Happy Turkey Day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We celebrated National Day (It's our resident country's birthday next week; the UAE will be 37 years young) at school today, so I figure the grand meal and the entertainment we had was like Thanksgiving, except instead of turkey I had camel meat. Camel tastes GOOD. Seriously good. Very tender, very delicious...

The entertainment was in the form of traditional dances. Boys twirl guns (unloaded, of course) and canes; girls flip/twirl their hair. It's a separate event of course, because our school does that whole "separate but equal" thing, based on gender instead of race, though. The food is also very separate but equal: boys get meals, girls are more snack-like but with nearly equal volume.

Anastasia and Misrak joined us for the National Day events at AISA. (You know how little kids' birthdays are celebrated with greater fanfare than most adults'? I think that explains the fervor of National Day here :)

Anastasia with Misrak

Allana and Leanne


Rhonda with A, and Randy



Camel-based cuisine




Overview of the boys' side

RAIN: Sunday 16 November 2008

For the first time in Anastasia's life, it rained. This is only the third rain we have seen since moving to the UAE and the first time since last January. Needless to say, it was quite exciting and refreshing (not unlike Obama's victory- yes, this is Christine). It only lasted for maybe half an hour, but the streets were flooded until it could all get soaked up. That did not take long :) But, oh, what a beautiful sight and sound!!

We took her for her four-month vaccinations. She is now 11 pounds 6 oz and is 24 inches long. She's in the pathetic 9th percentile for weight and the 50th for height. The doctor encouraged us to go ahead and start feeding her cereal since she's developed issues with anything that is not mama. This is how it went (or rather, didn't go):

In case you can't know her expressions, this is the pathetic "help me" phase that sets in after a good scream. Hopefully, the holiday travels around the US will be good for her growth- as her preferred food will be with her all the time! Looking forward to seeing you all- for some of you it will merely be a matter of 13 days time.

Daddy and daughter

Reading at the beach

Fighting over toys

Election Day Eve (by Randy)

It's the Eve of Election Day in the United States, and yes, it's getting plenty of press overseas as well. However, in Abu Dhabi we've only seen one bumper sticker about the elections, an "Obama 08" sticker. I'll be glad when it's all over, even if--as it would certainly appear--the uber-liberal gets elected.

Meanwhile, we're doing well here, keeping busy with school and a relatively (for new parents) active social life. Last night, though, Christine and I went out on a "date," something just for us (thank you, Joyce, for babysitting!). We went to Finz (I did NOT choose it because of its similarity to the Jimmy Buffett tune--I chose it because it has received top awards and is billed as THE place for outdoor seafood dining in this capital city) and enjoyed some nice seafood (and dessert) overlooking the water and a ton of cranes (it's Abu Dhabi; of course there were cranes!).

Anastasia is doing well. She smiles quite a bit these days, even to strangers (we're hoping she maintains this attitude next month when she hits the United States). Christine takes her for a walk in the Baby Bjorn in the morning, and I do the same in the evening. Somewhere in between, we manage to teach, work on lesson plans, and grade papers. Also, we both have enrolled in distance-learning classes from Colorado State University for teacher recertification credit, and that will take up some of our time as well.

On weekends we take Anastasia to the beach or the park or one of our many malls...she's quite agreeable as long as she's in the Baby Bjorn!

Anyway, we'll be in the United States a month from now. Our schedule tentatively looks something like this:

3 December: Land in Orlando, Florida, and visit with my paternal grandmother, Mom, and Peter;

9 December: Drive up to Beaufort, South Carolina, to see Dad and our Beaufort friends;

17 December: Begin our drive to Indiana, perhaps driving through Asheville (Michelle?) and Knoxville

18 December: Arrive in Dale, Indiana, to see Christine's family

31 December: Fly out of Evansville, Indiana, for home.

Hopefully this summer, I'll get a chance to see the Illinois (maternal) grandparents, aunts, uncle, cousin, etc...

And Becky (the godmother!)...well, she needs to make plans to either come to Beaufort or Indiana to see us! And of course, she still needs to book that flight for Abu Dhabi in January or February...

Take care, everyone...and be sure to vote Libertarian.