Party time

We have come to discover that birthday parties are a big deal in our village. Not in the American (rent a small circus and have pony rides) way, more in the number and duration of the parties. Ruby and Alex seem to be attending countless parties all of which are a minimum of 2 1/2 hours. For example, this week Alex has a birthday party that begins at 11:45 am and ends at 5pm. Maybe it's just me, but I find that a little long. It's also amusing to me that the kids usually pass out the invitations at school whether or not everyone in their class is invited. Apparently nobody here is too worried about hurt feelings.

Alex and Ruby hate to miss these parties even though a majority of them are glorified play dates. After one party I asked Alex what he did for 3 hours. His answer, "We played outside on his swing set, played inside with his toys, looked at some books, and oh yah had some cake." They have done some interesting things like making bread and candles and as you can see from the picture, Ruby recently attended a party where the mom painted all of the kids' faces. I hate to be the party pooper in our family, but as Alex's birthday approaches I'm trying not to be pressured into throwing another party like last year. After all, I don't think too many 8 year old boys would find it amusing to play pin-the-baby on the mommy's belly. Like I said, maybe it's just me.