Terracotta Soldiers

We had a fun day yesterday at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. Loved these sculptures, had to play with them!

Bath Time

How many sisters does it take to give Hope a bath? All of them. We need a bigger counter. :)

Bag Lady

We've started packing boxes and clearing junk, preparing for our move in June. Here is a photo of Hope helping me carry bags of clothes to the thrift store at the Catholic church compound.

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Camel Races

We've been curious about the camel races since we moved here, and finally made it to the track last week. It wasn't anything like the "My Fair Lady" horse race scenario that I had privately stashed away in my preconceptions. It was hot, it was dirty, and it was wild. We opted to ignore the grandstand, and watched the race from up close. Not the safest vantage point with a gaggle of kids (we were there with a bunch of other moms and kids) in tow, but fascinating to be sure.

Sister Love

A cute pic of Cailin and Hope before church last Friday.

More Costumes and a Hair Cut Too

Tonight was the Relief Society birthday celebration. Everyone was asked to come dressed in a costume, with crazy hair or outrageous clothes. The only costumes I have at home are a Mr. and Mrs. Claus, which I didn't feel would be appropriate for the night. Not to mention the fact the Santa suit is built for a skinny guy (odd, I know), and my post pregnancy tummy would not fit. I stopped by Carrefour on the way to church and found this beautiful outfit for 89 dirhams ($24 USD) and snatched it up. It was really fun to see what everyone was wearing, from hula skirts to pom pom wigs to traditional shayla and abaya. The sweet sister unaccustomed to being fully veiled accidentally tripped over a toddler and they both came tumbling down. Oops! I also got my yearly haircut and blow dry this morning. Not at the salon featured on the side of the car below (Happy Life Hair Fixing), but at another local place. They were speaking Arabic, French, and just enough English to understand I needed my bangs to stay long. Halleluiah! It is the Happy Life for me after all.

Henry's Birthday

Hope and daddy


The girls


This is the second birthday we've celebrated for Henry, without Henry. We've tried to make it fun and lighthearted, to celebrate our love for him, and all the sweet memories we share of him. To start our day I left little gifts on the table for the girls, things that Henry would've had fun with as well. Last year we had matchbox car races. This year we blew bubbles and played harmonicas. Jon compared Cailin to a musical hobo, meandering the streets of Abu Dhabi, constantly zipping up and down her mouth organ. They have been composing all day - twangy duets, upbeat solos, dramatic trios. Cailin tried to compose a sad song, but after performing it for me announced that the harmonica is simply a happy instrument, and she is incapable of making it sound sad. Jon had a few things to do at school, so we blew our bubbles there in the university courtyard. It's a really pretty place, with lots of trees and greenery, and a little stream with a bridge. That's where we took the pictures above. The bottom picture is of the girls in a majlis (Arabic for "place of sitting") playing their harmonicas. they were pretending to be in some sort of musical palace. Madelyn was (of course) on the throne.

Happy Birthday Henry

These little ones that grace our lives bring joy and laughter bright.
As golden as the summer sun, we grasp their beauty tight.
Yet sunlight fades to dimness and our hold is given free.
That which gave us brightness has other worlds to see.

Until we hold this lovelight in our arms once more,
We’ll follow pathways guiding to that blessed door
Which opens to eternity and all God’s richness there,
To forever families, to embrace our loved ones fair.

Henry, we miss you. Happy birthday little guy.

Characters Come to Life

Today at the girls' school was "Favorite Author Dress Up Day". They were to choose a favorite author, then dress up as a character from one of their books. Can you guess which book is the favorite of which child?

Cat and Mouse

Tonight's Family Home Evening was about getting along. We played a fun cat and mouse game found here. Everyone gets a mouse, which is a cotton ball tied to a long string. The fam sits in a circle, holding on to their strings with the mice in the middle. The "cat" holds a pan lid and rolls a dice. Every time the cat rolls a 6, she quickly slams the lid on the floor in an attempt to catch the mice. At the same time, each person tugs on their mice, in order to escape being trapped by the cat. The last mouse still free gets to be the next cat. We talked about not being like the fighting cats and mice, but to live in harmony with each other. :) Then we ate these yummy cat cookies. They were really fun to make. Next Halloween I want to try this version on a stick.

Halloween Black Cat Cookies

1 c peanut butter
1/3 c water
2 large eggs
1 pkg chocolate cake mix
M&M’s and red hots

Beat together peanut butter, eggs, and water. Gradually add cake mix. Mix well. Form dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten balls with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Pinch out 2 ears at top of cookie. Add M and M’s (eyes) and red hots (nose). Press fork into dough to form whiskers.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.