We're Off to the Seychelles

 Can we really go wrong visiting a country with a flag this CHEERFUL??

Really, it makes me smile just to look at it.

Thanks for voting.  We made the quick decision to take of for the Seychelles.  We leave tomorrow night.  It's a long flight but we are bound to have a wonderful time exploring the islands that can be found east of the African continent and just south of the equator.  It's going to be a different vacation than what we were prepared for with Thailand.  This location demands rest, relaxation, reading, sand castles, turtle watching, bird searching, island hopping, snorkeling, scuba-diving and lots of adventure for the family in a relatively untouched part of the world.

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!!!

The biggest of the "Cook-Clone-Troopers" (Sam). The other little one in the picture isn't one of ours..just a very popular costume this year.

Sam's teacher, Mr. Krause dressed as Evil Kinevil along with 3 other elementary school teachers. I think they were having more fun than the kids!

The two CUTE Clone Troppers in the center of the picture are really "COOK" TROOPERS..There is one more coming!

Not EVEN a SCARY Clone Tropper..Who knew they had freckles under those helmets?

They're Not Just For Breakfast Anymore!

You could invite all your friends and family over and for the price of $40 per egg make a fantastic breakfast...What do you think.
Not something we see every day, even here, where nothing surprises me anymore.

High School Musical 4

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AbuDhabi High

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High School Musical Abu Dhabi High

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Waiting and Watching From Another Country

"NO DRAMA OBAMA"

The greatest thing about this entire looooong election process is: At the end of the day (regardless who you cast your vote for) we all remain AMERICANS. We will come together and support the man elected to lead our country in these difficult times. He needs the support of the citizens to pull the country through the current challenges.

CHANGE IS GOOD.

We are citizens of a great country, a democracy that allows for freedom of speech, religion, and individual rights.

I am proud that the citizens of the United States turned out in such great numbers to exercise their right to vote.

The PoliSci major in me is giddy this morning in the United Arab Emirates.

I am happy to see that America can look beyond color when casting votes for our 

Commander-in-Chief

Certainly, because of the system that is in place for checks and balances, either man would be a good leader. They BOTH are and have been great leaders and great examples of strong public service.

The Future Looks Good

Today I am:

HAPPY: that before they went to school this morning our children were able to know that there is going to be a new President in the great country that we call home.

PROUD: that our children knew who the candidates were and, in their own way, on their own level, understood the differences in the two of them. Most importantly, our children know that we come from a blessed nation. A nation that individuals from all over the world would love to call home, regardless of who the President is.

GRATEFUL: that through our experience over-seas our entire family has grown more aware of global issues that face our world and our country and through that awareness comes determination to act and do our part to make a positive difference.

Congratulations to President-Elect Obama and we pray for the safety and well-being of him and his beautiful family as they undertake this new chapter in their lives. May he and his cabinet lead our country in a positive, 

PEACEFUL direction.

"Terri the Mother"

With election day coming and "Joe the Plumber" being the focus of the campaign I thought that maybe we all should have started calling ourselves by our occupation.
Jon Stewart helped me out with this idea when he did a piece on the McCain/Palin ticket talking about all the Joe, Jane, Kathy the...(fill in the blank) they seem to be appealing to. He suggested they use the slogan: "McCain-Palin a ticket to take you back to the 13th century"
Yes, even on the other side of the earth in a far off land, we are tiring of the election and campaigning.
We received our absentee ballots (thank you Utah County) on the very day the last pouch left the US Embassy taking all ballots back to a US post box so the voters wouldn't have to pay to FedEx them home.
Fortunately, Sam Stone was willing to put them in a pouch his company was sending back to the states and we just have to hope someone will put them in a mail box.
We have voted.
Now we sit and wait and wonder. What will this new administration bring.
Hopefully less war. More peace and a recovery plan for the economy back home.