Hannah's 2nd Birthday

So our little baby girl is now REALLY not a baby anymore.  She's turned 2-and is cuter than ever!

Hannah wanted to go on the train for her "happy birthday", so we caught the train and met Uncle Buck for a yummy brekkie at the Mall of the Emirates.  Later that afternoon we went for a swim, to test the new goggles that Donna had bought for her birthday, but that ended in birthday tears.  It was her "party", and, well....

Next day saw the delivery of 2 birthday cakes from Amo, our very very kind local fairy godmother. (Well there were actually 3 cakes, 2 for Hannah, because she turned 2, and one for Donna, just because...).  Hannah had such fun cutting and singing Happy Bithday and blowing out the candles, we must have repeated that process at least 5 times, and it just got funnier each time!  

I had to call the troops to help eat the cakes, so the Neals, the Yongs and Listers met us at the al Barsha park, and the kids had a jol.  (I then went around the park and gave away free cake to whoever wanted or whoever was too polite to say no, not that anyone would say no to pink Hello Kitty cake!).

That was the end of Hannah's birthday, a bit random, but a great 3 days!  Hannah loved it, singing "Happy Birthday to Hannah" throughout all 72 hours... it was gorgeous and so special to watch.

Ryan, Donna and myself are so thankful to our Lord for our Hannah, she has brought so much joy and laughs into our lives. 

We love her so much!

Granpa Diggers and Granny's Visit

The visit with Granny and Granpa was a full and fun one. We had such good times laughing, sharing, being silly, playing and just being together. 

I enjoyed this Christmas so much!  We had such a blessed time spent with family and dear friends.  And all the food was delicious-my dad's deboned, weber turkey probably winning the Christmas food of 2010 award! 



The last day of of my folks visit was spent on a Dhow out on the RAK sea.  It was an unbelievable experience, a day I will always treasure and look back at fondly.



CLG Christmas Party



All the Kiddies




The older folk...




The delicious meal, games, table and gorgeous dog



We had our first CLG Christmas meal at Joss and Barry's home, and it was a wonderful day!  Their house is beautiful, they have plenty of games and the cutest dog!  The food was just divine, a delicious "bring and share" meal, (even though most of it was supplied by Joss and Barry!). I think the group has learnt that pairing Ryan and Barry in any game is simply dangerous; it makes them proud and the rest of us mad!  It was a stunning day of fellowship and sharing, lots of laughs, and I don't remember any tears-even though there were many kiddies, a jumping castle and team BarryRyan winning everything!

Thank you Warren for the organising, and Joss and Barry for opening your wonderful home and for all the rest of you for whatever you brought and for blessed 1st year of CLG that we have so enjoyed and been blessed by.

Thanksgiving!!!!

I know this is unbelievably late, but we've had many wonderful guests staying with us since October and I had some other "technical difficulties".  So...lots of catching up to do! 

We had a great thanksgiving lunch at Jackie's place, and it was great to see what Thanksgiving is actually about and why our American friends make it such an important day.

I was so thankful for the great friendships we've made here, the fellowship is so sweet-it is a great blessing to us!

F1!!!

We had the privilege of going to the F1 in Abu Dhabi and what a fantastic experience! I went to the practise and qualifying day on Saturday, and it was more than enough to get me hooked.

I always wondered what all the fuss was about, why the guys get paid so much, why there are so many F1 fanatics, and now I get it-at least a little bit! 

Can't wait for next year!

Gramma and Granpa Zoffie's Visit

The visit with Gramma and Granpa Zoffie was, as always, special and FUN!  We went shopping (no photos of that!), visited the stables, played many games, swam often, ate alot and chilled out!   

Perfect!

KIDZANIA!!!!!

We had the unbelievable experience of "emigrating to Kidzania" for the morning with the Yongs. 

Man what FUN!! 

I honestly cannot say who enjoyed it the most-and that includes Melanie and myself aswell!  There is something so special in seeing your kiddos having that much fun!

I needed to do 2 collages for this because I had too many photos (I took 175 that morning!) and could not cut them down anymore! I hope you can get a feel for the day...