Oh, and Kead has several loose teeth/ teeth growing in! Did you even know that could happen?? It is so bizarre- the grown up teeth are growing in behind the baby teeth, but the baby teeth haven’t fallen out yet. So weird! Uncle/Dentist Adam says its pretty common and not to pull the baby teeth if they aren’t ready…but I am a teensy bit sad to not have the classic toothless smile pic. :)
She is just getting so big.
Sayla is also doing great and (I assume) all is well in her own world. We sit outside her door and listen to her from time to time; talking to herself, talking to her stuffed animals, singing, talking to Sonny and Bunny (fully Sayla’s friends now)…she makes us giggle so much and I love her spirit. She also came home with a near perfect report card. We were wondering how so much time in “La La Land” was affecting her at school, but she is doing great there too!
The big girls have also re-started ballet class and are having a great time. And I just love the little ruffles and buns and ballet shoes. I think I take a picture of them every time before they go to class because I just never get over the cuteness!
Evie is starting to talk a ton and that is so much fun. She turned two in January and we had a really really simple party here. (We had a big party in denver). Â I am just loving this stage of life with her! While Drew is at work and the bigs are at school, we get to hang out together and I cherish it. She is so spunky and funny and such a joy.
Lots of sister time.
The glorious wonderful mountains in the fall.
The 2 hour drive to and from grandpa’s was beautiful and such great family time! موقع bet365
And these two. They are both so full of spunk that watching them try to figure out who is the boss is pretty hilarious. انشاء محفظة بايير
Again, so blessed and thankful for the time we got to spend together. ]]>
Sometimes I see a picture like this and I get a tight feeling in my chest. Time has rushed by and, all of a sudden, I see two beautiful girls. بيان ماتش My babies are gone; they are kids. بلبل اللعب My heart swells as I study them. انواع لعبة الطاولة Their expressions, their body language, even Kead’s “peace sign” that she picked up from school make me feel so proud and panicky at the same time. I love them so. It’s going too fast. ]]>
For now I don’t have much to say, but looking at these pictures of my favorite place on earth is comforting to me, so I am going to share them with you. If you think about it, take a minute to pray for peace and comfort for my dad and his family.
This year we had a whole week of Sayla celebration. First we went to Dubai with the McGoughs and Traci and had a fabulous Sayla-planned-day! We started by letting the girls go to Smaland at IKEA…by request of the birthday girl, of course. After their hour was up we took them to the next surprise: Build-a-Bear! Every time we pass the store, both girls beg to go in, but we have always said no (going in somewhere like Build-a-Bear and coming out empty handed sounds like torture with three little girls). nomini kaszinó online Well, I found some coupons for buy-one-get-one bears so we decided to let the girls do it (And Chase and Britt got a bear for Lydia too)!
At first they were super concerned with the deflated bears we let them choose from, but quickly got excited about the whole filling process!
As soon as the girls caught on, it was hard keeping up with them. And, let me just say, those build-a-bear people sure do know their market! The outfits? and bear dress-up area? and panties? and accessories? and jammies? for a bear? We had a near melt down as we were taking accessories and such off of Keadryn’s bear and (after realizing the outfit she assembled was well over $50) we had to say no to several things but each girl walk away with one outfit and one pair of shoes (Except Evie, who didn’t really think much of the clothes and wanted her bear without- which was fine with us!) and they were all happy.
The next stop on our “Day-for-Sayla” was the Rainforest Cafe (also per Sayla’s request and with a coupon) and I can’t believe it, but I didn’t take a single picture. I seriously have no idea why? It was so fun and the girls had a blast (Although Keadryn did admit she thought we were going to eat in a real rainforest). It really was a great day!
Oh, and once we got home we made these crowns for Angelina and Princess Sparkle (as oppose to buying the $12 crowns at the store) and both girls we so happy with them:
But the partying didn’t stop there! A couple days later was Sayla’s actual birthday. All she wanted for her birthday was shoes (with a heel), earrings, hair clips, nail polish, etc. kaszinó online huf Seriously, she didn’t ask for a single toy! I’m in so much trouble with this one.
She is in love with her “clunky shoes” and asks to wear them everywhere. Since they are 2 sizes too big (I could only find a heel in the bigger kid shoes) I have to limit wearing them in public, but she wears them around the house all the time and on her birthday I let her wear them to the grocery store. újonnan nyitott kaszinó online Big deal.
THEN the day after her birthday we had her Puppy Party! I have to say, as far as pleasing the kids goes, this is my best party yet! They were so excited about every detail, were counting down the minutes until guests arrived and are still talking about it. It makes my heart so happy to see them love something that I put a lot of time into. The full write up is over on the Kojo Blog.
It was such a fabulous week of celebrating out sweet 4 year old. She is such a joy and grace to us. Love you Say Grace!
Our friends were very welcoming during this time and we had many late night visits (people stay up eating and partying all.night.long) and shared in many wonderful traditions. It is a time when you feel very involved in the community and yet very much not part of it at all. Kind of confusing, I know.
Anyway- At the end of Ramadan is the Eid celebration. It is a fun couple days of visiting and everyone gets to dress up in special Eid dresses and the kids get little treats and money. We had a great time seeing friends and the girls LOVED dressing up and getting candy everywhere we went.
Also during Ramadan, some sweet friends from Texas had a 2 day layover in Dubai and we got to hang out with them and do something new! Until now, we have just admired the Burj Khalifa from the base, but this time we went up to the viewing deck on the 124th floor. The elevator was…highly uneventful. It goes so fast that it take less than a minute and the only way you know you are going so high is that your ears pop. The girls loved the lights and music though.
The views from the deck were hard to grasp. Everything just looked so…small.
We are glad we got to do it, but because Dubai is such a hazy and hot city in the summer, I think if we do it again we will wait for the cooler winter (the dust settles a bit and the views are a bit better, too.)
We also took them down to the old Gold Souq. It has been quite some time since I’ve been down there, but it was fun to go see again.
Well, that gets me caught up through August and the end of Ramadan! Next up…Sayla’s birthday festivities.
]]>Here we go:
::4th of July was a blast. We had a ridiculous amount of people come to our house (we invited every American we know- to give you an idea…) to celebrate. It was so much fun! At the time we had some girls living with us while they studied at a summer Arabic program and they were a huge help in getting all the decor together. Britt and Traci helped a ton too, of course. (Have I mentioned that Traci moved here? She did, and it’s SO fun having her around!)
::One of the bonuses of living so close to Dubai is that we get to see people as they pass through en route to their final destinations! This summer we got to see my cousin and some friends from Texas and this fall two more sets of friends will be stopping through that we get to see.
p.s. I love Sayla in this picture…
:: The date harvest happened. Dates are a pretty big deal in this area of the world, and the date harvest is fun to see. We went back to the oasis that we went to while granny was here and walked around to see how it’s done. Â Fresh dates are sold here as a delicacy and are super expensive, but most of the dates are dried on roofs (like raisins). Personally, I prefer the dried dates. The fresh dates are kind of like a green banana, they feel a bit fuzzy on your teeth and aren’t very flavorful.
 
:: This summer has been a slower time than usual (it’s stinkin’ hot!) so we have taken the opportunity to do a little “photo bootcamp”. Â I set up a blog and have been collecting useful photo articles for us all to read. It has been wonderful and I feel like I have learned a lot as well!
So there you have it! Most of the summer in a nutshell. Â I also got to take a most wonderful trip for my 30th birthday, but that deserves its own post. We have really had a fabulously mundane summer, but are ready for the schedule, busyness and cooler weather that will come with fall!
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I think the kids all enjoyed themselves. Here are some things to do with 5 kids that will be appreciated everytime:
1. Go to the beach:
It was seriously hot while the Gentry’s were here so we had to wait for sunset to brave the sand, but the kids loved every minute!
2. Maybe not the most cultural experience, but this little kids play area in the mall was quite the hit!
3. They also loved being in malls for three days straight. Ok, not really…but Dubai is really only one giant mall (especially in the summer). Luckily for us, there are all sorts of fun things for kids to do in the malls:
Like watching ice skating:
And cool fountains:
and Aquariums (Burke was keeping the girls safe from the sharks):
Really though, the days we sat at home and did nothing were the most special for the kids. They were so relaxed and just enjoyed each other. I miss piper toddling into the living room with the baby stroller, and hearing the big kids giggling and playing together. ivermectina hepatite fulminante
Yes, it was diffferent, so so different, but it was also a lot of fun!
Oh and one last tip- If the kids aren’t in the mood- don’t ask for a cousin picture:
wait until they are all happy and then snap a picture:
Much better results (although I am sure we will all giggle at the first one in years to come)!