Gingerbread Train Station 2010

We've been working on establishing holiday traditions since we've been living overseas. Making and decorating a gingerbread house was one of them. Last year we did our first one.

This year we vowed to do something a little more extravagant. I found an idea online for a gingerbread train station. "That's it!" I thought. Plus I already had the train cake pan. So I designed this one myself. What usually happens is I start out with grand ideas but they diminish as time goes by. So I got started with what you see in the photo below.Then I finished up the top triangular part with sugar cookies because I did not want to make a whole other batch of gingerbread. My husband is not partial to gingerbread. We had kids over to decorate on Christmas day. "One for me, one for the station, one for me, one for the station," I could hear them thinking as they popped the candy into their mouths.

As you can see below, I never bothered to finish the other half of the roof. I figured that it had enough candy and it looked good so I considered it done.

We ate it last night with our faithful neighbors Sophia and Christian for our New Year's celebration. We exploded some party poppers and ran around in circles screaming. Then we dumped all the candyless gingerbread in the garbage can. I am quite grateful for the clear counter space again.

Happy New Year to you all!

Spring Break 2010

Last week was Spring break for my kids so Jonathan sent Atticus, Sherman, and me off to Dubai for three days. Yeah, I know. We already went there 6 weeks ago. If you haven't heard much about Dubai, I'll tell you all you need to know about it. It's the Vegas/Disneyland of the Middle East! Fortunately, it's only a 45 minute plane flight from Doha, which is the Elko of the Middle East.

I just finished the whole post but then something went wrong with the computer and it didn't save. So much for thoughtful posts. In a nutshell, we had a lot of fun in Dubai. I didn't miss my plane flight home and I was able to stock up on a lot of Thomas the Tank Engine pasta to motivate Cinci to use the potty.

Windy day at the park

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweedsWe went to the park yesterday. It was Jonathan's last day of his week long vacation. I decided to get some use out of my "new" lens. It really makes a difference in the expressions I can catch on my kids faces. If they can't see me taking their picture, I can get a real genuine look on their face. This is Shermy with his intense look. He has many looks though.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Here is Atticus crooning a song as he glides past.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Cinci and Daddy together all the time. They're pals.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Hector gets to glide along too, in his stroller. Everyone's got wheels!

So, where did you learn to ski?

Atticus and Sherman in the airplane.

My husband is the bestest! He took care of Cinci and baby Hector while Atticus, Sherman, and I went off to Dubai for a three day vacation. I stayed with a friend, Tiffani, and I am so thankful she doesn't put a lot of effort into decorating her home. I was a little scared because my boys can get pretty rowdy sometimes, but there weren't any glass coffee tables, fancy vases or porcelain statues for them to break. She put up with my kids lack of manners and my lack of preparedness, and did it all with a sick child and a 7 month fetus in her belly.

My main reason for taking the kids was to get them started on skiing. In Dubai they have a big snow dome where they have ski lessons, snowboarding lessons, and all that other fun snow stuff. But Dubai not only has the snow dome, but it has the tallest building in the world and the craziest malls too. If I were to go back to Dubai this is what I would have done differently.

1. Not rented a car. Taxis are abundant and cheap.

2. Not stepped foot in any of the malls without a knowledgable friend (AKA Tiffani Bates) to direct me.

3. Taken my husband with me.

4. Not missed my flight home.

5. Not cried so much. I'm such a baby.

This was the very first time that I've ever been in unfamiliar surroundings without my husband (since we've been married.) It was hard. At least when we were together one of us was taking care of the kids and the other could deal with getting us where we had to go. I missed him a lot. I've taken for granted how fun it is to discover things together. He's a wonderful travel companion with a lot of passion for the unknown. Atticus and Sherman were really excited about the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, though. As we exited the airport and got on the freeway we saw it towering above everything else. It almost doubles the height of the next tallest building near it. It really is a sight to see. Very shimmery and sharp. The kids just giggled as they looked at it.

Ski Dubai, the snow dome place, is an excellent place to go to have your kids learn to ski. Not that I've taken my kids to the real slopes. I really don't know anything besides Ski Dubai. But I think its great, and I'll keep coming back every time I can. You don't have to worry about any equiptment, clothing, or driving up a snowy mountain. You don't even have to bring a jacket for yourself. Atticus and Shermy just wore shorts and a T-shirt under the suits they rented. Their classes only lasted an hour, which is perfect for their ages. They loved it and did really well. Last year I was thinking about taking them to Austria or Germany to ski, but I'm so glad I chose Dubai. Much more affordable and comfortable. I remember the days when I would go skiing at Brighton in Utah. I just don't like having cold toes. I'm a wimp about being cold. But I won't let that keep my kids from learning to ski. What if they love it and are really good at it? What if they like being cold?

Atticus in his ski class.

We are home in little old Doha now. It really is little. Little, stark, dusty, and perfect. Perfect for me and my family right now. Our trip to Dubai was great though. I'm hoping Jonathan will take a trip there during his vacation because not only do they have Taco Bell there, but they also have a Baja Fresh!

Poor Man's Version

What are dreams made of?

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Little boys' dreams are made of wheels, pullys, levers, containers, ropes, ramps, bumps, etc. What fun they can have with all these gadgets!

Conjuring, creating, connecting, crossing, tying, pulling, chasing, rolling, bouncing, and lifting.

Yesterday my boys and I took an old orange juice carton, a roll of bright orange rope, scissors, sand buckets, plastic shovels, two bottles of water (1/2 ice, 1/2 water), two matchbox cars, a package of wipes, and a diaper down to the park that lies in the center of our compound. It's quite a trek getting there. Shermy rode his new/old bike and Atticus rode the scooter that we brought. Cinci and I walked. The morning sun pounded on our heads and it is during these moments that I don't wonder any more why the gardeners of our compound cover their entire heads and necks and faces with some sort of sheet with holes for the goggles they wear. I wished I'd had a sheet and some goggles.


I try to take the kids to the park at least once a week. I should take them more often but I don't. The word take isn't quite right. More like force. Anyway, we hadn't been outside for two going on three days. It sounds really bad when you don't go outside for that long. So we went. Fortunately our trip coincided with bath time. Go to the park, get sweaty and sandy, then come home and shower. No wasted shower. I hate showering when I'm not that dirty.

We created a pully from the top of the play structure. The kids had fun filling the orange juice carton with sand and letting it fall and fly everywhere. Then they found a small skateboard. I tied it to the back of Sherman's bike and they spent a good half hour pulling eachother around on the pathways around the park. Down hills, around curves, up hills, and back to the beginning again. So fun. So wholesome. Once the weather is kind, we will be in heaven. Atticus says that in 20 days if the skateboard is still at the park, we should take it. I agreed. 20 days is long enough for someone to realize that they lost something.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Meanwhile, indoors, Atticus has finally finished his Red Baron project. Mighty fine I'd say.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Then he topped off the evening with a B-36 Peacemaker made from a water bottle and a Pringles container. What would we use for crafts if my husband didn't have an addiction to Pringles?

Summertime

Burt Family Reunion

Atticus found a friend. Cinci found some rocks.

Uncle Cameron spent over an hour taking the kids on 4-wheeler rides.

Shermy was too scared to get near the fire so he found a safe spot to chill and look cool.

Cinci fell in the canal and Grandma did not fish him out. She just screamed for cousin Doyle to do it, which he did promptly. No harm done, not even a cry came from Cinci's little mouth. Just some shivers.

We aren't really members of the Burt family. Grandma Burt is my Grandmother's youngest sister. They were very close thankfully and that's why the Burt family still remains my family. I rarely see them and rarely keep in touch, but when we do get together I don't feel myself an outsider. We really had a lot of fun and looking at my kids throughout the day reminded me of myself 20 or so years ago. My mom would bring me and my brothers up to Aunt Pat and Uncle Gene's house where we could swim in the canal and tube down the Duschesne river and just run around outside in the dirt and smell the fresh air, have the cows for company, play with my second cousins, see the stars clearly at night, wonder about the indians (native americans) that used to live beyond the river. Such a different place than I was used to. And they always had Honeycomb cereal to eat and these plastic star shaped bowls that were made to look like patchwork wood squares. Great memories! It was these visits that made me love nature because I sure didn't learn it in Silicon Valley.

5th Birthday Party

The gathering stage: homemade volcano and toy dinosaurs + kids

The spazzy stage: climbing up on Atticus' bunk bed and bouncing with friends

The candy stage: kids + candy

The cake stage: frosting and cake + kids and carpet



The Sherman stage : Sherman + cape + chubby cheeks

The Cinci stage: Atticus' new toys + Cincinnatus

Merry-go-round

When was the last time you were on a merry-go-round?

For me, one day. Yes, after church some friends of ours came over and instead of chatting in our living room all afternoon, we decided to have a go at the merry-go-round in our park.

The funniest thing that came out of the experience was hearing how high pitched my husband's scream is. The sweetest thing was seeing how tender even teenage boys can be while holding smaller siblings in their laps as their brains slam against their craniums caused by the momentum of the merry-go-round. Ha! I'm chuckling at the memory.