Chris's Birthday Weekend

 Apparently our kids had never seen a lazy susan before!

 Jolee snored the whole time - poor girl didn't know what she was missing!

Julia and her Daddy

 Black forest cake - ooooh la la!

 Birthday Boy and most of his kids

 Deb and Scott with Julia

Julia and CocoBella

Jolee and CocoBella - Bowling Beauties

We are planning a trip to Thailand next year, so we had a Thai - themed party for Chris! Dinner at a Thai restaurant on the 24th floor of a hotel. We ate in a private dining room with the table on the floor and cushions for chairs. A lady came in and danced for us. It was a blast, and the food was great!! Chris wanted this black forest cake from a french bakery - tasted as good as it looks.  I had to beg the bakery to open up and sell it to me early - who would think a bakery at The Atlantis wouldn't sell cakes until 1pm? In the end, the kids charmed them into a free trip to the chocolate fountain and a discount on the cake! Friday we went to Abu Dhabi to spend the weekend with friends. Good friends ... who are moving ... far away... soon ...

Summer Activities

 Katelin and Timothy and friends ready to climb!

 Katelin and Kalista on the cable climb

 Timothy rock climbing

 Choir class for Katelin and Macey

Just a few pics from a few of our summer activities. There was also snowboarding lessons, sports camp, afternoons in the pool or at the mall or on the sofa with a book, or computer/DS/Playstation time. I learned to digital scrapbook with Photoshop! Now we are on a countdown til we leave for the good ol' US of A!

Soccer, Soccer, more soccer

 Timothy in green

Matthew so proud

My boys love soccer. Actually, my girls do, too, but it isn't really available for girls here in Dubai. So, it's the end of soccer season, again, and the trophies are handed out. How did Timothy get to be so tall??!! We moved him to a different group because her was 18 inches taller than the other boys his age. Now he is with "western" boys, and he is still the 2nd tallest. Must be in the genes! At home he doesn't seem so tall ... except when I notice that the new jeans I paid a fortune for are showing his ankles, again. Matthew plays hard with his whole heart - he was the star player (MVP) of his group.

Gymnastics!

 Macey has a blast

Katelin takes 3rd

Katelin and Macey have always loved gymnastics and have taken classes on and off for several years. We consider it "PE." Then, the week before they tell me there is a competition! Okay... Well, we made it, sat for 2 hours, they had fun, Katelin won 3rd place, Julia picked up a nasty virus, Chris was in Kazakhstan... life is good ... and a circus!

Julia in her 10th month

 Bathing Beauty!

 I want you!

Peaches are yum!

Julia is becoming a little girl with a personality! She loves to eat and it shows! She crawls everywhere, so we have to run for the stairs when we forget to put up the baby gate. She loves to swim and take a bath - a real fish already. Now, if we could just get her to sleep all night!

Atlantis!

 Timothy and Macey with a shark ice sculpture

 Us in the Aquarium

 Kids with Cocobella

Katelin and a sea star

We went to Atlantis on The Palms for a weekend in June. We had access to the waterpark Aqua Adventures and the Lost City Atlantis Aquarium. Friends went with us, friends met us there, friends ran into us there! A great weekend!

Homeschool 2010-2011 Over!!!

Our Dubai homeschool group had a Presentation Day in June. Each child could present something they learned that year. Some were sweet, some were funny, some were ... long! Timothy, Katelin and Macey decided to do a group presentation on languages theycalled "How Do You Say It?" Timothy - English, Katelin - Spanish, Macey - American Sign Language. They had a great time, and it was a good experience. We had an Arabic Dinner afterwards. Matthew and Jolee found ways of amusing themselves!

Bailey is finally here!



Jolee and Bailey getting to know each other again!

When we moved to Dubai last summer, we left our golden retriever with Chris's dad and his wife. They took great care of her until we could get it arranged to transport her here. The kids really missed her and promised all kinds of things (I will always feed her, groom her, walk her, clean up after her, etc) if we would get her sent over. Well, kids are kids, and I have to daily remind them to care for our pet. Hey, when I was a kid I didn't like to scoop poop either!

Matthew's 6th Birthday - May 18

Matthew loves soccer, so a party at Soccer Circus was perfect for him. Katelin made him soccer ball cupcakes. The coaches at Soccer Circus taught them some skills as they played different games. And he got a soccer uniform made with his name on the back!