Gwyn Laughs

Gwyneth is soooo cute, I had to share these photos--

Every day, she just gets more interactive and cute!

I posted a video of her laughing on youtube. You'll have to copy and paste the URL, because I don't know how to do it any other way yet!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBG8mc7mkLA

Close Call?

This entire past week, every day the local paper has been running articles about how people who come to the UAE on a visit visa (what Gwyn had) have to stay out of the country for a month before they can get a new visit visa.  The law seems to target certain nationalities, and is intended to stop people who are working here illegallly.  Still, it feels like we could have been stuck in Oman for a month!  Imagine!

Here's a link to one of the articles:  http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/10/01/10248992.html

Our Illegal Alien

This week we discovered that Gwyneth has been an illegal alien for the last 2 weeks!

It was actually discovered by the HR office at Dave's work when they were working on applying for her residency visa.  For some reason, she had only been given a 30 day visa when she entered the country, rather than the usual 60 day visa.  They called us up, and warned us that the fine would probably be about 3000 dhs (800 USD) by the time the paperwork was finished.  

We freaked out a little about that, and finally someone suggested that we do a "visa run."  This involves going to another country, getting stamped in and out of that country, and then returning to the UAE and getting a new visa.  The cheapest way would be to drive to Oman, about 2 1/2 hours from Abu Dhabi.  

So that's just what we did!  Connor couldn't come, because his passport was with the Turkish embassy, so I arranged for the boys to stay with friends and I took off.  It took a total of 8 hours.  We made a few mistakes, like I didn't realize that at the border leaving the UAE you have to ASK to be stamped out....I really didn't know there was an option!  Its the first border I've crossed where its optional!  

So, I went all the way to the checkpoint in Oman (30 mins each way) where another visa runner told me that I should have stopped and walked into a building at the UAE gate.....Anyway, I got stamped in and out of Oman, then went back to the UAE to beg for an out stamp....and an in stamp.  I got there about 20 minutes before Iftar (the meal where they break the fast--its Ramadan), and the guy was really grumpy.  (understandable.)  And he told me he was going to have to charge me 1620 dhs. 

I got out my wallet, and he told me, "wait, wait."  So I waited.  Then he kicked me out of the office, went and ate, and when he got back, he called someone on the phone, and then he was able to give Gwyn an out stamp.  For only 20 dhs!  Then, he made me go and wait in the car for 20 minutes before I could come back to the same guy and get the in stamp.  By the time I left, we were pretty good friends, but it was a little rocky  for a while there!

Now little Gwyn is legit again....

Gwyneth Smiles for the camera

Finally!  She has been smiling at us for months, and finally she did it for the camera!!!  She's also laughing quite a bit lately!

Sams........and........ Connors

Over half of the kids at Trevor's party were either named Connor or Sam....

ytraP yadhtriB s'roverT

.nuf fo stol, tsal semag ,tsrif ekaC.....sdrawkcab a dah roverT

Connor's Sleepover

This was Birthday Weekend!  We started Friday night with a sleepover for Connor.  He was in charge of all the activities, and I thought it would be a pretty easy party for me....and it was, but I wasn't prepared for the decibel level that could be generated by 5 middle school boys!!!

That last boy left the next morning at 12:00, and then we had to get set for Trevor's party!

Connor's Birthday

Yesterday was Connor's birthday.  He turned 11!  His birthday party is coming up this weekend, but we celebrated as a family.  For breakfast he wanted Eggo Waffles (such a treat here...), for dinner we went to an Iftar at the Emirates Palace, and for the cake I made a carrot cake shaped like a volcano (don't ask me, I just do what I'm told!)

Can't Catch Her Smiling

I've tried and tried.  She really does smile--really!  But as soon as she sees that camera, the smiles go away!

Casa Grande

 On the way, Connor and Trevor sat on these cactuses!

Actually, they are just posing for a funny picture, but Trevor really did get some spines in his bum from our goofing around....


We went to Tucson for a weekend with Jon and Tiffany's family, and on the way there, we passed a sign for the Casa Grande ruins.  I had seen these on my mission, but I asked the boys if they would like to see some Native American ruins.  The Casa Grande ruins are stucco, built in 1350, by a tribe now known as the Hohokam, a word that means "those who are gone."

The 4 walls face North, South, East, and West, and there are various holes in the structure which exactly capture the sunlight at summer solstace, another for winter solstace, etc.  It is 4 stories high, and is believed to have been used for religious purposes.  Anyway, we found it fun and fascinating.  We certainly didn't get enough of Arizona's Native American treasures!

Staying clean at the Whiting Reunion

Staying clean at the Whiting Reunion is always a bit of a challenge!  In fact, this year, there were so many people, we were limited to one shower per weekend!  And believe me, you need that shower!  Trevor tried to get out of it.  First he hemmed and hawed, then finally he got his towel and soap, and headed off for the showers, and returned to tell us he had showered.  The amazing thing was that the dirt he got on his face AFTER the shower looked exactly like the dirt he had on his face BEFORE the shower!  We decided that if he didn't want a warm shower, we would give him a cold one.  He thought that was pretty funny until about halfway through, when he agreed to go and finish up his shower in the warm water.  Thanks for your help, Uncle Mark!

Little Gwyn also enjoyed the challenge of staying clean in the great outdoors!  Here she is laying on the air mattress that I brought that was, in fact, bigger than the tent we slept in.....

Gwynie's Blog

Many people have asked for photos...here are a few!

What I Did This Summer

Our adventure in NC started our adventure for the entire summer!  I had traveled to the US 6 weeks early to have the baby.  The boys had to finish school, Dave had a business meeting in NC, and we have friends there who we wanted to see, so it seemed to make perfect sense for me to travel there to enjoy a little vacation before taking the boys back to AZ to await the birth.

Which just goes to show how little of life can really be planned!

The day we were both supposed to jet off to different corners of the world, Gwyn decided it was time to make her dramatic entry into the world!  

We were so glad we were all together.  The boys had spent the night at their friend's house, so we were able to head directly to the hospital, using our GPS to find one!  I'll never forget walking into the ER to say that my water had broken, and, by the way, I didn't have a doctor....

I had nothing!  I had traveled there with just my carry-on!  Dave went to Target and bought everything we needed.  The doctors wouldn't let us travel at first, so I stayed with our good (now REALLY GOOD) friends for a week until I found a doctor who said it would be okay to fly.  (Ask enough doctors, you'll eventually get the answer you want....)