Lucy and Caroline were in their very first dance recital on Saturday and did a beautiful job! It was an hour 1/2 long production with their dance company, Fusion Arts, grades K-12, including all types of dance…irish, bollywood, ballet, tap and hip hop. They had to attend the whole day rehearsal on Friday from 10-4pm, which I thought would certainly wipe them out, but they were very excited about the whole thing! And for these 2 to perform in front of anyone but their family was a huge milestone. They are quite proud!
Potato plants, lamborghinis, Zebeel Saray, and more!
22 MayVarious random things to post this time from the past several months. I wanted to brag on Lucy regarding her potato plant. Several months ago, she brought home a tiny little pot with a tiny little sprout that they grew in school. She kept it by the sun, watered it often, asked me to repot it twice, and I’m proud to say that she has not 1, not 2, but THREE potatoes that we will be enjoying for dinner before our summer break. She it very proud! (Too bad I didn’t get a photo of the beginning sprout – I didn’t anticipate it being around for so long – ha!)
A few funny photos taken within the city recently. As I’ve said before, you can have ANYTHING delivered, and I mean ANYTHING. Even frozen yogurt? A trolley bay, of course. Where you put your trolleys, don’t you know. Or as you would say in the US, your grocery cart.
As you are now aware, Dubai is known for its opulance. Check out the new fleet of cars added to the police squad.
Don’t be surprised if Wesley up and leaves his job soon to find a spot on the Dubai Police Squad so he can drive some of these cars!
Lucy and Caroline celebrated UAE history month back in March. Here are some photos from their special day, complete with local book readings, Emerati food and dance, and henna.
They got to wear their abayas and dish dashas to school.
The girls also had a HUGE schoolwide carnival back in late March before our Africa trip. All the elementary classes were charged to do an art project, which were then auctioned off at the carnival for fundraising. I helped coordinate the projects for each of their classes, and here are the master pieces they created!
A few photos taken from the carnival of Molly and one of her closest friends, Mary Claire. A carnival wouldn’t be complete with camels in Dubai.
Molly earned a ‘date’ night with just mom and dad as an ongoing effort to stay organized and efficient about her homework. We got to go out for pizza and ice cream!
And last but not least, I was able to spend Mother’s Day (which is a school day here, nice, huh?) at one of the most luxurious spas in Dubai at the Zabeel Saray hotel, Talise Ottaman Spa.
We went with the MOMS on the move group, and it was heavenly. Here are some photos of the place:
Yes, after you use the sauna, why wouldn’t you want a snow bath, right? It was literally a small freezing room, with places to sit and snow falling, and all over the ground. Bizarre.
At the end of the hall was the Adventure Shower – hilarious? There were water jets from all over the place, as well as lights and steam.
Lucy & Caroline’s 7th Birthday Party
11 MayWe celebrated Lucy and Caroline’s birthday with an “American Girl” doll theme, complete with 15 friends! All the invitees brought their dolls, served tiny doll-size food, made mini doll-size magazines, painted doll-size plates and thermoses, played games, and watched “Molly McIntyre: An American Girl Movie.” We can’t believe our little 5 pound babies are 7 years old!!
Africa!
9 MayA must for any animal lovers! This might be the most memorable vacation we’ve been on. Molly’s quote was “I don’t think I can ever go to a zoo again, mom.” We left on Friday, March 29, flew into Nairobi airport, took another short flight to Kiliminjaro, and then a drive and overnight stay in Arusha. After being awakened by the ‘cock a doodle dos’ of some early morning roosters, we drove to Lake Manyara, where we stayed for 2 nights. The previous rains had taken a toll on some of the bridges, so our stay here to see the animals wasn’t as awesome as the rest of the trip, but it was absolutely STUNNING from our hotel. We did see about 1000 baboons and our first sighting of a giraffe, which was very exciting!!
Then we went to Ngorongoro Crater, which was the animal hotspot. It was so amazing and such a large quantity of animals, that it almost seemed staged. One of my favorite highlights was visiting a Masai village, which the pictures tell it all. The Serengeti was our last drive and visit, complete with 2 million migrating wildebeest! Seriously surreal.
On the 6th day, we traveled east to Zanzibar to a beach resort. I left at that point to go back to the states, but Wesley stayed with the girls with the three other families we were traveling with. They had a very fun time in the pool and beach non-stop for 3 days.
I took about 500 photos, and it is truly impossible to narrow it down….but I’ll do my best. Here are some of my favorites:
Wildebeest…definitely not the prettiest of the creatures out there, but I think we counted roughly 2 million.
Thanks for spending the time to check out our photos! Next up on blog….Caroline & Lucy’s 7th birthday party…”American Girl Doll Party!” with 17 little girls!
My Mom
5 MayI haven’t written in a long time because, although there is quite a lot to write about, there has been a dark cloud over life this past month. My mother, Rebecca M Craver, passed away on April 10, at the age of 72. Most of you are aware that she had been battling lung cancer for 3 years, that had metastasized to her liver and bones. She and my father had decided over 2 months ago to forego any additional treatment. The chemotherapy and the radiation over the past year, despite her courageous fight and hope, had not resulted any positive changes we had hoped for. Thus, leaving her feeling sick most of this last year. They had brought in hospice about a week before we left for our Africa trip to aid in relieving her pain.
We had finished our 5 day safari and had arrived for 3 days in Zanzibar when things took a turn for the worse with her condition. I left Wesley and the girls in Zanzibar with the 3 other families we were traveling with, and in 2 days, I was in Santa Fe, NM with my mom, dad, sister and brother. She died 3 days later. We felt great relief knowing she was no longer suffering and no longer in pain. We were all there together in her last days. The void my mother’s passing has left is immense. We all miss her terribly here in Dubai, but enjoy looking at all our many photos of her and talking about “Lita” daily!
With this post, I thought I would just put a few favorite photos of her (although there are too many to choose). In future posts, I plan on sharing our amazing African safari, Lucy and Caroline’s 7th birthday party “American Girl Doll” party, as well as Beiber fever photos (took the girls to see Justin Beiber concert last night!)
My mom and I swimming circa 1975
Now this is what you call A “GRANDMA!”
Always reading with the girls (and here letting Lucy try on her glasses.)
With my mom around, there was always laughter and silliness!