Pumpkins...Seriously?

Seriously American School of Dubai?  Seriously?  These are not pumpkins!  These are gourds!  Hahahaha-  ASD recently promoted big their "pumpkin sale".  The kids and I got excited and handed over our dirhams for 4 small pumpkins.  When it was pick-up day all I could think was "seriously"?  You should have seen the large ones!  I think they were squash!  However,  in the past two weeks all the stores are getting in some really awesome genuine ORANGE pumpkins imported straight from the land that we love!  Some of the stores that cater more to expats even have cute little pumpkin displays set up.  I had fun with Miss Lilly yesterday at our Spinneys.  There was a HUGE pumpkin the perfect size for her to sit on.  Of course she charmed everyone around while posing for my picture session.  BTW..Lillian Margaret is officially a walker!  She is like a mini-Frankenstein toddling around here with her arms straight out in front of her. Let the fun begin!

This was the weak pumpkin display at the Carrefour..It was exciting
though to see orange!

Happy Halloween Everybody!

Satwa

So I had the most amazing day in a part of Dubai called Satwa.  Satwa is the area of town where you go if you want to have anything made or sewn. Those of you who know me well know that this is very exciting to me!   You can come here to have your furniture repolstered for cheap or you can have cushions, pillows, curtains, anything, made.  You can even take a favorite dress or shirt to them and they will make you a new one in a different fabric.  All the tailors have their shops here.  And where there are tailors there are fabrics, ribbons, beads, sequins, glitter, glue guns....OH!  I am getting excited all over again writing about it!  I found the ARABIC HOBBY LOBBY!   I bought lots of sequins, glitter, ribbon and a glue gun to jazz up the kids Halloween costumes.  It was a great day!

I have never seen such amazing ribbon!

I want this ribbon!  Not sure what I will do with it but I want it!  It is handmade!

Sequins in every color you could imagine!

Bags and bags of glitter!

Beads and beads and beads!

More ribbons and trims...mostly handmade!

Jewelry making supplies-

Oh the fabrics!!!

I bought this fabric to make a long dress!  

Now before we got to the shopping we saw a pretty cool thing!  When we got out of the car I noticed the car parked next to us was full of FALCONS!  Falconry is a hobby and tradition here in the UAE.  ASD's mascot is the falcon.  Long ago the arabs would use falcons to hunt their food for them. We happened to have parked in front of a falcon hunting supply store.  Look closely at the pictures..These falcons were pinned down to the seats and had little eye patches on.  There were at least 7 falcons in this car!  Their owner came out and saw us taking pictures of them and offered to get one out! So crafts and falcons all in one day!  Only in Dubai!

O-man OMAN!

On the road to Dibba, the town where we
were to catch a speedboat to the resort.

This was amusing because "Dibba" is one of Olivia's
many nicknames.  Oliva-Dibba-Dibba

We made it...about to cross the border.  Passports and car insurance ready!

Border patrol with machine guns and all..asked for car insurance
but not for passports.  Said in very labored english "Welcome-To-Oman!"

My cell phone immediately began to "roam"..in Arabic.

Deric did some fine navigating and got us to this not-so- fancy
fishing pier where we caught a speedboat.

On the speed boat heading to Zighy Bay.  Freshly wiped
faces from a cold towel!

Mom holding tightly to a sweet-wiggle-worm.

WHOOP! Oman here we come!

Lilly charms as we check in.

This is our villa?  Yes!!!

Resting up while we wait for luggage to arrive in the room!

View from the living room.

The beach outside our villa...

Again our villa..look at the moutains!

Pot of water for cleaning feet.  We managed to break
the scooper.

The entrance to our villa

Sassos brought matching pj's for everyone!  Even Lilly!  So Cute!

Our beachside barbecue while the kids ate inside- It was hot!

Caroline and Blake heading to the pool..These two are how
we all met!  They are in the same class.

These crabs were all over the beach...They
would scurry in from the tide!

Of course Deric caught one..It pinched him!

Ready to snorkel with the Daddies!

Off they go toward those mountains...

New skill..backing in when wearing flippers.

Go Luke! 

They saw squid, sting-ray, angelfish, a seasnake..

At the kids club making cupcakes

Lilly..where are you?

Luke practicing his backing in..

Blake painted this..can you see what is always on her mind?

Sometimes you just have to chill on a deer floatie

Poor little gimpy crab

Having so much fun!

Traveling Trooper!

Dads got kayaks to take kids out it!

Time to go home...boooo-hoooo!

Bryant 6 are in this car being driven out of the resort to our car...Had
to drive up the mountain to get out...More eye-closing and praying.

Views from the drive out-

This is how high we were on the drive out...

These fellows are everywhere!

Good Bye Oman...sniff sniff

Back in our car heading out...

Back across the border..long line to get across