Plan B?

Up until this morning we have remained optimistic about the "situation" in the Bangkok airport being resolved...Now, we are starting talks, debating about where in the world we should go instead.  

Ideas include: Sri Lanka, Singapore, Kuala Lampur, Maldives, Bali, Seychelles, South Africa 

We're open to suggestions.  Cast your vote on the survey to the right.

WE GIVE THANKS

Another Thanksgiving in Abu Dhabi.  I can hardly believe this makes 3.  The day was chaotic, as most days seem to be.  I was cooking and relaxing and listening to music when suddenly...our guests arrived!  Yikes, this has been a lot of fun but I still need to bathe, peel potatoes, cook the yams, make the gravy, carve the turkey, make a chocolate pie.......

Luckily, our guests were the Oswalds, my good friends Jennifer and her two boys.  So I just put her to work doing all the yucky stuff while I had a bath...(Not really that bad, Thanks Jennifer).  She seemed to take it all in stride.  It's more fun to cook with a friend anyway.

  Jennifer and her two kids and husband just moved here in August.  However, Jennifer and I met on the www thanks to my blog.  Jennifer was preparing to move her family around the world and through a trusty Google search ran across the abudhabicooks blog.  After that we were pen-pals or keyboard pals whatever you wish.  They now live here and we did our best to help them enjoy their first Thanksgiving abroad.  We also had a new couple from our church, Jason and Camille. (No kids for them yet.) We also had our friends from the compound and church, Lynne and Christina.  It all worked out.  We all over ate and had great conversation.  Another Thanksgiving come and gone.  Another year of blessings of great family, fabulous friends, and good health to be grateful for.  We are truly blessed and truly thankful EVERYDAY of the YEAR.

Thanksgiving Ski Day

Give Thanks for Snow!

Like any true Utahn, Cairo spent Thanksgiving morning working up and appetite for turkey by skiing!  Her friend Valentina, invited her to go take a ski lesson at Ski Dubai.  Since we moved here, Cairo has wanted to ski in the mall.  I have ethical problems with our children learning to ski in a shopping mall.  We come from the Greatest Snow on Earth!!! It falls naturally from the sky (ok, sometimes assisted by a snow machine) onto beautiful tall mountains and resorts that we reach by driving up canyons.  Not by driving in speeding traffic, risking our lives on the freeways of the UAE!  I've adapted my thinking.  Learning to ski on any slope is more fun and more critical than which slope it is.  Our lives here are made up of compromises and exceptional experiences.  This one was both.

Thanks to Yoca, my friend and Valentina's Mom for taking them to Dubai and for documenting the experience in photos so I could share in it.  I was home cooking turkey.

The Dr. is a Rockstar!

Every year The Dr. gives a speech to the students of Abu Dhabi Women's College.  Every year he gives this speech in their native language, Arabic.  Because National Day falls on an Islamic holiday this year.  The campus celebration and the speech took place early.  This year he went totally native and wore the traditional clothing as well.  The students went crazy.  Press the play button to get a sense of what it was like in that auditorium.

The college invited some children to come and enjoy a dog show and have pony rides during the festivities.  

In this part of the world, touching noses is a traditional way of greeting someone you care about.  

The FIRST RAIN We've Seen Since Summer!!

We awoke to rain today.  It felt great.  We all put on our hoodies and headed off to school.  I was getting all geared up to spend the day in the house catching up on things and making the best use of this rainy day time...Then...on the way to school I could tell the clouds were breaking up so I hurried and snapped a picture.  After all, if Bobbi isn't coming to visit..we may not have any more rain this year, as that seems to be the one factor that guarantees rain in the UAE!

By the time I was finished running my errands, getting groceries, and waiting for the utilities company to open so I could pay the bill...we had clear blue skies again..The great thing about this?? I now can read my book out by the pool and put off those "Rainy-Day" Tasks for some other time.  The best thing about this quick rain storm was how well it cleaned the domes of the mosques and the palm trees are green again.  The city feels clean and fresh.

Say "Hello" to our VIP VISITORS!  I have no idea who owns these two beautiful yachts that are anchored just outside the Emirates Palace Hotel...But I'm fairly certain the economy isn't really "Rockin' their Boat" right now, like it is most of the world.  These pics don't do them justice.. They are enormous.  The one on the right has been here for a week and I thought it was huge until it's buddy showed up and made it look 

?small?

 These babies are so big that underneath there are 4 double car garage doors that open up so they can park their 2-4 ski boats and jet skis underneath!  Amazing...

HALLOWEEN IS FINALLY OVER..WHERE'S THE TURKEY!

Cairo is the scary "Dead Pirate" in the center of this photo on the front row. Where did my feminine little daughter go???

Halloween was the never-ending holiday this year in Abu Dhabi. Our school's Fall Festival took place on the 13th of November. Just when you think it's safe to put the costumes back in the closet...Just when you think you've purged the house of the last piece of candy and fake fingers....It comes again two weeks later. 

The kids had a blast and the weather was delightful, under a full moon. Never in my childhood could we enjoy Halloween under the stars at a breezy 80 degrees. Charlie said it was the greatest day of his life. (Nevermind that he says that almost every single day, I still love to hear it...And I believe it.) All four of them got a lot more candy and had fun listening to spooky stories. Sam and Charlie even dared Brad to take them through the haunted house..and they all survived!

NOW....LET'S TALK TURKEY....HO HO HO HO HO!!!