Our first gathering was the meet and greet dinner that night. It is always a bit overwhelming when you get there and see everyone. Nick was afraid to go in the big room and this is where he spent most of the first part of the evening. Funny thing was more and more kids began to join him and before you knew it the party was under our table. Nick is always a trend setter!
There were 60 plus families there and we were the only ones from Zhezkazgan which makes for a slow interaction time (those adopting from same cities tend to congregate) but as the night went on we touched base with our old friends and made some new!
Minni Karen was not able to attend this year but cyber-introduced us to her son Garrett's babyhouse buddy Charlie and mom, Anita. We enjoyed visiting with them so much and Nick and Charlie had a great time under the table and above because Pat was the target of tickle attacks and general mayhem! Pat took Nick swimming when the our boy had enough socialization. Charlie and Anita were also at the pool. I met up with Cincy Karen and we chatted for a few hours with a couple other kaz moms in the meeting room after everyone left. It is always a trip to hear other Kaz stories and be amazed at the miracle of adoption, laugh a bit and cry a tad ....just generally bask in the glow of shared experiences.
Saturday morning after breakfast, we all gathered at the pool and it was quite a site. Kaz babies and kids swimming everywhere! I will venture to say that Kaz kids are the best and most adventurous swimmers that I have ever seen in a pool. They all seem fearless and quite the little water bugs! Nick was not into swimming that day so we stayed an hour or so and then went back to the room for a rest.
After our short rest, we dressed and Nick and Pat went on the Opryland Boat ride and we walked around the hotel. If you have been there, you know this can be considered a hike! We decided to head over to Opry Mills a little early and walk around before meeting up for our big dinner and raffle at Dave and Buster's (also at D&B's). Nick was a little grumpier than usual in the Mall so we sat down on a bench with him just to regroup and apparently exhaustion was the problem! Isn't he the cutest when he is sleeping! Look at those eyelashes!
Saturday night was the Big Dinner and Raffle which raised over 2500.00 for the Kaz orphan organization Two Hearts for Hope . They had lots of kid activities and a special Kid dance/DJ which was amazing. All the kids (and parents) gathered up front dancing with such joy and abandon. I leaned over to Susan (the famous Leeza's mom) and commented on the beauty of the scene and we just sat there a little (or alot) teary. Adoption is just a beautiful thing to behold. The friends we have made along the way are truly the dearest kind. I am so thankful for my Kindred Karens and I finally met sweet Mary from Toronto via Ireland. Her accent took me immediately back to our belated honeymoon in Ireland. I loved those people so much and she is a perfect example why! Such humor and life in she and her family. The "other" Kazmanian Devil, Orin, was as adorable as his pictures and his mom and I do have some seriously similar taste in boys clothing. It tickled us to see how much we dressed them alike! I am not sure how we missed out on Orin being in the pic below but I was thrilled to meet Mary finally in real life and give her hugs for all the support she has given us over the past 2 years.
In our down time, Nick was always making something grand in our room. I believe this was a campsite and he was napping in the "tent". Looks comfy.......probably should have joined him!
I joined Cincy Karen, my trusty sidekick and support giver (it is always so intimidating to meet the kaz blog celebrities IRL) for another late night out. We chatted and laughed for hours. What a blessing all these Kazamommies are to me!
One of the organizers of the event has TWO adorable kids from Kaz. Michelle's son Mateo has always reminded me of Nick. The last day at the goodbye meeting, the boys finally hooked up and started playing and I quick tried to catch a photo. They are two mighty handsome boys and they loved playing batman together. Michelle and her family live near our route to go up north so I foresee a future travel play date with the boys and a rest stop for mom and dad.
My goal is to get a picture every year of Nick in front of the Kazapalooza sign to watch him grow up. I really love this event and we are so appreciative of the 4 girls who plan and facilitate the whole event every year. What an undertaking!......Thanks so much Gretchen, Muriel, Michelle and Kristan.
It was hard to say good-bye so quick. So MANY people, so little time! I am so thankful that my husband is willing to support my blog obsessed habit and attend this every year. He gets an extra reward next year because it is in Milwaukee and he lived there for several year as a child and went to one of his colleges there so he is actually looking forward to the next one. We (the Kazmoms) all chuckle at our hubbies and their general "deer in the headlights" look at the big gatherings. We are just thankful they are there to help with the kids so we can all chat! It may take them all a few years to buddy up but it will happen. Kaz adoption makes you family, it will just take them a little longer to accept the "in-laws"! :) If I had it my way, we would find Kaz families in each state we travel thru on the way to visit our folks. It makes the long drive seem bearable! ;) We will be seeing Minni Karen and family in a few days. Can't wait to get our Krazy Kaz boys together. I am hoping to get the Mexico post done in a few days. I need to figure out how to do those embedded slide shows because we got lots of pictures to share. Our June has just been jam-packed with events. Looking forward to a little slowdown in July and Nick has Spanish camp for 2 weeks.......gee, what will I do with the free time! yippeeeeeee!
Hugs to everyone!
