January 2016 (the first half)

So it's a funny thing I just (ha!) learned about blogging: writing posts full of pictures is a lot faster than writing posts full of words alone. Duh!  It still seems like a bit of a cop-out strategy to me BUT it seems to be helping me get back on the blogging wagon, so I'm not going to complain.

Early this month, we snuck away by ourselves AGAIN (we have had more dates
in 2016 already than in all of 2015) to go see Star Wars.  I liked it a lot, so much
more than any of the Amidala/Sith Lord installments, Ewan MacGregor notwithstanding.  

Then we attended the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with the boys, which was lots of fun.
Again, none of us had been to a professional tennis match, but we all enjoyed
ourselves and loved the ridiculous, over-the-top swag.

The boys were pretty enthusiastic cheerers so we had to discuss proper tennis
watching etiquette with them, but once they got the hang of it, they did fine.

And E lost yet another tooth.  And then J lost his fifth a few days later and
he's so over it we don't even have a picture of that one!

Before break was over, we went to our favorite park to enjoy the fabulous
winter weather here and make the most of our dwindling vacation.

And once school started, we attended a free science event, which ended
up being the usual bounce castles, face painting, and coloring stations with the
added bonus of a "mad science" demonstration involving lots of dry ice and bubbles
the boys could hold in their hands.  J's picture even made it into the
Qatar Foundation monthly glossy newsletter, which was very exciting.

Also earlier this month, the husband went on a department retreat and
somehow managed to find a mortar and pestle, because of course he did!

And he and E wore matching bow-ties to church on Friday recently
and felt the need to chronicle their awesomeness!

December 2015 (Part 2--Christmas and beyond)

Our Christmas morning was great.  We got up early, as per usual with my well-trained children (it seems you can't shake waking up at 5:30am on weekdays just because it happens to be a holiday or the weekend, unfortunately!), and went down to open presents.  The boys were very happy with what they got from Santa, so happy they could hardly stand still for photos, hence much blurriness!

Yes!  A hedgehog!  (It's what he wanted!) 

And who needs an orange in your stocking when Santa will bring
you a pineapple and a coconut if you ask for them!

Both boys helped pass out presents (it's simpler that way).

The requisite small boy Legos, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa!

A game from Grandeur and Grandest!

Dr. Seuss wins every time!

After all the presents were done, we went to church for a shortened service.  Our neighbors had their German relatives in town and they really wanted to go to a church on Christmas Day, so we took them with us, even though one of them spoke no English at all and we had only met them the day before!  La la la, that's just how we roll around here!  After Sacrament, we headed to the Grand Hyatt for brunch, our one big splurge for Christmas, and it was all kinds of fun, even though it was pouring down rain in Doha, very unusually, causing the hotels to have to make all sorts of arrangements for the inclement weather at the last minute.  We were outside, under shade tents and then under an enormous circus tent that worked well for awhile, until it got soaked and started leaking!  But it was all part of the fun for the day!

E working on his first plate of food, lobster and sushi!

Chocolate fountains are my favorite! 

Yummy!

There were crackers with crowns, antler head bands, and santa hats.
It was a party! 

Our only hiccup occurred near the end.  E had been gone to the bounce castle
(there is always a bounce castle here) for a long time and I was just
about to go looking for him when he came walking back, completely
SOAKED to the skin!  I said "What happened to you?!" and he replied
"I was on the water slide, Mommy."  What?  There is no water slide!! Apparently, the tents
had not covered the bounce house and it was basically a swimming pool, into
which my child jumped in his Sunday best. Here he is bundled into my friends sweater
tied with a napkin around his waist and a beach towel provided by the hotel
on his legs.  They did take his clothes to be dried, which was thoughtful of them,
because otherwise I would have had to steal their towel.  He was embarrassed at first,
but then he decided he looked like a ninja and he recovered! 

After Christmas, the boys did some baking using the husband's
new food scale and app!

Modeling their Christmas aprons made by Grandeur.

It rained quite a lot in December, enough to break out the rain boots
and rain jackets while riding on new scooters.

After Christmas we also got to see one of E's friends who had moved away during
the summer, who came back for a fun visit.

We ended the year by going to a PSG-Inter-Milano friendly soccer match, the boys
and our first time seeing profession "football" play.  It was a fun night, though
we had to leave midway through the second period when the boys began to
fade.  But we were there for the only goal!

It was a little cold for my summer boys.

And we got a little sleepy....

Finally, we celebrated New Year's Eve all by ourselves (sans kids) with a party at our friends'
house, by their pool, catered by the Kempinski.  There were hats!

And masks!  We had a fabulous adult-only time, our first time away from the boys in ages.
The food was to die for and I hope we do it again next year!

As you can see from this post and the last, we really made the most of December.  But 2015 is dead; long live 2016, where new adventures are already happening!

December 2015 (Part 1--through Christmas Eve)

December was a full month for us.  Every December, I do an activity advent with the kids.  Some activities work better than others and some are more memorable than others, and we do have lots of fun, though some days I wonder why I insist on doing it!  So, here are a few photos from our super December, complete with explanatory captions!  Yay!  (Blogging lite, 101)

We started by setting up nativity sets.  They boys still love this
Fisher Price set from their grandmother and spend hours all month
long arranging and rearranging the scene.

Then we put up the antique set collected over the years through 
judicious Ebay purchases and supplemented with all the animals 
who may or may not have been at the Savior's birth (like ducks, 
chimpanzees, and meerkats.  It's a family thing!)

Next we went ice skating at our neighbors' annual party
(a transplanted tradition from St. Louis where they came from).

The boys actually ended up being pretty good skaters once they
got the hang of it (and practiced a bit with these helpful seals),
 and they certainly loved every minute of it!

Our awesome neighbor--we love her!

We also went to a Christmas concert at a local school.  For security reasons,
we had to come super early and stand in line, so the iPads were assisting us.
And no, there were no pictures of the actual concert--did I
 mention how long the line was?

Next up was International Day at the boys' school, our next big PTA
event that was a HUGE success!  Here they are at the Canada table, sporting
their American finery (our finery really pales in comparison to the
finery from Pakistan, Palestine, Jordan, and India,
some of the other countries represented).

Eli blew out one of his teeth that day, attempting to blowing
up a balloon, an unexpected surprise!

One day we did crafts, stacked paper Christmas trees.  They boys
 loved them but wouldn't stand still enough to get in focus!

Another day, gingerbread cookies from scratch!

The husband was away the first part of the month at a conference,
but he returned from New Orleans with masks that had to be modeled!

Another night, we went to a Christmas tree lighting at the Grand Hyatt,
where the lights were festive, the gingerbread house with moving train was impressive,
 and the boys held it together even when things went past their bedtime!

Somewhere in there, the boys and the husband went to Qatar's National
day celebration pavilion, where lots of local government entities
showcased themselves.  Why J is dressed as a dragon, I have no idea....

They loved all the interactive games and displays!

Next up: the church Christmas party at the singing sand dunes.
Here is J climbing up to the top...

And E sliding down on a sand board!

The theme was Back to Bethlehem and here is J, modeling his Bethlehem best.
He made the vest in sewing class at school all by himself!

The husband wore his thobe to fit in with the locals. 

Another day, I went to school with E to help him with a school project.
He had to draw his dream house and then we had to replicate his "plan."
Fortunately, I encouraged him to draw a castle (I had made one of these
before, so I knew we could do it with the materials on hand).  

Of course, he did continue to draw while we were working, which was less helpful!

One night, we had a sleepover under the tree.  The lighting was very bad,
hence the less than beautiful photos!  The boys tried to spend the whole
night down there but only made it about 30 minutes before
decamping to their bedrooms, where it was cooler! 

Next up were the National Day celebrations at school.  J was told to wear
 his own thobe, and here he is posing with a Falcon.

Can you feel the LOVE?!

The requisite bouncy castle with the boys climbing up.

Eli's National Day finery was less authentic but more practical!

That same night, we checked into a hotel downtown at the souq for our
own National Day festivities.  We decided to spend two nights at a hotel
so we could get up early to see the parade and stay up late to watch the
fireworks.  It was a bucket list excursion. and we all had lots of fun! 

Here the boys are posing with a sculpture of hands holding up the Qatar flag.
While posing, they were given backpacks full of swag just for being cute!

Waiting for the parade to start....

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and dressed in national colors!

The husband posing with a friendly security guard!

After the parade, by the ocean on the Corniche with the Doha
skyline in the background.

Lots and lots of fun with our friends at the souq after the parade!

getting read for fireworks!

It was a little chilly and well past bedtime! 

The next morning at the hotel, while we cleaned up and
got ready for our departure brunch.

Our next advent activity was to make sandmen (instead of snowmen, of course!). 

And then, on Christmas Eve, we had lunch by the pool with some friends... 

...and then attended a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner with some more friends
(apparently, it's a Sicilian-American tradition, and yes, there were at least
seven fishes, if not more and the boys were in heaven: friends to play with and
fish, what more could you ask for?).

That night, we put on our new Christmas jammies, read the Christmas
story, and got ready for the big day!  (Some of us were more thrilled with
our pajamas and hats than others!)

We made it!  Christmas activity advent DONE!  Huzzah and hooray!  Next up, the rest of December, wherein we managed to squeeze still more fun....We cannot be stopped!