom you will see a picture of Hattie and her bike. You will also see a picture of Hattie and Harry one morning when they returned. They getup about 5:30am to go ride before school. They only do this a couple of mornings during the week, and one morning on the weekend. This time is a treasure for Hattie because she gets to spend time with dad, everytime they leave the house it is an adventure, and mostly importantly she is getting to really do something special for her. As you can see from the pictures, Hattie has all the equipment to get started in riding. Harry is very impressed with her riding so far. She can really ride hard. He is training her to ride on the road, off the road, and up the hills. I can't wait to hear about each ride when they return.





So that is Hattie's birthday party this year. She really had alot of fun playing with friends and sharing good food. As parents, we always want the best for our children, and I know that Hattie really thought this was the best for her. She was so thankful for the fun and friends.