Visiting Sargon at his pad in Dubai

Our dear friend Sargon was in Dubai to relax for the weekend. He works in Kabul running several of his own businesses and maintains a place in Dubai so he can get a brake now and then. We decided to invade his peace for the weekend and spent the night at his place playing and catching up with one of our favorite people. The kids adore him and Brad and I have known him our entire relationship. Brad actually knew Sargon as a kid in Saudi Arabia. They attended the same American school. Their paths crossed again several years later when Sargon tracked Brad down in Cairo and hired him to direct the HR portion of Bechtel's contract to put out the oil fires from the 1st Gulf War in Kuwait. Since then, Sargon has been part of the family. It's always a treat to be with Sargon. He spoils us and kids rotten and we do our best to return the favor, impossible as it is.

Fun Times at Sargon's Pool

We started at 8am to avoid the heat. It was already over 100 degrees but the pool was well chilled and we had a great time. A great way to start the day!

Chicken Fight!!

The kids and Sargon make a plan to dump Brad in the pool!

The Plan

The Execution

SUCCESS!

Fun on Sargon's Playground

Our Fab Room at Al Qasr

On the way into the hotel grounds there is a garden lining the full length of the drive that has these full-sized horse sculptures in a variety of stances. There must have been at least 40 of them. It is quite a sight.

Brad and I Escape to Dubai

Brad had a conference at a Hotel I have wanted to stay at since I first saw it. It is in the shadow of the Burj which makes it more appealing to me than staying inside the Burj itself. We were at the Madinat Jumeirah, Al Qasr. As you can see from the photos above the rooms were fabulous. (The photos don't do it justice).
The photos below show us and the grounds and views from the room.

Cairo Tries Out for Swim Team...And Makes It..... Of Course

Notice she has lost her other front tooth...She now has a huge space and no sign of teeth coming in to replace the lost ones..

Golf in Abu Dhabi

We're not on the European tour yet but Shari and I have loved golfing in the past week. We are committed to play once a week on Mondays (ladies day). We went to play last week and found out that it was two for one until the end of August because the heat is keeping people away. We took advantage of the deal and played two days in row. It only cost $15 each including the cart. We had a great time. It was hot but we had a cooler full of drinks and cold, wet towels to keep around our necks. It really was a great time.

A friend from my days at Cache Valley Bank has moved to Abu Dhabi. Ernie Herbert and his wife Sharon and their two teenage kids just moved here. Sharon happened to be my Dad's secretary way back and Ernie and I worked together at the bank for a few years.
Sharon rode with Shari and I on the golf course and we loved having a new friend to hang out with. After golf that day we went to the house for lunch and a float in the pool. Tough life we lead..
Sharon and Shari

OK, I realize the ball is still on the ground on the wrong side of my swing here...You have to believe me...It was a practice swing!!

Our Bunny Penelope

We adopted a bunny a week ago at church. The woman who takes care of the church villa found two bunnies in a garbage can and had them at church.
The kids fell in love and on the way home we named her Penelope.
After having pet rabbits growing up I was a push-over when it came to saying yes to the cute little thing.
Brad was skeptical and acted a bit disinterested but I keep catching him watching the bunny out the window and checking on her.
She lives in our garden and has a nice life running around out there. It seems hot for a furry little creature but the vet said it should be fine. Lucky, because we will not have a house pet other than Sheldon...the turtle.

Charlie feeding Penelope