bridal showers

My cousin is getting married in a few weeks and my aunt threw a "surprise" bridal shower for her, which I totally blew because um no one told me the shower was a suprise, they just said go. My cousin thought it was an anniversary party for my aunt and uncle though it was quite a tip off that when asked how many years they had been married, she couldn't answer. Then again, after 3 kids, the eldest graduating high school and the youngest a 3 year old that likes karaoke, you can understand if she doesn't quite remember.

With all the kids around, it seemed more like a baby shower than bridal shower: 2 boys, 2 girls all under 4, being nice to each other at first, then screaming at each other because they didn't want to share. I've asked my cousins with the toddlers if they will have any more, and they give me this look like, sigh, maybe yes, maybe no. I wonder what my answer will be in a few more years, considering I want three and don't necessarily want to space them out like my aunt.

My aunt and cousin's sister had various games lined up: guess what's in the bag, toilet paper wedding gown design (our team won with the mini-skirt gown, complete with shoes, veil, bouquet, and gloves. It's all about the accesories.), pick safety pins out of a bowl of rice (which is way harder than anyone imagined), a wearing hats game, and a game of hot potato. Needless to say, the clan is very competitive.

Family bridal showers are co-ed with most of the uncles sitting aside in the kitchen and back porch, with a few of the younger guy cousins trying out some of the games as well, cuz well, they like to win too. My cousin's daughter, eagle-claw, disliked the games and would get scared with all of our loud whoop and hollering. She found the blindfold to the safetypin and rice game particularly upsetting when any of her immediate family members donned the blindfold.

My mom and aunt were really good at the safetypin game and ended up being the last two at hot potato. That was really hilarious! Since they were playing the radio, they couldn't tell what was really a song or not. They couldn't stop laughing and often let the potato fall to the side. It was fun watching my mom and her sisters act like kids. I often wondered what they were like growing up and the kinds of games they played with each other. Perhaps that's what my cousin's niece was frightened of. At 2 she only saw the responsible serious lola, she had never seen her be a kid. It was a new face to her.

After the wedding gown game, everyone was like, "sayang" about the toilet paper, so my aunt carefully arranged them in a pile for future use. We hate to waste anything. The night ended with a bit of karaoke and baon for everyone after my cousin opened her gifts. I think our gift was the most "risque" a book of sensual massage. The aunts were a bit embarrassed, the cousins were like, can you pass that book around when you're done.

Another big wedding in a few weeks. It's an exciting year indeed.