Just four days home and Macy was on her first Printy family vacation. All seven of us (I still can't help but smile every time I say "seven") flew to Milwaukee for Kazapalooza, a reunion of Kazakhstan adoptive families. This year I was one of the planners for the event and felt I needed to attend. More than that, the Kazakhstan adoptive community was such a huge support for me as I went through the long and difficult wait to bring Macy home, I really wanted to share the joy of her homecoming with them. I simple adore the Kaz community they are without a doubt some of the kindest, most generous and loving people I have ever known.
True to form our trip began with a dash of drama. We got to the check in counter and realized the suitcase with all of the girl's and my clothes was missing. Dart ran back to the car to see if it was left there. I took the rest of our motley crew through security and went to our gate. A few minutes later I got a call from Dart, he was in the car heading back home to get the suitcase. He retrieved the bag, (forgotten in the driveway!) and broke some sort of land speed record to get back to the airport just in time to make the flight. Fortunately from then on things were smooth and easy. Nina fell asleep minutes after takeoff and Macy kicked back and earned a few more frequent flyer miles.
Kazapalooza was a great success and I think most people had a fun time. We started the event at the Betty Brinn Children's Museum which was a big hit. It was wear your Kaz colors night so the girls and I wore the Kaz colored Chinese dresses I had made in Guangzhou. After a day of travel it was the perfect active play event to kick off the weekend. Nina and Macy had a blast playing with two red wagons (once we found the second one-eeeee gads we need to work on sharing) and dancing around the dance floor. Macy was no more or less distressed in all the chaos than any of other kids there. It is amazing how well she did (is doing).
The next day included a luncheon with more than 300 attendees. Of course my family got there late. We did our best but what I can I say we are still getting used to having two little people to get ready. Macy, Nina and I walked in just in time to get our award for being the family with the most recent adoption/homecoming....yeah 5 days home will get ya that one! There was a magician, a video of all the gorgeous kaz cuties and a raffle. Dart, Macy and Nina left before most of that which was our minor concession to sanity. It was just way too much for them. I stayed and helped to sell raffle tickets and deliver prizes and I am pleased and very proud that the event raised $5,400 for
Two Hearts for Hope a wonderful charity dedicated to helping the orphans in Kazakhstan! If you are a Kaz adoptive family you should check out
Kazapalooza next year. It is loads of fun... even when you are jet lagged:)
Later in the evening we went to diner with some of my most favorite people on the planet. Yes I am speaking of
THE Kaz Mamas. These women are more than adoption cohorts, or 3 day team mates or playgroup mothers, they are my dearly loved soul sisters....one of (actually 12 of) the unexpected blessings my adoption journey has brought me. My time with them was the highlight of the whole weekend...all I needed was more time and a few more mamas and it would have been perfect!
Our last Kazapalooza event was a pool party but you won't see any pictures from that (instead I will show you a pool pic from the day before when there was calm and peace in the air) because that night Macy and Nina went nuclear and had simultaneous melt downs at the pool. I was alone with them and for the first time experienced some of the new "challenges" that lay before me. Not that I hadn't anticipated it but trust me thinking it and living it are two different things! Barely escaping without adding my own tears to the mess we chose to hunker down in the hotel room for the rest of the evening.
The next morning was Father's Day and our travel day home. We had a gift for Dart and bunch of cards and it was nice to have us all together. Great dad that he is Dart played with the girls during the whole flight home and let me catch some much needed sleep. We went straight from the airport to Grandma and Grampa's house for a much appreciated home cooked dinner. As wonderful as it was I was never more glad for a weekend to be over.
Was it nuts to get on a plane 4 days after arriving home from an adoption trip to China? Duh.... But what can I say that's how the Griswold's roll. In the end as long as we are together it all just seems to work out. We won't be traveling far for a while but then again don't hold me to that!
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It has taken a bit to compose this post because I went straight from Nashville to a business conference in Miami. Kazapalooza was …interesting. At times fun, often overwhelming and completely chaotic is the best way I can describe our experience. I guess I could have predicted as much given that the whole affair centered around the gathering of more than 60 children, most (it seemed) between 1 an 3 years old.
That evening was the dinner and raffle at Dave and Buster’s. Talk about sensory overload. Nina only lasted about 90 minutes before Dart brought her back to the quiet and peace of our hotel room.
We got to see Diana and Bob and their son Anton again. Diana and Bob were in Ust with us and I was surprised at the emotion I felt upon seeing them again. My throat was tight and my eyes swelled when I hugged Diana. It was like we had been to war together. All I could think was “we did it, we really did it”.
I got to meet in person, (all too briefly); Stacy, Regina, KJ, Sara, Tricia and Jennifer. It wasn’t nearly enough time (or quiet) but it was enough to know I am going to truly enjoy spending 3 days with them this Novemeber. 
I loved watching Nina jump in the pool, fearless as ever. She even started diving for rings. Do all two year olds do this? 
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