The past couple of weeks have seen a few birthdays at MAF Dodoma.
Jane had her birthday last Saturday and invited us 4 to her home on Saturday morning to celebrate and to meet her grandson, Brown, who lives with her. We baked her a cake, which Ben and Esther decorated with bright pink icing (!!) and candles. We sat and sang to her, shared the cake and were treated to a fizzy soda drink each. We also met her sister, who was very warm and welcoming, with true Tanzanian hospitality.
Brown, Esther, Jane and Ben:
The weekend prior to that, our MAF neighbour Julie-Anne celebrated her 40th birthday. In collaboration with her husband, Glenn, we planned a Surprise Party to take place on the Sunday afternoon of her birthday in our back garden. Despite the proximity of our homes on the MAF compound, we all managed to keep it a surprise- although I suspect that not telling any of the MAF children what was going on really helped to keep it all secret! A friend also baked an amazing cake, topped with a fizzing candle that went off like a mini-firework when lit!
The birthday girl was completely taken by surprise and a great afternoon was had by all...
Party time in our garden:
As for Ben and the boys, they celebrated the special day by digging busily in our sandpit:
As for Ben and the boys, they celebrated the special day by digging busily in our sandpit: 
There were plenty of snacks, which were enjoyed by all, especially the little ones!
The next birthday will be Ben's 3rd and the invitations to his Pizza Lunch Party have just gone out ready for next week, much to Ben's excitement!
What a happy time you are all having.I'm sure Ben and Esther will have lots of happy memories of their childhood on the MAF compound in dodooma.
ReplyDeleteGood job the rains didn't start during the party! How well organized it seemed to be.
ReplyDeleteI wonder who the organiser was. I can't imagine who it could be. Can you?