5th Birthday!

Jack and Charlie and their friend Alyson.  Aly is such a cute girl and in this country of dark hair and dark eyes she is quite unique.  For his birthday Jack wanted a play-date with just him and Aly.

Stepping Stones Graduation

Miss Nigar was an amazing teacher and a great influence for the Cook boys.  They will miss her and I know they will always have great memories of their days in pre-school in Abu Dhabi.  Miss Nigar and her assistants have given Jack and Charlie a great start on their education experience.  They leave Stepping Stones with the ability to write their names, identify alphabet letters and sounds and most importantly, a love for learning.

The children sang and entertained us before they marched.

Charlie and Jack gave each teacher a flower to thank them for all they have done for the kids.

Proud graduate of pre-school.

Deceptive Weather

It's not my style to like a cloudy day.  One reason life in Abu Dhabi is so great is because everyday begins with sunshine and clear blue skies.  Last week we had an unusual day of overcast skies.  I was actually kind of happy.  It would feel good to put on a long sleeve T-shirt and some jeans for a change and stay inside and catch up on the blog...WRONG.  If you look closely at the picture below you can see raindrops on the windshield of Big Red.  The photo below that shows the outside temperature reading...

NOT jeans and long sleeve weather!

Cairo Turns:

It was such a fun day celebrating Cairo's 8th birthday.  She started getting fun phone calls from cousins and other loved ones far away first thing in the morning and throughout the day.  Thanks for remembering her.  She had a great day.  

We took Krispy Kreme Donuts to her classmates at school.  After school we had a small celebration with friends from the compound.  We had cake and ice cream and opened gifts out by the pool.

One of the fun gifts she received was a collection of scrapbooking supplies in the fun box shown in the picture above.

We had magic candles that wouldn't stay blown out.  She had to huff

and puff

and try and try again before they finally stayed out.

Inside the great pyramid..Sam decided to see what it's like to be a mummy.

Going deep into the center of the great pyramid.

We had dinner at the Khan al Khalili the first night.  It was so much fun to just be together.

Boys with their harvest on the Nile.

Brad is always the host.  He really knows the meaning of egyptian hospitality.  He even serves the kids!

Cairo on the Nile.  Ahhh, what more can I say.

Jenn and Skip in the background..Kids at the Khan up front.

I don't know if these security guys at the pyramids really need camels or if they have it set up for the tourists...Almost seems too cliche but I love it anyway.

Our turn acting like egyptian statues.