Monster Truck Jam

Who would have thought that we would need to come half way around the world to go to something so American???  While we were in Abu Dhabi, the first ever Monster Truck Jam in the middle east was there.  We have never taken the kids to one of these back home, so decided to go.  We even got the pit party passes where you go up close to the trucks before the show.

Grave Digger

Grave Digger's driver

Monster Energy's driver 

During the competition, Chase and Bobby rooted for the Monster Energy truck.  Unfortunately, in the semifinals, it had a malfunction and couldn't finish the competition.

Some of the cars ready to be jumped over

Iron Man

The Los Toros Locos truck was driven by a female!!  Natalie and I were rooting for her to win!

Los Toros Locos

Max- D  (look at how huge this is compared to Avery)

The show also includes a section of stunts from dirt bikes.  These guys could do amazing tricks!!

My attempt at a panoramic pic of the pits.  Check out all the locals I was able to capture!

It is rapidly becoming summer here in the middle east with temperatures reaching 113 degrees already somedays.  We needed a shaved ice cool down in the shade during the pit party.

The monster truck show also has three team style races of quad bikes scattered during the show.  The blue team vs. the white team.  Avery had a blast sitting on all the quad bikes and talking to the nice drivers.

Avery looks like such a flirt in this picture!

Natalie

Avery rooted for Blue Thunder during the competition and was so proud to wave her flag all during the night.

Here are some pics of the actual competition.  We were sitting pretty high up so they are a little out of focus.

Grave Digger

Los Toros Locos

All the trucks around the track at the start of the show

Superman and Max-D

Captain America

Superman

Blue Thunder

Captain America was against Grave Digger in the finals so we were all rooting for Captain America....

Captain America

In the end, Grave Digger was the winner!!!

The dirt bike stunts were AMAZING!!!

We all had a blast!!!  

Abu Dhabi

As our time here in the middle east winds down, we wanted one more big adventure,  a trip to Abu Dhabi!  Bobby was going for a conference this week anyway, so we left a few days early and took a little family getaway.

Doha Airport

 When we arrived, everyone was hungry. We wandered around the area around the hotel and first saw this restaurant.  Unfortunately it wasn't open for lunch on Fridays but I just had to take a picture of the sign.  One of my favorite sayings!!

We did find a place that sells chicken shawarma! Yum! It is a speciality in this part of the world and is found everywhere from birthday parties to festivals to little side street restaurants. It is made by stacking lots of pieces of chicken onto a metal post. The post is then rotated slowly in a circle in front of a long vertical burner. The chicken looks like a big cone of stacked pieces while it is rotating around. As the outside cooks, the person preparing it slices off shavings of chicken. That then gets put into a piece of flat bread with pickles, french fries, and garlic mayo. They wrap it up like a gyro. I, of course, get it with only chicken and french fries - no pickles and mayo for me please.  At this restaurant, they even press it to toast the flat bread - which is not as common but very good!!  They also had steak shawarmas at this restaurant so Bobby tried a half of each.

Camels

Once before I posted a picture of a bunch of camels in the back of a pickup truck. Now we know how they load them in and out. I would have thought the camel would walk up a ramp like a horse would, but was I sure wrong!! They have a crane in the truck that lifts them! Hysterical!!!

Chase's New Do

A-V-E-R-Y

Avery has been working hard at learning to write her name. All year she has spelled it in all capital letters and has struggled with lower case "e" and "r". Today she master it and was soooo proud of herself!

Circus Land

Avery, Sophia, Christina and I spent a couple of hours in Landmark mall yesterday before picking Natalie and Chase us from school. Avery loves to hang out here.