Happy Easter!

Greetings from Abu Dhabi!  It's Easter today, so I'm feeling a bit homesick...wishing I were home and going to Easter services with my sweet family.  More than homesick though, I am feeling truly blessed.  We awoke at 5:15 and attended an Easter sunrise service at ECC.  We are indeed blessed to have the freedom to go to church.  It was a nice start to the day.

Our Spring Break started on Thursday...so far it's been a good one.  We started it off with a trip to Saadiyat Beach on Friday, then Yas Waterworld (brand new water park in Abu Dhabi) yesterday.  Jonathan's baseball team is sponsored by Yas Waterworld, so they were our gracious hosts for the end of season party. And what a season it was...Champions of Dubai Little League!  Great fun was had by all!  Today, Easter, we are taking it easy and sticking around the house.  Joe had to work all weekend, as he had the big task of coordinating an office move.  I think the move was a success and they'll be able to enjoy their new digs today.  We will be heading to Cyprus on Friday to pump some money into the Cypriot economy!  We will stay for a week and enjoy some RandR...looks like a beautiful country with lots to enjoy.  We're especially looking forward to visiting ancient ruins, hiking Aphrodite's trail, and generally enjoying the local culture.  Again, truly blessed to have so many wonderful travel opportunities and learning moments with our kids! 

Recently, my friend Mary Elizabeth warned me about not running red lights in Abu Dhabi...that there was absolutely no tolerance for it...well Joe learned the hard way this week how true that is!  He went to renew our auto registration...long story short, he had run a red light recently to avoid being rear ended by a rather large truck.  Upon paying our traffic fines, he was told that he needed to turn the car over to be impounded for two weeks!  Well, thankfully he pleaded and pleaded and pleaded some more, paid a rather large fine, made three return trips to the same office, and eventually left, three hours later with a renewed auto registration and a great deal of frustration!  RED LIGHTS!  Don't run them! 

Mom was just here for two months and we had a fantastic time with her!  My Aunt Carol also visited during the same time for a couple of weeks.  We shopped, explored, ate, shop, explored, coughed (all were sick) and had an all around good time.  Having visitors here is always great!  It makes the year away from family go much more quickly!  Mom is now getting settled in her new casita and we can't wait to see it.  Summer will be here before we know it and we'll be headed WEST!  Yippeeeee!  Sadly, we will miss my nephew Tanner's high school graduation...the kids don't get out of school until mid June.  Maybe if we take him lots of camel milk chocolate (DELICIOUS) he'll forgive us!

Anyway, guess that's all for now.  Happy Easter to all!  Love and hugs from AD!  Bloom where you're planted!!!

Summer Vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!  I can't believe that summer is upon us.  I haven't posted anything in several months, so here goes...

Jonathan and Everett and Coach Joe, aka Daddy, had a great baseball season.  They finished the season as the winning team.  Jonathan then went on to play for a couple more months on the All Star team, also coached by Joe.  We traveled to Kuwait for one tournament, which the team won, then hosted another tournament in Dubai.  Jonji's team came in second to the other Dubai team.  It was great fun.  The kids all had a blast, as did the parents! 

Over Spring Break, we took a family vacation to Thailand.  It was an amazing, fun filled adventure.  We started out in Bangkok, then headed North to Chiang Rai for a few days, where we rode elephants, visited Myanmar and Laos, then headed South to the beach, staying for a few days in Phuket.  The kids enjoyed Chiang Rai the most.  I think our morning visits with the elephants contributed to that!  The people in Thailand were so hospitable and absolutely lovely.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.  While in Phuket, we ran into a family that Joe and the boys had met in Abu Dhabi at a golf tournament...small world!  What really makes it small is that this family doesn't even live in Abu Dhabi, but in Mumbai, India...we just happened to be in Thailand at the same time, at the same hotel!  The kids enjoyed playing with their son, Ian, and Joe and I enjoyed some nice adult conversation with Judy and Dwight.  Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again!

Over Mother's Day weekend, I took and ME trip with a couple of friends and went to Istanbul, Turkey.  Wow, what a city!  It was beautiful and so nice walk through the cobble stone streets and see the history all around us.  We might have seen the inside of a shop or two or three or four...Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque were definite highlights, along with the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market.  We missed out on the Turkish bath and a few other things...will have to save those for trip number two!  I will definitely visit again.  I felt a bit guilty about leaving Joe and the kids over Mother's Day weekend, but thankfully, was able to get past it fairly quickly!!!

The kids are gearing up for the end of school...we have open house, art shows, musicals, parties, and a few other events to get through, then we're off to Nairobi and Masai Mara, Kenya.  We will tour around Nairobi a bit and go on a mini safari to Masai Mara.  We are staying in a tented camp, which the kids are really excited about.  Who am I kidding???  So are Joe and I!  I'll post pics on FB, and let you know how it goes in Africa!

We've had a great year here in AD and feel very blessed to be on this adventure.  We'll head to AMERICA in just under a month and can't wait!!!!  The kids are counting the days until they get to see family, friends, and their favorite furry friend, Daisy.  We have lots of fun planned over the summer and hope we get to see many of you!  Come visit us in Fort Davis.  We'd love it! 

Hugs to all!  Bloom where you're planted!

Survive Year One, CHECK!!!

Wow!  It's been nine months since I last posted anything...we've been busy!  Where to begin...we survived our first year!!!

After an amazing summer in America, including Texas and Florida, we came back to Abu Dhabi ready to explore!  We settled back into the school routine and haven't slowed a bit.  Jonathan is loving fourth grade and has great friends and wonderful teachers.  He often has to be reminded that school work MUST continue with all of the fun!  Everett has settled in wonderfully this year.  You may remember that his (our) first few months here were a bit tearful.  He has wonderful friends and teachers as well.  Both boys have been busy playing Little League Baseball since November and will continue through the end of March.  They are on the same team and are enjoying every minute of it.  The games are all held in Dubai so we're tearing up the road between here and there.  The fields in Dubai are very nice and were built after 9-11.   Apparently the Dubai Govt asked the Consulate's office what they could do to help after 9-11 and baseball fields were requested and built.  Pretty neat.  The backdrop happens to be pretty amazing.  The boys think it's pretty cool  to play baseball with a view of the tallest building in the world.  Jonathan tried out and made the All Star team.  Joe is coaching as well, so they'll be busy for the next few weeks.  We'll travel to Kuwait at the end of the month to watch the tournament.  Another great experience for the kids!  We are truly blessed.  Lila is in KG1 and is loving it.  She has a smile on her face every single day at pick up and chatters about all she did and learned.  She has a wonderful teacher and two loving assistants.  I help in her class on Sunday mornings and am having fun doing so.  I'm also one of the classroom parents for Everett's class.  It seems like each week I spend a little more time at the school and wouldn't have it any other way.

On November 17th we had a very special guest arrive.  Gran came and stayed with us for two months and we had a blast showing her around Abu Dhabi.  We took a trip to Oman for a long weekend as well and had a great time.  It would take days to mention everything we did while she was here!  I think she enjoyed her time here.  We miss her lots!  We also had two lovely ladies from Fort Davis visit in Dec., Betty and Evin Prude.  We laughed every day they were here and stayed quite busy going from one souq(market) to the next.  I think we bought a large percentage of Abu Dhabi's pashmina supply while they were here, not to mention pillow covers, spices, coffee pots, bowls, etc.  We're now on a first name basis with our supplier at one of the local gift shops!  Needless to say, he gets a grin on his face when we walk in!  We especially enjoyed going dune bashing with Mom, Betty and Evin.  The kids are still watching the videos of our trip and laugh every time they watch. Before Christmas, my sister Jennifer and her sister-in-law Diana, arrived for the holidays.  We went on tours of the Grand Mosque, went dune bashing again, spent Christmas in the Liwa Desert at Qasr Al Sarab, tried lots of new and interesting foods (Saudi Kitchen), ate lots of camel milk chocolate (delicious), went on a boat trip to the old Dubai souq, hit every shop in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, explored the Camel Festival (very interesting), and bought one of every kind of trinket and treasure sold in the UAE.  Whew!  I'm tired just reading this and reliving it!  It was a whirlwind couple of months with visitors and what an amazing time we had!  Thank you Mom, Jen, Diana, Betty, and Evin for coming.  I can't begin to tell you how much it meant for us to have you all here!  Oh, and how could I forget, we all rode a camel!

We're now in the process of planning our next adventure.  We've been looking into Tanzania, Africa and Thailand.  After researching and getting quotes, we think we've decided on Thailand.  We will be going for Spring break, the first week in April.  We're hoping to cover a lot of ground and see Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.  The kids are most excited about seeing the floating market in Bangkok, fishing in Phuket, and riding an elephant in Chiang Mai.  I'm just excited about all of it!  I think Joe's very ready to get out of town for a bit!  We'll continue to research Africa and hope to visit there before the end of the year.  There are so many places on our "Must See" list...I just hope we can fit them all in!

Joe's had an extremely busy and challenging year here, most of which, he has enjoyed!  He is over the Hospitality Division of Development and had two major projects completed (mostly!) in Nov. and Dec.  The Westin,www.westinabudhabigolfresort.com/ at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and St. Regiswww.stregissaadiyatisland.com/ on Saadiyat Island, are now up and running.  There have been lots of hic ups along the way, but he's proud of what they have accomplished.  Both hotels are beautiful and the entire team should be proud!  While he continues with these projects, he's now going full steam ahead on another, The Eastern Mangrove Hotel by Anantara should open sometime in early summer.  I won't say that I wish he could slow down, because we're happy to have a job. 

A couple of weeks ago, several friends and I were able to go to the HSBC Golf Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.  We spent several hours following Tiger Woods and Rock, the winner, for seven holes.  What great fun we had.  I'm no golfer, and don't even watch golf, but was completely caught up in the excitement of it all!  I just may look into golf lessons.  Joe took the boys to the tournament as well, which sparked their interest again in golf.  They are now taking their second round of lessons at Saadiyat Island Golf Club and are enjoying it.  Lila, however, wasn't interested!

Well I think I've rambled on long enough.  I'll try to post again after our trip to Kuwait for baseball and again after our Spring break adventure.  Before we know it, we'll be planning our trip home for the summer.  Yahoo!  Bloom where you're planted!  Also, please excuse the typos in this post.  As I tried to correct them, my words kept disapearing, so I opted to quit, rather than have to rewrite the entire post.  Thanks!  Computer error, I'm sure, NOT the user!  Hee Hee!

Movies

Wow, time flies!!!

Hello again!  My, how time flies.  I can't believe it's already May and school will be out soon!  That means the kids and I will be heading to the good ol' USA soon!  The kids are beyond excited and I'm not far behind, however we will miss Joe...of course!  The kids' last day of school is June 8 and we will fly out on June 12...not looking forward to the flight, but I guess it's just one day out of our lives, right???  We can handle it.

The children and I recently had an exciting experience.  We were invited to lunch at an Emirati home, which we are told is fairly unusual.  We gratefully accepted and went.  I was nervous about going, simply because our cultures are so very different...didn't want to offend anyone!  Joe of course, wise one that he is, said be yourself and you'll be fine.  It's difficult to explain, but there are so many stigmas and so many "dos" and "don'ts" that you hear, right, wrong, or indifferent, that it makes one paranoid to even make eye contact with a local, or Emirati for fear of doing something offensive.   That being said, we had a wonderful time.  The kids were whisked away to play and the women were treated to Arabic coffee and dates to start.  The women, mother and six daughters, were all beautifully dressed in bright colors and lovely jewelry.  In their homes, with no men around (other than the father) the women do not cover themselves with an abaya or shayla.  After visiting for a while we moved from the common area into to "dining room", which consisted of lots of large cushions on the floor.  We ate a wonderful meal of couscous, chicken with prunes, pumpkin, and other veggies, along with stuffed grape leaves (my favorite), fatoush, falafel, salad, hummus, etc.  I have never been served so much food.  It was delicious!  The mother made all of the food and expected us to eat a lot!  I think we ate for a couple of hours and talked about the usual "girl" stuff...college, babies, schools, work, etc.  It was extremely interesting and educational...for me!   The women were all so kind and very easy to talk to.  Several have graduated from college, in architecture and engineering, and a couple were still in college or high school, studying architecture, design, and engineering.  Women here far outweigh men in college graduation rates and from what I understand, are very driven.  This could be interesting for the future of Abu Dhabi.  After finishing our yummy meal, we had more traditional tea and coffee (which I promptly spilled on myself, not once, but twice) then chatted more.  We were then served MORE food.   For dessert we had baklava, traditional date cake (yummy), and handmade "doughnut holes" with date syrup.  They weren't actually doughnuts, but I can't remember what they were called and they were fried dough...  Needless to say, we all left there "stuffed to the gils".  Even Everett commented, on our drive home, that "they just kept bringing us more food"!  It was a wonderful experience all around.  The kids had a great time playing there and enjoyed meeting the kids.  I am so glad we had that experience and hope to get together with them again.  It was lovely!

Speaking of lovely, the women in our compound get together regularly.  Twelve of us recently went to High Tea at the Emirates Palace Hotel.  It is a beautiful place, which was built to house guests of the royal family, but was then turned into a hotel.  We had about 50 teas to choose from and then typical "tea food" (scones, cakes, sandwiches, etc).  It was a fun experience as well.  On a separate trip to the Palace, with Joe and the kids, the boys got to ride a camel along the beach!  They had a ball!  We were just exploring the place and saw the camels.  The kids wanted to take a closer look and were then asked if they wanted a ride...well what kid wouldn't?  Oh, that's right, Lila wouldn't!  She wasn't getting anywhere near that camel!  She was too interested in feeding  the mommy and baby camel some dates.  I think the boys will be bugging us for another camel ride soon.

I recently joined a women's bible study and am enjoying it.  One of my wonderful neighbors and friend, a beautiful lady from South Africa, organized it.  We meet once a week.  It's nice to have this fellowship.  This same friend and I, along with another neighbor and friend, are going to Athens, Greece in just over a week!  We are going for a long weekend, sans kids.  Need I say how excited I am???  We are visiting another neighbor, who is from there and has gone home for the summer.  It will be great to have a local tour guide.  I'll post pics after the trip.

Joe continues to enjoy his work.  It is crazy busy and chaotic at times, but he enjoys the challenge.  He will visit the US as well over the summer.  We're just not sure when.  It will be a long couple of months without him but we'll all survive.  I don't know what we'd do here over the summer in the heat.  It was 104 here yesterday and the temp is climbing!  Yikes!  Apparently during the heat of the summer, there is no reprieve at night either, as the humidity rises once the temps fall a little.  People say it is suffocating...sounds enjoyable, huh?  Pools are usually cooled here in the summer, or they are too hot to even enjoy and the ocean water is like sitting in a warm bath!

We had a very nice Easter.  Our Easter service was on Friday, but we are thankful to have a service to go to here, even if it is on Fridays.  The kids had a fun Easter Egg hunt on Saturday with their friends, followed by a pot luck lunch.  We are thankful for our nice group of friends here.  They have made settling here much easier.  I was talking to two girlfriends yesterday and we decided that friendships are accelerated here.  You get to know someone here in three days, where it would normally take three months.  Since we're all in the same boat, away from home, it makes it easier.

Well, I'll stop rambling.  Thanks for reading and for the support!  We miss you all so much and look forward to seeing lots of family and friends over the summer in TX and FL!  Love and hugs to all!

God Bless!  Bloom where you're planted!

Day by Day

Well, slowly but surely we're adjusting...just taking it day by day!  The kids seem to be getting into the swing of things.  Everett commented that he was ready to travel to a different country.  We often hear the boys telling each other different Arabic words. They  can all sing "Happy Birthday" in Arabic and Lila has learned a few words as well!  Lila and her friend were playing "travel" the other day and they visited Dubai, neighboring Oman, and other places.  It's great that they are excited about visiting other places.  Both boys have started "money from other countries" collections.  So far, they have coins from UAE, of course, Germany, and Singapore.  They are anxious to add to those collections!

A couple of months back, I told you about overpaying a cabbie and getting the money back.  Well Joe had a similar situation after he left his iphone in a cab.  He wasn't sure where he lost it, and didn't have the cab ID number.  He locked the phone via the internet and hoped for the best.  Two days later, I received a text saying that the cab driver had found Joe's phone and that he would bring it to us.  He was apologetic that he had looked at the contact info and was hesitant to take the tip that I offered for the return.  Considering the popularity of  iphones, especially here, we were shocked to get it back!

Women Only!  That's a sign you see here quite frequently.  Because of religious and cultural beliefs here, many women are not comfortable associating with men who are not in their family.  Therefore, grocery stores, banks, public services, etc all have lines and designated areas for women only.  Parks, beaches, etc also have hours in which only women and children to a certain age are allowed.   There are also Taxi's which have female drivers and are marked with a pink light on on top that says "Women".  I thought that was pretty interesting.

I learned how to make Korean Sushi rolls last night thanks to my friend Jessica.  Now let's see if I'm brave enough to try it on my own!  Actually, they weren't that difficult and were very tasty.  The kids devoured them, which was great.  And no one tried to pick out the carrots or spinach!  When I attempt them again, I'll post a picture and share the recipe!  Oh, speaking of food...we found a good Mexican food restaraunt last weekend, Cantina Laredo.  The food was very tasty and very much like Tex-Mex.  I have a feeling we'll be back there soon.  We've also found a very good Lebanese restaraunt by our house.  Our friend Mac introduced us to Lebanese food.  The kids love it, especially the chicken shwarma sandwiches.  It's shaved chicken, with french fries, garlic paste, and veggies all wrapped in Arabic bread.  Yummy!  Their hummous with meat is one of Joe's and my favorites.  Funny, french fries are served with everything here...even Chinese food.  Oh, and Arabid bread is pita bread.

The kids are on Spring break this week, so we're trying to stay busy.  So far, we've added to our family in the form of fish.  We have Lazy Larry, Boring Bob, Speedy, Samaka (fish in Arabic), Izzy, and Morris.  Lizzy only lasted a day...Anyway, the kids are having fun with them.  We'll see how they feel when it's time to clean the tank!  We visited a park nearby which is having a festival.  The kids jumped in the bounce houses and loved getting in the plastic "hampster balls" that float on water.  I know, some of you are chuckling!  We stayed around the compound yesterday and went swimming.  We're trying to enjoy the nice weather while we have it.  I fear that in the next few weeks we won't be able to spend too much time outside!  The heat is coming...  We'll head to Dubai tomorrow to see our friends Danny and Trisha.  The kids and I will probably head over early and visit the Wild Wadi Waterpark.  I'm afraid I won't hear the end of it if we don't.  I've also promised more ice skating.  The kids all seem to enjoy it.  I however, will not be trying it!

I went out with some ladies from the compound last week and had a really nice time.  We went to the top of the Aloft hotel, which has amazing views of the city.  I wish I had a photo to share.  There is an outdoor restaraunt/bar that is open air and has glass walls.  It feels as if you are standing on the edge of the building.  Our nationalities were Australian, British, South African, and American.  It makes for some lively and interesting conversations!  We feel blessed to be living among such nice people.

Well, as I mentioned, it's Spring break!  The kids are yelling to go to the pool.  Have a wonderful day and bloom where you're planted!  What's possible today???

Random Observations and Other Unimportant Information

Well, I haven't blogged in quite some time, but am afraid that my mom will disown me if I don't soon!  So here goes...

As you all know there is great unrest here in the Middle East.  Some of you have expressed concern.  Thank you!  Not to worry.  On the whole, people in the UAE seem to be relatively happy.  We don't have any protests or unrest here...thank goodness!  I know money doesn't buy happiness, but in the UAE, it does seem to help!  The government here does take care of it's people.

Lila had her assessment at school for next year, and just as I thought, she's brilliant!  Of course!  She was accepted and will start KG1 in the Fall.  We sure have missed you Mrs. Phyllis!  I'm not quite sure what I will do with myself next year when all three are in school full time.

The boys are doing well.  Everett is slowly adjusting.  He was invited to an ice skating birthday party and had a blast.  He loved it so much that we went back yesterday and took Lila and Jonathan as well.  They all had a great time.  Everett was flying across the ice and didn't fall much at all.  We may have an ice hockey star on our hands!  Both boys had their first golf lessons yesterday.  They both really enjoyed it.  The classes will last eight weeks.  They just might be able to take on their cousins, Tanner and Trent this summer!  School is going well for both boys.  Jonathan still gets in trouble for calling out answers.  Even Everett has cut up a bit in class.  Both have Arabic class every day and I'm amazed at how much they know.  I need to be learning more myself.

Summer...it's just around the corner!  We are really excited to be heading home in a few short months.  Jonathan is going to summer camp at Prude Ranch, where I went as a child.  I think I'm more excited about it than he is!  Everett's not so convinced that it's such a great idea...but I'll keep working on him!  We're also really looking forward to our trip to the beach to see PSJ friends.  Can't wait!

Joe's work is crazy busy.  He works very long and unpredictable hours.  He's been on two, week long trips recently, one to Singapore and the other Germany.  He enjoyed seeing both places and says we definitely want to return to Singapore.  I'm game!  We haven't been able to travel yet, as Joe doesn't have vacation until he's been here six months.  There are many places we'd love to see and plan on taking advantage of travel opportunities while we're here.

We have some friends visiting next week and are very excited!  Danny and Trisha Rey, from Houston have a work trip to Dubai and we'll get to see them while they are here.  Daddy and LeeAnn are visiting in April, and my sister and her sister-in-law, Diana, are visiting at Christmas.  Mom will come sometime in the Fall.  We will be thrilled to have visitors!  Our door is open and we are ready!

I guess that's it for now.  I promise to post more often.  I will post new pictures as well.  If you have questions, fire away!  I'll be happy to answer them the best I can.  In the meantime, bloom where you're planted!