Hi everyone! I hope you’re all having a great weekend! Yesterday we celebrated the end of Ramadan with Eid-ul-Fitr and it was really fun (but also really exhausting..). In the morning we woke up and got ready for Eid prayer. Since the Muslim community has grown so much in the past few years, we’ve started having the prayers at the park across the street from the mosque. This year there were approximately 5,000 people at the prayers! It was suuuuuuper hot and we were out in the sun for the whole thing but it was still really great.

After we finish the prayers, we usually try to find the rest of our family and friends and wish them “Eid Mubarak” and there’s lots of hugging involved. This is a part of my clan:

And can we just admire how adorable my nephew is!? I know he looks super unhappy in this picture but I promise he loves me… He’s the squirmiest goober ever. May Allah bless him and always keep him happy and healthy. And my aunt is adorable and photobombing us.

Then we went to a different park for an Eid brunch. One of our family friends hosts a brunch right after prayers every year and it’s definitely one of the highlights of the Eid celebrations. They’re so great at making everyone feel included and there’s always super yummy food. Hubby missed it last year because he had class but luckily got permission to miss class this year so he was able to attend. I’ve grown up with these girls and it feels like there are fewer and fewer of us in these group photos as we get older and everyone goes their different ways but it’s always nice to catch up with whoever is around.

This was best friend’s first Eid away from home since she got married last month so I FaceTimed her while we were at the park. Her family was so happy to see her on the phone and even though no one could hear her because of the party, it was still nice to see them so happy. Hubby and I are actually going to D.C. next month and we’ll be spending a couple days staying with her and her husband so I’m really excited about that! Yay for long distance best friendships.

After the brunch we went to my parent’s house and napped for a bit and then went back to the mosque for Jummah prayer. The khutbah (sermon) was about how miscommunications can cause really terrible things to happen and that we should try to give people the benefit of the doubt and communicate when we think something is going on. It’s definitely a great lesson for marriage and just relationships in general. After prayer we of course had to stop for some coffee because I could finally have some during the daylight hours! I finally showed hubby my favorite coffee shop growing up and we asked one of the baristas to take a photo of us. It was a super busy day but it was nice to spend a few minutes with just hubby and catch up on whatever is going on with our lives at the moment.

After our coffee pit stop we went to my uncle’s house for lunch. He also hosts an Eid lunch every year and I haven’t been able to make it the past couple years because of school and other engagements so he was really excited that we were there. I got to spend time with all my cousins and we just sat around making fun of each other as usual.

Then we drove to my in-laws house since we hadn’t seen them yet. My father in law is a photographer so he really likes taking family photos during holidays and events so we did that at their house. I changed into this black and red outfit that I really love. My little cousin described it as “vampire-y,” which I can definitely roll with.

Then we all went back to my parent’s area for an Eid/25th anniversary dinner at a family friend’s house. My in laws are also friends with them so we were all able to go and spend time there together, which was really nice. I really love how both my parents and in laws always include each other in various holidays and events so we never really have to “choose” who to spend the day with. It makes balancing things so much easier and I’m so grateful that they’re so considerate of us and each other.

And then we finally called it a night! Tonight there’s an Eid dinner at my aunt’s house so I’m going to head over there to help out after I run some errands for our home. I just ordered some Birkenstocks and a couple other things from the Nordstrom anniversary sale with some giftcards we had and as an Eid present to myself heh.

How did you all celebrate Eid?