This and That

The kids were home all this week for "mid term" break.  Derek was also in Saudi Arabia.  Veronica managed to get a nasty fever and cough for the first 3 days.  We were forced to stay home and lay low together.  Here's a few things we did.

I still have flour and rice on my floors I think.

Tent building and tea parties. 

Pinkies OUT!

Bianca takes such good care of her lil sister.

We made "nature bracelets" with duct tape while out on a walk.

Homemade pet rocks.  Bianca has been asking for a hamster or fish lately.  I told her Rock Pets were just as cool.  

China dinners.  Bianca asked for chopsticks.  Said she couldn't eat rice with a spoon!  She's quite impressive with them.

Al Ain Zoo

School was cancelled a couple weeks ago due to a bicycle race.  No joke.  I picked B up from school (they start pre school here at 3 years, everyday from 7:45-12:45) and was informed there would be no school tomorrow due to the bike race going through town at pickup.  

So we picked up and headed out of town ourselves.  I took the girls to Al Ain Zoo.  Al Ain is about 90 minutes away from Dubai.  We drove through beautiful desert highway.  It was just glorious and a great time to reflect.  

Until I saw a camel hit by a truck and sprawled out on the highway with an ambulance checking the driver of the totaled vehicle.  Wild camel fatality.  Someone said, "Oh, kinda like deer in Illinois?"  Not really.  Imagine 10 times the weight, 3 times the height, and the element of seeing the gangly legs sprawled out on the road.  I resumed singing "Jesus Loves Me" with the girls and acted as if I didn't see anything.  Veronica said, "Camel!"  Yes, Vivi.  Camel no more.

But we arrived in one piece and enjoyed a beautiful zoo.  The zoo was practically empty.  The girls LOVED it.

"Mama!!!  Pink!!! Birdies!"

I thought this pic was so cool.  Somehow the reflection made it look like she was actually in the tiger's cage.  Of course, she was not.  

We were so close to the mountains.  

The best part of the entire zoo was feeding the giraffes.  I gave Bianca a choice: either a small gift from the zoo shops, or feed the giraffes (about $8).  She chose the giraffes.  She and Vivi got to feed a mama and baby giraffe carrots.  They LOVED it and it was so sweet.  Of course, I could not take pics of it and to buy the pics they took was another $15.  I politely declined the pics but the memory will be forever in my heart.  

We had a lovely picnic there and enjoyed 70 degree sunshine weather.  The days are numbered where we can go outside and not burn.  Summer is coming.  Until it hits, we will enjoy the beautiful sunshine. We finished our trip on a free train ride throughout the park.  Perfect, beautiful day with my girls.  Just missing daddy. 

Church Group in the Desert

We are very active in our church here in Dubai.  When I am able, I attend a Tuesday night "small group" in our neighborhood.  It is a focus group comprised of other adults in the area who wish to study the bible and its teachings.  We come together every Tuesday night from 7:30-10:30pm in someone's home and dig deep into The Word.  It's an amazing experience... and I've met some pretty outstanding people by doing it.  

We decided to go out on a Friday afternoon after church (our weekends in Dubai are Friday and Saturdays.... Sunday is the first day of the work week) to the desert with our entire families.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  We flew kites, played in the sand, spotted wild camels, built a fire, ate some amazing food (South Africans can really BBQ well!), and shared fellowship.  Just the way it should be:)

the 4 year olds

our campfire (notice B with her hot chocolate!)

Daddy helped fly the new kite from Nana.  The kids loved it and it was an awesome flyer (we've had some duds....)

Roasting marshmellows.  We are the only Americans in this group so we introduced s'mores to everyone.  They had never heard of or tasted them before.  Total hit.

My baby and me.

What our campsite looked like.

 I didn't get any specific pics of the sunset.  But it is absolutely stunning across the dunes.  This is just a little glimpse.

The place we went was new to us... we usually go to a different location to BBQ.  It was much more remote and desolate.  We even saw a heard of camels.  

This is Sandra, who hosts/leads the study group.  She is from Zimbabwe (South Africa).  We have such a diverse group - UK, Sweden, Africa, USA, Australia.... I feel SO BLESSED to be learning about the same God with people from all over the world.  Truly an inspiration to hear everyone's stories.

Potty Trained so Build a Bear

Since Veronica is officially out of diapers, we decided to celebrate with Build A Bear Workshop. My kiddos have never experienced this store, so they were thrilled to hear we were going to "make special friends" at the mall after school last week.  

There are 3 Build A Bear stores in Dubai.  I believe the prices are similar to those in the USA (I walked out paying about $67 for 2).  Luckily, my girls only wanted to build the stuffed animal.  They had NO desire to clothe or accessorize.... lucky my pocket book!  Veronica chose the purple horse/unicorn and Bianca chose the blue.  

We are so proud of our little Veronica Sue!!!