Weekend Staycation Getaway

As the weather gets scorching hot and other schools around the world are getting out for summer, we have struggled over the last couple of weeks, knowing that we are still in school for several more weeks.  So we decided to do what many other people do in Doha when they want to escape but cannot leave: go on a staycation to a hotel resort.  We joined our next door neighbors, the McInnis's at the Grant Hyatt Resort for the weekend and enjoyed some quality time at the pool and beach.  We also took advantage of the endless food at the club lounge and at a breakfast brunch; both included foods that are either hard to find in Doha or are too expensive to buy on a regular basis.

The kids had a great time as well.  They played with our neighbor's kids, Keira and Ewan, the entire time.  The beach included some floatation obstacles in the water such as a rock climbing wall and a big hot dog that were a big hit.  They also learned how to chicken fight in the pool.  Our girls sat on top of the McInnis kids and tried to knock each other off.  The only problem was that Ewan couldn't touch the bottom of the pool without going under water, but he still did his best, jumping up and down out of the water to breathe.  To top off the pool time fun, our families got together and tried to see how many people we could stack on top of one another!  Here are a few photos and videos of are our time in the pool.

Our stay was a wonderful getaway, and it truly felt like we were in a tropical paradise away from the daily grind.  Now we only have three weeks to go until our summer break!

Sweet Words

Both of the girls each said something sweet and funny over the weekend that I though I'd share.

Kaelia:
Mom, I love you.  I love 10.  I love you 150!  I love you not even a number.  I just love you forever!

Taelyn:
(as I was tickling her during a full-family wrestle) 
Mom, you can't get me too.  We're the same the blood type, so we're the same team!
(Taelyn has my blood type, and Kaelia has Justin's, so Taelyn says that means we are teammates for life!)

Spring is in Bloom!

Justin has had a very nice view from his office window throughout this spring season, as we all have been able to witness the stages of a baby bird's birth.  We first noticed a nest on his windowsill a couple of months ago.  Then one day, we found eggs there.  From that point on, the girls made sure to check on the next each day before school.  The most exciting day was when the eggs actually hatched, and we witnessed one of the first feedings from the mother and father to the baby birds.  After a few weeks, we saw how much the babies had grown until one day, they were no longer in the nest and had flown off.  It was such an interesting and exciting process to witness!

Stage 1: Eggs in the Nest

Stage 2: The Eggs Start to Hatch

Stage 3: Mama and Daddy Feed the Babies

Stage 4: The Babies Get Bigger

The Love Saga Continues

Kaelia continues to work out the concept of relationships as she battles between two very sweet little boys that she adores.  She seems to have two boyfriends at the moment: Eli and Jayden.

As Kaelia arrived at school this past week, her friend, Eli, ran up to her and gave her the picture below.  He said that he made it for her and it is a mermaid and a sea horse with a heart.  Well this instantly melted Kaelia's heart, and she ran to him, showering him with hugs.  It was adorable.  When I told Eli's mom about it later on, she had no idea that Eli had even made the picture and that Eli planned the sentiment completely on his own.  I guess he does tell his mom frequently, however, that he is going to marry Kaelia.

A couple of days later, Kaelia was getting ready for Jayden's birthday party and was making a card for him.  She ended up crinkling up three different pictures because she said they were not good enough for Jayden.  Finally, she was happy when she made him a nice rainbow on the cover.  Then on the inside, she drew a picture of the two of them kissing!  I asked her if Jayden would feel comfortable with this, and she thought he would because apparently he is her actual boyfriend now.

Kaelia also got to spend time with her two boys at Jayden's party this weekend.  She had a great time!

Kaelia & Eli

Kaelia & Jayden

Diamond League Track Meet Comes to Doha

We sometimes feel like there is not much to do here in Qatar, but occasionally a great event will come in to town.  This weekend was one of those times as Doha hosted a Diamond League track meet where top notch professional athletes turned up for some great races.  We made sure to get seats at the finish line.

Justin Gatlin arrives in style!

Some of the highlights of the meet were when Justin Gatlin won the 100m with a 2015 world leading time as well as when one of the world's best 10,000m runners, Mo Farah, attempted to take the win in the 3,000m - an event that should be way too fast for a long distance runner, but he ended up sprinting it out for 2nd place in the end.

The best part of the meet for me, however, was in introducing the sport of track and field to the girls.  They learned all about the races that their mommy and daddy used to run in high school and college.  Kaelia liked putting her fingers up, pretending to hold the starter's gun, and Taelyn liked cheering all of the athletes on.  We also had a great time all predicting who would win before each race started and then seeing who was right.  

Music Concert

Yesterday was the school's music concert where each grade in the elementary school sang a collection of songs that they have been practicing all year in music class.  The girls have been excited about this for two weeks and could not wait to show off their musical talents!  Unfortunately, Kaelia came down with a fever the night before of 104.  We kept her home from school on the morning of the concert, hoping she would be okay by time it started.  After a morning of rest, she announced that she wanted to go and came downstairs in her "performance" dress.  So we took her to the show, but it wasn't long until her fever came back, and she wasn't able to go on-stage when it was time for her grade.  She looked awful!  As soon as the concert was done, we took her to the doctor.

Taelyn, however, was ready to rock and gave a great performance!  Here is a clip from one of her songs.  She is quite the animated singer!

Lots of Love

Kaelia is a very caring child and is full of lots of love.  She often likes to shower us with kisses, hugs, and sweet words.  Her recent phrase lately has been in how much she loves us.  She started to say she loves us to 150 because she knows that is a very big number.  But today, she just told me,"I love you 150; I love you not a number.  I just love you forever!"  She is such a sweetheart.

The love goes beyond our family, however.  Kaelia is also quite affectionate in her class - particularly with the boys.  She loves to hug them and give them pet names.  One little boy was gone for an extra week after our last vacation.  When he came back, she ran after him with open arms and said, "Lukie, you're back!"  It comes to no surprise then that Kaelia has had several crushes on boys throughout the school year.  She tends to gravitate towards the boys that make her laugh, and there are two now that she absolutely adores: Jayden and Eli.  She asks one of them from time to time if they will be her boyfriend.  They are usually intrigued by the idea, but then say no with a cute smile or simply just run away.  Today, Kaelia asked Jayden to be her boyfriend, and he replied, "No way, Jose!"  However, his mom has told me that he thinks Kaelia is the prettiest girl in the world and tells his grandparents on Skype that she is his girlfriend.  Kaelia thinks it's pretty funny that the boys can't commit to her verbally yet, though.  Needless to say, we are definitely in trouble when Kaelia gets to her teen years!