House Guests

The school hosted an international choir festival in February and needed families to help host the 100's of students that were visiting from other countries.  Of course, I volunteered, although no one seemed to be that excited about it, except me.  In fact, Chloe was in tears.  THAT was not a reaction I was expecting!  I thought the kids would like to have a few girls staying with us for a few days, teenagers!  Chloe did not like the idea of strangers staying in her house, even if they were (cool) teenagers.  Note to self, check with ALL family members before committing to a similar event.

Well, after the initial reaction had passed, the girls became much more interested in the coming guests.  They helped me prepare the bedrooms, make the extra blow-up mattress bed, wrote welcome notes, and helped put together a little gift.  In the end, the festival schedule was so busy, the kids only saw the girls at breakfast time.  And, Liam was the star of the weekend.  They thought he was sooo cute!  All in all, it was a good experience and everyone had a good time. 

After picking the girls up, I found out one of them was with the US Embassy in another country.  Ah, I said, so you'll recognize the furniture - you'll be right at home!  And, yes, it was the same furniture here as she had in her house.  I thought that was amusing!

Julia would only get in if she could hold her brother.

Another Field Trip

Julia's favorite exhibit

 I went on another field trip, this time with Julia's Kindergarten class.  They went to a hands-on science museum that explored the many different forms of energy that people use.  I was the guide for 5 little girls!  That was fun and everyone cooperated and took turns, for the most part.  Julia was delighted that her mommy was there, which made it a special day!

After the museum, the kids ate their lunches at a local park and had some time to play on this gigantic jungle gym!  This is definitely a seasonal structure as the slides are all metal.  Yikes!  You could probably fry an egg on the slide during the summer!

The Royal Cavalry

In February, the whole school participated in "Discover Oman".  Every grade level went on multiple field trips learning about the history, culture, geology, and natural history of Oman.  It is a wonderful program and the kids learn a lot.  But, with all those field trips, they need.... volunteers!  So, for the first time, I left Liam for more than a few hours and became a chaperone.

Chloe's class went to the Royal Cavalry, a HUGE stable and horse facility for all of the Sultan's horses.  Actually, there are multiple stables, housing, arenas, training facilities.  Everything.  The students got a tour of some of the stables, pet the horses and ponies, buggy rides, and even a pony ride, which was Chloe's first time on a horse!

It was a fun day and both Liam and I survived just fine. 

The Royal Carriage ride

Royal Pony Ride

Chloe and friend -- waiting for the class

Tender Moments

In February, Liam had started to snuggle with his little buddy, a stuffed monkey.  I think it's on my top ten cutest things list! One of my favorites from the month:

Don't need no pacifiers (see corner), just my stuffy!!

And another tender moment.... Julia has more passion in her little pinky then the rest of us combined.  I love the way she adores her baby brother.  She looks at him with such love and tenderness and he adores her back.  It's a sweet relationship from the start!

And, finally, here's the happy guy after he mastered the roll over!  Watch out world!

Baby's First Dip in the Ocean

Finally some "Daddy Time"!  Off to the beach again.  It had recently rained... yes, RAINED in February.  The storm had formed an extra sand bar close to shore on this section of the beach, creating a little lagoon with ankle deep water:

While Liam slept, the girls ran around and played in the sand:

Chloe was not sure she wanted to go back, because she felt something crawling on her when they were covering themselves in sand. We did see a lot of little crabs running around that day.

Once he woke up, it was off to the water. Liam was a bit concerned about his quick toe dip in the ocean.  But, overall he enjoyed the sun, the sand, and the beach!