Leap Day Birthday

Since Meeka was born in Leap Day, today is actually her first birthday even though she is four years old.  The girls wanted to celebrate this special day, so Taelyn organized a lovely party for Meeka.  First the girls made homemade doggie treats that we topped with peanut butter for frosting.  Then we invited Molly over (the next door neighbor's dog) for a birthday song and treats.

Happy birthday to the best dog we could possibly hope for!

Destination Imagination Weekend

This weekend was filled with lots of competing at the Doha Regional Destination Imagination Competition.  Destination Imagination is a world-wide competition where teams prepare a challenge for several months and present it in front of a panel of judges.  When I was a kid, it was called Odyssey of the Mind.  Now they have another component where teams perform an instant challenge on the day of the competition in addition to their prepared team challenge.  In the instant challenge teams learn of a problem scenario, have 5 minutes to create something to solve the problem, and then have 2-3 minutes to present their creation.

Taelyn and Kaelia both competed on their own teams this weekend at the KG and 1st grade levels.  They both did great!  Taelyn was the narrator in a skit that her team performed in order to demonstrate map skills.  She said her lines with lots of expression and helped her other teammates out when they forgot their lines.  Taelyn was also one of the team members that wrote the creative skit during practices over the last few months.  She has really enjoyed the entire experience and is well-suited for DI!  Here is a clip from Taelyn's skit.

Kaelia's team presented the same challenge, but they came up with a completely different skit.  She was a stray cat that wondered around as explorers went from place to place.  Her only line was "meow" but she took it very seriously.  She crawled around, pretended to lick herself clean, and played with a toy mouse.  She even stayed in character after the skit was over.  The judges were surprised in the end to learn that she could play the role of a cat so well without ever having had one as a pet!  Here is a portion of Kaelia in action.

I also was the team manager for two secondary teams at our school: one middle school and one high school team.  Both teams had to build their own musical instruments and incorporate it into a theatrical story.  The middle school team ran into some hiccups before their performance and gave it a good effort but didn't finish so well.  The high school team, however, did the best that could be expected for the day and ended up coming in 3rd place.

Good-bye Eli

Today Kaelia had to say good-bye to one her best buddies from the last two years: Eli.  Eli has been in her last for Pre-K and Kindergarten and is his bus seat buddy each day to school this year.  The absolutely adore each other.  Unfortunately, Eli's family is leaving Qatar this weekend to move back to the US. To say good-bye, Kaelia made him a very sweet card and friendship loom band bracelet.  Then she brought a stuffed animal to school that Eli gave Kaelia earlier this year.  She asked him to kiss it today so that she could remember him.  She is really going to miss her little friend!

Reflective Award

Kaelia earned another Pride of Principled award at school for being a reflective learner.  At our recent 3-way conferences, Kaelia knew exactly what she was going well and easy for her at school and what was challenging.  Her teacher commented on how well she was able to reflect, and she nominated Kaelia for the award. Kaelia is doing really well in school this year, and we are so proud of her!

Sport's Day

For one day a year, Qatar attempts to promote sports and healthy living through a national Sport's Day holiday where all schools and major businesses take the day off to play some sports..  In addition, the schools must also hold their own Sport's Day sometime during this month.  Our girls celebrated Sport's Day over the last two weeks, and both had great days.  Here are a few pics of their experiences.

Taelyn - 6-7 Years

Taelyn has definitely gone through some changes over the past year.  It has often felt like she was 6 going on 16.  Sometimes she enjoys playing like a young kid while other times she is more interested in tween-type activities.  She still loves playing with My Little Ponies and just about any make-believe game that she and Kaelia can come up with, but she equally enjoys jewelry and clothing that does not have characters on it.  Taelyn also loves to play on the iPad and Wii - especially her Harry Potter game with her dad.  Taelyn is no longer very interested in Disney princesses, face paint, or other things that she says are just for little kids.  Instead, she would rather go roller skating or watch real people movies like Harry Potter.

In school, Taelyn's favorite class is Cultural Studies as she learns about different places throughout the world.  So far, she has learned about China, Japan, and India.  She also loves writing and develops her own creative stories along with pictures that she draws to go with them.  She is a passionate and creative student and volunteers often in class because she loves to talk!

At 7 years old, Taelyn is now 3'11" (47 inches) and 47 lbs.  She is mastering more physical activities such as flipping upside on playground equipment and scoring goals in soccer games.  She hates being the goalie, though, because she says she always misses the ball!

Here are some pictures from the last year.  Taelyn picked out the Katie Perry song because Katie Perry is her current favorite singer.  It has been Taylor Swift for most of the year, but now she has recently changed that opinion.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Our school does not celebrate Valentine's Day, so we wanted to make sure we did something special at home this year.  First the girls got together with our next door neighbors on Sunday to make their own Valentine's mailboxes and cards.  Then all four kids dropped off their cards to each person's mailbox today.  The girls opened their mailboxes after school today and were excited to see the cards from Keira and Ewan, plus cards and candy from Justin and I and each other.  We had a very sweet, sentimental time together, and I'm so glad we decided to celebrate!

Taelyn's 7th Birthday Party

This year for Taelyn's birthday, she told us that instead of having a big party with friends, she wanted to invite her best friend over and volunteer at a pet rescue center.  So Taelyn's friend, Dana, came over yesterday, and we all headed to a nearby rescue center where we took some dogs for a walk and interacted with other dogs and cats.  Taelyn, Kaelia, and Dana were wonderful with the animals - especially the cats.  Taelyn figured out how to get the skittish cats to snuggle up with her while Kaelia tried various ways to play with them.  All three girls had an amazing time.

Afterward, we went back home for some pizza, presents, and Coldstone ice cream birthday cake.  Taelyn got a My Little Pony Equestria doll, nail kit, Battleship, magic show kit, and a special locket.  Then the girls watched a My Little Pony movie followed by a sleepover where we set up a tent in the playroom.

This morning, the girls woke up, had some pancakes, and got a chance to play for a bit before Dana went home.  Taelyn also gave Dana and Kaelia a best friend and big sis/little sis necklace in their party favors as the party came to a close.

The party was a huge success, and everyone had a great time.  Taelyn and Kaelia both said their favorite part of the party was going to the animal shelter.  We are so very proud of Taelyn for spending her birthday this way and know that it will be an experience she will always remember.

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A Week in Barcelona

We just got back from a week in Barcelona where we enjoyed plenty of fantastic food, drinks, outdoor sights, and family time.  Once again, we created a scavenger hunt for the girls to check off items from our travels, and they did a great job taking everything in.

One of the sights was La Sagrada Familia - a beautiful Catholic church in which construction began over 100 years ago and is still under works.  It is projected to be finished in 2026, but it is nonetheless gorgeous at this point in time.

We also took a visit to the zoo.  Taelyn loved the peacocks and flamingos while Kaelia loved the zebras.  The highlight of the day, however, was watching the gorillas.  There were two tiny babies with their mothers, two huge males watching over everyone, and a mid-sized silly gorilla that liked to through straw everywhere, jump on one of the mama's head, and pound its chest.  It was highly entertaining.

As a family, one of the best activities we did was hike at the Modernist Park. It was a very large park constructed by a famous artist (the same person who designed La Sagrada Familia), full of beautiful pathways and structures that looked like ancient ruins.  As we hiked further up, we saw the peak of the park (and of the city), and Taelyn insisted that we all walk to the top.  So we did and had a chance to view the entire city.  We all had a great time on that hike.

Another family highlight was going to the Camp Nou experience - a tour of the Barcelona futbol stadium.  Justin actually went to a game one night to watch Barcelona vs. Madrid, but then we all went to the stadium for the museum and tour.  We saw lots of trophies, jerseys, cleats, and awards that Barcelona has won since 1900.  We also saw memorabilia for Messi - Barcelona's best player and the world's player of the year.  Then we went to the locker rooms, press room, the stands, and finally, the field.

Barcelona is known for their tapas (small appetizers), so we took advantage and enjoyed lots!  We especially liked the Mexican food and guacamole but also had our share of calamari, mushrooms, olives, and other tapas.  Justin was excited about the numerous breweries, so we also had a chance to try lots of Spanish beer.  There was even a mojito bar that served unique mojito flavors like wasabi, spicy mango, and cookie!  The girls were excited about the desserts and had gelato and churros dipped in chocolate.  There was a little bit of something wonderful for everyone.

We also could not leave Barcelona without visiting the beach.  It was a little chilly in the 60's, but the girls still manage to get wet and play in the sand.  We spent most of the time, however, picking up sea glass in the sand.  Within 10 minutes, we had piles and various colors.

We had a great trip to Barcelona along with great quality time with our family.  Here is a slideshow of the trip.

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