On November 14th, 2010 lil g came into this world – with a great deal of help from me I might add. And so I thought it fitting to throw a party in honour of both babe and mama. Now, this may sound selfish – including myself in the celebration of our daughter’s first year – but really, she doesn’t know it’s her birthday and besides, a happy mama (wife) means a happy household (life).

Since many of our baby-family friends are scattered throughout the island, I concocted what I considered to be a brilliant plan to rent cabins out on the beach… ten minutes from our house. This way, no one deals with their own dishes or cleaning, no one has piles of laundry staring them in the eye and there is no agenda other than to enjoy the beach, great food and each other’s company. No arms needed to be twisted and within hours of the initial email being sent out, everyone was on board.

The posse included 9 adults, 7 children and 3 dogs the first night, and 11 adults, 8 children and 4 dogs the second – with no child older than 2.5 yrs old. It was a sight to behold and at times, complete mayhem. But totally fun and will likely end up being an annual event.

Saturday night was the official “dance-party night” which meant DJ Jay was in the house with inebriated mamas in the front row dusting off their rusty moves.  Sunday offered up perfect kite flying weather for all the “big kids” – and I mean the very big ones.  Between the incredible home cooked meals, dips in the hot tub, and crispy forest walks – the weekend totally re-charged my gratitude for living in such a beautiful place, with wonderful people and a bounty of healthy kids all around.

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