Oxy Halloween Party

I worked with my friend, Donna, to put on a Halloween party for the Oxy families this year. Donna is a mega-planner so I let her lead and it turned into a pretty complicated party with all kinds of games and activity stations needing volunteers for every 30 minutes. Luckily a lot of people were willing to help. We had a chili and cornbread dinner along with a beautifully decorated Halloween cake.

Our boys had lots of fun as I think all the kids did. But next year we'll simplify... by the time we got everything going and tended to our own families a bit, everyone seemed to forget about their volunteering and the games didn't all run as planned but it was still a success.

When you first walked in was the "Guess how many spiders" game.

I think it was the favorite.

Leslie, me and Donna

We have a H'ween grinch in our family...

Our scary little ghost and cute little pumpkin ready to play!

We held the party in the clubhouse of a compound with all Oxy people so we were able to go trick-or-treating... yea!

The first house

Charlie was really into the candy. It was his first year going.

Last year he was already sleeping by the time we went out.

It was quite a warm night and we were all sweating by the time we finished trick-or-treating.

Birthday Time

For some reason, turning 31 was harder this year than turning 30 was last year. Perhaps because turning 30 was a celebration and didn't seem like very far out of my twenties but turning 31 means I am officially in my thirties... and I am seeing signs of age now. Ugh, that really can't be true! But, despite these feelings, I had a really great birthday.

We have a group of couples we know through Dave's work who we go to dinner with once or twice a month and they planned a surprise dinner for me on Thursday night, which was lovely. Its always fun to hang out with Donna, Karen, Zeila and their husbands.

Karen and I with the delicious birthday cheesecake she made

Friday, on my actual birthday, Carol stopped by with a treat and a gift and we had a nice day at church and home as a family.

Trying to capture a family picture after church

Then on Saturday, the Boyetts invited us to dinner and it was a little surprise birthday dinner. We had such a nice time visiting with them. All of my friends here in Bahrain made me feel so loved! I am so grateful to have great friends.

And my family and friends from "home" (all the different homes I've had in the past 10 years) also made me feel loved with all of their calls and messages and some gorgeous flowers sent by my friend, Mendy.

Back to Real Life

The rest of September and October went by rather quickly. It took quite a while to feel back into a routine and adjust to Davey being gone so much. Charlie and I spent a lot of quiet mornings at home. I kept busy with my calling in the Young Women and helping to plan a Halloween party for the Oxy families.

A few other things that filled our time...

Long before we left, we got a letter stating that our home's one-year warranty work needed to be done and we were to make a list of anything that needed repair. It wasn't until we returned from our trip, several months later, that they began the work. I was quite upset that this work hadn't been scheduled for while we were gone. The people involved in scheduling this were well aware that we were going to be gone and there is no reason it shouldn't have taken place when we were. This is what the house looked like for days...

They chipped out and re-filled cracks in the wall that we had never seen and brought up an unbelievable amount of tiles which apparently sounded hollow (not properly filled underneath) and the work went on day after day, coating everything with dust and preventing naps and just general living. Not to mention filling the house with stench. And, some of the tiles - even ones that they "fixed" - still sound hollow. But I'll never tell a soul. Or at least one who might do something about it.

On a more fun note, while the kids and I were in the States, Dave wandered around Muharraq Island and found the Sheikh Isa House we'd been looking for... The Sheikh Isa House was built around 1800 and was originally the residence of Isa Bin Ali al Khalifa before he turned it into the building from which he later ruled the country.

Inside a main courtyard

One of the wind tunnels - the original form of air conditioning. You could really feel it working even on the calm day we were there. Not that it compares to current A/C.

Looking up the wind tunnel

Beautifully carved doors

And beautifully carved walls

Cute pic of my guys

Pretty stained glass

One of the local malls created an indoor ice skating rink and offered its use for free, along with the skates and helmets for kids. The day we went it was deserted and all the equipment seemed brand new. What a deal!

Davey LOVED it, though he definitely needed support all along the way

View of the rink. Not really large but perfect for us.

We also went through another transition period with our maid since when we got back home I couldn't find my diamond necklace that Dave gave me when Davey was born. I am quite sure the maid (or her "husband" rather) stole it. Needless to say we let her go. I'm trying to forget about the whole ordeal so I'm not going to include all the crazy details of what happened.

First Day of School

Thanks to a sleepy reaction to Benadryl, Davey adjusts well to the 8 hour time change between the East Coast of the US and Bahrain. So he was all adjusted and ready for his first day of school (pre-kindergarten) on September 15th.

I had had a really hard time choosing a school for him to go to, mostly having a hard time just with sending him to school for such a long day (8:00-1:45) every week day. When was I going to have time to spend with my darling Davey? After each school tour, I left emotional and teary. Before that experience, I never thought I'd be emotional for my children's first day of school. And - I was right. I guess by the time school finally started I was resigned to the idea and my usual non-emotional self was in control

Dave was very excited for his first day. Both Dave and I accompanied him and his teacher had advised us that we should stay in the room with him until he was comfortable. Well, the second we all stepped in the door, Davey was shooing us out of the room. He was ready to be independent and has never looked back. He absolutely loves school.

Davey in his uniform in front of the school.

Davey and his teachers. There are 11 children in his class.

Davey's school picture

I will always think Davey is so adorable and handsome but I think this picture is terrible. Seriously, could someone not have combed his hair and straightened his shirt? He had just had a nice hair cut (I made sure it wasn't too short) and it was nicely combed when he left the house. So much for "professional" services.

Anyway, Davey still loves school (4 months later as I write this) though he does get tired by the end of the week. He gets up at 6:30 in order to leave the house with Dave at 7:30. I am so glad the school is less than 5 minutes from Dave's work and that he's not an early-to-work guy so he can take him since the school is 20 minutes away. I just pick him up in the afternoon.

Davey's teacher is a lovely lady with lots of teaching experience and gushes about Davey every time I see her. He gets along well with everyone and will never pick a favorite friend. They are all his friends. I miss him during the week but he is always so excited to go that I don't regret putting him in.

One More Summer Post

Now that I'm feeling motivated to get caught up on blogging again, I found some hidden summer pictures and I can't resist posting them. I end up taking so many pictures when we're at the cottage I guess because there aren't many distractions. Just focusing on the here and now :)

Davey really got into playing croquet and is pretty decent at it for a four year old. We now have a set in Bahrain and it gets pretty regular use.

Touring the recently de-comissioned Ice Breaker Mackinac was really impressive!

We took a lake tour of Harbor Springs on a beautiful old wooden boat, the Pointer. The boys loved playing with Hot Wheels cars around this table. Luckily the captain didn't mind.

A lighthouse on the lake

It was a gorgeous day and wonderful ride until Davey lost his favorite car in the depths of the lake. He cried for hours.

Carrie and Katie are so fun and always trying to make the kids laugh.

The boys had no trouble joining in the silly fun.

Pretty view from the cottage window

A family picture after lunch with GiGi Featherly at the Midland Country Club

And that's all folks! (Until I find that download cord... :)

Summer Wrap-Up

I've finally come to terms with the fact that if I wait to blog until I find the download cord for the camera with the rest of our pictures on it, I will never finish and move on. So I will wrap up our Summer 2010 adventure with what I have...

Most of the rest of our time in the States was spent at the cottage. We had a lot of fun exploring further the area around Cheboygan and the "Tip of the Mitt."

A great view of the bridge from downtown Mackinaw City

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse built in 1892

Fiery sunset over Mullett Lake

An old fishery train car used to stock the lakes and rivers with fish. We tried to tour the fish hatchery a couple times but their hours were too limited for us to catch them open. But the boys still loved the train car as you can imagine.

Charlie and Dave enjoying a lunch in Mitchell Street Pub, Dave's favorite place to eat in Petoskey. They do serve a mean grilled cheese.

Look at this face!

Charlie started making this face all the time this summer while he was playing. It made me laugh so hard and if you tried to do it back to him he had no idea what you were doing (i.e. no idea he was doing it himself). He kept it up for several months but has mostly grown out of it now.

Labor Day weekend was our last weekend in MI and Up North and Dave's sisters and brother-in-law joined us for the weekend (Dave's parents were of course up there the whole time). And Labor Day came in in true Michigan style with a cold, wet, windy storm ushering in the fall weather.

We also had a nice visit from Dave's aunt Sue and cousin Brian and his family.

Kissing cousins! Charlie and Abby got along pretty well.

So did Davey and Emma, showing off their skills. These two were born just a few days apart.

Our two families mirroring each other. And now both Sue and I are pregnant again at the same time with number three!

We returned to Detroit two days before our return flight to Bahrain and spent lots of time doing our final stock-up shopping and seeing my family. We were also able to see Mark & Amy one more time.

As much as we were sad to leave our family and friends, I was also ready to get back into some routine. I was very aware of Davey's school starting on Sept 15th and we were only leaving on the 9th. It was a wonderful summer and we certainly look forward to next year... it won't come soon enough!!

The Best Alarm

I woke up this morning hearing Charlie on the monitor: "I like Mommy. I like Mommy. I like Mommy..." He melts my heart.

A Day Out With Thomas

I thought Davey was a boy who was crazy about Thomas the Train, until Charlie was introduced to Thomas. Charlie is really, really crazy about Thomas and his friends. He rarely talks or seems to think about anything else, even in his sleep (as I learned sleeping in the room with him on our recent vacation).

When I checked the Thomas website for dates and locations of the Day Out With Tomas I was very excited that we would be able to take the boys while we were in Michigan. I knew they would love it and I was right.

On a Saturday while we were up at the cottage, we headed down to the Huckleberry Railroad in Flint to see Thomas. My parents met us there and spent the day with us as well.

There were so many fun activities for the kids - a hay-maze to wind through, Thomas bounce houses, video viewing and story time, and of course train tables and trains to play with...

Charlie was in his element

Luckily we had some of our own trains along as there were not enough to go around for all of the train-loving kids.

Charlie couldn't miss playing with any of the tracks even though he could barely reach this table

Anticipating the ride on Thomas!

Both kids were mesmerized watching Thomas pulling us...

A good view of the beloved engine.

Davey and I enjoying the ride

Sir Topham Hatt made a special appearance...

Davey was excited to greet him though Charlie was a little less sure

Us and the big man

Posing with the engine

For sale were these huge, way overpriced, Thomas-shaped helium balloons that my mother really wanted to buy for the boys. I thought it was a waste of money and thought it would be better spent on a train they could play with for a long time. But I kept my mouth shut and saw that Grandma knew best... the boys loved the balloons and wouldn't let us throw them away when we left the U.S. We had to carefully deflate them bring them back to Bahrain with us! They still insist on us blowing them up every once in a while so they can play with them. I never would have guessed :)

It was a really fun day for all of us and it was nice to get to sneak in another day with my parents. And Thomas, we'll probably see you again next year!