Sand, Sand, and more Sand

We went on our first picnic in the desert! A few minutes out of town, down a dirt (sand, actually) road. Thank goodness for 4wheel drive! Our friends set up camp, got out the quad bikes (ATVs), and lit the barbie (BBQ grill - they're Aussies!). After an afternoon of brushing sand off of little people, digging quad bikes out of the sand (really, you can NOT go up a hill of sand slowly!), laughing as dads thought they could out-do the kids, and finally realizing that there was no point in trying to keep the sand out of your shoes, hair, underware, etc, we grilled burgers and hot dogs as the sun set in the west. A wonderful end to the weekend.

There's a Teen in the house!

Timothy, our first born, turned 13 years old.

Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and whipped cream

Julia loved them - can you tell?!

Katelin's the Birthday Girl!

The girls decorated maks and cupcakes at Katelin's party.

                                                      My big girl - 11 years old! Love that girl!

She loves her IPod Touch! Plays with it, downloads, emails, etc. Another kid more technical savy than me!

Alexandra and the kids at Katelin's birthday dinner - Ibn Batuta Gate hotel

Science Lab

Don't you love it when science experiments work!

Fujairah, UAE - Sept 2011

In September, friends went with us for a long weekend in Fujairah, UAE - another emirate 2 hours west through the tree-less mountains. We had a nice, relaxing time swimming, snorkling, eating, etc. But, it was very noticable that we "weren't in Kansas anymore!" Dubai has, apparently, spoiled us. In other words, you definitely feel like you are in the Middle East in Fujairah. Perhaps that is the way it should be?

We tried a coconut milk drink. Probably won't need to do  that again!

Friday Market (open EVERY day) - roadside market - everyone sells the same things for the same price!

Jolee loved the towel elephant the maid left for her

Macey is ready to swim!

Bumble bee napping at the pool

The pool from our room

Chess and snakes-and-ladder boards - life size - the kids loved them

Chris and kids on Al Aqah beach. Chris and Timothy snorkled around Snoopy island in the background.

Me, too.

Our dog Bailey is not about to be left out - even if it's Greek! She comes in every morning and lays under our table while we do school work. We must be eating too many snacks!

Texas A&M Aggies!

Chris went to a Texas A&M Aggies football game on his last business trip to Texas. He HAD to bring something back for everyone!

Gotta Love Cookie Batter!

We couldn't resist the chance to give Julia her first taste of Chocolate Chip cookie batter. She seemed to enjoy it!

Happy 1st Birthday Itty Bitty Bit!

We celebrated Julia's 1st birthday with friends on Saturday. She sure has grown from her 4 pound start! Crawling, pulling up, some teeth, real food. We wished we were celebrating with 2 cakes, but feel blessed to have at least one. God is good. I am glad that I can honestly say that the worse year of my life was also the best - I know God better now. Julia loved the doll Hughes gave her, her scramble bug, the blocks from Aunt Lissa and the icing on the cake!

Grass!!!

One unexpected event in the USA was that Julia discovered grass. And she loves it! Yes, the green stuff! We don't really have any real grass at our home in Dubai - more like weeds that get watered. And it has been too warm (115F plus) to look for any at the park. So, I took more pictures of Julia in the grass than I realized! Isn't she cute??!!

Hixson, TN

 Plunkett's in a bumble bee swim suit Meme gave her

 Indiana in one of the many dresses Mema bought her

Something was really funny!

Not grass but a quilt Grandma made her. She looks so much like my baby pictures! Do you see the 4 top teeth that poked through last week? It was one rough week for both of us.

How Do You Do It???

15 - 17 hours (depending on whether you are coming or going) on the airplane! Everyone asks me, "How do you do it?"

"Easy!" I answer.  It's the jet lag that is hard!

Here's how. I couldn't resist taking pictures!

 Julia enjoys a baby smoothie.

 Movies and Food!

More movies and more food!

Summertime in the Good Ol' USA

Visiting Grandma Bouton

 Jolee, Bryson and Julia at Fredrick's

Mamie came to visit June and Norman while we were there waiting for the rafting trip to return.

 Visiting att Aunt Rosalie's

Meme in the swing of things!

Enjoying BBQ at Sticky Fingers. Julia was cuttung 4 top teeth and cried the whole time. She wanted only Katie to hold her. Katie had friends, cousins, and BBQ to attend to!

 Swimming at the Plunkett's

Bella and Matthew up to some mischievous activities! Always!

 Hannah holding Julia

 Happy Birthday to Us! We celebrated all the kids' birthdays because it has been so difficult to send gifts.

 Shelby's Farm (park) - boy, was it warm!

 Cousins!!!

PaJoe and Jolee

 Julia thought the floor air vents were great! We don't have them in Dubai.

 Jolee had Uncle Danny wrapped around her finger

 Happy 60th Anniversary!

PaJoee and Julia on the back porch

 Mema and Jolee at convention

 Katie and PaJoe at Shoals

Jolee using her buttoning-fettish on Larry

The kids and I flew 16 hours to Houston, TX, from Dubai. My parents picked us up and drove us to their home in Georgetown for a few days. Then we flew to my sister Angela and John's in Memphis, TN for a week. There we went on a rafting trip and saw all kinds of family! My parents and sister Melissa came up for the last weekend - a nice family reunion. Mom, the kids, and I drove up to my grandparent's in Indiana. Mom and Uncle Dan and Aunt Kim threw a surprise 60th anniversary party for my grandparents. We went to Shoals convention where I saw childhood friends and long-lost cousins. We went to Target at least 3 times, twice to Barnes 'n Noble, twice to Cracker Barrel, I never stepped foot in Walmart but a couple of my kids did, I think. We ate BBQ and Mexican food as often as possible. Believe it or not, we were ready to come home to Dubai and have some Thai food!