Ra Whanau Ki A Koe

Ra whanau ki a koe, happy birthday, to Kate, Brian, Katie, and Lisa!

Left to Right: Kate (Messiah), Katie (Dordt), and Brian (SFC) 

First up was Kate's birthday (Messiah), after only having been here 2 days! We played some classic birthday party games, personalized to the birthday girl. Limbo and musical chairs were both played to the Beatles, and instead of a donkey, we pinned the tail on a zebra. To wrap it all up, Caleb taught everyone how to "dougie", as promised.

Top Left: Caleb (SLC) teaches everyone how to "dougie". Middle Left: Childhood memories abounded as we played musical chairs. Bottom Left: Musical chairs became a heated battle between staff members Emma (KM) and Brian (SFC). Top Right: Caleb (SLC) displays our lovely zebra donning a party hat for "pin the tail". Bottom Right: Colin (Bethel), Courtnay (Program Director), and birthday girl Kate (Messiah) all trying to pin the tail on the zebra at once.

NACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo!

For Katie (Dordt) and Lisa's birthday, we had a Nacho Libre party. It's one of Lisa's favorite movies and Katie proved to have a fierce competitive spirit during musical chairs, so it seemed fitting enough! Attire? Luchador costumes, of course! Events? First off, Lisa and Katie raced each other to pop all of the balloons in a dummy using their best wrestling moves. Katie was victorious! Next was Arm Wrestle Mania! The men and women faced each other in separate brackets where Lisa and Brian were the winners. Brian was the overall champ. Last, everyone was split into teams to play "steal the bacon". For dinner, we had taco salad, grilled corn, and of course "the Lord's chips".

Top Left: Everyone lined up in their luchador costumed ready to play "steal the bacon". Bottom Left: Birthday girl Katie (Dordt) prepares to pop all of the balloons in her dummy. Center Top: Roommates Colin (Bethel) and Regan (Dordt) face off in our arm wrestling competition. Center Bottom: Bracket champs Brian (SFC) and Lisa verse each other for the overall Arm Wrestle Mania champion title. Top Right: The birthday girls! Katie (Dordt) & Lisa. Bottom Right: Daniel (Property Manager) posing with our fantastic fiesta feast.

Everyone had great costumes, complete with the essential part of any luchador outfit: stretchy pants.
What a good-looking bunch!

A sunny day was just what we needed for Brian's birthday (Sustainable Food Coordinator) celebration! We kicked off the party with a video reminiscent of the Star Wars introduction. The cautionary message: Prepare to get wet! We all headed outside to play human Space Invaders. Brian stood up on the balcony and everyone else lined up and did their best to impersonate the classic video game aliens while throwing water balloons at each other. It was a fun way to cool off in the afternoon! Next was a Star Wars themed scavenger hunt, complete with freeing Han Solo, frozen inside a block of ice. At the end, we all enjoyed cookies and ice cream. Yum!

Top Left: With water balloons in hand, Brian (SFC) defends the Old Convent from Space Invaders! Bottom Left: Look at all those aliens! Top Right: Cookies and ice cream for dessert: two of Brian's favorites! Bottom Center: Caleb (SLC) experiences a direct hit! Bottom Right: Brian displays his Star Wars birthday cookies.

Happy birthday everyone!