Last month of "vacation"

We were still being lazy bums in July.  

Happy 9-year anniversary!

s

4th of July Parade in Colbert, GA

 

 

Boiled Peanuts-- this is sooooo Georgia

Old-timey political rally...notice the white-haired folk in lawn chairs.

 

Parade loot (that's a gallon-size bag, BTW)

SPARKLERS!

What kind of parents give flaming objects to 2 year olds?!  

(See video at end of post)

 

Ethan was scared to hold one at first, until he watched Claire do it!

 

LDS temple in Columbia, SC (3hr drive)

Our closest temple in Atlanta is closed for renovation.

 

 

 The kids got excited about spotting fire hydrants this month... 

One of the many novelties of the U.S. not found in Oman.

Cute little SPELLER.  Ethan began spelling around his 4th birthday.  I always thought kids had to learn how to read before they could learn how to spell.  It's so amazing to me to watch Ethan sound words out!

Ethan's version and my translation

 

Claire loves drawing circles.  

She also loves giving me these sneaky looks from underneath her bangs.  

 

Just a random picture.

 

David's response to the random picture above.

June was a pretty rough month for the family, presumably because the kids were adjusting to their new life in Georgia.  Ethan and I created this rule chart together, and we've seen HUGE improvements in behavior.  Not like we didn't have rules before... but it helps to have a visual reminder  hanging on the wall.

 .

Block Party 2010!!!  This is becoming a summer tradition.  We host a potluck BBQ and invite all the neighbors.  David provided the homemade Gelato.

 

Not a huge turnout this year, but we had a good time.

 

My handy husband and helpful Ethan changing the brakes on the Equinox.

Here's a video of Claire with sparklers.  I'm so glad she didn't manage to set her dress on fire.  

How would I have explained that to children's protective services??

Back home in Georgia

We enjoyed a lazy June and July after moving back to Georgia.  Here are the highlights from June:

Sleepy kids, the morning after we got home from Oman.  

"Are you sure all this junk belongs to us?"

No, not potty training, just having fun:

 

Happy Birthday, Claire!  She turned 2 years the day we got home.  We postponed the party until that weekend, but she did open a card from Aunt Tawni and Uncle Jeff.  She got so frustrated trying to make her five $1-bills fit back into the envelope.

The birthday party.  Both kids had some fun presetnts from grandparents waiting for them.  Mommy and Daddy just re-wrapped one of Ethan's old toys for the little princess!

Claire is almost big enough for Ethan's old Tricycle.

Ethan loves his bubble mower as much as ever! (and his splashing boots, too).  Our yard is big, and Ethan will mow the whole entire thing along with David. 

Georgia is still hot, but not so bad after living in the Middle East for a year.

 

Playing in the pool.  Notice the garden in the back.

 

Isn't she beautiful in her sleep?

 

Swimming lessons!

 

Happy Father's Day

 

Our housesitters planted an awesome garden for us.

Cutie pies.

 

Goodbye, Oman

Muttrah Corniche - April 2010

One year ago we arrived at the Muscat airport for the very first time.  We deplaned around 1:00am with a sleep-deprived 3 year old and one year old, only to find that our university sponsor was NOT waiting for us with our visas as expected.  I can still picture Ethan jumping over men sleeping on the floor, and Claire being admired by a large group of Indonesian women while David tried to convince the indifferent man at the visa counter to let us into the country.  Finally, a nice Omani woman at the currency exchange counter gave Ethan a Galaxy chocolate bar and helped us through immigration.

Boarding the flight from Frankfurt to Muscat - August 1, 2009

 Two months ago we returned to the airport (with sleep-deprived children) and said goodbye to a beautiful country that had come to feel like home to us.  My throat became tight as soon as we entered the building.  We spent our first hour checking in our luggage (nice airport employees, primitive use of technology) and then we headed to the visa cancellation desk.  Even now I feel sad thinking about how we passed through a door that locked behind us after our visa paperwork was closed out.  Next, we raced to the gift shop to spend our last 20 rial and arrived at our departure gate just in time (camel stick and t-shirts in hand).

Boarding our flight from Muscat to Heathrow - June 1, 2010

 Deplaning in London.

Ethan was escorted off the plane by the captain... really sweet!

 

 Chillin' at Heathrow.  My friend Silvia gave the kids some toys for the trip... thank you!!!

We feel so blessed to have had this wonderful experience living in Oman.  It is a beautiful country with beautiful people and traditions.  I hope we can return to visit someday.  In the mean time, I enjoy looking at pictures with the kids, talking about our friends and experiences in Muscat, and watching videos like this from our weekend in Dubai:

Ethan sometimes reenacts this show in the bathtub, singing and throwing cupfuls of water into the air.

 

Salalah Part 4 - Camels

We saw a lot of Camels during our trip down south.

 Camels relaxing at the beach.

Camels in roundabouts

 

Camels in parks

 

Camels behind camel road signs

 

Camels with birds on their noses

 

Camels on cliffs

 

Camels who can't be bothered.  The van you see started out behind us.  The camels were not the slightest bit rushed by our Mazda 3 coming up behind them.  This van went around us, beeping its horn and agressively pushing its way through the crowd.  We tried to follow close behind, but...

 

...apparently we were not assertive enough.  It was like the story of Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.  We felt like Pharoah's chariots, being swallowed up by the sea.