Clara's Fifth Birthday Superhero Style

Clarita is very into birthdays and has been planning her next several parties for awhile. She had originally planned a Shopkins party for this year and a superhero party for next year, but I convinced her to switch them because I hate Shopkins. She declared that she only wanted girl superheros which proved to be super easy because apparently DC Super Hero Girls is a thing and all the decorations were 50% off! I made nothing since we got back from the Philippines a week before the party. I managed to buy the invitation design off Etsy before we left and address all the envelopes but didn't have time to print them. Luckily Tia came to the rescue and printed them and mailed them for me!

This year Clara was super into getting ready for her party. She organized all the decorations, put all the superhero masks on the superhero books for favors, and helped decorate. She even designed her own cupcakes and drew me a picture of what she wanted them to look like. She frosted a good half of them all by herself too. Pretty soon I won't have to do anything!

This was the first year Clara invited someone who wasn't one of our friends' kids. She requested to invite her best friend from preschool, Grace, and was so excited that she and her family came! She gave her a tour of our yard and house and it was absolutely adorable!

Grace and Clara

Grace's family

For the first time since Clara was born the weather was not perfect for her birthday and it was supposed to rain. I freaked out and it gave me the incentive I needed to finally clean out our garage to have the party in. It ended up not raining, but it was nice to be able to get out of the cold. Clarita picked out her costume months in advance and also picked out mine and Dada's. Emmett requested Spiderman but I accidently ordered Superman and didn't realize it until the day before the party when Clara pointed it out. Luckily he didn't mind too much.

Clara and her bestest friend Sophie

The Rodriguez clan

Brinley and Cami

Super Lyla

Eli

Evy

Bailey reading to Kieran and Reed

Jack and Megan

Ashley and Joaquin

Lulu and Tia Estefana

Lyla and Cooper

Apparently Batman is in our genes!

We had a great time celebrating our big five year old. The kids played, bounced, ate, and of course all helped open presents. Clarita was so excited about all of them and the fact that she got to have all of her friends in one place. She loves parties, especially if they are her own!

#chadandgladys

The reason we went to the Philippines was for Chad and Gladys' wedding. We had never met her and were so glad to get the chance to know her a little. She's super sweet and perfect for Chad! The wedding could not have been any more perfect! The ceremony was in a Catholic church and was pretty similar to a Catholic wedding at home. It was beautiful and very fancy (I was told to wear a gown). The guys all wore Barongs (a traditional shirt made out of pineapple leaves) with Camisa Chinas (basically an undershirt) underneath. Kevin was pretty excited about the dress code and said he wished he could wear something similar at home. 

Nobody was allowed to leave the church until they had taken pictures of the bridal party, family, and friends. It was super organized and quick which impressed me. We headed back to the hotel for "cocktail hour" (there were not actually any cocktails, just juice and tea which is apparently common because they don't want people to get drunk before dinner) while the bridal party took pictures. The hotel overlooked the lake and volcano and the reception was on the view deck with the most amazing views. The weather was perfect (maybe a tiny bit cool) and everything was so beautiful! 

Gladys' father is a retired army general and he has a lot of important friends. The guests consisted of the former secretary of defence (complete with bodyguards) as well as other generals, ambassadors, and a million doctors and lawyers. The invitation listed all the names of the sponsors and bridal party and Kevin's looked out of place since he didn't have prefix of doctor, lawyer, or a military title (they literally referred to everyone by their titles the entire time, I had never heard anyone referred to as lawyer so and so before). Prior to dinner the sponsors were all introduced and some gave speeches and the best man/matron of honor and parents gave their speeches. They also had their version of the garter toss which was amazing! First they called all the single guys and gals up by name (no getting out of this one). The guys had to take a shot of whiskey and then thread a needle. The last one to do so was put in the center of the single ladies who were blindfolded. Clothes pins were pinned all over him and the blindfolded ladies had to try to find them. It was hilarious to say the least! The last one to find the clip got the garter. However, first the guy had to imitate Chad's dancing to get to Gladys. Chad took the garter off and then the guy had to put it on the gal (who happened to be Gladys' youngest sister). It was so much more fun than a regular garter toss!

Former Secretary of Defense giving words of wisdom

We then had to play the newlywed game where the DJ asked questions and each table had to hold up a sign that said Chad or Gladys. Once again, something I had never seen before, but fun. I love games and traditions and wanted to get married again so I could do them! Then the waiters performed a choreographed dance for Chad and Gladys before serving the family and sponsors. It was amazing! After that we got to eat and they finally brought out alcohol.

Chad and his new sisters!

The rest of the reception was a whirlpool of drinking, dancing, and getting to know Chad and Gladys' families better. It was such a beautiful wedding and we had so much fun at our first Filipino wedding!