Mutale's First (fourth) Birthday

Last week we celebrated Mutale's fourth B-day! It was a pretty mellow day. She opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa, Mimi and Papa and her uncle Casey and Auntie Michelle. She loved all her loot! In the afternoon her friends from Ciyanjano came over and took some swings at the piñata that Tricia made. The kids had a great time trying to hit it while blindfolded. The Zambians thought we were crazy once again. (So wait, you fill it with candy and then break it open with a stick to get the candy out?)

The next morning we left the house bright and early for the second part of her b-day surprise. We took the kids to the airport. We told them that we needed to pick up a "package." It was actually Tricia's mom. She's here for a month-long visit and we didn't tell the kids 'cause we didn't want them to act insane for the weeks before she came. The day she came in we took her to Sugarbush which is an organic farm and leather shop and cafe. It's pretty much the closest thing to Bellingham in all of Zambia. Then we took Mutale to get her ears pierced. She's been soooo excited to get them pierced for her 4th b-day present. But after the first ear was done she was so mad and didn't want to get the other one pierced. Finally she let the guy finish and with much tears we piled back in the car. But later that day she spent a nice long chunk of time admiring herself in the mirror. Overall, some very fun times.