Slim

We aren't sure but I think "Slim" from "A Bugs Life" is living in our front yard.  I came home the other day and found him climbing up the gate to our house.  

A day at the beach...

I have been meaning to put this up all week, but Nicholas and I had to speak in church on Friday (the Sabbath day in the Middle East) and so every time Allison was napping I was busy!  Last Saturday we went to the beach for the first time since we moved here 3 1/2 months ago.  We had walked down to the beach once while we were staying in the hotel, but didn't get any farther than the sand.  The Anderson family (who also happen to be from Alberta - and even lived in Medicine Hat) took us to their favorite beach - Palace Beach.  It is right between The Palm Jumeirah Island and a bunch of big palaces that back onto the beach.  It was a great beach, the sand was soft and there was a whole row of sea shells that the ocean had deposited to pick up.  The water was the warmest I have ever felt in the ocean, like a nice warm bath!  We had a great time with them and Allison was a pretty good sport - even when she got splashed in the face with a few big waves!

Had too much fun and needed a quick nap

The tide started coming in and the waves came all the way past her car seat 

Nice hair Allison - I think it was a little windy...

This is how it looks outside when there is a sand storm in the desert.  

Home - away from home

I guess everywhere you go there are different words to describe the same thing (we talked to an Australian the other day who thought a PB & Jelly sandwich involved Jello...).  Here in Dubai a house isn't a house -it's a villa. We have some friends that live in a community called, 'The Villa', it is like saying you live somewhere called 'The House', they have a lot of fun trying to explain to delivery drivers where they live!  We live in a community called Green Community, which you may think is a funny name for a place in the middle of the desert, but it is surprisingly green.  I have had a few people request some pictures of our house so here they are, it looks a whole lot like a house would in Alberta, except the walls are made of concrete, there is a bidet in every bathroom, and it is a whole lot hotter outside!

Home - so it isn't actually foggy, it was so hot when I went out to take a picture that the camera lens fogged up.  It is backwards from home where your glasses fog up in the winter when you come inside from the cold - here they fog up every time you leave the cold (house, car, mall etc...)

Living Room

Other view of Living Room (we are getting a few chairs for in here...)

Dining Room

Kitchen

Allison's Playroom/Computer Room/Sewing & Craft Room

Allison's Room

Our Room

Allison (7 months)

I figured I should put up a little update on Allison, she is growing like crazy.  She had her Hep B shots and there was a month between the 1st and 2nd doses and she had gained a couple pounds so she is around 20lbs now.  She has no teeth, but doesn't let that stop her, she loves to eat.  She is always trying to eat whatever I am eating even if it means trying to pry it out of my mouth.  Since our whole house is tile we bought a bunch of foam mats for her to play on, but every time I turn around she has rolled onto the tile.  She moves around in her walker really well and gets into all sorts of trouble, pulling stuff off shelves, opening drawers and emptying the dishwasher.  Here are a few shots of the last month or so.

She loves to eat, and eat and eat...

Especially her toes...

And other peoples fingers...

She likes hanging out in her jumper and walker...

Almost got the sitting thing down...

Friend or Foe?

One thing that I have had a really hard time getting used to in Dubai is the bugs.  The bugs here are big, and of all varieties. I think the only thing I miss about winter is the relatively bug free life it gives us in Alberta.   It seems every time I pick something up off the floor a little critter scurries to a new home (big incentive to have a tidy house!).  There does happen to be something that eats all of these bugs, but I just couldn't decide if it was worth having them move in with us.   One day I didn't get a choice:

Would you let this little guy live in your house if it meant fewer creepy crawlies?  They seem to making the decision for us, since this was not the first and last - they have taken to waiting outside our front door and running in as soon as we open the door.  Who knows maybe they just want a little a/c?