The Blog Not Forgotten

Last night Blake said, "Mom, have you forgotten the blog?"

NO!  However in the last few weeks we have undergone some pretty big life changes that have left me little time to sit, think or breathe.  I am not sure I have ever endured this much stress in my life which I guess you could say is a blessing.

We have once again packed up our worldly possessions into TWO 40 ft containers (it took one 40 ft container to get us to Dubai..whoops) and they are currently floating across the waters.  We have moved into temporary housing because our beloved Villa 9 (next to the best Irish neighbors ever) has been rented to a new American family from Michigan.  We now live in a hotel apartment on the beach which is actually pretty cool!  We are still looking for a new home in Singapore...not an easy task with a family of 6.  And we are still on the wait list for 2 of our chickens at Singapore American School.  Way to go Olivia Mae for the being the first kid accepted!  The other 2 are at the top of the list and it is just a matter of someone leaving to free up a spot. We have filled out all the hundreds of documents required to move a family and one amazing nanny to a new country.  We have sold all our no-good-to-us-in-Singapore goods and only have the mini-van left to sell.  Anyone?  We have started saying good-byes....we are down to those last days in the sand.

GOOD BYE VILLA 9! OH HOW WE WILL MISS YOU!

So what has been happening since my last post BESIDES PACKING AND MOVING? A lot! Let's just consider this a catch-up for all the things I was too busy to share!

October as you know is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  I was so proud of Blake and her precious friend Alice!  They made pink bottle cap necklaces and sold them at ASD's annual Breast Cancer Awareness bake sale!  The girls set up their own little booth and were quite a hit!

The girls did a great job and were even recognized in the school's weekly newsletter.  Here is what it read:

Thank you to everyone who participated in ASD’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day! It was an overwhelming success! 

This year we raised over AED 26,000! All donations will go to Brest Friends to help women in need of cancer treatment.  

Special recognition goes out to our youngest vendors, Alice Bake and Blake Bryant who graciously donated their bottle cap jewelry sale proceeds and Sarah Seeliger who bagged her piggy bank coins to donate to the cause. Job well done ASD Community!

WAY TO GO ALICE AND BLAKE!!!

Mid October we had some surprise visitors from London!  Our pals the Sassos had some 
time off from school and decided to make a trip back to the sand!  Their girls hid in
 big boxes on our front porch and rang the doorbell!  Can you imagine the excitement 
on our kid's faces???!!!!  We had an amazing day at The Atlantis with them.  
The kids got to feed the sting rays and Deric and Augusto did a dive in
 the big tank at The Atlantis!  AMAZING!!!!!

STINGRAY GIVING LIV A SMOOCH!
SHE LOVED THIS!

THE STINGRAYS ARE SWIMMING ALL AROUND THEM!

"GIVE ME FOOD" SAID MR. STINGRAY TO LUKE

OLIVIA HAS BECOME SUCH A LOVER OF ANIMALS!

BLAKE WANTED NO PART OF THIS

THE KIDDOS WATCHING THEIR DADS HEAD DOWN INTO THE BIG TANK!

SCUBA DERIC!

THIS IS KID-SCUBA-CODE FOR "WATCH OUT FOR SHARKS"

THEY ARE FEEDING THE HUGE HUGE STINGRAYS!

THIS WAS AN AMAZING AMAZING EXPERIENCE FOR DERIC!

Speaking of Deric, the past few months have been busy for him as well.  He has been 

traveling all over Asia getting to know his new turf and his new people.  

He has already seen some amazing things and ensures me that

 we are going to love living in Southeast Asia!

I will wrap October up with our second trick-or-treat in Dubai. This was a first for Lilly so it was a special night.  We had such a great time with our neighbors collecting some treats.  Have I mentioned how much we are going to miss them...or should I say already miss them!

SERIOUSLY, NOT TO BE OBNOXIOUS BUT..IS SHE NOT DELICIOUS?

READY FOR SOME TRICKS AND TREATS!  

THIS GIRL HAS THIS TRICK OR TREAT THING DOWN!

COME ON!  FOLLOW ME!

THIS HOUSE HAD A PUTTING GREEN FOR A FRONT  YARD!
DAD..DON'T GET ANY IDEAS!

THE FUN DID NOT STOP WHEN WE GOT HOME..WE BOBBED
 FOR APPLES AND DID THE EVER FAMOUS MUMMY WRAP!

It was a great last Halloween in Dubai!!!   I wonder what the treats will be like in Asia?

This blog is NOT forgotten.  Next post already in the works....Cheers from Dubai!

All in a Weekend

At the end of this past weekend Luke cried "That's it? It's over? Already back to school!?"  I felt his pain!  The weekend was a blur!  Our weekends here are Friday and Saturday and I still don't think I am used to that even after a year and a half!  It seems to fly by every week.  So yes it was a busy weekend but it was a weekend full of FUN and new experiences!

I'll start with Thursday afternoon because we all know that is when the weekend really starts in our head!

LUKE'S TEACHER GREETED US AT THE DOOR FOR SOME HALLOWEEN FUN!

WE WATCHED THE KINDERGARTENERS PARADE THROUGH
 THE SCHOOL AND I ATTENDED THREE CLASS PARTIES

THE MUMMY WRAP..IT NEVER GETS OLD!

Thursday after school we raced home, had a snack and then
 headed back to school for Luke's big Tae Kwon Do test!  
He earned his yellow belt!  He was SO proud and so were we!

So it is STILL Thursday!  We leave the Tae Kwon Do test and head 

home where I make a QUICK transformation into a.....WITCH!  

2nd annual Dubai Witch Party here I come!  

THESE THREE WITCHES OUTDID THEMSELVES WITH
THE MOST AMAZING DECORATIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT!

OH YES, WITCHES CAN RAP

Such a fun night with so many amazing friends I am just not ready to say good-bye to!  There were cackling contests, broom rides and friends beware: Witches brew can cause headaches the morning after.

So it's Friday now and Luke lost his first tooth.

And some time later he lost his second tooth in the same day...

and made 4 baskets at basketball! GO DUKE!

So it's Friday night now and it's time to head to ASD for some trick-or-treating fun!

The school hosted a big Halloween party on the field where all the families

set up tables for the kids to trick-or-treat to.  It was the first one at our

 new campus and it was a BLAST!  Our table was Texas-themed..of course!

THIS YEAR WE HAVE TRON, FIONA FROM SHREK 4 AND A "TWEEN" WITCH!
OH AND DON'T FORGET  THE  "TU-TU HAPPY ELMO"( as she calls it)

OUR TEXAS THEMED TABLE...

THIS GIRL CAN TRICK-OR-TREAT

HOW CUTE IS THIS COSTUME!  A PAPER DOLL!

I LOVED THIS ONE TOO! AVATAR!

THIS IS LILLY'S IDEA OF A GOOD "CHEESE"

WHAT? I HAVEN'T HAD TOO MUCH CANDY.  TIME TO HEAD HOME!


And it is now Saturday, the last day of our weekend.  
Our weekends in Dubai are numbered and there are still some things we want to do! 
 One being to take the kids down to the souks to shop and take
 an abra ride on the old Dubai Creek.  Deric and 
I have done this but the kids have not..until now!  
The girls had fun shopping and bargaining!  
And of course Lilly was a hit with all the vendors...

HARD CORE NEGOTIATIONS GOING ON...

It was a lot of effort to get down there and park but I am so glad we did this! 
 It could be a long time before any of us take an abra ride again!  


So the weekend is almost over but we still have one more task ahead.  
PUMPKIN CARVING!  I will not go into what I paid for this USA pumpkin
 but let's just say at home I could have bought around 7 of them 
for the same cost!  It was worth it though to see these smiling faces having fun!

LUKE WAS MORE EXCITED TO CARVE ON ANYTHING HE COULD

FIND WITH HIS FIRST EVER POCKET KNIFE DERIC BROUGHT

HIM FROM SWITZERLAND!

LILLY FOUND THIS ALL TO BE "GUK"

SERIOUS CARVING GOING ON

MORE POCKET KNIFE CARVING

What's in store for next weekend?  SINGAPORE BOUND!

Cheers from Dubai!