Equestrian Expo

At the beginning of September we went the the Equestrian and Hunting Expo. It was the first time we had seen so many Emiraties in one place! We found all kinds of interesting booths, and Ken got to practice some of his Arabic with the guys at the booths.

This is the car they decided we should buy.

And what little (or big) boy doesn't love the knives and guns booth?!

Falcons are prized here in Abu Dhabi, and at the expo they seemed to be everywhere. We asked someone what prices they range from, and he told us they start in the thousands. Wow. I don't think Tyler entirely believed us that they weren't going to rip a piece off of his shoulder, but he really wanted a picture with them!

World's largest dagger, according to the plaque!

I wasn't nervous about the beak - they couldn't see us because of their eye coverings, but I didn't want to get pooped on...

They performed some traditional music and dances, which was really fun to see. It involved a lot of shouting, which scared Owen to death. We had to leave rather quickly.

There were also plenty of salukis to see and pet. They use them for hunting in the desert as well. Hailey kept running back and giving them "one last hug."

Good thing they're patient dogs!

Making extra sure no one looses a finger...

 Will was pretty fascinated watching this boy feed his falcon.

We were also able to see some flying demonstrations and horseback riding. It was very impressive.

We had to leave before the camels could come out, but the security guard let us go in the back and sneak a peek. Hailey is bound and determined to ride a horse and a camel here, and we keep telling her she will have plenty of chances!

Munchkin Moment (Hailey)

Perhaps this conversation I had with Hailey last week will illustrate what our little girl is like: when asked what she wanted to be for Halloween, she promptly replied "a Star Wars guy." Well, I told her it was a boy costume, and too big for her. She then told me, "then I want to be a boy for Halloween."  "How about a princess?" I countered. "But Mom, I already a princess!" "Yes, but ... hmm...you win. Let's talk about this another day..." 

Hailey is confident, sweet, happy, and wants to do everything her brothers do. She likes to sing little made up songs and dance around, and plays everyday with a dollhouse someone is letting us borrow. Of course she plays that dinosaurs are eating them and that bad guys are attacking, but then she makes the little ponies save them.

Right after we got here, we went for a walk along the ocean across from our house. It was ridiculously hot, so the lens was all foggy, but it was fun to see how much Hailey enjoyed skipping around, even with sweat rolling off her face:)

She's happy playing on her own, making up little games with their 'guys' 

She and Will have developed an especially close relationship this year, since they play together just the two of them so much while Tyler is gone all day.   

Tyler caught this picture on his little camera. This little sis can have quite a stubborn streak one moment, then melt your heart the next!

Driving Disasters

I'll admit, my sense of direction has never been the best. Getting from point A to point B when I was unfamiliar with where I was going caused me all kinds of stress in VA, and here it has been taken to a whole new level. They don't really even drive THAT bad here, just super fast. But the lack of addresses, as well as interesting sign placements (why oh WHY would you label the exit just AFTER the exit?!) make driving a daily adventure. Two lanes doesn't really mean two, it means however many cars you can fit...

This week I ventured out twice to new locations, armed with a bunch of handwritten directions, a moody GPS, and no sense whatsoever of which direction 'north' was. Result: I got horribly lost. Both times. With 3 kids. Two hours of touring the island, without the slightest idea of where I was. Sadly, my GPS didn't know either. Just us and some goats. With a lot of help from people on the phone, we eventually made it!

Yesterday I got in the car. As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, Hailey asked, "Are we lost now mom?" I assured her we were fine, "We aren't even out of the compound yet." "Oh." 30 seconds later, as we pull out of the compound, "Mom, NOW are we lost?" I guess I can't blame her for her lack of faith:)

Munchkin Moment (Owen)

I have just about one million pictures of my kids taken over the past three months, just begging to be posted. I realize this may be a kid overload for some of you, so you may need to skip some of my next posts:) I'll start with my baby though, since he is growing too fast! Owen is 8 months old now. He has recently started attempting to pull himself up onto things (yikes!) and can army crawl with the best of them. He is a cheerful little (as in "little compared to everyone else in our family" - he dwarfs some 2 year olds:) guy and doesn't mind who is holding him, as long as someone is.

I used to wonder what it would be like to be a celebrity. For however long we are here, Owen will not have to wonder what that is like. He attracts attention EVERYWHERE we go, and people are always pinching his cheeks, or asking to hold him or take pictures. I kid you not - at the zoo last week, the Arab ladies next to me were taking pictures of him, instead of the animals! He endures it well, for the most part. And we know that if we take him out to dinner with us, we get free babysitting from all the servers, as they take him all over the restaurant while we eat!

Will takes his responsibility as an older brother very seriously- Tyler trained him well! 

 He constantly plays with and entertains Owen for me when I need him to.

6 months old

Being technologically challenged is sometimes ... a challenge:) These pictures are right on my computer, but when I put them on the blog, they show up sideways. Whatever. Turn your head to the side and see these two little mischief makers together:)

They make each other happy!

This is especially for my friend Lyndsay to see. She MADE Owen these adorable little bow ties, which I unsuccessfully try to get him to wear for church every week. They last about 1 minute on before he removes them, but I think they are adorable on him.

I can only change his diaper if I catch him and pin him down. He thinks it is great fun.

His sleeper says "I love dad." And he does. Owen is there to greet him with all of the other kids when Ken gets home from work.

7 months

I asked Will to give Owen a bottle last Friday after church. (Sidenote: the weekend here is Friday and Saturday, and the work/school week starts Sunday. Friday is the Muslim Sabbath, so that is the day we have church here. I always call it Sunday, and the kids love correcting me...) It was the first time I've had him try, and he decided Owen was ready to feed himself. Which surprisingly enough, he did!

Hailey loves helping Owen eat. You can tell I've hammered it into her head about how and what Owen can eat, because she is constantly telling us "Just one dad! Owen can't eat THAT." Right after this picture, I saw her sneak one, and then give Owen the next one. What a good sister:)

Doll bottles don't work as well as real bottles...

And he doesn't seem to mind that nothing is coming out!

And, true to his Reading heritage Owen is discovering a love of reading. Or at least, that is what I think it means when he methodically pulls every book off the bottom shelves...

Look at those adorable cheeks!

Life is good when you have a big sister to tell you what to do (right Derry?!)

My cheerful baby sure makes me happy!