StanwardBound: Kaz Krazy

Hi All,

Just a few days after the end of school, after a 9 hour journey to Sandusky,Ohio, (we do love our road trips!) we were again amongst our Kaz peeps. This time, it was for Kazapalooza- the weekend for Kaz adopters.

We once again got to spend time with the friends who we met in Astana and Karaganda adopting our kids and those we have gotten to know virtually online. It was the first time we’d seen Mike/Jen/Matthew since Astana five years ago when we were there adopting Rinat. But we picked up right where we left off again just as we do every year with all of our Kaz friends. We greeted each other like family being picked up from the airport and at the end of dinner on the first night my cheeks were sore from smiling so much. It was bliss.

And the whole weekend was more of the same. Just pure happiness to be there with these people who we have come to know so well over the last few years. Rinat would wake up saying, “I’m so excited! It’s Kazakhstan Day today!” every morning and he would rush us along until we finally bumbled our way down to breakfast where we kept our eyes out for families like ours.

I just love that all these people from across North America with not a ton in common come and are best friends because while we may not live in the same place, have the same interests, or live the same sorts of lives, we all have this one overriding thing that we all share- the love of our Kaz kids and the country they come from. It trumps all of those differences. And, I have to say, that I know people out there who are not interested in keeping their children connected to where they are from and I just don’t get it. But these KP peeps, well, we are a whole different breed. We revel in it. We roll around in the Kaz like pigs in a mud puddle, soaking it up and enjoying the feeling of being literally covered in Kaz. We have the TShirts, the necklaces, the wristbands/earrings/hairbows/hats. I am surprised that no one thought to tattoo themselves (oh wait- our friend Tony did!). Everywhere we go, we see someone with the golden eagle and we know “they are one of us” and we give that little knowing smile or nod to acknowledge each other. We are proud of our adopted heritage and want our kids to be too.

Our two year old was so riled up all weekend that he could hardly stand it. He just bounded from one admirer to another, smiling and giving hugs to anyone who asked. Everyone falls in love with our little guy the second they meet him- which is sort of standard- but there is just something that fills my heart when I see him palling around with what I think is an older version of him. I just love to see him fit in so completely with his fellow Kaz-ites (OK, that’s not a word, I know.).

And the world couldn’t get any better than Rinat’s voice whispering in the dark over and over again to himself as he tried to go to sleep, contented lilt in his sweet little five year old voice, “I love Kazakhstan, I love all my Kazakhstan friends, I want to come to Kazapalooza every day, Ilovekazakhstan.ilovekazakhstan.ilovekazakhstan” until his little brain finally gave out and his breath slowed for the first time that day and he fell deep asleep.

The water park was an absolute blast and the kids went bonkers for it. We spent all day on Thurs outside with our friends from Karaganda, all day Friday inside, some more inside on Sat before the luncheon, and then we left the hotel grounds and headed off to check out one of the Great Lakes in the afternoon. We hopped a ferry to Put-In Bay with all our Astana friends where there was Pirate Fest going on. My kids are both pirate obsessed.

We wandered a bit until the little ones started to get hungry and we stopped at a seafood place on the water. The kids were contentedly playing and the adults were enjoying a beverage and we all sort of stopped and looked around and someone raised their glass to toast our clan and said “Did you ever think five years ago that we would be sitting here together in the middle of Ohio with the kids playing like they are all best friends?” Our friend Annette added that she hoped we would all still be here 30 years from now doing the same thing and I completely agree. These people are our family. Like our kids, we don’t share the same blood, but we sure do share the love and we want our kids to share it for a lifetime. They were each other’s family before we even met them- and I think it is important for them to carry that link with them throughout their lives. And I hope with all of my heart that they do. I know I will do my best to support and encourage it by any means necessary. And Kazapalooza is the perfect vehicle. All in all, it was a wonderful, exhausting, exhilarating and fantastic weekend and we feel so fortunate to be a part of it.