How to motivate yourself to take a roadtrip with your kids when you're 8 months pregnant.

All you have to do is buy an 80 dollar America the Beautiful 2011: National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass. We bought ours back in May and ever since, I have been determined to make it worth it. I was sure we would be visiting every national park in the western United States ever since we set foot on US soil this year. Oh, the dreams we have! The plans we make! How is it that life never really turns out like you think it will? I knew Jonathan would be busy this year with school and work but I didn't really think I would be so hesitant to venture out on my own with the kids. I didn't realize how the US really gives me the creeps. There really are a lot of wackos here. Despite that fact, I do believe in regrets and I do realize how I can only force my kids to do what I want for just a little while longer. That is one of the reasons I'm homeschooling this year. Soon they will look at me just like Jennifer Connely looked at David Bowie in the movie Labyrinth and say, "You have no power over me." Then they will venture out on their own and make all their own choices and say, "Homeschooling sucks Mom!" and wear strange clothes that cost way too much and spend more time on their hair than I've spent in my lifetime. So, to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone we went! So what that I was 8 months pregnant! So what that I'm a horrible driver in the sense that I have trouble staying alert at the wheel for more than an hour! So what that my kids tend toward the spazzy side and that the youngest is not yet 2!

I prefer Grand Teton National Park over Yellowstone. Check out those peaks! Gorgeous! I realized even before I left that we wouldn't be doing a lot of hiking on this trip. I love to hike. But wearing a Kelty and being 8 months pregnant doesn't really work. So, we had to do short walks with Hector. He's a pretty good walker for his age thank goodness. There were a few times he just stood there and screamed at me, waiting for me to give in and pick him up. Of course, I gave in. Those were the moments when I had to tell myself, "You chose this Christine." So I really couldn't get mad at him. He's just one and he never asked for this kind of adventure.

On the days that we drove a lot, especially in Yellowstone, I was reminded of the trip my father took me on. Two foreign exchange boys from Spain were with us as well as my brother Clayton. We were all teenagers. I remember my father getting mad that we weren't looking out the window. At the time I thought, "Man, what's he getting mad about!" Now, I realize how cool Yellowstone really is. There is a lot of wildlife there. To get my kids to notice and care about it I bribed them with money. Atticus is 7, a prime age for bribing. Here is our price list:

Bear, buffalo, moose, elk, wolf, or deer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 cents

The only catch was that they had to see the animal before me. Since I was driving and concentrating more on the road, I thought they would have a chance. It worked. They each made a handful of change. Cinci only saw one thing first. Sherman had troubles, but he always has troubles. His vision is very bad. Atticus saw the most. They were all pretty attentive throughout the whole trip. No iPads, no iPods, no car DVD players. Only Mommy screaming a few times. Sometimes Hector did that for me. And the rest of the time we listened to books on tape or cd or really annoying songs that the kids like.

My favorite moment of the trip was when we got to see the elk come out in the evening for their mating rituals. The big bull would do his mating call. He was grand and majestic. I have a picture of one above but the one I'm speaking of was different. He and his female friends were grazing in a river valley by our campsite on the third night of our trip. We heard him calling out all night long. I was happy to hear Atticus talking about it the next morning.

My most unfavorite moment of the trip was when I noticed that the coolant was a bit low and I couldn't get the cap off. Fortunately, I was able to drive three more days until I got home safely. I still haven't been able to get that dang cap off!

Here are my two favorite items I bought for the trip. The first one was individual premeasured cups of instant oatmeal. All you had to do was heat the water, dump it in the cup and stir. All ready! No pouring into bowls needed. The other thing I really liked for the trip were those small powder packets that you just add to a bottle of water. The kids think they're great. That way you just pack a crate of bottled water and you don't have to bring extra special drinks for the kids. My kids know that when we go camping we bring lots of junky things that we usually don't have. Like soda, junky cereal, candy, licorice, marshmallows, chocolate, etc. Well, I usually have chocolate, but they only get it sometimes. A lady told me about disposable toothbrushes that come with the toothpaste already applied. I'll have to look into those for my next trip.

As for sleeping at night, we wouldn't have made it without our Pop Top Super Adventure Volkswagen Eurovan. We just slept in that on the nights that we camped. I can't say that it was comfortable. With my large belly and Hector drop kicking me all night, I can say that it was just okay. Not great, but okay. Comparing it to the few nights before I actually left on the trip, it was better actually. Hector had these strange canker sores that wouldn't permit him to sleep well. But they started to disappear as our trip progressed. Instead of screaming in the middle of the night, he just screamed for about thirty minutes after he woke up every morning. I kind of felt sorry for all those old timers in their cushy RV's having to listen to my baby screaming at 7 in the morning. I hope they consoled themselves by thinking, "I'm glad I'm not that lady." Unfortunately, Cinci started to get the canker sores too but his were worse. They were the size of dimes. Two dimes on each side of his tongue. He comforted himself by holding my small binoculars the rest of the trip. I think he liked them so much because they made him look like Wall-e when he put them on his eyes.

Atticus and Sherman really helped me out a lot during the trip. I couldn't have done all the lifting stuff and watching of Hector by myself. I don't think they learned as much as I would have wanted them to but I have to remind myself to chill out. Throwing rocks in the Snake River with Hector will probably be a more pleasant memory to them than having their over- stressed and unattractive mother repeating questions to them about the volcanic activity in and around Yellowstone.

So, there you have it. My trip in a nutshell. We survived. We had fun. We didn't spend too much money. I didn't fall asleep at the wheel. Jonathan got a lot of work done while we were gone. We have some pictures and plenty of memories.

Pink cheeked at Al-Zubara Fort

"Atticus, why are you putting a cheese stick down your pants!?!?"

My plans were foiled last time I planned an adventure, but we still adventured. This time my husband joined our adventure so if we broke down I wouldn't be all alone out in the boonies with my "battery" of boys. Plus, I think he enjoys spending time with us.

We drove north, stopped in Al-Khor, got lunch (the first time we actually encouraged Hector to eat McDonald's chicken nuggets. Ugh!), and then set out on the open road. Free from all cares, free from all life, free from everything except the sound of Atticus saying things like, "Why do we have to go to this place?", "When we get there can we just look at it for one second and then go home?", "Are we half-way there yet?" Knowing that once we got there, we would have plenty of fun, I tried to stay positive and just wait for him to get tired of complaining.

The first time we stopped the car was for me to go out to some nearby sidra trees and have my picture taken. OK, I don't know if they were real sidra trees. I just had my picture taken with them just in case they were and then I would have my own picture of real live sidra trees from Qatar. The fact that anything grows out there is a miracle to me. What also was a miracle was that when I told Jonathan to stop the car so I could have my picture taken with the trees, I said,"Anyone want to come with me to see the trees?", Atticus and Sherman came with me. No coaxing, not even waiting to see if they would answer. They both followed me. Atticus kept saying that he saw a scorpion. I looked around and saw no life except for the trees. I thought I would see something when I flung into the air a plank of wood that was sitting there crisping in the sun. I said, "OK kids, watch and be amazed! When this wood moves, you will see little animals scurrying out from underneath!" The suspense was high and I'm sure the kids believed me, but we were all disappointed when there was nothing nestled under the wood. We did find some cool rocks on the way back to the car. Cooler than anything else (rubble from old cement houses) we've ever found in Qatar. These were real sedimentary rocks.
Then we drove on a little ways and saw a massive fort on the right. Except it looked newish. It was actually a sports club. The style was quite fitting for Qatar, however, I wondered why such a huge sports club would be built out on the northern tip of the peninsula when hardly anyone lives out there. We finally got to Al-Zubara Fort. It looked a lot like the sports club but smaller. It was safe enough for little Pink-cheeked Hector to waltz around in. We looked through every little hole in that fort. Some of them had lizards in them, others had birds' nests. There was a nice room for my kids to imagine was theirs. My favorite part about the fort was that we basically had it to ourselves. Some other visitors came and left while we were there but they didn't seem to mind how loud we were. Jonathan just had to play his favorite game with the kids. Hide and seek.
On our way back we saw a caravan of camels in the distance. We got a picture but I'm too lazy to add it now. If you go to Al-Zubara take lots of water and pray you don't have to go to the bathroom! It's worth it since it's one of the only places that I've felt that sticky dryness in my mouth from lack of water. You can partly imagine what you would feel like living (I mean really living) in the desert and appreciating every drop of water you feel on your lips. You can sit in the entryway of the fort and feel the slight breeze cool your skin. Cinci is letting the breeze skim his pink cheeks while shreiks and screams echo off the walls of the fort. It's a pleasant place.

Mommy trying to make things "cool". Can she succeed?

Look at us in our breathtaking surroundings! Here I am trying to convince Atticus of how "cool" Qatar can be. "Look! A crane! When will you actually be able to see a crane up close again?"

Atticus took this nice picture of the old fort we walked around.

We have exactly three weeks until we leave Qatar on the airplane for good! Well, maybe not for good but for now. Have I finished packing up the boxes we need shipped? No. All four boys are home for a two week holiday which means I'd rather do other things than pack up all the toys and books they are currently playing with. Because of this realization that we are leaving really soon, I've started to feel a bit guilty for not seeing the "sights" here in Qatar. "Sights?" you ask. "Isn't that why every expat you know leaves the country every chance they get? So they can see some sights?" Ha! Very funny! Actually, no matter how barren a country may be or seem, there is always something to see. Always. It may not be beautiful like we want it to be, but you will remember it. And your kids will too, if you spend time looking at things with them. They might even show you a few things you wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

So yesterday I was on the internet researching where I should go today. I found this website that lists the notable "sights" to see in this country. At first I was going to go to the north of the peninsula and see some forts and old fishing villages but the friend I had invited got sick, and I didn't want to get stuck out there without any support. My husband said,"Well, if the car breaks down, plenty of nice Sudanese men will stop in their already filled cars to give you a ride." Yeah, I can imagine my kids going for that. Squeezing my four kids and myself into the backseat of some sedan with three other adult men. Fun! I guess that would be an experience of how charity really should work. Many times we see a hitcher on the side of the road and because there is not an extra seat belt in the car we don't even consider stopping. Think what you will, but I think this law abiding attitude taking precedence over true charity is sometimes just a crutch we use to not "go out of our way". It's sad. It feels as though my ways are set and to change them would be painful. But, I am optomistic, and this next year when I am comfortable in my "home" country, I will set out to break this "set in my ways" mindset. But for now, I am not at "home". I don't know the territory. Since my friend wasn't coming, I chose a closer sight, just 45 mintues away in Al Wakra. We never found the house of Sheikh Ghanim nor the Abu Manaratain Mosque. I did find the area and a whole section of it was blocked and under severe repair. So, what do you do when you're out of town and what you planned to see isn't there? This is what I do:

1. Since the kids are bummed, you drive around and say that there is another place you want them to see. You drive and drive until you see something you think they'll like. Even if they say,"I want to go home" just say, "Do you want to get out and walk around or sit in the car for another hour driving home?" They will most likely choose to get out and walk (unless your kids have video game devices or MP3 players, which mine don't.)

2. Once you're out and walking around, let them take pictures of what you're looking at. Atticus got real excited about doing that. He was real proud of his pictures. Try to find something to talk to them about. If you sound like you know something, they will like it. "This fort is made of stones and it's really old," I said to Sherman. He said,"Look it's cracking right there. Maybe it will fall!"

3. Then when you put your baby down finally because you're so tired of carrying his chubby buns because you forgot to bring his shoes, he finds all sorts of interesting things. He picks up garbage which makes the other kids happy because big beetles start crawling out from their hiding places. More pictures.

4. When you get back in the car you take them to get a snack at the closest hole in the wall store. This boosts their spirits and makes them willing to go with you again should you find something else to explore. That's why you don't break out the snacks or drinks at the first sign of disaster. Save your big guns for later to keep them going.

5. We found a mosque, not the one we initially wanted to see, but hey, it was a mosque and there was no one around. So we walked around that one. The kids took more pictures. They wanted to go inside but I explained that we weren't allowed to go in these mosques. "Why?" "Well, because the Qatari's want their mosques to be respected because they value their religion. They are holy places to them." Well, that was the answer I invented. I hope I wasn't too off. When we lived in Turkey, mosques were all open to the public. You would see kids running around inside them with no reverence and no idea where they were and why it was different than being in a mall. My kids included. We did try to explain to them that they were like churches, that they had to be quiet in them so other people could pray and meditate. I must admit that my kids weren't perfect. I was kind of happy that Qatari mosques were off limits to us. That way I wouldn't have to stress out about my kids being loud in them.

Gosh that was a long post! If you move to Qatar, don't be influenced by the opinions of 95% of other expats. Most people hate it here and can't wait to go home. When you come, join the Qatar Natural History Group. They organize some great outings and have some real interesting meetings.

Costa Rica is calling!

I'm feeling full from the two Ukranian dumplings I just ate. The weather is great. It was great last night too. Skies were grey and cloudy, wind blew, even thunder sounded (once), and the palm trees swayed back and forth. Gorgeous! It took me back in time to another place and I told my husband who was pushing the stroller next to me, "I want to go back to Costa Rica so bad!" When I was 19 years old I got it into my head that I was going to go and work in Costa Rica. It was a bit strange because I didn't know anyone there, nor was there anything in particular that I wanted to see there. I had traveled a lot (de mi propia cuenta) before that time and I had the travel bug. I was itching to leave my boring life in the Bay Area of California. It really wasn't that boring, but young people are never satisfied. I mean, people in general are never satisfied. I flew to San Jose, stayed in a hostel, met a girl at church, moved in with her, found a job teaching English to little kids, hated it, quit, and traveled around the country looking for an exotic job at a beach resort or something like that. All the men gave me greedy looks and the managers were slimy so I went back to San Jose and moved back in with my friend, Zuhayla. We had some good times together. She was practical, I was ditzy and naive. A perfect match. I met one of her good friends and fell in love. You know, that kind of young love that you think is real and could be if you really tried to make it work. Well, it didn't work, and I returned to the US resolute to serve an LDS mission. Costa Rica knocked the ditziness right out of me. I wanted something real, substantial, worthwhile, rewarding, and self-sacrificing. But the whole point of my post was to express the draw Costa Rica has on me. I haven't been to any other country south of the US border except Mexico. Not real Mexico mind you. I guess you could call it it's own little place. Tijuana. But anyway, Costa Rica is pulling on me. The life in the streets. The chaos, the interaction, the smells, the moisture, the attitudes, the loudness of the ladies, the spunkiness of the mothers, the bravado of the men, the tastes, the language. So many things. I remember I took a road trip with this friend of mine to Guanacaste, the hottest part of the country up on the Pacific coast. We stayed in Brasilito. It was so hot and the mosquitos were so thick I barely slept. But it didn't matter, I had no kids at the time. Sleep only becomes precious when you are a mother. We walked one day to the next beach over, Playa Conchal. To describe it would seem cliche. All those words they use to describe your dream beach destination. My vocabulary isn't extensive enough to outdo those descriptions. But what I really remember was the contrast between Brasilito and Conchal. Both beaches were great. But in Brasilito there was a community of native Ticos (Costa Ricans) living in shabby houses. The kids ran around shirtless. I wondered if and where they went to school. There weren't that many structures around. There was one little shop where you could buy a few food items but nothing substantial enough to feed a family with unless you were going to feed them gummy candies and soda pop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The sand was light brown, the structures were brown, the people were brown, everything was brown. I liked the feeling there. The freedom. The price of the water. In Conchal everything turned white. The sand and the people. There was a resort that was built about 1000 feet inland, just inside the trees, that was full of slow moving westerners. White people, turned pink from laying out too much. They were all lounging about in their paradisiacal swimming pools. They would bob over to the poolside bar and order their mind numbing cocktails and look around and be relaxed. We tried to buy some water there, but the price was crazy! Of course, I could afford it, but I wasn't willing to waste my money on water when I could buy it in Brasilito for much less. So I walked back and did. That was my very first glimpse of a luxurious lifestyle. I'd never seen such behavior in my life. Even growing up in a well to do area of California, I'd never seen such contrast. Anyway, I remember thinking about how it would be fun to live in Brasilito with my kids someday and have them run around shirtless all day. Of course, it wasn't a sure thing that I would ever get married or have kids at that time. But my life has moved forward and I do indeed have kids and a husband. If we moved to Brasilito they could be free, not worry about traffic, and I wouldn't have to do laundry very much because they could wear the same pair of shorts every day. We could eat fruit all day and every day. I guess the mosquitos would be the problem. And in my free time I could teach the local urchins to read in English and Spanish in exchange for some home made Gallo Pinto, my most favorite food in the whole wide world!

Cuando tenga mi casita, when someday I have my house

cana dulce y buen amor, cana dulce and good love

una vida noble y buena, una vida noble y buena, a noble and good life, a noble and good life

pasare sin un rencor. I will pass without a grudge

The above is a Costa Rican song that my Tican friend taught me. We sang it together back in 2008. You can check it out on YouTube if you want. Just type in Cana Dulce and it will come up.

The 2 year plan

Time keeps moving along. I'm so grateful that my children continue to grow and thrive wherever they may be. The above picture was taken exactly two years ago when we were living in Turkey. It seems that we might be somewhere new every two years of our lives. It's almost impossible for me to acquire a mindset which permits me to think that we will live in one place or in one country forever. But it may happen. Our two years in Qatar are almost up and Jonathan has chosen to not sign on for next year. We will move forward somewhere else. We are returning to the United States for a spell, though not sure of what duration. It seems our family has a three fold mission:

1. Jonathan works.
2. Christine tries to raise the kids.
3. We pursue our dreams wherever we can also do 1 & 2.

I guess it seems like a simple mission but looking at the world today it is a lofty one for many. Work has become a blessing and very few are truly satisfied with the work they do. Raising kids can be done in many ways and the word "raising" is often taken very loosely to mean, providing for. "Raising" requires so much more. As for dreams, we follow them. Even if we can't reach them we are still moving in our efforts as we try.

So off we move in search of our dreams. In two years I'm sure we'll be somewhere else with new dreams, or perhaps the same ones.

Tradition

The tips of my pointer fingers hurt from pushing cloves into oranges all day. I love the smell of cloves and oranges at Christmas time. My neck is killing me for some reason. I can't turn my head to the left. The kids are happy because when the whole family is piled in the car, I can't turn around and scream at them. There's no point in screaming at the windshield. My throat is revving up for the yearly sickness. Thankfully, I've been able to let go of my big plans to finish Sherman's quilt, which has been waiting for over a year to be finished. Each of the kids has a marvelous gift waiting for them. Jonathan and I are so excited to see them open their presents this year. We've been able to get them exactly what they've wanted. Fortunately, what they've wanted has not been in conflict with what we've wanted for them. I'm sure those times will come soon enough. Even Hector will be pleased with his assortment of prisms which I will hang in the kitchen window. Every day around 1 o'clock he'll be chasing those rainbows scittering around on the floor. Shhhh! Don't tell him what he's getting.

We think of our family often this time of year. One of these days we'll be back with them to celebrate the holidays. For now, we are enjoying our time together establishing our own Christmas traditions. Just a few days ago we said goodbye to my mother. She was with us in for over a month helping me out with the kids and getting some new material for her next romance novel "Dunes of Passion". She even found the face for the cover of the novel. Issa Al Kabisi, a popular Qatari singer and boy is he hot!!!! Anyway, she mentioned that one of the things her mother used to do during Christmas time was read The Little Match Girl to her three daughters. I'd never heard the story, and when she told it to me I was shocked! What a horrible story to read young children at Christmas time. But, hey, it was a tradition. So I encouraged Grandma to read it to my kids before she left. I don't think they got it. Another one of our traditions, well . . . actually we started it this year, is doing puzzles. Here's Jonathan with the train puzzle we finished. He wanted me to take a picture of him with it before we put it away. He thought we should have at least left it out for 24 hours, but I disagree. As you can see in the photo, there's a lot going on at that table. Lego's and paper crafts. Add to that a space hogging puzzle and that's way too much. It had to go.

Here's us atop the Burj Khalifa. Hector and the Burj are officially the same age, did you know? They were both presented to the world on January 4, 2010. If I had to choose between the two, I'd obviously choose Hector. He's a lot cuter. However, I think this competition deserves a post of its own. Either way, it was impressive to be on the tallest observation deck in the world.

Merry Christmas from the Tumbleweeds!

Thailand

Who: Jonathan and Christine

When: November 11-18th

Where: Thailand

Why: Because we need a break from the Tumbleweeds

How: Divine providence

A few months ago I won two return tickets to anywhere that Qatar Airways flies. When my family and I found out, we looked exactly like Drew Barrymore jumping up and down in the library with her friend saying"I'm the most popular girl in school and Billy Prince is asking me to the prom!"

After procrastinating the booking of the tickets, we finally went in and told them we wanted to go to Thailand. There were obstacles to that decision which had to do with dates and the type of ticket we had won. We almost went to London, Kuala Lumpur, the Maldives, and Istanbul. But in the end we stuck with my desire to go to Thailand. Even though we had to fly stand by on the worst possible night in Doha International Airport, we still managed to get on that plane. Gosh! That plane ride was fantastic! I watched movies like a giddy school girl. And some of the movies were really lame too. After flying with a load of kids for so long, a nice 7 hour flight was no problem! A breeze! A delight! A luxury! A pleasure!

On our taxi ride from the airport we quickly quizzed the driver on what kinds of wildlife we could find there. Tigers? Snakes? Sharks? Crocodiles? I didn't understand much. He did manage to tell us that we could go see James Bond Island if we wanted to. Cool, but not my kind of cool.

Sorry, I'm not going to give you detailed info on my trip because I can assure you, I am not the same kind of traveller as you are. And I'm not trying to sound superior. I admit, I'm a bit hermitesque and more interested in animals and books than people, food, and sights. Here is what we did in Thailand in no particular order:

1. Read, read, and read. Our hotel room had a "nook" in it. I am absolutely enamored with the idea of a "nook" in my future home someday. Some women dream of what kind of furniture they will have, what molding they will choose, what art they will hang and where, or how many rooms they will have. Well, I will have my "nook"! A "nook" and a front porch. A "nook" is exclusively used for reading. Reading only. Not the reading of silly magazines and such, but the reading of books. Paper books. Not those electronic screens that are a blasphemy to my tactile sense. (Forgive me friends) We read in the nook with a silent candle burning. What pleasure! Even when we were out on a tour we had our noses in our books. I'm sure people thought we were the biggest nerds ever.

2. Mangoes. I love mangoes. The first time I ever tasted a mango was when I was 21 and a friend of mine made some mango salsa. That didn't do it for me. I think my sister in law got me into eating mangoes. She loves to read Sunset magazine and Better Homes and Gardens and make the recipes that you find in them. They almost always include a fruit or vegetable that could not be found in your backyard. Or even in your country. So, thanks to her, I love mangoes. Especially Thai mangoes. I ate about two every night. I peeled off the skin, then I cut off the fruit from the pit (if you would call it that). Then I would clean off the pit, getting all the flesh possible while scraping it with my teeth and the juice would flow down my forearm onto the napkin leaving me sticky. But that fruit was oh so good! So sweet. Never any bruises. Never green. Always perfect. I'll miss that.

3. We enjoyed the animals. Jellyfish, crabs, sandcrabs, crocodiles, tigers, monkeys, mudskippers, and dragonflies. I know you can find dragonflies everywhere, but I've recently become quite intrigued with them. Sadly, you will find no snakes on my list. We saw some massive red jellyfish on our island tour. We also got our fill of Sieamese crocodiles at the crocodile farm in Phuket. You always hear about crocodiles being endangered. Well, the wild siamese crocodile is endangered. There are a few hundred of them left out there in the jungles. Then you go to a farm where there are hundreds and hundreds of these crocodiles. There were about 5 or 6 of them that were tremendous. The rest of them were in huge pens ( if you would call them that) according to thier size. Right down to the 1 to 2 year old crocs. We tried to find babies but they must keep them somewhere else. It was really fun to observe these practical animals. So frugal with their energy, so deliberate in their movements, so patient for their meals. They must be really smart or have done something pretty special to have outlived the dinosaurs. I'm glad we have them around to be in awe of.

Here's a mudskipper. What a funny creature! It's like he's caught between two worlds. So wanting to hop and jump like a frog, but swimming with those huge bulbous eyes and lacking that steamlined figure.

Here is my precious dragonfly picture. Did you know that all dragonflies are carnivores and how they catch their prey is by catching tiny flies on their wings while in flight or while perched on a stick in the wind? I still haven't figured out how they get the prey from their wings to their mouths though.
Is there only one?

We thought about our next getaway. When will it be? Maybe in 5 years, maybe 10? Maybe when all our kids are old enough for us to leave them? Who knows? I sure am grateful for my Mom who came and stayed with the kids while we were away. She really is a trooper. I hope I can keep myself in good enough health so I can do the same for my kids someday. Hooray for Grandmas!

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.

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!

For Cameron

I'm so excited to tell my big brother that yesterday Hillary Clinton visited Doha. She did a question and answer meeting in Education City where Jonathan works. I wish he could have been here with us. Though we're not huge fans of our secretary of state, we know he is, we thought this visit to little old Doha was pretty cool. Who knows? Maybe she'll be our president someday and Jonathan can say he saw her in person.

Another big reason why yesterday is memorable is that my muffin/jubba lubba made it to the six week mark. He weighs 13 pounds and doesn't like to fall asleep until at least 11 pm at night. He also loves to bathe with his big brothers. The first time I bathed him in the big bath tub I had Atticus help me. Then Sherman got a turn. Unfortunately, Hector decided to poop while Sherman was holding him. Sherman freaked out and started screaming. It was so funny. Hector just looked around and was calm as can be and Sherman was standing up with a look of horror on his face. Here's a picture of the second bath, after the poo.
For all you families that are graduating from a five seater car to a seven seater to accomodate your growing family, I have a nugget of knowledge for you. Just because there is more space does not mean that the contention will stop. Atticus still opts to sit right next to Sherman in the back row of seats instead of having his own window seat. You can see why in the photo above. On Valentine's Day we decided to give our kids a small token of our love. Candy. Candy in the form of gummy hearts. The really cute kind with text messages on them. Atticus decided to stick about 15 of them in his mouth at once and then spit them back out into his hand just to see how pretty they looked all shiny and glistening in the afternoon sun. When I saw this I yelled, "Put those back in your mouth!" and he got about 5 minutes of lecture from Dad and I about not taking food out of his mouth ever! While we weren't looking, which is most of the time, he proceeds to style Shermans hair with his sticky hands. I looked back when I heard the Sherm giggles. That's the tell tale sign for our family that something naughty is going on. The Sherm giggle. I looked and was immediately reminded of my days as a child growing up in the 80's. This picture doesn't do Sherman's hair justice. You can't feel the crispiness of the hair from the photo. Also, this photo was taken after Atticus de- furred his sticky hands. At least they looked like they were covered with fur. Nice long yellow fur. Yuck! Thank goodness for baby wipes!!!

Tomorrow, Atticus and Sherman and I are taking a trip somewhere. Can you guess where?

Let the love begin, again!

Ever since we left Turkey the kids haven't had their usual cheek pinches or gifts of candy, but today they began again. We got the best tour guide, Lauren Bohman, to show us around Doha. You can check out her blog here. First, she took us to this great Lebanese bakery for pastries. Yum! There was ground up pistachio sprinkled everywhere. They indulged our children with cookies and sesame sticks. Then we went to a very useful bookstore. We purchased paper, paint, notebooks, and a Moroccan cuisine cookbook. Then we drove down to the Souks, or however you spell it. It means bazaar. This is where we met the chef of a restaurant. We were gathering around the front of his door, which was closed, taking pictures of this decorative light piece.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

He opened his door and invited us in but we declined. But then he enticed the kids to go down the dark tunnel into his restaurant. It was like a gust of cool wind as we walked down the dim tunnel to the eating area. Glimmering lights shimmered like jewels on the ceiling of the tunnel. It was an Iranian food restaurant that looked really fun to dine at. Even with kids. The only thing we would have changed would have been the dishes. We decided that if we ever came there, we would bring our plastic dishes. They just had several little nooks with pillows all over them. Perfect for our kids. No chairs to get out of or fall off of.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

When we left he showered our kids with hugs and kisses. He told us he had a small son back in Iran that was Shermy's size. It must be hard for these men to live so far away from their families. So they are allowed to snuggle with my kids whenever they want to.

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

From the adventures of bunsy and her tumbleweeds

Here we are in front of the Persian Gulf. It was hotter than the blazes out there today. That's why we couldn't get a picture of Atticus without his hand over his face. I keep saying I'm going to pull out the sunglasses for the kids but I always forget.