BBQ at The Kitsons

We spent an afternoon with a group of great friends last weekend. We are so excited to come home, yet also sad to be leaving our friends here. Just love all of them!!  Feel so blessed to have friends all over the world now. 

Did I Mention It's HOT here....

This converts to 109.4 deg F. It isn't as humid as Florida but feels like someone is blowing a hair dryer straight at you.  Ugh!!  Already too hot for the kids to play outside unless they are swimming or the sun is down. 

British Fish N Chips

We found out there is a restaurant here in Doha that serves what our British friends call "proper" fish n chips. When they say "proper", they are referring to the fact that lots of places here have fish and chips on the menu, but none come close to what you get in the UK. JG Sandwich Cellar comes close.  YUM!!

Swim Gala

Chase swam in the inter-school swim gala (aka swim meet) last week.  He trained really hard twice a week for 6 weeks in preparation for the gala.  He was sick the week of the event (coughing like crazy) and even missed school the next day because of a fever and horrible cough.  But he did his absolute best, despite feeling crummy.  He swam in the 25m backstroke, the freestyle relay, and the IM relay.  He placed 3rd in two events and 2nd in one.  We were so proud of him and he was very proud of himself.  Overall, the ACS Dolphins took the bronze medal!  

Warm-ups

Chase feeling nervous

Watching the heat before him before his first race

On Your Mark......

GO!!

Bronze Medal

Charlie and Chase

 ACS Dolphins (Grades 2&3)

Book Character Parade

During Book Week all the kids got to dress up as their favorite book character. Natalie and Chase both picked people who dress "normal" - Daisy from the CandyMakers for Natalie and Charles from Puppy Place books for Chase. Avery was a rainbow fairy from the Rainbow Fairy books. Since we didn't have that book here, she brought in Pinkalicious. The preschool had a parade. Very cute!

Hibachi in Abu Dhabi

Our kids LOVE hibachi grill restaurants!  They are by far the most adventurous eaters at them!  While in Abu Dhabi we decided to go to one of the other hotels and eat at one. It was the best service I have ever had at one of these!  Everyone had a great time!  

Avery covered her eyes when he did the fire but then kept asking him to do it again. 

All the kids ate shrimp - and liked it!

Mother's Day

We spent Mother's Day in Abu Dhabi. I woke up to coffee in the hotel room and a sweet card made by Dad and the kids on scrap paper in the hotel. They were so cute!  They also gave me a very awesome coffee mug. 

We made videos to send home to both Nana and Mia. Then we went to have my favorite breakfast in the Middle East - French toast at Jones the Grocer. 

We headed to Waterworld after breakfast. This is a brand new waterpark. I only took a couple pictures there because all our stuff was stored in a locker all day. Let me say that this was the BEST waterpark I have ever been to. Awesome slides and NO lines!!!  The kids had a great time - as did Bobby and I. Although Avery was technically too short to ride almost all the rides, they weren't being strict about it at all. She rode EVERYTHING in the park almost, including some that even I was a little nervous on. 

Most of the slides you could ride double so Bobby or I could go with Avery and she was loving it. When we arrived at the top of one, it was a mat, not a tube, you had to go single and lay face first on your belly. It was a racing slide so all 5 of us went down at once. It turns out the slide really took you through a dark, winding tunnel and then drops straight down a steep hill. I thought both Natalie and Avery would have been terrified, but as I looked back at the bottom, they both smiled and said "let's do it again!"  What little daredevils they are. Chase did all the rides with all of us and then he and Bobby did the one they have at every water park where you go to the top of a steep hill and drop straight down. This one had one hump in the middle, but that didn't slow you down much. The girls and I sat that one out and Chase and Bobby loved it!  I guess when you have two adventurous parents, you can't help but be a little adventurous, too!  (Or maybe we are all just crazy!). 

Of course they also played at the awesome water playground after all the slides!  Super fun!  The following pictures are just the slides on the playground, not the main ones we rode during the day. 

Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque

Abu Dhabi is home to the largest mosque in the world. Inside is the largest handmade carpet and one of the largest chandeliers in the world. We didn't have a chance to go inside, but stopped to take pictures from the outside. It was HUGE and very beautiful. Had to photograph it in sections up close.