At Home, etc.

After our trip to Bahrain, we hung out at home for a while...

Breakfast in Puppy Jammies...

A little light reading before breakfast.

One of the days, we went to RT.  We strolled on the beach and on the beach path.  Everett's favorite thing to do is look for shells.  

We ate dinner at the golf course, and this is us outside the golf course while we waited for our food to be ready.  While we were waiting, a Saudi man approached us and taught Daddy how to do a gutra the right way:

Preview

OK this is jumping the gun a little bit, but I just downloaded this picture from my camera and I had to post it right away!  It is Easter...more on Easter later, and more pictures too, but here is a preview of what's coming.

Yes, we match!  Thank you Gramama!!

 

 Check out the curls!

Trip to Bahrain

The day after the tee ball game, we all went to Bahrain to spend the night. 

We stayed in a two bedroom apartment in the fancy Gulf Hotel.  This was the same place we stayed the last time we went.

 Our apartment was lovely.  Having a two bedroom space with a full kitchen makes going with the three kids and four adults much easier. 

 View from our apartment.  That's the Grand Mosque in the background. 

After we got checked in, we walked across the street to the Grand Mosque.  In Saudi Arabia, only Muslims can enter a mosque.  (So all this time we have been here, we've never been inside one.  Astounding.)  But in Bahrain, we were not only allowed to go in, but we were welcomed.  They actually had a tour office, with abayas and hair coverings for women to borrow and tour guides to escort visitors around.  Our tour guide was very nice and spoke very good English; she gave us a great tour and answered all our questions.  She was originally from Egypt. 

 The Grand Mosque

 The interior courtyard. 

 

Inside is an enormous area for prayer with a huge chandelier.  The children were permitted, even encouraged, to run around and play, as long as they were quiet.  They took full advantage of that, considering it was a great big carpeted empty room. 

 The chandelier

 In the middle of the room was a big chair and a rug that was surrounded by a small wooden enclosure.  In the background is a niche built into the wall.  The niche is only there for amplification; a person can stand inside and talk (like Everett is doing below) or lead a prayer, and the sound echoes back so everyone in the room can hear.  It faces Mecca. 

 Our tour guide was telling us all about the prayers and the customs.  

 More of the kids running around. 

 While we were there, it was prayer time.  This man came out and stepped up to a microphone (apparently the niche is not as useful as it would seem), and he did the prayer call.  The sound is also sent up to the minarets so that people outside can hear. 

 

 

We came back, ate lunch (room service!), took naps, and then headed for the pool.

 That's Everett going down the slide!

After swimming, we ate dinner with friends at the Mexican restaurant at the hotel.  (The friends took the picture.)  (It was a long Company weekend so we bumped into several Company families while we were there.)

The next day went to the pool, ate breakfast/brunch/lunch at an American restaurant, and we took a driving tour of the biggest city in Bahrain.  Then we headed home. 

We did not see the military presence or protest sites like we did the last time we came.  But since our visit, there has been some more unrest, especially surrounding the Bahrain Grand Prix.  We'll let it calm down before we go back again. 

Arrival of Gramama and Grapapa

Last month, Gramama and Grapapa came to visit us!  The day after they arrived, we went hiking on the jebels on camp.  (We had done some face painting at the house before we left.)

 

 

 

And then the next evening, Everett had a tee ball game.

 

 

 

 

 

Lawrence is not on the team (you have to be 4 years old), but I do let him wear Everett's other jersey while he watches the game.

 

 

All the kids chase and tackle Coach Mike after the game is over. 





The next morning, we went to Bahrain to spend the night.  Pictures of that will be the next post...

You go, girls

 Wow, women are really powerful!

One you get past the ridiculous part of this headline, remember that the scary part is that people actually BELIEVE this.  Yikes. 


http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/19/women-blame-earthquakes-iran-cleric

I do like the sentiment in the last line, though - similarly, I think that 10 million people should leave New York City so that it is less crowded.  Sheesh.

Summer Schedule

Attention friends!  We've got our tickets to come home!  YAY!!  Less than 2 months left!  I suddenly got excited about this and now I can barely stand waiting anymore.  How much longer?!

I will be in Knoxville with the children from June 17th until July 17th.  Please call me so that we can set up a time for you to come visit us!  You can have your own guest house if you want to spend the night.  I have talked with some of you already, but if I have not gotten a hold of you yet, let's talk soon to make sure we get to visit. 

Michigan friends:  No worries, we are coming to you in late July sometime, when Mike comes.

Charlotte/Rock Hill friends:  We are going to hit Charlotte at the end of July/first of August.  But we may not be there for very long, so please consider coming to see us in Knoxville, too.  :)

Cleveland, TN friends:  I think it's our turn to come to you!  How about the Chattanooga aquarium or Rock City? 

Everybody else:  call me so that we can make plans!


Not much longer now...

In other news, the heat has really hit over here.  It's routinely 100 now during the heat of the day, and while I am not fazed by the heat itself, it's hard because it's tough on the kids.  I can see the indoor confinement coming, too....agggh the boredom.  Oh well, not much longer now until we exit The Sandbox.