Desert Island

Our resort we are staying at has a deserted island about 5 minutes by boat away. We went for a treasure hunt and a "pirate picnic" yesterday. We also saw black tipped reef sharks and eels! The kids played lots of fun games and swam and snorkled in the sea. Everyone else took a speedboat, but we opted for a pedalos. Quite a site, 8 people on a pedalo!

Ryan and I sent the kids to kids club and went back out to the island at sunset. We had an amazing 5 course dinner on the beach with candles in the sand! We had some crabs come and visit too! We stayed out there for 3 hours and it was amazing! We had some banana boat riding this morning, and we are off to make pizza! Our big news of the day was.... RAIN! we woke up this morning not only to huge waves at our back door, but the sound of rain! We had our showers in our outdoor showers, with the rain and all! We walked to breakfast jumping in sandy puddles, What Fun! We haven't seen rain in about 10 months so it was a real treat!

Barefoot....

We have been here now for 6 days! Last night we went on a sunset fishing trip. We took a fishing boat out with 4 captains and went fishing with line and tuna only. We caught 1 big grouper, and 3 red snapper. Then for lunch today the chef prepared them for us, along with grilled veggies and potatoes.

The day before we went on a dolphin watching trip. This was our 4th time in 3 different countries and we still have yet to see dolphins! We did have a nice boat ride though. Yesterday the kids went banana boating and today they took out the pedalos. Right now Ryan and the boys are catamaran sailing!

Ryan and I took a Thai Chi partner stretch class this morning after breakfast. We are staying really busy, but it is extremely laid back here. The entire island is covered with sand, so we never have to wear shoes! Even the pilots on the sea plane were barefoot! We love and miss you all!

Hi from the Maldives!

We made it to the Maldives! The trip was great. We had a 5 hour flight from Doha to Male' and then a 40 minute seaplane ride to the island. We have had a great first few days and the kids have settled in well. We have a 2 bedroom villa right on the beach, so it works well for our large family.

The kids club is really great. The kids have had a hermit crab hunt/race, had a reasure hunt, gone snorkelling gone sailing and made a lot of crafts! Ryan and I decided to spluge and have babysitter every night for dinner. The kids get fed and then they go to kids club for some fun activites! Mom and dad get to enjoy dinner on the beach, no children! I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season! We love you!

Sorry it's been so long...

Hi Everyone!

I am sorry it has been so long since I updated! We have been really busy here. We celebrated Thanksgiving at home this year with just our family. The guys all worked so we celebrated on Friday with friends. We had a few couples and their kiddos come over and we had Enchiladas, homemade salsa and rice, queso, pies and flan!! Lukas had a Thanksgiving feast at school with the Kindergarten. We had a great time! The boys are all still enjying baseball. Gabriel is on the Orioles team. His coach picks an "Oriole of the week", and Gabriel got chosen last week! That was very special for him. He also started Track and Field last week and is really enjoying that!

We had the annual Exxon Mobil Christmas party on Saturday. Santa arrived as usual Arabian Style (on a camel) The kids had fun eating, decorating cookies, playing games and of course getting a present from Santa. Can you believe we have already spent 3 Christmas's here in Doha? Wow!

Tonight Lukas and Gabriel had their Christmas Concert at school. It was really strange to not have Jonathan up there singing this year. (Middle School doesn't have concerts) I went alone with the boys and was able to get a fron row seat to take some pictures of the boys in their blazers and cords. They were definately handsome! Ryan stayed home with the babies and Jonathan did some homework.

We leave tomorrow night for our Christmas vacation. We will be in the Maldives for 2 weeks, but I will update with pictures and hopefully some fun stories! God Bless!

A Scarecrow and a bob...

This weekend Aliyah got her second haircut! She sat on daddy's lap and got a little bob! It is so adorable! She really likes it and enjoys showing it off to everyone! I got a picture of her this morning with the scarecrow. We took him down this afternoon =( I moved the hay bale and pumpkins and replaced it with little pine trees and poinsettas!

Ryan is in France this week for training. He is getting a much needed break in the country in Paris and he says it is amazing! The kids and I are having long evenings outside with friends riding bikes and playing in the park. Dinners are low key.... French toast and scrambled eggs, soup and sandwiches etc.... We love you all!

Halloween 2007

Halloween here in Doha is just about the same as in the states. The kids had Haloween parties at school, and we trick-or-treated on our compound. We loaded up the wagons and strollers and hit the streets!





Isaac was a skunk



Jonathan Gabriel and Lukas were characters from Pirates of the Carribean.


Annelise was a ballerina kitty and Aliyah was a ballerina chick!

Pool Fun!

What a week! The boys started baseball, and this year we are fortunate enough to be on 3 different teams! Our Friday's are going to be spent at the baseball field with 3 games!

Jonathan has a Multi Culture Project tomorrow so we just got done baking "treacle tarts" for him to share with his class. He did the whole thing on Power Point by himself and I was so impressed! He kept telling me "mom, it's really not a big deal" I told him when I was his age I had to cut, paste, glue, and write everything for my projects. Wow, it's amazing how things change!

I am including some pictures that I took at the pool a couple days ago. Can you believe that it is still over 100 F here during the day? We are still enjoying our "fall" season. We have scarecrows, pumpkins, gourds, bats, spiders and even a hay bale on the porch!

The Bike...

Lorna Linn is my good friend's live in maid. She also cleans for us twice a week and is an absolute angel! She has a cute 3 wheel bike that she puts the little ones in and rides around the compound. The kids also like to ride around with each other in the basket... very cute!

Happy Birthday Aliyah!

Aliyah is 2!!

We celebrated Aliyah's birthday tonight. We had Quiche and muffins. For dessert we had Baskin Robbins ice cream cake (yes we have REAL BR here!) Aliyah opened her gifts and she was so excited about her pink vespa and baby doll stroller. We also bought her a potty chair and she has pottied in it twice on her own already! We love our goofy girl and can hardly believe that she is 2 already!!

Our Eid Holiday

Eid is the 5 day holiday celebration following the holy month of Ramadan. We went to the beach and had planned a nice evening of grilling hot dogs, kebobs and smores, and playing in the tide pools. What actually happend was we got stuck in the "sand" Okay, it was actually MUD! We can normally take our SUV almost anywhere in the desert and not get stuck. But last night was a different story! Some guys from a camp at Ras Laffan came and tried to help us dig out, but we just kept sinking. The police ended up bringing a winch and a tow truck. We were in so deep that the tow truck ended up stuck! When it was all said and done, we had been stuck for 6 hours and finally got home at about midnight! The kids were great though and thought it was an adventure! So even though we did not go out of town for holiday, the kiddos still have a good story to tell!
Today we went back out to the beach, but we went to the beach club where the roads were paved! The kids went kayaking and played at the park with their friends!

Homade Rootbeer

For October, Lukas and Ryan made Rootbeer. We actually got the "kit" for the kids for Christmas last year but we are just now getting around to it. Lukas had a great time helping dad mix the ingredients and creating the labels. After botttling it, we let it sit for about 10 days to 2 weeks. This weekend we finally got a chance to sample it! The first bach we tried was a bit to "yeasty" but after letting it sit a few more days it was yummy!
We also had a good time playing outside in our nice cool fall weather! It is in the 90's now and much more tolerable. Our wind even has a little cooling effect! The kids are looking foward to Halloween and can't wait to put on their costumes! I got a few pictures of Annelise and Aliyah dressing up in their fairy costumes at the park yesterday!

Isaac is 8 months old!

Okay it seems I have been a little obsessed with birthday milestones these days, but I do have to mention that Isaac is 8 months old now! He "scoots" around the room, and has been for a while. He doesn't crawl, but pulls himself all over the house. He loves our dog Oliver, although I am not sure Oliver appreciates Isaac's attention! He is an absolute joy to our family and we can't imagine life without him!

No Tears for Aliyah today!

Hello Everyone! I have been trying to start this blog since January, and I am FINALLY getting to it! Aliyah is in school 3 days a week and everyong else, (besides Isaac) is in school 5 days a week now, so I have a little more time.

Today was Aliyah's 5th day at Starfish Lane Kids. It was the first day she didn't cry when I dropped her off! She took her shoes off and put them in her cubby, and then went and sat down at the table! I was in SHOCK! I walked out of her classroom with the biggest smile on my face, Way to Go Aliyah!!

Gabriel's 8th Birthday!!

We did celebrate Gabriel's birthday on time, but I am just now posting about it! We had a nice party with just our family instead of a big party with friends. We had one of Gabriel's favorite foods for dinner, Chicken Pot Pie. We got a chocolate fudge cake from Batteel Bakery, YUM! Of course he opened his presents and had a great night. I can hardly believe he is 8 years old!

Gabriel is getting ready to start Coach Pitch Little League, and soccer. You can usually find him outside on his bike with his friends. For quiet time really enjoys drawing and has quite a talent for it! We love you Gabriel and can't wait to see what this year brings!