As much fun as it is to see family and friends, 2 months of being with loved ones nonstop left us pretty “peopled” out. We got home to the most amazing weather our country has to offer and were dying to unplug and have some time as just us. So, we took a few days to get over jet lag (MUCH harder with a two year old who thinks 2:00am is a perfectly acceptable wake up time) then we packed up and headed to the beach for a three day weekend. It was just what our souls needed; quality time together in a kid friendly and adult fabulous location. Oh, and we were the only ones on our beach. Perfect.
a view of camp from the water:
a view down the beach from the tent:
We also spent one evening watching the tide roll in and the waves crash over the rocks. It was really amazing and loud and beautiful. ivermectin for chickens
While the tide was out the girls played (and played and played) on the moss covered rocks and in the little pools while we watched them from the shade (I know my sisters are so disappointed in me for not bronzing myself in the sun…but I have just given up the fight and accepted that it is too much work for something that isn’t gonna happen)
On our last day we packed up early and drove through a part of the country we haven’t seen before- it was fabulous! We saw little villages and beautiful scenery… ivermectin 200 mcg
And some animals too
We also saw about 10 whales right off of the coast! It was so so cool, but I didn’t get any pictures because they were too far off the coast to show up. But we watched them splash around and blow water out of their spouts for 15-ish minutes. It was truly incredible.
Like I said, perfect time to be together and make fun family memories. over dose ivermectin So thankful for the “winter” weather in Oman and how much there is to explore and enjoy!
]]>Lots of sister time.
The glorious wonderful mountains in the fall.
The 2 hour drive to and from grandpa’s was beautiful and such great family time! موقع bet365
And these two. They are both so full of spunk that watching them try to figure out who is the boss is pretty hilarious. انشاء محفظة بايير
Again, so blessed and thankful for the time we got to spend together. ]]>
Sometimes I see a picture like this and I get a tight feeling in my chest. Time has rushed by and, all of a sudden, I see two beautiful girls. بيان ماتش My babies are gone; they are kids. بلبل اللعب My heart swells as I study them. انواع لعبة الطاولة Their expressions, their body language, even Kead’s “peace sign” that she picked up from school make me feel so proud and panicky at the same time. I love them so. It’s going too fast. ]]>
Here we go:
::4th of July was a blast. We had a ridiculous amount of people come to our house (we invited every American we know- to give you an idea…) to celebrate. It was so much fun! At the time we had some girls living with us while they studied at a summer Arabic program and they were a huge help in getting all the decor together. Britt and Traci helped a ton too, of course. (Have I mentioned that Traci moved here? She did, and it’s SO fun having her around!)
::One of the bonuses of living so close to Dubai is that we get to see people as they pass through en route to their final destinations! This summer we got to see my cousin and some friends from Texas and this fall two more sets of friends will be stopping through that we get to see.
p.s. I love Sayla in this picture…
:: The date harvest happened. Dates are a pretty big deal in this area of the world, and the date harvest is fun to see. We went back to the oasis that we went to while granny was here and walked around to see how it’s done. Â Fresh dates are sold here as a delicacy and are super expensive, but most of the dates are dried on roofs (like raisins). Personally, I prefer the dried dates. The fresh dates are kind of like a green banana, they feel a bit fuzzy on your teeth and aren’t very flavorful.
 
:: This summer has been a slower time than usual (it’s stinkin’ hot!) so we have taken the opportunity to do a little “photo bootcamp”. Â I set up a blog and have been collecting useful photo articles for us all to read. It has been wonderful and I feel like I have learned a lot as well!
So there you have it! Most of the summer in a nutshell. Â I also got to take a most wonderful trip for my 30th birthday, but that deserves its own post. We have really had a fabulously mundane summer, but are ready for the schedule, busyness and cooler weather that will come with fall!
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I think the kids all enjoyed themselves. Here are some things to do with 5 kids that will be appreciated everytime:
1. Go to the beach:
It was seriously hot while the Gentry’s were here so we had to wait for sunset to brave the sand, but the kids loved every minute!
2. Maybe not the most cultural experience, but this little kids play area in the mall was quite the hit!
3. They also loved being in malls for three days straight. Ok, not really…but Dubai is really only one giant mall (especially in the summer). Luckily for us, there are all sorts of fun things for kids to do in the malls:
Like watching ice skating:
And cool fountains:
and Aquariums (Burke was keeping the girls safe from the sharks):
Really though, the days we sat at home and did nothing were the most special for the kids. They were so relaxed and just enjoyed each other. I miss piper toddling into the living room with the baby stroller, and hearing the big kids giggling and playing together. ivermectina hepatite fulminante
Yes, it was diffferent, so so different, but it was also a lot of fun!
Oh and one last tip- If the kids aren’t in the mood- don’t ask for a cousin picture:
wait until they are all happy and then snap a picture:
Much better results (although I am sure we will all giggle at the first one in years to come)!
BUT we are thankful (so, so thankful) for any time we get with loved ones- so keep those visits coming!
Granny brought an entire suitcase of surprises for us and brilliantly decided to give them to the girls a little bit at a time. Everyday the girls had a fun little gift or something fun to make with Granny. They loved it and both said it was their favorite part of her trip.
Granny said her favorite day was when we went took her to an Oasis about 30 minutes from town. The drive to the Oasis is pretty desolate and brown:
But it shows the dramatic difference at the oasis and really make you feel like you are in some tropical paradise. :)
We also got to decorate eggs one afternoon:
Showed Granny around the old ruins:
But mostly just spent time together. Playing games, snuggling babies, eating meals, reading books, taking baths…you know the regular day stuff. It was so great to let Granny get a peak of our daily life and I think it helped her to know a little bit about where we live.
Next up: Showing Granny around Dubai!
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We went with friends and they are camping experts and have tons of gear.  They have quite the setup with a table, shades, a multi-room tent, they even have a camping porta-potty. We looked like such rookies! We had two tents (we borrowed one from Chase and Britt). Keadryn and Sayla shared a tent and me, Evie and Drew shared the other one. It worked out pretty good.  I was a bit nervous about how Evie would do in a tent, but she did great! She did wake up right at first light (which was about 5:30…) but she also went to sleep right at dark (about 7:15). The waves worked as perfect white noise.
Evie was also covered in sand the entire weekend…and I mean covered. It was in her hair, on her face, in her diaper, in every tiny fold of skin and all over her face. Covered. It made re-applying sunscreen a challenge, but my choices were to strap her into her car seat and let her scream, or let her be covered in sand. :) I chose sand.
The older girls also had a blast. They are such water babies and turning into beach bums. :) I think Keadryn was in the water 90% of the time. Sayla had a run-in with a big wave and was a bit leery of the ocean for a bit, but by the end of the trip she was right there with Keadryn again loving every minute in the water.
Drew got to steal away and go snorkeling for a bit and said it was beautiful. We just ordered an underwater camera, so hopefully next time there will be some pics of that!
Speaking of cameras, I was super stressed out about getting sand in my camera, so I only took it out of the car a few times. Â There aren’t many “action shots” of the weekend…but I did have a very relaxing photo walk one evening.
I loved all the moss on the rocks at low tide…there were also a ton of crabs peaking out from the moss, but they were pretty skittish and I didn’t get a decent picture.
All in all it was a great (free!) getaway and we will definitely be doing it again!
*updated to add* Yes, Evie was such a sad bear when it was all over and I took away the remains of the cake and started cleaning up… موقع الخيل it was actually pretty funny how dramatic she was being about it all. :) ]]>
After the last post I realized I didn’t mention anything about Evie Kate. No, we didn’t trade her for a persian rug or anything…she is still here, and the most adorable baby sister there ever was. Â So here is a post about all things evie.
She is now 11 months old, crawling, pulling up on everything, and doing the “baby stand” all by herself. (Drew calls it the wobbly-let-go-and-hover-thing-that baby’s-do-before-they-walk). She has two teeth barely popping through on the bottom. My kids are late teethers.
She started eating food somewhere along the way and loves everything we have given her. She prefers finger food to food on a spoon, and baby food here is crazy expensive, so most of the time she gets small bits of whatever we are eating. I think she has only had real baby food a handful of times, but honestly I love it because she keeps herself occupied and eats while we are eating.
She is still not sleeping through the night. Ugh. Seriously? She is 11 months old and still wakes up one or two times at night. At first we thought it was because we were moving and she was in our room…but, no. She has her own room now and still nothing has changed. I think at some point we are going to have to let her cry it out for a couple nights in a row, but we haven’t mustered up the strength for sleepless night while she figures it out. I’ll let you know how it goes. Â Really, in the grand scheme of baby-problems it isn’t that bad.
The girl has been for sure our most laid back baby, but as she approaches one year she is really getting some sass and a per-son-al-i-ty! Most the time it make us laugh, and it is fun to watch her develop her own preferences.
I am pretty sure she is our last baby, unless something drastic happens and we decide to add to our family through adoption, but I am so enjoying this time with her. She is SUCH a joy and so so sweet. The perfect little addition to our family. What a blessing!
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2. Keadryn and Sayla also started going to a local preschool. The goal of them attending is to start hearing Arabic and learning to communicate. It’s not going great. The TV is on the whole time they are there (with English programming) and Keadryn hates it. She cries the whole time, which is totally not her regular personality, and says she can’t make friends until she learns some Arabic. I try to explain she won’t know Arabic until she makes friends, but that doesn’t seem to translate into 4 year old. We are optimistic that she will get settled soon. Just be praying that she can make at least one friend. Sayla is liking it and doesn’t seem to notice that no one speaks English. (Also, Â I love this picture of them on their first day- mainly because several locals have mentioned to me how I need to dress them in warmer clothes for the “cold winter”. It was 85 degrees on this day, but I didn’t want their teachers to think I’m a horrible mom. haha)
3. Speaking of life here, we all LOVE the food. Eating out here is amazingly inexpensive (much cheaper than cooking) and so we have got to try several restraunts. Kead’s fav is the hummus and Sayla loves the chicken. Anyone have amazing eggplant recipes I need to try? They are in such abundance and I love the way they taste- but don’t know how to cook them!
4. We are feeling more settled in everyday. I promise there will be a “house tour” soon. As soon as Drew hangs up all the frames, decor, etc. Walls here are concrete so hanging a picture becomes a much bigger task than tapping in a couple nails. For now, here is a picture of our living room with our humble Christmas tree.
5. There’s more, but I’ve been working on this post for a week so I am going to post it before I am adding Keadryn’s Sweet Sixteen party to the end. Merry week-of-Christmas everyone! I hope that you are enjoying family, and cooler weather and all things winter in our stead!
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