Happy Halloween!

Doha does not truly understand the idea of a typical American Halloween, but that doesn't mean we don't have a great time.  This year, not only did we get to carve a pumpkin, but the girls got to go trick-or-treating two nights in a row!

First, we went to a very large complex nearby for a great Halloween ambiance and lots of apartments to visit.  Taelyn dressed as Elfaba from Wicked, and Kaelia was the Hulk - both characters that were quite fitting for each of their personalities.  Throughout the evening, Kaelia would give a little punch in the air while Taelyn would cackle and laugh.  They were great!

Then our own complex put together some trick-or-treating tonight.  We weren't really sure what to expect because most people on our street do not celebrate Halloween, but it was obvious that people put their differences aside for the night to partake in the festivities.  We live in a very small, gated community, so the girls ran around from house to house with our neighbors and had an awesome time.  Taelyn stuck with her Elfaba costume while Kaelia changed in to a black cat.  They also ended up with more candy than the night before!  To top off the weekend, the girls got together with our next door neighbors to count, compare, and trade candy.

We had a wonderful Halloween weekend, though I cannot say the same is true for our $50 pumpkin.  We carved it last Saturday, and by Wednesday it was full of mold and ooze.  We promised the girls we would keep it until Halloween, so we watched the face droop more and more each day and turn in to an almost flattened pile of mush!  Here are our before and after pictures.  If that's not creepy enough, then I guess it's not really Halloween!

Before

After

Where Will the Walkers Live Next Year?

After some issues in Qatar that we are not happy about, Justin and I decided to make this school year our last year before moving on to a new country.  It is currently hiring season in the international school world for next school year, so Justin and I have been quite actively involved with applications and interviews.  We ended up with a few job offers, and we have now officially made our decision.

I made a slideshow to announce our decision to the girls, and they are quite excited for our next adventure.  Take a look at the slideshow below, and see if you can guess where the Walkers are headed next!

FYI - the slideshow is catered toward things the girls would get excited about.  If it seems strange that I would highlight some of the features of our next school, it is simply because our current school does not have those things, hence part of the reason why we are leaving.

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Halloween is Almost Here!

While grocery shopping the other day, we were certainly in the mood for Halloween as we came across some pumpkins that were imported from the US for carving.  We didn't actually get to carve pumpkins last year because we weren't willing to pay the outrageous price for an imported pumpkin since Qatar cannot grow vegetables like that.  This year, however, we were feeling generous and wanted to make sure our kids grow up with traditions from their culture.  So we decided to buy the smallest pumpkin at the store, and $49 later, came home with our prized family pumpkin!

The girls then got in to the Halloween spirit by using face paint.  We didn't have orange, so Kaelia turned herself into a red pumpkin, and Taelyn wrote Happy Halloween up her arm.  Then they invited our next door neighbors, Keira and Ewan, over to partake in the carving, and all four kids dug right in.  They had a great time coming up with ideas for the carving, taking out all the guts, and roasting pumpkin seeds.  I guess sometimes you can't really put a price on culture and traditions.

Oktoberfest, Bavaria, & More

Our fall break was this past week, and it just so happened to take place on opening weekend of Germany's Oktoberfest.  So we booked our tickets and headed to Bavaria once again.

This time in Germany, we started in Neuremburg - a place we have never been to before.  There we went to the Nazi headquarters which is now a museum about how Hitler rose in to power in such a small amount of time.  This was the first time the girls were really exposed to Hitler, and it was a non-graphic way for them to learn about what happened during the Holocaust.

Justin  then ran a marathon and the girls entered kids' races just outside of Neuremburg.  The girls' run was first, and Taelyn did a great job running her hardest with a huge smile on her face.  We didn't count what place she came in, but she was definitely in the lead pack.  We discovered, however, that Kaelia doesn't really like the idea of racing.  She struggled after falling asleep in the car ride to the race and then didn't want to run.  She still entered the race but had a volunteer helper join her.  Justin's race was the next, and the girls and I had a wonderful time driving to various points on the course, cheering him on.  We found lots of playgrounds  and picked apples off of trees in the parks while we waited.

The next stop on our trip was to Munich for Oktoberfest! Since Justin and I have already been on opening weekend without the kids, we decided to go during the week for Family Day.  We had a wonderful time as a family, hanging out in various tents, eating pretzels, gingerbread cookies, and chickens (they are amazing at Oktoberfest!), going on rides outside of the tents, and of course, drinking delicious liter beers. We also met up with a family that we know from school.  At one of the tents, a kids' station was set up where the girls made lots of different crafts while the adults enjoyed the ambiance of the band, beer, and food.

After Munich, we went to my favorite town in Germany, Fussen, where there are gorgeous mountains, lakes, trails, and castles as well as great shopping and restaurants.  After some amazing runs in the morning, we ventured off to see the castles - one of which was Walt Disney's inspiration when he designed Cinderella's castle.  To top off the day, we ended up at a beautiful brewery for dinner.  There was a kids club with a climbing wall and a two-lane bowling alley for the kids to enjoy after dinner.  Then we all took advantage of the outdoor mini golf course on the premise.  It was an all natural course with no railings, and the view in the background was of the mountains and castles.  It was the most breathe-taking mini golf ever!

We concluded our vacation in the medieval city of Rothenburg where we went to a medieval torture museum and a night watchman tour.  At the museum, we saw all different sorts of punishments from medieval times.  Taelyn's favorite was a mask that women had to wear in public if they were caught talking too much.  Kaelia loved some of the schoolroom punishments like wearing a dunce cap in the corner.  The night watchman tour took place at night where a man dressed up as a night watchman and took us all around the old city, teaching us about its history.  It was both fascinating and comical, and well really enjoyed the tour.

Germany was once again, an amazing country to visit.  I especially loved how much the girls took in the culture this time around.  Kaelia knows the entire "Ein Prosit" song that is sung at Oktoberfest and loves to sing and dance to it.  And after spending some time back in the Middle East, I loved the crisp, clean air and lush green all around.  It was really hard to leave!

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