Our Lives Lately

Here's a random collection of photos from our lives here in Dubai lately.

I think I mentioned that most Fridays are the Friday Grill Fest at our home. We love to grill up a lot of chicken, hotdogs, and steak all at one time which gets us through the following week. Maybe most parents start a lot earlier, but we are trying to encourage (force? haha) our kids to help us out since the big dinners require a lot of cleanup. Connor does the dishes while Kaitlynn cleans the table and floors.

I enjoy Jeff's grilling at home but to be honest I almost always prefer to eat out. We usually dine out 1-2 times per week, typically on the weekends. I just love not having the mess at home, and the family time out together is an added bonus. Usually we get stuck in a rut and eat at the same restaurants but we're trying to branch out a bit, using our Entertainer BOGO coupons for new places to try. (OK, I realize the irony in saying that because these below photos of our last dining experience are actually from Chili's. Definitely not a "new" place to try, haha!!)

I couldn't resist posting the below photo. We were invited to the home of a fellow baseball family on a recent Thursday night (that's the start of our weekend here). This is PROOF that I sometimes stay out past 8:00 pm! (Yes, it's rare, what can I say?) We were making sad faces because one of the other Moms had to miss the fun due to a sick kiddo. My friend Diana on the far left is actually from Montgomery, TX. Yet again, it's such a small world!

Here's a random photo of Kaitlynn on her school playground. She kept coming home talking about the "spinning thing" that she loves playing with. I finally saw her in action and wow, that's a lot of spinning. Made me dizzy just to watch.

Side note: Two things I'm loving about the kids' school lately. First, the elementary kiddos get 2 recess periods during the day. Why don't schools in the US do that? It's clearly so much better for the kids. And second, I just love that I can walk into the school here. As long as I'm wearing my family tag around my neck, I can join my kid on the playground before school, stop to say hello to a teacher, or take care of any school business without much hassle. Back in the US public schools, they are so locked down that visiting your kid or the teacher during school hours requires a long series of security checks and clearances. I understand it, but it makes me sad.

I've already posted about our fun lately with Dubai Little League, but we recently took part in their spring Fun Family Friday. It's an annual event where the league will sponsor games, contests, and extra fun to promote the league and support the families. Connor's team played under the lights and even had a DJ playing walk-up songs for each of the boys. I took these photos and a quick video of one of Connor's plate appearances (he hit it straight to the first baseman). It was a cool experience and the boys had so much fun!

OH, and the Fun Family Friday just happened to fall on the evening of the Super Blue Blood Moon (or whatever it was called??). It was super cool to watch the moon rise, much bigger and brighter than usual. I even managed to capture (albeit poorly) a shot of the moon while Connor was playing catcher one inning. It's on the right side of the below photo just above the horizon.

During that same weekend, Kaitlynn attended her very first birthday party here in Dubai. It was a celebration at the home of one of her first friends in her class, Derin. The gorgeous weather makes for a perfect outdoor birthday gathering for both the kids and parents. Derin's talented mother prepared several amazing Turkish treats and desserts, and I was happy to sample them all!

I mentioned in an earlier post that Kaitlynn started taking piano lessons here in Dubai. She begged us for months and we finally gave in. This is her first exposure to music theory so she has a lot to learn, but she was anxious to get started. She used some savings and Christmas spending money to buy a used keyboard from dubizzle (the local Craigslist) so that she could have extra practice at home.

When Jeff moved to Dubai last summer, he immediately missed being able to watch the Houston Texans games throughout the season. He purchased the NFL GamePass in order to see the games in real time, and we were excited that we were also able to see the Super Bowl using the same app. With the time difference, we caught the end of the first half and then we woke up the kids early on their school day so that they could watch a little bit and even eat breakfast in front of the TV (a big treat!) for the big game.

Unfortunately we had to leave for school before the game was over. It was an exciting game and we didn't want to miss it! Once we arrived at the school parking lot, we called Jeff and he gave us the play-by-play through the last 2 minutes of the game. WOW, what a great game! We were stunned by the upset, and Connor went into school a happy kid that day!!