Six in ?

As you know part of Deric's job is travel.  He often comes home with small treasures from different parts of the world.  The kids shelves are lined with trinkets from many different countries!  On his last trip though he came home with a bunch of these:

Why might you ask?  Because SixintheSand is very soon to be SixinSingapore! (that is if I can figure out how to change the title of my blog!) Goodbye desert...hello tropical island! Goodbye villa...hello bungalow!  Goodbye camels...hello monkeys?  Goodbye beige...hello green!  Goodbye sandstorm...hello rain?  To keep this word fun going I need to actually visit Singapore and learn more about my soon-to-be new home.  We are taking the kids in early November to check things out and find a new house. 

My first question was:  Where in the world is Singapore? In Southeast Asia!  Singapore is a city-state island located right under Malaysia.   

So that is our big news.  We are moving to Singapore as soon as the kids get out of school in December.  I have so much to learn about my new home that I don't want to say too much about it yet!  All I know is what people tell me and I have yet to hear one person say anything bad about Singapore.  In fact from what I hear it is the cadillac of expat destinations.  Sounds good to me!  Deric has been there working a lot lately and he feels we are really going to love it!  He is now responsible for the Middle East and all of Asia and will be traveling to some really cool new places. This summer while we were playing in Texas he was busy climbing The Great Wall of China!  

So how do I feel about all this change?  I am very excited to have the opportunity to see another part of the world!  Of course I am overwhelmed by it all as well.  I am human and I DO stress about all the little details.  Deric on the other hand is calm as a cucumber and ensures me that it will all be fine.  I WILL miss Dubai, ASD and our friends.  In the past few weeks I have met some great new friends and it hard knowing I will soon be gone.  The kids are excited! We have been talking about this being a possibility with them for a LONG time so they are ready.  At an international school it is not uncommon for many new kids to come in mid-year.  The classes actually make a big deal welcoming the new kids and they have seen that happen in their classes at ASD.  They are actually excited to be the new kids! We are working hard at securing their spots at SAS...Singapore American School.  It is known to be the BEST international school in the world!!!!!!!!!!  

That leaves us with about 10 more weeks left in the sand!  There is still a lot of fun to be had!  See photos below of how we have been spending our remaining Dubai Days!

WE VISITED OLIVIA'S CLASSROOM AND MET
HER CLASS PETS JUMEIRAH AND BARSHA!

EACH WEEK THE "ZOOLOGIST" OF THE CLASS GETS TO CARE FOR THEM.
OLIVIA LOVES IT...AND THERE IS JUST SOMETHING CUTE ABOUT THEM!

WE HAVE CHILED OUT SOME AT THE LAKES CLUB

AFTER CHURCH WE ZIPPED OUR CHILDREN UP INTO LARGE PLASTIC
BALLS AND LET THEM FLOAT AROUND ON SOME WATER..AT THE MALL

DON'T WORRY...HE'S FILLING IT WITH SOME AIR!  KIDS, FORGET
THE "NEVER PLAY IN PLASTIC BAGS ADVICE!"

BLAKE GAVE LILLY A MANICURE 

OUR KIDS ARE SPENDING LOTS OF AFTERNOONS WITH OUR SWEET NEIGHBORS..
THEY HAVE 4 KIDS TOO! 3 GIRLS AND A BOY...THESE TWO ARE BUDS!

WHEN THEY  COME OVER IT'S AN INSTANT PARTY!

WE TOOK SOME NALCO PALS TO SEE THE SOUKS!

BLAKE HAD HER SWEET FRIEND JUSTINE OVER FOR A
SLEEPOVER AND WE DID SOME BAKING

LILLY DID SOME PAINTING ON PAPER....

AND ON HERSELF

THEN SHE DID THIS 

WE GOT VERY EXCITED TO SEE THIS AT OUR SPINNEYS!
KIDS LOVE THESE MADE FRESH DAILY PRETZELS IN THEIR LUNCHES

WE SPEND LOTS OF TIME ON THE PLAYGROUND AT SCHOOL NOW

LUKE HAS STARTED TAE KWON DO AND LOVES IT!

AND LASTLY WE HAVE BEEN GETTING TO BED EARLY AROUND HERE!
LOTS GOING ON AND LOTS AHEAD OF US!  CHEERS FROM DUBAI...

Let the Birthdays Begin!

The birthday season has begun in the Bryant house!  Luke turned 6 August 19th and we celebrated big in Texas.  Lilly is our 9-9-9 girl so she was our first Dubai birthday of the season.  Her sisters are soon to follow first of October!  August, September, October....BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS!!! (Flashback pics below to Luke's Birthday celebrations!)

LUKE'S 6TH BIRTHDAY WITH TEXAS PALS!

SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I BUY A CAKE?
WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A LIGHT
SABER LOOKS LIKE A BLOODY KNIFE!

FAMILY PARTY AT THE BEACH HOUSE!

FAMILY PARTY AT THE BEACH HOUSE!

So it all starts with the CAKE!!!  I love to make my kids cakes!  I am NO professional.....I just find it fun..like an edible craft.  And you know I love a good craft.  I learned from my mistakes last year!  No store bought icing!  It may say Betty Crocker but I won't let that fool me! What is produced in the Middle East is NOT the same as what is produced in the USA!!  Remember Lilly's cake last year?  The icing slid off the cake like slime....(flashback photo below)

NOTICE THE ICING SLIDING OFF THE CAKE!

So this time I made the icing homemade.  That part was easy!  The getting it to be red was NOT!!!  It went from pink, to orange to purple!  AHHHHHHH!  I had almost decided Elmo was going to be pink or going in the trash. However, after a 10pm trip to Spinney's I found some red coloring and watched with relief as the icing VERY SLOWLY turned red.  Elmo turned out pretty cute especially considering I almost threw him away!  Must give credit to Deric who helped with the eyes and the orange icing!

I THINK HE IS MY BEST ONE YET!

Lilly LOVES Elmo and she loved her Elmo cake and Elmo balloon.  She kept walking around saying"BIRT-DAY!"and "ELMO CAAAAAAKE!".  In fact now a week later you
sometimes hear her babbling about the "ELMO CAAAAAAAAAKE!".

Here are some of the my favorites shots from the day Lilly turned TWO!  We had a great day celebrating with neighbors and friends! (not the greatest pictures..my camera is acting up!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST! 

PRESENTS!!!!

WE HAD A LITTLE GATHERING WITH FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS

ONCE AGAIN PERPLEXED BY THE CANDLE.
SHE BLEW IT OUT WITH THE TINIEST, CUTEST LITTLE PFFFF

SHE HAS THE PRESENT THING DOWN!!!

FLASHBACK! PRESENTS LAST YEAR!

THIS IS LILLY WITH HER IRISH PAL HEIDI FROM NEXT DOOR!
 HEIDI AND LILLY ARE BOTH THE 4TH BORN!

CLAY, FACE PAINTING AND LITTLE GIRLS!

WHAT?  BED?  I STILL WANT TO PARTY!

So our sweet baby of the family is 2!  I guess this is the part where I will be obnoxious and say that Lilly really is the cutest, funniest, sharpest little person I know!  She is constantly amusing us with just about everything she does and says.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET LILLIAN!  WE ADORE YOU!
CHEERS FROM DUBAI!