Happy Birthday, Nisa and Nasri!!

The multi-birthday pool bash was slotted to begin at 3pm but torrents of rain reduced visibility and hence traffic was at a standstill, thus delaying many from getting there on time. Pak Lang and us managed to beat the rain and traffic to get there within the hour, only having to wait for others to turn up almost three hours later...Anyway, by maghrib, everyone gathered to sing the birthday song again and again and yet again, in the process reducing the candles to just the wicks by the time they get to the last member of the clan...

It was extremely cold but the tiny tots braved the chills, clamped their mouths shut to prevent their teeth from chattering wildly and managed to get an hour's worth of splash before the rain sent us all scurrying for the warmth of Mak Teh's generous order of 'profiteroles', secret recipe indulgence and my signature strawberry cheese cake and teh tarik...After trying for the umpteenth time, we managed to get Mak Teh on skype and were laughing so hard at the sight of Pak Teh in Ekin's tudung and yet again when Pak Su Wan adorned himself with a munawarah tudung...

The night's sleep was difficult as I learnt from the last pool bash that neither time nor day would stop Adam and Ummar from stealthily creeping behind you and throwing you into the pool. We had to make sure that our phones, cameras and car keys were safely tucked away whilst hanging on to railings and posts as a safety measure...While the men folk stayed up until wee hours of the morning discussing the current political situation, others slept hoping to burn off some of the night's sinful gorging by snoring loudly.

In the morning, after prayers, anticipating the onslaught, I quickly changed into my swimming gear. True enough. Mak Ngah decided to splash water on Adam who was sleeping soundly upstairs in a bid to rope him into carting Pak Ajie into the pool but her ploy backfired when instead, they bundled her up and carried her all the way from upstairs and wickedly dumped her into the pool. An unsuspecting Wani, who was still in her caftans was screaming her head off when they ganged up on her and turned her into a wet 'kelawar'. Nisa was next, followed by Kak Di who thought that by clinging onto Tok for dear life would spare her but they pried her off and sent her splashing into the pool.

It was certainly a memorable weekend which ended with Pak Ajie's hilarious yet entertaining Bollywood dance. Dina's beautiful house and landscape certainly provided the perfect setting not just for the mandatory dance around the palm trees but for a wonderful and unforgetable weekend. Thanks Dina for agreeing to the bash and of course allowing us to turn your house upside down. We'd certainly understand if the next invitations are fewer and far apart...Even the occupants of the zoo nearby were probably wondering what the heck was going on and were probably thankful to see us leave...