April at-a-glance

 

Easter Bunny Cake (inspired by you, Jill!)

 

Playground time.  Doesn't Ethan look tall?  And isn't Claire cute with a ponytail?

 

David and Ethan usually go to the cheap Pakistani barber shops and pay less than $5 for a haircut and a head massage (or head beating, to be more accurate).  Then we found these great Lebanese stylists who let Ethan sit on a motorcycle and gave him a choice of colored hairspray (which he declined).

  

For a few weeks after Easter, Ethan played "Easter Bunny" by leaving us stashes of toys, shoes, and other misc items by our bed.  If we dared to open our eyes before the gifts were laid, we got into BIG trouble.

  

This was one of the last times we went to the beach!  By May it was just too hot.

 

Date night at the Turkish Palace.  We shared zater salad and a hummus plate before heading to the American School to watch our favorite (Argentinian) 16-year-old in his highschool play.

 

Claire likes Argentinian 16-year-olds, too.  One day after church she blocked him from leaving, saying, "Lock a door."

 

David took this picture on the fancy new phone he won in a raffle at SQU.  The phone also has GPS, which would have come in really handy 8 months ago when we began this Omani adventure!

Jebel Akdar

In April we went on a day trip to Jebel Akdar, one of the highest mountains in Oman (thanks to our friends who lent us their 4WD!)  This was our last big day trip adventure before the weather got too hot for touristing.

 Of course, it's hard to appreciate just how far up we are.

Believe it or not, there is more vegetation here than in most parts of Oman.

Picnicking under the only shade tree around. 

I just love this girl.

 

And this little girl just really loves her bunny-bear.  We found that if we tuck Bunny in her shirt, then it frees up one of Claire's hands.  Good for hiking.

Jebel Akdar is famous for its rose water.  These are rose bushes I'm walking past. 

Green gardens planted on terraces in the mountain side.  

Pretty spectacular in this desert climate!

  

We met this Omani tour guide along the way.  He was guiding a Russian tourist, but let us tag along.  He found out that David taught at the university, and from that point "Doctor David" was treated as a VIP.

We walked into this mountain village...

through some tunnels...

and thanks to our new Omani friend, we were allowed to view the "secret" rose water facilities.  This is where rose petals and equipment are stored.

This is where the rose petals are distilled.  Our friend bought us glass coke bottle full of rose water for about $8 and invited us to wash our hands in it.  It doesn't smell like roses, but it smelled like Omani Halwa.  Rose water is used mostly in cooking and to flavor deserts and drinks.   

Before we headed home, our Omani friend invited us to his house for coffee and dates.  As usual, we politely turned down the coffee, explaining to him that our religion does not allow us to drink coffee in the same way that Islam does not permit alcohol or pork.  Instead we had sliced pears and dates, and watched Ethan and Claire play with our friend's grandchildren.