14 days

It's amazing what a difference 14 days can make.

Before I left for my trip to Katy, I noticed that Connor was gaining ground on me in the height department. He surpassed my size 10 feet a long time ago (he currently wears a Mens size 10.5) but I still had the upper hand on height, for now. I decided to get Jeff to take a photo measurement to see how far off we were. This photo from my iPhone was dated February 27.

Upon my return to Dubai, I was excited to see the kids and give them big hugs. When I walked up to Connor to give him a hug, I felt like something was different. It seemed that I was looking across at him directly in the eyes for the first time. I made Jeff snap another photo and neither of us could believe the result.

The date on the 2nd photo was Mar 13, exactly 14 days (or less, if you consider the time of day). This kid had grown 1-1.5 inches in 14 days?!

And so it begins.

Our New House

My main reason for visiting Katy in early March was an exciting one -- we were closing on our brand new house! We purchased a spec home in west Katy after my quick visit in December. After weeks (months) of back and forth, we finally agreed on a closing date in early March. Let's just say the builder was LESS than accommodating to us being overseas. It ended up being several weeks of super stressful and frantic phone calls and emails, which is why we agreed to close on the house before we were truly ready. I have LOTS to say about the builder and our feelings towards them, but in the end, we are feeling grateful and excited for the next house that the Courtrights will call home.

Once we closed on the new house, I began frantically following through with my planned appointments for the short remaining time I was in town: flooring installation, window coverings, security system, mailbox setup, internet/cable installation, lawn care, pest control, you name it. I also shopped for appliances and various household items, and I set up a schedule for various people to care for the home while we were away. It was truly a blessing that everything went according to plan for the last few days I was in Katy. I admit, it was difficult leaving town again knowing that our new house was waiting for us. Our next chapter would begin very soon and we were excited and ready!

Another Trip to Katy

On the day I turned 43 (ouch!) I boarded an Emirates plane for the 16-hour flight to Houston. I thought for sure that the flight crew would take pity on a birthday girl and give me some additional perks but no such luck, ha! I will admit that this was likely one of my most miserable birthdays. That flight -- along with a 1-hour delay on the tarmac and additional delay upon arrival due to a medical emergency on the plane -- is such a dreadful experience that I never get used to. I was SO happy when I finally arrived and made it to my hotel in Katy. I had an extra special weekend planned with my Mom. On the agenda was some shopping, our favorite restaurants, and lots of trips to our local Bucees! My birthday may not have been all that fun, but the weekend afterwards was the best. I always feel so blessed that I love hanging out with my Mom and that she will drop everything to spend time with me. I hit the jackpot as far as Moms go!

I checked the weather forecast before my trip and knew that there was an expected cold snap during my visit. But even the weather forecasters were surprised by how cold it was for several days in the Houston area. The temps dropped into the 20s with wind chill at 19 one morning. This Dubai expat was completely unprepared for the ice cold weather. Thank goodness I was able to borrow some warm clothes from Julie, and we met up with Michelle for a fun girls day in the chilly weather. Brrrr!

Julie saved the day again when she allowed me to stay at her house for most of my visit. There was a lot on the agenda related to the purchase of our new house. But I also managed to cram in some visits with friends and some job interviews. And of course, I had to get some snuggles from some of my favorite furry creatures.

While I was in Katy, Jeff was being Super Dad at home in Dubai. Working full-time, managing the kids to school and all of their many activities, AND hosting 2 sets of guests. The Winklers treated Jeff and the kids to a yummy steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and they were all smiles.

Of course, in preparation for my long absence, I printed Jeff a 3-page schedule with checklists spread across 3 families. It takes a village, but he handled everything well. That is, until he was forced to endure the plumbing problem of the century. Let's just say that in our Dubai villa, the construction is quite different. What Jeff thought was a simple clogged toilet turned into a major disaster in multiple rooms. The plumbing company had to literally unclog the toilet INTO THE KITCHEN. Jeff is still severely traumatized by the mess it left behind, that he then had to clean and disinfect.

Dubai Falcons in Kuwait

Connor's traveling baseball team, the Dubai Falcons, attended their 2nd tournament as a team in early March. This time the tournament was hosted by the Kuwait Baseball Club in Kuwait with teams visiting from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. Because of our hectic spring schedule, Jeff and Connor went to Kuwait while Kaitlynn and I stayed behind. It was exciting for the team to be on the road again together and see if their months of practice since the Bangkok tournament would pay off.

The fields at the Kuwait Baseball Club were mostly sand except for the pitcher's mound which was grass. Jeff said the Kuwait coaches and teams were so friendly and welcoming. Everyone was so excited to be playing their sport in another country. I was happy for the photos that Jeff and the other parents shared from the games. Connor ended up doing a great job getting on base as well as playing the starting catcher role for the team.

Our Dubai Falcons played well, but they lost a heartbreaker of a game to the Kuwait team which sent them to the 3rd place bracket. They were happy to leave Kuwait with their first team medals.

I loved seeing the big smiles from my guys in Kuwait. What a cool international baseball experience for Coach Jeff and Connor!

Dubai Little League Baseball - A's

Connor's regular season of baseball with Dubai Little League (DLL) began in November and ran through the middle of March. It was an awesome season of ball for Connor, who was one of the oldest kids on his team. He was a natural leader on his team and throughout the league. This year he played for the 12U A's, which was interestingly the same team he played for when he began his baseball career at age 9. The DLL A's team was such an incredible group of coaches and players. Jeff was one of the assistant coaches and Connor sure enjoyed all of the extra time with his Dad.

Because Connor was one of the oldest players, he was given many opportunities on the field to make some amazing plays. He began the season as one of the starting pitchers, but he quickly cemented his role as starting catcher due to his experience at that position. He made some incredible plays both on offense and defense throughout the season.

Somewhere around December, Connor pulled a hamstring muscle which ended up kicking off a bit of a mid-season slump for him. But as the season progressed and playoffs were around the corner, Connor made it back to his usual form and contributed tremendously to his team's success. Our DLL A's ended up taking 1st place in the Majors Division, a huge accomplishment and testament to the boys' chemistry as a team. It was an exciting and fulfilling season of baseball for all of us.

During one of the A's practices early in the season, a fellow parent captured some cool photos of Connor in action. I couldn't resist sharing.