Wandering The Planet

January and February 2010 in Pictures

2010-02-13T20:05:00.006+04:00

Family in the Snow, January 31, 2010

Aubrey baking cookies

Zachary really enjoys lunch. Really.

New buddy

Happy Daddy

Big sister and little brother

Out into the world...

Serious post-rain puddle and ditch inspection. We broke out the Tigger boots for this...

Aubrey-sized tree

And then the snow started...

Oooooh, pretty...

And fun!

S & J

Brother and Sister

2010-01-13T09:18:00.002+04:00

OK, here's where we freak ya' out a little. One of these is Aubrey, the other is Zachary, both about 5 days old.

Give up?

The first is Zack.

S & J

Aubrey Turns Three!!!

2010-01-13T08:59:00.001+04:00

Jan 11, 2010: Aubrey's Third Birthday!!!

January 8, 2010: Zachary Kyle

2010-01-13T08:57:00.001+04:00

Jan 8, 2010: Zachary Kyle is born. Welcome!

Jan 11, 2010: Aubrey Meets Zachary (and is totally fascinated by his umbilical cord...)

Jan 12, 2010: The Lord in his Manor.

Jan 12, 2010: Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be CrackBerry Addicts...

Jan 12, 2010: Aubrey and Zachary: Big Sister and Little Brother

S & J

December 2009 and January 2010

2010-01-13T07:52:00.010+04:00

Early Dec, 2009: Aubrey at Christmas Town @ Richmond (VA) Children's Museum

Early Dec, 2009: Aubrey and the Snow Queen @ Richmond (VA) Children's Museum

Dec 18, 2009: Why Parents Have Heart Attacks

Dec 19, 2009: Aubrey and her court of Snowpeople!

Dec 23, 2009: "Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul..."

Dec 25, 2009: Small Girl, Big Present

Dec 25, 2009: Cinderella and Tinky Winky Dance; the Prince is most jealous!

Dec 25, 2009: Aubrey The Chef

First week, Jan 2010: Aubrey on the slides at Clarendon Market

First week, Jan 2010: Fun with static electricity.

Jan 8, 2010: Zachary Kyle is born. Welcome!

Jan 11, 2010: Aubrey Meets Zachary (and is totally fascinated by his umbilical cord...)

Jan 11, 2010: Aubrey's Third Birthday!!!

Jan 12, 2010: Zachary Kyle. The Lord in his Manor.

Jan 12, 2010: Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be CrackBerry Addicts...

Jan 12, 2010: Aubrey and Zachary: Big Sister and Little Brother

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may 2010 be a year of joy, love and peace.

S & J

Swim Nap Play

2009-11-16T21:13:00.003+04:00

Some new (and old) pictures of Aubrey...

Just hanging around...

Oh, by the way, want to see the same shirt, two years ago...? Here you go...

Aubrey put all her friends down for a nap, then tucked herself in, too.

Swimming with friends. She's getting really good!

S & J

Summer 2009

2009-08-08T10:20:00.003+04:00

From Walt Disney World, Sea World Orlando, and home in Virginia.

Out for a boat ride

I've had half a dozen people who know me for years say "oh, this is so you..." Yeah, it is!! :-)

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Meeting Minnie and Mickey, and properly dressed for the occasion!!

Sea World Orlando, Summer 2008...

...and Summer 2009. What a difference...

S & J

Why We Do Not Leave Daddy In Charge

2009-06-13T17:54:00.005+04:00

So Mommy went to the gym and Daddy and Aubrey decided to do a little painting.

"We put do-rag on my head so I don't paint my hair." -- Aubrey

Jenny disavows all responsibility for this fiasco. :-)

S & J

The Duck of Toilet

2009-05-15T11:00:00.002+04:00

We've all seen those examples of odd English.

We went to buy a potty seat for Aubrey. This was the text on the box of one of the baby potties, shaped like a duck, available for sale:

Funny Baby Set

The Duck of Toilet

Most the design of the vogue.

Our product is speciallized for your convenience, your child's safety with comfort but design of.

Hurry to buy I go home. I will make your child academic association from have already go to the stool.

Install the method 1: First, the red key go toward right revolve 90 degrees, then connect the head and body together, then go toward the key left to turn round 90 degrees.

Install the method 2: Rode the back of the duck moves to open, peep out of the toilet inside, your child can go on the duck to go to the stool.

S&J

Eighteen Months

2009-05-02T14:58:00.006+04:00

What happens in eighteen months?

You go from this...

...to this...

...and this...

...to this!

S & J

Easter

2009-04-24T21:40:00.005+04:00

Ouch! I just realized it's been over a month between the "Sleeping Baby" and "Air Races" postings, and that I forgot to post the Easter pictures from the beginning of April. Sorry, all -- lots of work.

There are a couple from our outing to the new public beach that's right out front of our neighborhood, and then some pictures from our Easter Egg roll. Yeah, she's chasing the Easter Bunny.

At The Beach

Easter Egg Roll

S & J

A Day At The (Air) Races

2009-04-24T21:26:00.004+04:00

The annual Red Bull Air Races in Abu Dhabi last weekend (April 17), always a big draw on the Corniche. They lay out the race course in the main lagoon north of Abu Dhabi Island, and lots of people come out to watch the planes.

A Day On The Corniche

Z O O M ! ! !

Mmmmm! Water good!

S & J

Sleeping Baby

2009-03-19T23:36:00.004+04:00

A few photos that we took of Aubrey while she was sleeping.

Surrounded by friends:

You got up, so I have to??

Now in all of these, she started out in the bed, turned the normal way. None of these are posed, this is how we found her.

Afternoon naptime. Not only did she climb out of bed, but she took along her pillow, blankets, water, milk, Kermit, patchwork elephant, bedtime book -- AND put her shoes on.

Middle of the night, sideways:

Middle of the night. I don't even know how this is possible.

S & J

In The Spaces Between...

2009-02-25T22:43:00.006+04:00

Hello, all!

It's been a busy month, with much to do, but there's always time to get away and goof off.

We went with friends to the other side of a little spit of sand that someone has thrown into the bay near Abu Dhabi island. Facing out into the Gulf, all you can see is water and sky and a few other sandbars. No city. It was a good getaway. And Aubrey had some fun, too...

Back on the home front, other parents will have heard of something called an "Infantino" -- it's a big cover for either a high chair or a shopping cart. Well, we've discovered a third use. Fashion!

S & J

Saturday in the Park with Aubrey

2009-01-31T19:49:00.004+04:00

We heard about a new children's park downtown and Daddy and Aubrey went over to check it out. It turned out to be very nice, landscaped, equipment in good condition (not always the case), not mobbed by a hundred other families, and with sand instead of those awful rubber mats that turn to radiators in the middle eastern sun. Aubrey had such a good time!

Yo ho! Ship ahoy...

Ready to play!

Um, yeah, you can trust me...I promise I won't put this in your shirt...yeah, sure...

So many ropes, so little time...

And this pile of sand goes right here...

On the theory that the box is more interesting than the toy, we proudly present a cup, a rock and a straw.

S & J

La Fashion Plate

2009-01-16T22:41:00.004+04:00

Exploring fashion at an early age. All pieces hand picked and coordinated by Aubrey herself. We think she's mah-velous!!

Jetlag kept Aubrey from sleeping normal hours, and one night at about 2 am she figured out how to climb out of her crib. So guess who has a big girl bed now?

S & J

Baby

2008-12-09T16:50:00.005+04:00

Organized Baby

(it's a little spooky, she does this all by herself...)

Santa Baby

(she insisted on going to the mall in the hat and yellow shoes; what a sight!)

Faces of Baby

S & J

A Day in the Park

2008-12-05T12:49:00.004+04:00

Took Aubrey over to a nearby playground on UAE National Day, December 2. Hence the shirt. The father of one of her classmates in playgroup is an Emirati and part of one of the larger families, and he gave all of his daughter's playmates a special National Day t-shirt. It's really a very gracious gesture, and Aubrey likes the shirt very much!

Sitting with Dad

On the see-saw

By herself. No joke. 23 months old, and she can do this by herself.

Baby loooooooves the slides...

After her post-park bath, Aubrey loves getting her hair styled.

S & J

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-07T07:06:00.002+04:00

Painting her pumpkin...and pretty much everything else...

All dressed up in her costume, which Mama made...

(That's sign language for "I Love You")

After a hard day of trick-or-treating, Aubrey likes to relax at home and watch her sign language DVD with friends. Lots of them. And a beverage. And a snack. And shoes. And...

S & J

Back in the UAE

2008-10-01T22:19:00.006+04:00

We're back home.

Missed all the hot weather (yay!). Not too much changed. There are a couple of buildings -- and we do mean whole buildings -- that weren't there when we left. They do build fast here...

We caught the end of Ramadan, but it's over now and things are getting back to normal. Lots of work coming up, but also a lot of new people have come to town, so this next year should be interesting.

A few photos from the end of our time back home in Virginia:

The Virginia Air & Space Museum in Hampton, Virginia:

Baby loves to swing!

Bluebird Gap Farm

Fashion starts early...

Check out my dance moves.

A Quiet Moment in the Sunlight

S & J

It's Been A Long Time

2008-09-05T00:06:00.005+04:00

So, five months later...

Sorry for the long absence, but April, May and June just turned into pretty much hellacious months of work, work, work and more work for Steve, with some minor health problems involved. Jenny has gone back to work part time, also taking up time from other pursuits. Aubrey weathered her first throat and ear infection, popped an eardrum, but it has healed. The spring dust storms of Abu Dhabi were not kind to anyone, least of all Steve's sinuses. We'll dispense with the unnecessary details, but after spending two months pretty much consistently sick, Steve ended up having to come home for treatment and undergo sinus surgery in August. We simply found ourselves snowed under and didn't keep up with the blog.

Let's just pick up where we left off, shall we?

So in July, Jenny and Aubrey came home to the U.S. for a long visit. Steve got stuck staying behind in Abu Dhabi, at least for a while, to get some work done.

Aubrey had a good time finally getting to meet her cousins. Here they are at lunch at Busch Gardens in Virginia.

Now, Daddy might have had to spend an extra month in Abu Dhabi, but don't feel too sorry for him -- he caught up eventually and got to take his baby girl for a little ride on the boat...

(Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup)

...and to the Best Place on Earth!

Aubrey has discovered a great attraction to all animals and just loves making new friends. Hello, Mr. Duck...

We did have a wonderful time in Orlando. Yeah, Disney World is total kitsch and marketing, but it's so much fun to watch Aubrey's reactions to all the new experiences. She got to see animals and shows and characters, and just have all these great new adventures!

Now that said, you have to know that we managed to schedule the trip to Orlando right during the week that Tropical Storm Fay parked on Florida, don't you? Naturally. Still, we didn't get too wet, the parks never closed, and Aubrey was a total trooper -- and a fashion plate -- in her Disney crocs and poncho. The crocs have become a bit of a joke in the family, or at least proof that marketing is alive and well in south Florida. We put Mickey and Minnie buttons in the crocs (she calls them both "meemee"), and Aubrey now will not go to bed unless she has her shoes with her and her Minnie Mouse doll nearby.

We also dropped in at Sea World and Aubrey got to see Shamu the whale. Shamu (or, as Aubrey calls him, "Maa-moo!") is her other new bestest friend from Florida. The Shamu handpuppet joins the Minnie Mouse doll and the crocs in the crib every night.

Or else.

And we mean, or else.

A little finger painting. Portrait of the Artist...

We had to go up to New York City (Steve's surgery), but tried to make the best of it and show Aubrey where Daddy comes from. This was her first trip to the Big Apple. We did all the requisite musts -- real New York pizza, real New York deli, real New York bagels (you getting the idea it's all about the food?) -- and two can't-miss sites. The top of the Empire State Building...

...and the children's petting zoo at Central Park. Aubrey had a hoot feeding the animals and looking at the ducks and turtles and birds. The funny thing is, Steve spent a lot of time in this zoo as a kid, too -- it seemed so much bigger back then. Funny that...

At the end of the day, though, there's nothing like a good, busy coloring session. With Minnie gear, of course. Hey, this red crayon needs a refit...

Playing with food. The joys of babyhood... I can't put my finger on it, but I just like this picture. There's something very 70's about a banana headband. And we don't mean banana-colored, we mean actual banana.

It's nice to be back. Sorry we've been away so long.

S & J

Little Baby Walkin'

2008-03-30T17:55:00.003+04:00

Someone can get down the steps all by herself!

Goofing during dinner

Too funny. Ready for the beach at Miami...

Gots to get me my java...

(IT WAS EMPTY! We ain't that awful as parents...)

S & J

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

2008-03-20T18:07:00.003+04:00

New feature - want to focus on a couple of the sights around the UAE, give some detail.

Some photos of visits to the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Grand Mosque, in Abu Dhabi. It's almost complete after about 10 years. I'm told it's the third-largest in the world (after Mecca and the Dome of the Rock), can hold 40,000 people for a prayer service, and inside is both the largest Persian carpet in the world, and the largest mosque chandelier in the world.

One of the more amazing architectural features is that the entire floor, all the marble tiles, are suspended on a steel beam framework and water runs underneath the floor. It keeps the floor cool (particularly important since one must remove ones shoes and wash ones feet before entering a mosque and praying) even in the sun.

There are a couple more pictures of the courtyard and the interior in the post "January and February" of February 29, 2008.

The collonades have individual domes with scrolling and script inside.

The inlay of stone and mother of pearl into the marble wall panels is in the same style as the Taj Mahal.

The doors are very ornate. Double paned glass with the designs, inlay and crystals pressed between the panes.

Inside, one of the sections of columns that holds up the ceiling. These stands (and many others) hold copies of the Quran, just in case someone needs one.

This is the chandelier -- a full picture, and a close up.

One of the artisans, working on the stone embossment of the entry foyer.

S & J

A Visit to Sharjah

2008-03-20T18:04:00.004+04:00

Continuing the focus on special locations, Sharjah:

Kinda reminds me of New York.

Found the geometry of the buildings interesting in this light...

The Al-Hisn Fort in the center of downtown.

Folks relaxing outside a local cafe.

S & J

The Pace Of Change in the UAE

2008-02-29T23:28:00.005+04:00

Standard mantra for Abu Dhabi and Dubai is how quickly everything changes. Have dug up some pictures that really make the point.

This is a picture of the Abu Dhabi Corniche in about 2004. The large building, in the center, is now complete and is the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. ADIA manages the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, $800 billion dollars, the largest in the world.

Here's the same neighborhood in the late 1960s.

OK, I know what you're thinking. Forty years, hey, a lot can change in 40 years. OK, try this. See that white building in the center of the photo, stocky rectangle with a turret and a tall antenna on top? That's the World Trade Center building in Dubai.

Here's a picture I took from a window on the 20th floor. Dubai, 2008.

Same view, 1991. You read that right. 1991. The only way you know it's the same stretch of road is the four low apartment buildings that have survived. 12 years ago, the Trade Center building was the tallest skyscraper in the entire UAE. Now, you can barely find it in the crowd.

S & J

January and February

2008-02-29T12:28:00.009+04:00

Sorry for the lack of posting, but it's been a bit hectic here these past two months.

So when Aubrey's grandparents visited, we decided to do a little travelling. Here's Aubrey getting packed to go...

We went to Sharjah, about 150 miles up the coast. Among the sites we saw, the al-Hisn Fort, right in the middle of downtown. You sorta gotta imagine that about 25 years ago, none of these other buildings existed and the Hisn set in the middle of a lot of sand...

Aubrey, in the morning. "Hand over the food, or the remote gets it..."

After Sharjah, we went to Al-Ain. At the Hilli Garden, Aubrey enjoyed a ride on daddy's shoulders...

And discovered slides!

Just a random picture of a happy baby. In this picture, she had eight teeth. As of today, we've seen her first molars, for a total of ten.

We took a walk through the Al-Ain Oasis, a huge grove of date palms right in the middle of the town. Very peaceful.

And went to visit the Al-Ain Airshow. Here's daddy with a very traditional hooded falcon.

At Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi, Aubrey got to ride a camel!

And hang out with grandparents

After that, we went to visit the new (and not quite finished) Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Second or third largest in the world, it can hold 40,000 people. The carpet is, in fact, the largest Persian carpet in the world.

Aubrey seems to like round things.

And, just in case you were wondering whether we are really in the Middle East, yes, we have seen...

And now for some random unrelated events.

We went to a dinner at a restaurant. Here's the food.

The dessert table...

Fruit, anyone?

Caught this photo of Aubrey at about 2 in the morning (good flash on that camera). When we laid her down, she was straight in the bed and her head was pointing the other way.

Another trip to the pool at the Hiltonia...

Daddy had to go to Dubai. Got a couple of pictures of the Burj Dubai, the newest tallest building in the world. The cladding is about half done.

No comment. :-)

S & J

Fine Local Cuisine and Merchandise

2008-02-28T20:29:00.007+04:00

Something off the usual topic, a view of some of our fine local emporia...it's why we travel, right? Immersion in foreign culture and cuisine?

(This one's a two-fer -- look at the Bratz lamp in the top window...)

And Steve's personal favorite, where to shop for that "je ne sais quoi" item for friends who have everything...

S & J

ONE!

2008-01-28T21:11:00.000+04:00

January 11, 2008
Aubrey is one year old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
S & J

Christmas in the Desert

2007-12-29T12:08:00.000+04:00

December in the UAE is a wonderful time to put on your shorts and sunglasses and venture out into the frigid, summer-like weather for a look around the country.

Joking aside, the temperatures lately have been ranging from 65 to 85, and we've actually turned off the airconditioning on some days and opened the windows. This is part of the payback for surviving the sweltering, humid, 120-degree days of August and September. Genuinely lovely weather, cool evenings, sunny days, and everyone venturing out of their houses to enjoy the sights.

At the beginning of the month, we headed up to Sharjah and visited the Qanat al Qasbah, a sort of "Restaurant Row" with a ferris wheel and boat rides.

Aubrey enjoyed the chance for a little exercise. She likes pushing her own stroller. She can actually go pretty far -- we let her amble up and down the corridors at the mall, which greatly amuses other shoppers, and she's made it all the way to the end of the block. Hey, it's good physical activity and a way to burn off some energy.

We had a nice lunch at an Indian restaurant, and got one of what is bound to be many many surprises from our little angel. She shoved her pureed veggies to the side and started reaching for the food on our plates. We figured, well, why not. We broke all the rules, giving her little flakes of fish, chicken tikka, and even a cut up green olive. We figured that was going to be a bridge too far. No chance. Ever since then, it's been no looking back. She's on solids including broccoli, potatoes, chicken, even crumbled-up hamburger and brisket.

Towards the middle of the month, we went to a party where she got to wear her pretty red party dress and pinafore, and for the first time, met Santa! She's having what we're told is the pretty normal reaction...

This is less a comment on how small our daughter is than how big daddy's feet are...

We took her to the Hiltonia again. Here she is standing on the table...

And tuckered out after a long day at the beach. This shot took us by surprise, frankly. We hadn't realized how long her legs had become!!

For Christmas, we decided to go to Al-Ain, about an hour and a half east (inland) from Abu Dhabi. It's a very nice city built around several oases, much calmer and more traditionally "middle eastern" looking than Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Definitely a place to go to turn down the intensity a few levels!

We stayed at the Rotana Hotel in Al-Ain, which really decked itself out for Christmas. Right down to Christmas carols playing in the restaurants and employees dressed up in Santa outfits giving out toys and balloons during Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas brunch. There are a lot of rumors and misconceptions about people here being very intolerant of Christians and Jews. I have to tell you, we're not seeing it here. Rotana is an Arab-owned company based in the Middle East, and we were staying in one of the more traditional cities in a Muslim country in the Persian Gulf. It was far from the only hotel or building that turned out the red and green, too. And on Christmas morning, the day we renew our hope of Peace on Earth, we were treated to the wonderfully incongruous but reassuring sight of 15 traditionally-dressed Saudis and Emiratis sitting in the lobby atrium having coffee in the shade of the Christmas tree.

Night time...

Day time...

Some of the detail on the tree. (The resolution here is too low, but in the original picture, you can see Steve, reflected in one of the balls on the tree, taking the picture).

And the balconies...

We decided to take our little one to the Al-Ain Zoo. We'd heard a lot of positive comments and we were impressed. It's more like the zoos common in the U.S. 20 years ago than the new modern ones, but it seemed well-run and very clean, and the animals seemed well-fed and healthy. It was an absolutely beautiful day, about 72 degrees and very comfortable, and there were quite a lot of other people visiting, picnicking and enjoying the exhibits.

Here's the entrance...

And Jenny near one of the exhibits...

We thought poor Aubrey was going to sleep through the whole morning...

But she woke up in time to see the lions,

...and the giraffes,

...and some funny meerkats (relatives of prairie dogs, we think...),

...and this...um...you know, we're not sure what it is, but those are some darned impressive horns.

No Christmas would be complete without Christmas Dinner. Here's Aubrey in her pretty Christmas sweater.

And, of course, presents on Christmas morning!! Aubrey got three hand puppets from IKEA (a cow, a horse and a piggy), a big red fuzzy ball, and a "corn popper".

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

S & J

December, And It's Still 80 Degrees Out...

2007-12-03T22:31:00.000+04:00

You know that old phrase "wow, it seems like it was just yesterday when..."? Well, it seems like it was just yesterday when it was August, and then it was suddenly November, and Thanksgiving was upon us before we realized. The fact that it's still summer outside may possibly have something to do with this. No visual cues, no reddening leaves, no crisp cold fall air. To tell you the truth, it wasn't quite the same.

Now it's December and we're still walking about in shorts, t-shirts and sunglasses. We've figured that we had best start now getting psyched for Christmas; the tree is up, which makes this officially the first time in all the time we've known each other that the tree was actually up on December 1. It may actually be the first time we've gotten the tree up more than 48 hours before Christmas Eve, but that's another story. :-)

Aubrey. Is. Standing.

Starting to walk, but still reluctant to let go of an object. We tried to load some brief video, but blogspot's being difficult. Or Eitisalat is blocking the transfer. Don't know. We'll figure it out.

December 2 is UAE National Day. We've discovered that the traditional way to celebrate National Day here in Abu Dhabi is to picnic along the Corniche Park while others slow-roll their BMWs, Range Rovers, Cadillac Escalades, Lincoln Navigators or Nissan Patrols along the Corniche, revving motors at maximum RPM, squalling tires and burning great clouds of rubber. The noise from which continues until 2 am in the morning, over the course of three days. Add to this a number of professional and amateur fireworks displays, some of them directly over the house and registering at least a 4 on the Richter scale, accompanied by men on flying chairs towing the national flag over the harbor and two helicopters towing the largest flag on earth -- that's not a joke, at 50,000 square feet, it is in fact the single largest flag on earth -- over the harbor during the day. It's sort of Seurat's "Sunday in the Park With George" combined with a NASCAR rally and a din worthy of Armageddon.

They are proud of the country and they don't spare the noise or enthusiasm. And when you consider how much progress has been made here in only 36 years, well, can you blame them? Not really.

December 3 is also a holiday in the UAE. We theorize that this is because half the cars in town are in the garage having their engines and tires replaced and no one can get to work.

Moving on...

We're doing ok. Aubrey had a bad cold, but come through it well enough without needing major doctor care or medicine. Ah, her mother's immune system, thank heavens... Jenny and Steve have finally dug out from under the various responsibilities, work demands, minor illnesses (cough, cough) that have been dogging them and got the house more or less put together. We're finally getting Pictures on the wall, knick knacks on the tables, and our stuff largely put away in its proper places. It's starting to feel like home.

Blah blah blah. LIke you want to read all this? We know what you want... Bring on the pictures!!

The Prisoner's Protest...Hey, What's Up With Baby Jail, Dad?

Afternoon Nap

(Jenny took this while Aubrey was sound asleep...)

Business Meeting

(We took a walk to Spinney's and passed this important convocation on the way there. Well, at least we know why there are no rats in town.)

In Case You Thought We Were Starving

(A couple of pictures inside Spinney's. The deli counter is right behind Jenny, the yogurt and dairy aisle behind that, and the cheese aisle to the left.)

A Wide Selection of Produce

(Mangoes from Kenya and Australia, Australian mandarines, American grapefruit, Jordanian and Iranian melons. It's hard to see the shelves behind, but if you click and look at the larger version it might come clear. About 12 different kinds of apples from the U.S. and France. Add to that the unseen Lebanese potatoes, Dutch tomatoes, Thai strawberries, New Zealand Kiwis, and so on...)

Aubrey Playing With Daddy's Toys

A House Full Of Toys, This Kid Wants To Play With A Hammer

(Well, her pawpaw will be pleased...)

Zoom!!

James Cameron, My Eye -- I'M Queen Of The World!

OK, So Who Owns This Bit Up Here?

In The End, It's All A Matter Of Taste

S & J

October/November: The Fall Report

2007-11-04T21:44:00.000+04:00

A random shot of a very very happy baby...

OK, so Halloween rolled around and Grandma D made Aubrey her first Halloween costume. We loved it and so did she. She was a star at the office Halloween party and even went through the Haunted House (on daddy's shoulder) without breaking a sweat.

We decided to take a drive up to Dubai, and on the way back, visited the Ibn Battuta Mall. He was a great traveler some six centuries ago -- a kind of Marco Polo type figure in Arab literature. Wrote amazing travelogues about his voyages to China, India, Egypt, etc. So the mall is a fairly huge affair with sections designed to resemble the architecture in different parts of the world to which he travelled -- Andalusia, Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India, China, etc. OK, it's still a mall, but the concept is pretty interesting and it's well executed. You feel like you're walking around in one of those Vegas hotels where the arcade simulates a street in Paris or Venice.

First of all, we dicovered that Jenny has a store. It's even spelled right! And yes, that's how you would write "Jennyfer" in Arabic.

In the center of the Persia section...well, let's just let the picture speak for itself. Some things you just can't escape...

We've got a fun little lunch game going with Aubrey. One of us feeds her a Cheerio, then she feeds one of us a Cheerio. Sometimes she fakes us out, moves it to one of our mouths and grabs it back for herself. But most of the time, she's very happy to feed Mommy or Daddy a Cheerio. We hope it's teaching her sharing and give-and-get.

Not all of our dinner selections meet with the customer's approval, apparently.

Now this is a special picture. Because we got her to smile just big enough...yes...look carefully along the middle of her upper gum...see them?...new teeth!! Her two middle upper incisors have come in, and from what we can see, the ones to the left and right are only a week behind.

S & J

Nine Month News

2007-10-23T20:35:00.000+04:00

Oh, how about we just let the pictures speak for themselves?

S & J

More Photos of...Who Else? :-)

2007-10-07T23:59:00.000+04:00

Aubrey at Daddy's Formal Iftaar (Ramadan reception for professional contacts)

Momma's Cellphone - Aubrey Snoozing in the Car Seat

More Cellphone Photos, at night

S & J

How You Know The Seafood Section Manager Has A Sense Of Humor

2007-09-27T00:17:00.000+04:00

S & J

Scenes from...

2007-09-21T17:47:00.000+04:00

Coming into the end of September, I think we're finally starting to get accustomed to being here.

We're in the month of Ramadan (Sept 10-October 10, though it moves about 11 days earlier each year because of the lunar calendar...), which is the month in which Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to Mohammed. It's a very reverent and holy month, when Muslims do not eat, drink, smoke, or do pretty much any kind of pleasurable consumption during daylight hours. This has some fairly significant impact on life.

First of all, all the restaurants are closed during the day. The major hotels each have one Ramadan restaurant open, but everything else, from the nicest restaurant to Baskin Robbins, is shut down until around 5:30 p.m.

It is illegal to eat in public. And yes, people have been arrested. Oh, a surreptitious sip of water will get overlooked, and they probably just make you sit in the station for a while and then let you go with a stern look, so it's not brutal, but no joke, the cops will arrest you for flagrant eating in public.

Hours change around, mostly to get everyone out of the heat. Ramadan hours are generally 9 am to noon and 8:30 p.m. to midnight. It's a little weird going to the market, running errands, buying a bookcase at IKEA, all at 9:30 at night, but everyone else does it and when in Rome...

In theory, one gets up before sunrise, eats and prays, has a full day, then around 6:30 pm, a small break-fast, prayer, and dinner. Ideally, one should read the Koran in the evening, think about faith and religion, and turn in, in preparation for the next morning.

Reality is pretty ironic. In reality, dinner turns into the equivalent of an American Thanksgiving dinner, every night, for 30 straight days. Royalty receives visitors and holds audiences late into the evening. Other prominent people hold seminars, meetings, gatherings and even lecture and speaking series all night until 2 in the morning. Or later. Some folks just stay up until just before sunrise, eat, pray, and go to bed to sleep off the daylight starvation. Stores are bedecked with lights and decorations. Flyers and ads announce special Ramadan sales, even though everyone knows that prices are through the roof. Even for food. Last week's paper screamed "price gouging!" when survey of stores showed that prices for basic food -- nuts, lettuce, fruits, vegetables, meat, chicken -- we're up 40, 50 100 even 200%.

Thus I had to laugh when I opened this morning's paper to find a two-page spread, including "man on the street interviews", bemoaning the commercialization of a very sacred and religiously-reverent holiday.

Sounds familiar, no? Some things are universal.

Moving on...

To begin to understand the Emirates, you need to know at least two numbers.

The population of the UAE is about 800,000. The number of people in the country is about 8 million.

The Emiratis represent the population. Everyone else is resident labor, including us. Yes, you did that math right. Emiratis account for barely 10% of the populace. Americans and Westerners are maybe another 15%, Arabs from other countries about 25%, and South Asians (Pakistan, India, etc.) about 50%. This makes for interesting language issues. I've been asked what is my "good name" (full name), and it took me three days to figure out that a "dickey" is the trunk of a car.

The other impact of this is that Emiratis, it seems to me, feel a bit overwhelmed by all these foreigners and, as a result, are a bit insular and shy. Flawlessly courteous and, truly, very kind and humble and gentle. I know that goes against the stereotype, but it's so. The ones we've met have just been very nice, ordinary, simple people.

And it's a small country, so everyone knows everyone. I had a very formal meeting with a fellow who's in charge of public health here, and we exchanged some very formal emails to finish our business. Then I ran into him and his wife in the seafood aisle at Carrefour, all of us in casual market clothing, and the formality just doesn't work anymore.

Some things work even better here than in the U.S. Seriously. We bought a car. Dealer did all the paperwork, the traffic safety, etc., and took the papers to the local DMV to get the plates issued. Four hours later, not only did I have plates in hand, but a text message on my cell phone informing me that the plates had been issued, and reminding me that the Abu Dhabi Police urge safe driving, seatbelt use and no drinking while driving.

OK, let's get to the good stuff. Pictures!

Aubrey in her yellow sundress

Aubrey at the Cafe du Roi with Momma

Our new (used) car, a 2006 Honda CR-V. That haze you see is not romantic appeal, it's the camera lens fogging up because it's so danged hot and humid out...

Scenes from an Emirati iftaar...

Scenes from an Emirati mall...

Waterfountain

Family (1 snoozing...)

A new part of the mall that wasn't fully open yet. There will be restaurants on the terrace and gondolas in the canal.

Look familiar? We tried it. Tastes just like home.

S & J

Random Cellphone Shots

2007-09-11T22:37:00.000+04:00

Just some random cellphone shots over the past couple of weeks. Quality's not great, but she's still just as cute. :-)

Playin' in the Kitchen...

Momma & Baby...

Wheeeeeeeee!!!

Zzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Cool baby in shades...

Hi everybody!!

S & J

Our First Outing

2007-09-02T13:01:00.000+04:00

We joined a little beach club not far from the house. Beach, four pools, a covered kiddie pool and playground for the little kids, two restaurants and a bar for the big kids, fitness center and spa. Decided since we got Sunday off for Labor Day and every one else in AD had to go to work, what better day to hit the pool?

Some of you may notice that the resolution on these pictures is not as sharp as usual. That's intentional. Our connection is a little less reliable and a little slower than we're used to at home, so we're making the pictures smaller in order to get them on the site.

First, the view from poolside. The club is on the Corniche (the northern end of the island) and faces into the Persian Gulf. There's a large island/peninsula across the harbor that is a commercial center, the Marina Mall. It's huge. But more on that later...

To the right of the pool area picture, you see some tables and chairs. That's the breakfast area near the swim-up bar.

In the background, you can see the end of that island/peninsula. Out there is a theatre and cultural museum (the dome), and the largest flagpole you have ever seen.

The flag is absolutely enormous. And, as you can see, it is not moving. Hazy, hot, humid and not a breeze in sight.

To the right of the breakfast area, there's a beach. You can see the city in the distance. Very hazy. The first large building on the left, just to the left of the radio antenna with the crane growing out of it, is very close to the house. So we're not at all far away from the beach!

The club also has a covered kiddie pool and, in the back, waterslides for the older kids.

Not too far from the Emirates Palace Hotel. We thought about joining their beach club, but it costs $12,000 per year. Too rich for our blood. That hotel, by the way, is enormous. A ballroom that holds 3000, a theatre that is larger than theatres I've been in on Broadway, arcardes and passages that blow the mind, and all of that for -- get this -- 394 rooms. A hotel that size in the U.S. would have minimum 1000 rooms, if not 1200.

Here's another couple of shots of the Marina Mall. 200 stores plus Carrefour (France's WalMart), a cinema, and -- yes, look closely.... closely...

IKEA!!

So getting back to Aubrey...

And that was our first day at the pool in Abu Dhabi!!

S & J

Welcome To Abu Dhabi

2007-08-31T01:01:00.000+04:00

Well, we're here. Sorry for the lack of posts, but it took us some time to get settled in, find our way around and -- most of all -- get the computer delivered and set up. It took the State Department nearly one month to get our air freight to us, it took the local phone company 48 hours to get our DSL connection hooked up.

Emiratis 1; Americans 0

OK, so first off, here's a picture of our new home. It's quite nice, plenty of room, even a little roof deck on the upper left there. Very close to stores and restaurants, and only a 15 minute commute to work in very mild traffic. The "STOP" sign (in Arabic, "qif") is there to prove we're really in the Arab world.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled shrine to our baby girl...

A little tablesurfing in the new dining room...

Then some playing around with Daddy in the kitchen

Playing with her new ball in her room (yes, she can hold the ball by herself...)

Not crawling yet, but doing pushups -- and not even girly-man pushups, but tips and toes pushups!

Then it's time for a bath

And, after Mommy reads a story, time for bed!

S & J

Aubrey's Baptism

2007-07-23T17:52:00.000+04:00

July 8, 2007
Denbigh Presbyterian Church
Newport News, Virginia

Getting dressed for the big day...

Look at me!

All decked out in her little bonnet with Grandma D, who made the dress...

Four generations (Aubrey, Jenny, Grandma D and Great-Grandma H)

At the baptismal font

Grandma R

Aunt J

Proud Papa and Aunt L

Aubrey, Dad & Grandma R

Grandpa B gets some...uh..."face" time? Heh heh heh.

Aunt J & Uncle B

S & J

Fun at the River

2007-07-23T06:12:00.000+04:00

A very quick posting, some photos from down at the riverside...

Aubrey loves her crunchy star toy...

Grandma R & Aubrey

Aubrey gets to meet her first dog, Little Bit (a.k.a. Squirt, because when he gets excited...)

S & J

Aubrey and Grandpa

2007-07-21T01:58:00.000+04:00

Aubrey got a visit from Grandpa (Steve's Dad) who came to see the little wonder that all the town is talking about. :-)

S & J

Teeth, Toys and Bananas

2007-07-01T05:20:00.000+04:00

Now only two weeks shy of six months, Aubrey is passing one milestone after another.

We have...A TOOTH! Can't get a picture of it just yet, but we can see the top of the tooth emerging from her gums. Lower front, right side. The left side isn't far behind, we can already see the white spot. So far, no major crying/complaining, but we're waiting...

Getting into the grabby stage, too. Mommy was walking with baby in one hand and fast food soda cup (the cup-lid-and-straw deal) in the other. Aubrey lunged for the cup with both hands and practically had the straw in her mouth before Mommy could pull it away from her.

She pulled a similar stunt at a restaurant, so we figure we'd teach her a lesson and let her go right ahead and lick that slice of lime. Well, that backfired. She liked it.

She's also apparently developed the concept of "I want", as Daddy learned when Aubrey leaned over in the booster chair and grabbed a page of the newspaper off the counter. Little girls don't get to eat newsprint, so Daddy carefully took it back. Mmmmm, someone was VERY unhappy and let everyone within earshot know about it. Unfortunately for us, "within earshot" of Aubrey is about 300 yards in any direction. Fortunately, however, she's an alto and not one of those piercing high pitched screamers. Still...wow, has she got a pair of lungs on her...

We have bought her a number of lovely, colorful and very textured toys. She has several favorites. Other favorites include mommy's cell phone, the TV remote and pretty much anything that has to do with paper. Like reaching over and pulling daddy's Arabic articles out of his notebook when he's trying to read them. What's that old saw about "the more expensive the toy, the more they would rather play with the box it came in"? Right.

On to the photos...

LET THE SOLIDS BEGIN!!

Yes, we've started her on solids. At this point, we still figure there's more ON the baby than IN the baby, but she's getting better. Rice cereal didn't hold her attention much. (Daddy's comment: "can you blame her? Tastes like cardboard, wouldn't hold my attention either...") But rice and bananas together, more successful. Next come mashed yams and mashed avocado. Seriously, cloth bibs are an absolute necessity for capturing the fifteen-gallon-a-day supply of drool, but for feeding, laminated bibs are it. Hose 'em down afterwards, dry in ten minutes. (Thank you Aunt Leslie!)

Look At That, Reading Already!!

Sitting Up All By Herself

The Shirt Says It All...

S & J

Getting Bigger...

2007-06-05T04:14:00.000+04:00

The changes are coming faster than we can imagine. A week ago we were fretting because she seemed only to be swatting at objects, not grasping or reaching. Last Sunday, she grabbed the program out of my hand in church and tossed it on the floor. Be careful what you wish for.

Old favorite noises "nnnnnnggggggggnnnn" and "aaahhhhhh" have been replaced by what can best be described as a highly-accurate impersonation of Bill the Cat ("thbhpthbphpthpbtphphbt"), including much spit bubbles, a running gurgle that sounds like a bad starter on a '76 Chevy Nova, and a shriek that may actually be audible to dogs. :-) And we like it all.

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille...

Hanging with mama at bedtime

Aunt & Uncle

One Big Happy

Goofing with Dad at the iMac...

Still don't see the changes? Then let's compare that with this photo from last February!

S&J

Almost Four Months Old

2007-05-03T06:16:00.000+04:00

Just a couple of nice pictures:

Hmm. You know what drool means... Soon, there will be teeth...

And one more, a peaceful moment with mommy...

Awwwww...

S & J

Hawaii 2007

2007-04-17T17:58:00.000+04:00

Aubrey got to celebrate her third (month) birthday with a trip to Hawaii, to see her cousins and Aunt Angel and Uncle Ryan! This was her first big trip (and a dry run for our move to the Emirates) and we are relieved to discover that she travels really well.

And here it is: The Official First Ride On A Plane Photo

The Picture That Will Earn Us Your Sympathy...NOT!

Where we stayed - The Ko Olina, western shore of O'ahu, near Kapolei, Ewa, etc. Nice place.

In fact, they're still building some of it...

Aubrey's home away from home. $29 at Target. Recommended.

Of course, you haven't been to Hawaii until you've gotten your lei.

The Guys

The Gals

Aubrey gets to meet her cousins, Will & Chloe

Cousin Danny and Grandma

Aunt Angel

Grandpa and Aubrey at the pool

Aubrey's first bathing suit and her first time in a swimming pool. She actually liked it...

The latest in beachwear. We discovered on this trip that our daughter does, in fact, possess feet. Thanks to the winter weather in Washington, we were beginning to think she was born with socks on.

Dancing in her purple jumper with cousin Danny

OK, now this is a photo that makes a father worry...not until you're 21, dear...

We might as well admit it, we're going to be "those parents". You know, the ones that dress up their kids in all sorts of ridiculous outfits and take pictures of them just because it's that funny.

"Can I get a waiter here? What does it take to order a rum punch in this place??"

"Zzzzzzzzz...."

It was a lovely trip, Aubrey put up with the 13 hour flights extremely well, and we had a lot of much needed fun and warmth.

S & J

A Sunday in March

2007-03-26T00:11:00.000+04:00

There's nothing Aubrey loves more than spending Sunday morning sleeping in and catching up on the news...

But we have to get her moving, big day ahead.

First there's the fashion show...

And checking herself out in the mirror...

She's pretty much a happy and content baby, whether hanging out with mommy...

...or daddy...

Which is not to say she doesn't have those "I am NOT a happy baby!" moments...

But by end of day, she's tired and all ready to take a nice sleep.

Nighty night, baby!!

S & J

Two Months Old

2007-03-09T02:19:00.000+04:00

We figured we'd let her speak for herself. Yes, Aubrey is all of two months old today.

We've discovered what all parents know: nothing transforms intelligent, educated and mature adults into babbling idiots faster than a newborn baby who is starting to smile. Apparently the word "la" is a big favorite, and nothing can make her as giddy as a rousing chorus of "la la la la la la la la" (repeat until blue in face, then breathe. Maybe.). The latest development is the tongue game. We stick out our tongues at her, she sticks out hers at us. Not sure if we should be teaching her this, but...

As you'll see below, she's getting visibly larger. She's already growing out of the 0-3 month clothing and starting to wear 3-6 months. Still not quite sleeping all the way through the night, but 5-6 hours is getting closer.

Pictures!

Having a snooze:

Pretty Smiles!

Bath Time!

Oh, yeah -- she's a Daddy's Girl....

S & J

Six Weeks Old

2007-02-24T22:27:00.001+04:00

Happy Birthday, Aubrey! Six weeks old last Thursday. Let's see, what's going on...?

We're getting social smiles. Aubrey is ABSOLUTELY mesmerized with anything that's got lines and contrasting colors. The wrought iron headboard and the wrought iron spiral candle holder that hangs above our bed is a source of endless fascination. The ceiling fan, too. Turn it on slow and it's like Ambien for babies...

Aubrey's not only holding her head up on her own, she's STANDING. No joke. As long as one of us is holding her torso to keep her from toppling over, she can stand and support her own weight and hold her head straight. Now, it lasts mebbe 'bout six, seven, ten seconds and then she kinda forgets that she has to hold her knees locked and sinks back down to a squat. But this surprised us. We're still waiting for her to figure out that she has hands. It's coming soon...

She's grown two inches since birth and -- according to the "step on the scale with her in your arms" method -- she's now 11.5 pounds. Knock off a few ounces for clothing and diaper. We've already had to retire some of the smaller 0-3 month clothing and the smaller 3-6 month clothing is starting to fit. And the baby acne is clearing up!

Still extremely cute. :-)

And now, more pictures...

According to Jenny, The real reason Virginia Tech Basketball is doing so well this season...

Momma & baby

"Yeah, I'm letting him watch now, but wait until the commercial comes on..."

Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be contestants on American Idol...

S & J

Aubrey's First Big Trip

2007-02-20T19:17:00.001+04:00

We took Aubrey on her first big trip to visit her grandparents and great-grandmother in Newport News, Virginia. She showed us once again how lucky we are. During the whole three-hour ride down, she woke up for only about five minutes and a quick bottle calmed her down for the rest of the ride. During the ride back, we thought we would have a nightmare with the traffic, but she gave us a break once again. One feeding stop halfway, and a diaper change, but really, not much more than that.

Sweet baby!!

We've been getting smiles galore lately, and a bunch of coos and aahs as she begins to discover that she can use her voicebox for more than howling for food, LOL. No coherent syllables or words yet, just gurgles. She's already starting to hold her head up, sit up for a few seconds with a little help and kick her legs. Bicycling or karate, yet to be determined.

OK, some more pictures.

Four generations:

Aubrey's trip to the Olive Garden:

Asleep on the couch. Look at those cute little pink socks!

We're thinking either Olympic cross-country skiing or crane operator. TBD. Check back in about 20 years.

More Little Hands!!

S & J

A Day In The Life...

2007-02-16T04:32:00.000+04:00

Hanging out with Daddy

Nyahhh, nyahhh...

Little hands!!

Little Feet!!

S & J

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T04:17:00.002+04:00

Aubrey and her new blanket from Great-grandma A

Napping with her new buddy from Grandma R

A little iMac Photobooth fun:

"Yeah, yeah, c'mon, let's wrap this up, I have a meeting with a producer from a much better studio..."

Checking out today's news...

"Really? Well, we'll just see about that..."

Snoozing at the end of a busy day...

S & J

Four Weeks Old

2007-02-10T02:56:00.000+04:00

A whole batch of new photos of our delightful little four-week-old.

The general report is "AOK". Aubrey is eating healthily, gaining weight at the right rate and is a pretty well-tempered baby. When she cries, there's a reason; when there isn't a reason, she's pretty placid. She's unfortunately going through a little "baby acne" phase, but the pediatrician assures us it's temporary and will disappear by end of February give or take a week. She's out of the swaddle and seems happy to sleep without it. We're seeing reflex smiles and maybe -- maybe -- one social smile today, but she's still working on it. She can fix on an object visually, but is not yet tracking moving objects. That should come in the next weeks.

We're doing ok. Everytime we think we've figured something out, she changes the rules on us. She still wakes up around 4 am for a feeding, so we're still experiencing the joys of sleep deprivation. And we have been thoroughly amazed at the number of things you can learn to do one-handed, or with your non-dominant hand. Like wash an entire sink of dishes. Or, uhh..., do blog entries. At some point this week Steve managed to hold Aubrey with his left thigh and left hand and hold the bottle in Aubrey's mouth with his chin, all while cradling the phone on his left ear and shoulder and changing the channel on the TV with his right hand. Should he decide to leave the foreign service, we're thinking a second career as an acrobat with Cirque de Soleil.

Enough blah blah. We know why you really come here. :-) Pictures!!

S & J

The Official Family Portrait

2007-01-26T01:16:00.000+04:00

S & J

Yes, Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready For My Close-Up

2007-01-22T01:01:00.000+04:00

Hey, we've got a kid with some personality, here...

Pictures from her tenth day:

S & J

More Insufferable Parental Kvelling Blogs

2007-01-19T07:56:00.000+04:00

Get used to it. There's going to be a lot of this. :-)

Aubrey after her 3:00 a.m. Thursday feeding. "Aw, yeah, man, that's good stuff..."

Daddy and daughter playing with Photobooth on the iMac.

S & J

Aubrey Sarah, Day Seven

2007-01-17T18:48:00.000+04:00

Ooooh, we have bright open eyes today.

First night home was chaos. She had us up for six hours trying to figure out what to do first, next and last. At some point, Steve went scrounging the house for three thermometers because we had both become convinced that our thermometers were malfunctioning, it couldn't possibly be 70 in the house, it was nuch colder and she was going to freeze to death.

Second night went much better. We got it down to three hours of running about. 50% productivity gains, the envy of any industry.

Day Six: an outing to Babies R Us and the supermarket. But for a diaper change at Babies R Us, Aubrey slept from the moment we put her in the car seat to the moment we got her home. We are deeply and profoundly grateful for a baby with such a good temperment.

Third night, dang, we almost vet'rans, now. Fed her at 10, slept, got up at 1:30 and had her fed and down by 2:40, and she slept all the way through to 5:30. Probably could have made it to 6:15 if we'd have not jumped up and scooped her out of the cradle as soon as she started being cranky.

Daddy & Mommy are going to take a nap, now...

S & J

Welcome New Baby Girl!!

2007-01-16T16:02:00.000+04:00

Aubrey Sarah
Born January 11, 2007
9 pounds, 8.3 ounces
21 inches
momma and baby are doing extremely well

S & J

Not Yet...Any Day Now...

2007-01-09T07:26:00.000+04:00

Patience, patience..

Yeah, we're fine ones to talk...

S & J

AWOB: Absent Without Blogging

2006-12-21T07:50:00.000+04:00

Ooookay, so we've been away a while.

So let's see, what's been going on since last summer?

Well, we got back from France and settled back into work.

In September, unfortunately, Jenny's grandmother, Ruby Collins Jones, passed away after some long and arduous battles with poor health. We were deeply saddened, but comforted by the hope that she is without pain and in a better place. We got to see a good number of the Jones clan, including Uncle Ken and Aunt Mary, in from Utah, and Uncle Bob and Aunt Jennifer. Would that it had been under better circumstances... Ruby lived a full and long life, she left on this world a rich legacy of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and we truly believe she is at peace and at home.

We visited Jenny's parents a couple of times in October and November. As you can see, it, uh, rained a lot.

Despite the rain, we enjoyed the West Point crab festival, and despite appearances, we were neither stoned nor drunk.

Our friends Suzanne and Bob tied the knot in October, a lovely wedding at their horse farm in Loudoun County, Virginia. Congratulations, you crazy kids! :-)

Continuing with the long-running theme of "there's always something in this house that needs fixing", we replaced the water main. The original was some awful blue polyurethane made by Shell corporation, it was later found to be substandard and prone to breaking. Several neighbors have had their pipe burst, resulting in flooded lawns or flooded basements. We decided not to wait. This involved hiring a backhoe and this very very very large computer-directed underground borer, drilling a hole under the house about 50 feet long, and then threading a copper pipe from the utility room back to the main. You can see the machine, the hole, and the final results. It was pretty amazing to see them guide the drill bit right to a 18 x 18 inch hole in the concrete. They didn't even have to remove the washer/dryer to jackhammer the hole.

Thanksgiving at the Joneses, 2006 edition.

And that brings us up to December...ah, yes...December. We have some news. There's a clue in this post, if you can find it.

More to come...

S & J

Vive la France!!

2006-09-07T05:19:00.000+04:00

OK, now y'all get to see why we created this website.

We made a short trip to Paris and Lyon in August. Steve got a chance to take a breath from the daily grind of Arabic, Jenny got a break from budgets and reorganization. It was a lovely trip. The weather was a perfect 65-70, sometimes overcast and with a small spot of rain, but in general just the weather you want to have when you're walking around town enjoying the sights.

The flight in was a bit of a bear -- seven hours cramped up in center seats (ugh!), followed by a three hour struggle to get the heck out of Charles de Gaulle airport (note to La Republique Francaise: RENOVATIONS NEEDED!), get on the RER and the Metro, and get to the hotel.

That said, our hotel, Le Pergolese, was lovely and made it worth the trip. 16th arrondissement (expensive real estate) halfway between Porte Maillot and L'Etoile, convenient to Argentine Metro. Most Parisian hotel rooms are small compared to American hotel rooms, but it was large enough to be adequate and comfortable. Modern decor and a renovated bath, an electric towel warmer, a small TV, a minifridge and a window overlooking the quiet interior courtyard (versus the likely-noisier street), and very nice and professional staff.

Even better, when we came dragging in, they had our room ready even though it was only 11:00 am. We were able to check right in, wash up and take a nap. At some point later, we ventured out for a meal and stuck with the old safe standby: steak/frites, onion soup and a chaser of crepes chocolat for dessert.

This was also the first of many somewhat startling experiences with ... how can we put it gently? ... French bathrooms. Most of them have one common washroom with little closets for the "essential equipment", which seemed to Steve to be just so unfair to the ladies. No privacy or discretion while washing up or adjusting hair or makeup? [Steve: I mean, seriously, we guys, we don't really care. Rinse, dry and go. But I would have thought the women would want something a little less like a bus station. I was surprised.] Jenny reported that some of the facilities lacked seats, i.e. crouch don't sit. Others lacked even a bowl; there was a platform with treads for your feet and a hole in the center.

Jenny urges the women of France to rise up and demand better than this.

OK, getting away from the topic of toilets...

Our hotel was just off this little plaza with everything you could want -- a bank, a bakery (ooh, gooooood bread and sandwiches...!) and a bistro -- and there were a number of other good places within walking distance. The post office, a couple of bistros, a VERY good and relatively-fairly-priced restaurant (Le San Ferdinand), and a little fruit store near Argentine metro (Magasin de l'Etoile) that each night served up the most excellent peaches, nectarines, grapes, strawberries... mmmmm. When you can smell strawberries from ten feet away, they are good. We would pick up Nutella, jam and orange juice, stow it in the minifridge, grab fresh bread and pain au chocolat from the bakery, make tea or coffee in the room, and voila! Parisian breakfast at considerably less than Parisian prices! Each morning, the bakery also laid out an entire display case of sandwiches on fresh baguettes: chicken, tuna, cheese, roast beef, ham, salmon, all with fresh salad and boursin, mustard or other topping. On several days, we bought sandwiches, toted them along, and enjoyed a lovely lunch al fresco in one of Paris' many parks.

On DAY ONE -- ok, AFTERNOON one, since we didn't get out of bed until about 10 am -- we did the requisite and lovely tour of the Tour d'Eiffel. We were afraid of not getting to go to the top when they closed it for "overcrowding". Fortunately, they reopened it while we were on level two. That raised the next problem, buying tickets. The line for paying cash was -- yikes! -- but we discovered they also sell them by credit card from an ATM. New problem: apparently, everyone in France has the new credit cards with the little gold computer chip on the face of the card, and the ATM wouldn't take our MasterCard. We asked a local to buy us tickets in exchange for cash, which he kindly did, so up, up and away we went.

A bit of a tangent, in counterbalance to griping about toilets. When we paid for meals with credit cards, we were impressed to see the waiters bring a portable wireless credit card swiper to the table and take care of the whole transaction right at the table. Apparently, these function with the little chips -- you put your card in the slot, enter your private PIN code to show that it's you, and the charge goes through. They can also work with our regular credit cards with the magnetic strip on the back. We were as surprised to hear that the French have been using these for a decade as they were to hear that we'd never seen them before in the U.S.

There's a perception that the French are generally unkind to tourists, but I have to say, we didn't see it. Everyone we encountered was actually quite gracious and pleasant. A local Parisian bought our Eiffel Tower tickets for us. An RER clerk helped us save over $40 on Metro passes. The hotel staff was positively garrulous, and everyone we met over a store counter was quite helpful and polite. Heck, more people routinely said "thank you for shopping here" in Paris than they do in Washington.

We tried taking a train the RER over to the left bank; track work got us deviated onto one of those "detour buses", but it was a nice ride down Bld. St. Germain. Dinner on the left bank a bit touristy, but acceptable.

DAY TWO took us under Paris, to the tour of the sewers and the catacombs. The sewers are fascinating, particularly the explanation of how the flood control works and how they keep the things cleaned out. The water treatment methods are very modern, but the "plumbing" itself hasn't changed since it was built in the late 1800s, and it still works. The catacombs were interesting but once you've seen them, it's all pretty much just a lot of piles of a lot of bones.

By this time, Jenny's feet were feeling the pain. We took a break at a bistro near Porte d'Orleans then hopped over to Montparnasse to check out Galleries Lafayette and C&A and see if we could find some better shoes. Severely disappointing, and the prices...ouch. [Steve: J.C. Penny merchandise at Nordstom prices.] We did find them, in a store all the way back near our hotel, ironically. A good pair of ASICS sneakers. Well, MEN'S sneakers. Apparently French women do not have size ten feet. And reaching the cash register was ... bracing ... $140 for sneakers that we could get here at DSW for $59.95 left us wondering (not for the first nor the last time during this trip) how on Earth the French afford to live, eat, or wear clothing. We say that with a sense of sympathy, honestly: prices are REALLY high, and it must be terribly difficult for the average person to make ends meet.

We settled in for a pleasant bistro meal near the hotel, on the Avenue de la Grande Armee. We had a good hoot seeing that the bilingual "sandwich board" menu on the street translated "assiette de charcuterie" as "ass of cooked". The owner was a little scandalized to find out what that first word means in English; we suggested "coldcut platter" as a much more understandable (and appetizing) alternative.

On DAY THREE we had a good visit to the Musee d'Orsay on a rainy morning, perfect for being indoors. The building is as much a work of art as the artwork inside it. They let you take pictures of the pictures, surprisingly, so we got a few good ones in the impressionism rooms -- Seurat and the like. The views from the windows over Paris were truly breathtaking.

Great clouds...

The rather long wait left Jenny's feet -- still recovering from the trauma of the day before -- a bit sore, though. We rolled over to Notre Dame and the Ile St. Louis, just for a look, and then headed back to our hotel for dinner at Le San Ferdinand.

We trooped up Montmartre the next day, DAY FOUR, to see Sacre Coeur. The weather, as you can tell, was spectacular.

We trooped down Montmartre toward the east and a Metro stop called "Chateau Rouge". This is a neighborhood apparently very popular with African immigrants, and Steve heard recognizable sounds of Wolof (Senegal) and a couple of other West African languages.

We then dropped in on the Centre Georges Pompidou and the modern art museum. We were a bit disappointed to find that the main exhibit of the museum's permanent collection was closed for renovation and reinstallation. They had a large special exhibit going on communicating through images, with lots of very strange film presentations, installations, "performance art" type displays. It was ... a little avant-garde, to say the least. Some of it was creative, some of it was just weird. A never ending film loop of a rather rough, manual-labor-weathered arm, with the hand repeatedly opening and closing in an attempt to grasp shingles of lead dropped from above the frame. An entire 50 ft x 50 ft room, walled in pink light and pink silk blowing romantically in the breeze of several hidden fans, with three garish circles on the floor the diameter of car tires (wedding bands?) on which red lights audibly clicked on and off, all leading to a very large red shoe. Ten bars of a famous Tschaikovsky piece played over and over, which frankly struck Steve as a waste of good Tschaikovsky.

Steve was on an obsessive hunt for a restaurant he'd eaten in the last time he was in Paris, but couldn't remember exactly where it was. We finally, after dragging about Les Halles for a while, landed on a mini miracle. A little restaurant called "Poulet au Pot" served up their speciality, chicken simmered in its bouillon with vegetables. A generous salad and dessert, at a price that was not hideous.

On our last day, DAY FIVE, we actually took it a bit easy. Age. It creeps up on you. We went wandering around the 16th, dropped in at the Baccarat store and museum (a bit skimpy on the museum, they really ought not to charge for that...) and bought one wine glass. We have a tradition that eliminates the need for wine charms so everyone knows whose glass is whose. We buy one nice, locally-made wine glass wherever we go. Every guest in the house gets not only a different glass, but a glass with a story. We wandered back to Place Victor Hugo and settled in at a sidewalk cafe for a cup of chocolate that turned into a meal (eh alors...). The peace and tranquility was partially upended when the police, fire/rescue brigade and the SWAT team showed up and closed off an adjacent street. Apparently, as the story was told to us, someone was threatening ihs family with a pistol and had barricaded himself inside a residence. The police (and the SWAT team) were settling in to make this a standoff. We don't know how it was resolved, but hopefully, no one was hurt.

We also had a lovely conversation -- in French -- with a lady at the next table who, with inimitable French discretion, begged our pardon but wanted to know if she could impose and inquire where Jenny got her manicure. She was disappointed to hear it was not nearby (Falls Church to Paris, beaucoup kilometers) but impressed that it still looked freshly done after a week. She had to leave, but we enjoyed meeting an actual Parisian and chatting a bit.

The next morning, we got up and headed off to Gare de Lyon to get the TGV (high speed train) to Lyon. We splurged a little ($50) for the first class cabin and an upstairs view of the countryside. We left precisely on time and arrived in Lyon also precisely on time (take that, United Airlines...).

Jenny has dear friends from her student days in France, Eric and Isabelle, and their son, Elvin, and daughter, Candice. We spent three great days in Lyon with them, just enjoying the sights and the company and renewing old ties. Candice, as you can tell from the photos, is a lively spirit!!

Lyon is a magnificent city, France's second largest. All the infrastructure and amenities of Paris at 80% the cost and 25% the stress. We saw some lovely Roman aqueducts, a Roman amphitheatre that is still used today (Eric said they saw Sting perform there...) and wandered about the old and new parts of the city.

We saw in both Lyon and Paris something called the Smart Car -- with parking the way it is and gas at $3 a gallon, seriously folks, we should think about this...it looks small, but even Steve can fit into it, it's pretty decently sized inside. Not sure we'd want to take one on the Beltway, though we did see quite a number of them safely zipping around the roads of Paris.

Alas, our trip came to a close too soon. We headed out to Lyon Airport, jumped a quick flight to Munich, and then caught a Lufthansa flight back to Dulles Airport. The seats were better (767 chairs appear to be slightly wider than 777 seats...) and we ended up saving not only the cost of going back to Paris, but $200 each on the airfare leaving directly from Lyon.

We briefly considered upgrading to business class and, in fact, went to the Lufthansa counter in Lyon to see if they had any seats. They did. Which they offered to us for the minor sum of 3,300 Euro. $4,200. EACH. $8,400 total. They wanted to cancel our existing tickets (and charge a cancellation fee) and charge us for two brand-new, one-way business class tickets. When we got on the plane, there were at least two if not three business class seats available. Seems kinda a waste. If United/Lufthansa had asked for $200 or $300 each, we'd have gladly paid it. They could have made another $600 bucks instead of flying with empty seats. Oh well...

Still, we had a good flight back and pretty much conked out as soon as we got home.

And then woke up at 4 am... ouch!

S & J

Bats!

2006-07-26T20:49:00.000+04:00

Came home from language class to find this little fellow hanging onto the lawn border. Not sure what he's doing out of the nest behind the shutter during the daylight, but I nudged him under a low yew where he would have a bit more cover from the squirrels and cats!

Wonder if he's (she's?) the same one that fell out of the nest last time around?

S & J

Three Lovely Roses

2006-07-25T04:57:00.000+04:00

City Boy is most happy, our spindly little vine has produced a THIRD Tropicana rose!!

City Boy Gardening

2006-07-12T06:49:00.000+04:00

Backyard is looking better.

We got TWO, count 'em, TWO tropicana roses from our single spindly little vine this year. We usually only get one.

S & J

Home Repair a la Steve

2006-06-29T07:01:00.000+04:00

Problem: Cannot close door to utility room off of den, furnace needs air circulation. This means that I have to sit there in my TV-watchin' chair and stare at the furnace, and when we use it for guests, they have to have that door open. Nice view. Not.

Option 1: Buy new door, remove old door, attempt to line up new door with jamb, attempt to put hinges on door jamb and door, take Rolaids, install door, remove door, cut door to correct size and or shape, install door, remove door, plane door because nothing in this house is squared, take Maalox, plane door again, repeat until door is hanging properly, prime door, paint door, have a stiff drink, repaint door.

Option 2: Buy 3' x 3' residential HVAC system return duct grill. Remove door. Cut hole in door. Bolt grill to door. Reinstall door. Move on.

I think y'all can guess this in one.

Here's a little before & after

S & J

What Is That? (Weather Update)

2006-06-28T20:17:00.000+04:00

Large burny orb in sky. Making eyes hurt. Fear, surprise, terror -- what is it??

Ohhhh, so that's what the sun looks like... Wow. I'd forgotten.

12 inches of rain at National Airport in the past few days. We consider ourselves lucky that the worst we've had is a little seepage or sweating on the below-grade brick wall in the back of the basement. Oh well, we were planning to replace that carpet anyway... There are people with flooded basements and exploding sewers and just a whole lot of other really nasty consequences.

S & J

Weather and Bat Report

2006-06-27T09:56:00.000+04:00

As many have heard, we've had a bit of rain in Washington. Streets flooded, highways closed, some people even got a day off -- notably the IRS, Commerce Department and others -- when their buildings either flooded or lost power. Not us, of course. No, the State Department and the Foreign Service Institute weathered the storm well.

Drat.

Oh well. We needed the rain; apparently the region got anywhere from five to ten inches in one day, completely making up the entire year's rain deficit in one night. Maybe would have been better a little spread out instead of all in one night, but...

The good news is that we have (knock on wood and keep praying) seen no/no leaks in the roof and the gutters seem to be running clean and clear. So all that fretting over the new roof appears to have paid off.

We also seem to have some unexpected tenants. Apparently a significant number of bats have taken up residence behind our faux shutters. In the tradeoff between the prodigious amounts of bat poo being deposited on our garage trestle and eating the mosquitos, we're going with eating the mosquitos. Besides, we found out that bat families are protected and one is encouraged not to harm or displace them, as long as they're not rabid or harmful to people. We debated whether to add pictures to this post, but there's really not much to show except some shutters and lots of bat poo. We figured you could do without that.

We even had one fall out of the shutters last week, early in the morning. Jenny found a baby bat, barely an inch from head to tail, laying on the trestle of the garage, crying for help. It was up to Steve to shuffle the poor fellow into a box for the day and tuck it away securely out of direct sunlight and the clutches of predators (squirrels, cats, etc.). Later that evening, Jenny slid the baby back onto the trestle, and within quite literally seconds after Jenny stepped aside, the mother swooped down, grabbed the baby bat, and hustled back behind the shutters. We felt all warm and tingly and sentimental.

S & J

The City of Brotherly Love...and Cheese Steaks

2006-06-27T09:28:00.000+04:00

Well, you can guess by the title.

We went to Philadelphia this weekend for the wedding of Jenny's college roommate, Anne Marie, and her beau-now-husband, Wayne. A lovely wedding, tres classy. The Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul made a lovely setting. Dang nice organ, too.

The reception, excellent.

Didn't get to do much sightseeing, but some. We did get a much-welcomed chance to stroll about a bit Friday evening, saw Rittenhouse Square and Logan Circle. And a VERY much welcomed chance to spend some quality time with good friends Willie and Pam, commiserating about life and salving our wounded psyches with pizza and authentic sandwich-shop cheese steaks.
Jake's, on the corner of Broad and Race Streets. Not fancy, but goooooood. The hotel desk clerk referred us to a fancy pub. We got Jake's from one of the bellhops. I got a stern cultural lesson from the chef, who made a point of noting that in Central Philly they use slices of American cheese, not Cheez Whiz. Strictly South Philly, that. My mouth was far too full of tasty sandwich to quibble.

We did stop in at Independence Square on the way out on Sunday, where Steve indulged his childlike awe at thinking that he might be standing on a very same pavingstone where Thomas Jefferson or John Adams stood and argued about the Declaration of Independence -- or at least where Ben Franklin propositioned a comely wench twenty years his junior.

Also saw the Liberty Bell. The new Visitor's Center and Liberty Bell Pavillion is rather well done and very professional. They didn't stint on the design, architecture or construction (hey, it's the birth of our country, I've got no problem with the idea of spending more than a buck fifty to make it look nice). That said (and at the risk of breaking our promise to keep politics off this website), we could not help but feel a twinge of irony. The first display you see when you enter the Liberty Bell pavillion talks about the Bell as a symbol of liberties achieved and liberties denied, just after you've passed through a metal quonset hut where they make you remove even your belts and shoes to get x-rayed, scanned and inspected.

Anyway. Traffic up was a bit of a bear. Four and a half hours. Ugh. The ride home was far easier. Two hours fifteen, despite pouring rain half the time.

It was a lovely wedding and a very nice trip. And good cheesesteaks.

Have to go back for the Franklin Institute...next time!

Cheers,
S & J

Wow, It's Really Quiet...

2006-06-22T01:44:00.000+04:00

For the first time since, like, February someone isn't hammering, drilling, wrenching, smashing or breaking something in the house... We almost don't know what to do.

We had a visit last week from Jenny's parents, Will, Chloe and Dan. Saw the movie "Cars" and enjoyed it, had fun trying to guess who was doing the voices. Steve's Mom, Ruth, came down for a short visit to look around and consider moving from New York to the D.C. area. It was "kinda maybe" until he took her through IKEA and Potomac Mills and she realized there was a serious opportunity here to get new furniture... Then the prospect got a lot more attractive, LOL.

Jenny has settled into new offices in the renovated old wing of the State Department, working with the new U.S. Foreign Assistance Office. The new office is very nice. State closed down one wing of the building about three years ago, the oldest wing, to completely renovate it. Jenny's new offices are in that wing, recently reopened. It was the older, historic part of the building, so they had to keep and refurbish a lot of the old architectural flourishes. The new building that surrounds it basic 1950s Federal Office Prison...I mean, Office Building. Right out of the kit, if ya' know what I mean. This part is a lot classier. And she has a really great view...of the interior courtyard where they put the new airconditioning chillers. The world can be greatly reassured that Jenny is keeping a close eye on the glycol return conduits.

Steve is in the four hundredth week of Arabic...or what feels like four hundred weeks...a little burned out but plugging along. Not a language for the weak of will, and probably worthy of a warning label: "Attempting to learn Arabic when your brain is encroaching on forty may be hazardous to your health."

That's about it for now. More news maybe next week...

S & J

Second Anniversary

2006-06-10T09:28:00.000+04:00

Ah, the romance, the adventure, the exotic mystery of ... Kansas?

We came close to spending our second anniversary in Kansas -- well, Fort Leavenworth to be precise -- when we went to visit Jenny's brother's family (Ryan and Angel) at the end of May. A very nice visit, indeed, a lot of fun with our nephews, Dan and Will, and our niece, Chloe.

There's some good air under that skateboard...

Also a chance to try out our new digital camera, the new Kodak Easy Share Z650. 6.1 megapixels, but more importantly, a 10x optical zoom. This thing is doing REALLY good, lots of close up capability, very stable even for pictures of things in motion and on tight zoom. We're impressed.

We started in Kansas City, Missouri, with a little wandering around at the Crown Center and the Spanish Plaza, plus a really nice couples massage in the Woodmont area. Very bohemian area, kinda like Soho in New York or Adams Morgan here in D.C. Then, Jenny surprised Steve with her big find -- a very different and interesting place called the Chateau Avalon in Kansas City, Kansas. It's a bed and breakfast with a twist. Every room has a different theme. There's the Presidential Suite, the Tuscany Room, the Monte Cristo, the Polynesian Jungle, etc. etc., and ours -- the Camelot Room. It was a lot of fun. Location is a little odd, you're within shouting distance of the Kansas Motor Speedway. But the place is marvelous and quaint and comfortable and fun.

There was a guest log in the room -- one in each room, we assume -- and we read through it. There were a number of entries that really touched us, namely those from military couples who were taking a weekend of relief from the war in Iraq. Several people were either on brief vacations, celebrating someone's homecoming, or grabbing one last moment alone before shipping out. We actually looked up some of the names later and as far as we can tell, they made it home.

We came home the day before our actual anniversary -- May 23 -- so we spent that here in D.C., sleeping late, enjoying the day, and ending with a really nice dinner at the Colvin Run Tavern in Vienna. Tres chic, and really good food.

Two years. Steve's come to the thought that the first anniversary is important because, well, it's the first, and the second is important because it feels like you're now off probation. You've outlasted the average Hollywood marriage, you're in real marriage world, now. LOL.

S & J

My Secret Vice

2006-06-10T04:06:00.000+04:00

I admit it. I am hooked on Hollywood gossip.
Link: Ted Casablanca at E! Online
S only (J disavows ALL interest in this one) :-)

Oh, The Joys of Home Improvement

2006-06-09T00:37:00.001+04:00

You have to imagine Johnny Carson doing the voice of Art Fern to get the right tone.

OK, so we've been doing a little work on the house.

Took out all the carpeting (bye bye, dust mites)...

...and here's a before and after on the stairs.

Now, the flooring was a bit of a bear. The installer said it would take three days. Steve figured four, maybe five. It took, uh, eighteen. We were...fatigued, to say the least. Still, it looked nice once they finally got done (and after they came back a month later to fix some mistakes).

Next it was time to turn to the roof. We got rid of these nasty, busted-up, dried out, twenty-year-old cedar shakes and went for architectural shingles. In fact, they just finished about an hour ago. Here's before...

...during...

...and after.

We're taking a breather. We've had enough of living in a construction zone for a while.

S & J

Change of Plans!

2006-06-08T07:30:00.000+04:00

OK, so here's the news. We are NOT going to Tunisia in the summer of 2006. We ARE going to Abu Dhabi on schedule in the summer of 2007.

The Department didn't want Jenny to leave while it is in the middle of reorganizing the foreign assistance organization. We agreed to stay another year so that Jenny could help with the reorganization. Steve will do his second year of Arabic language here in Arlington, not in Tunisia as previously planned. In summer 2007 (month TBD) we will go to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where Steve will be the Public Affairs Officer in the Embassy and Jenny...eh, we're still trying to figure that out...

Anyway, short version is that we're going to be around Washington for one more year. We are definitely sorry to miss Tunis -- a year with nothing to do but learn Arabic and watch the Mediterranean Sea slosh back and forth was not exactly unwelcome. But, c'est la vie, y'know? So...summer's here, grill's gassed up, and we got burgers. Yee-hah.

S & J

Launch

2006-06-08T06:54:00.000+04:00

Hello, All!

We've created this blog to give us a place to post our latest adventures. No politics, no controversy, just pictures of where we go and occasional updates. Email us if you want to join the group that gets notified each time we post. We think we can do that. We're kinda new at this, so we're not entirely sure... ha ha ha

S & J

Wandering The Planet

January and February 2010 in Pictures

Brother and Sister

Aubrey Turns Three!!!

January 8, 2010: Zachary Kyle

December 2009 and January 2010

Swim Nap Play

Just hanging around...Oh, by the way, want to see the same shirt, two years ago...? Here you go...Aubrey put all her friends down for a nap, then tucked herself in, too.Swimming with friends. She's getting really good!

Summer 2009

Why We Do Not Leave Daddy In Charge

The Duck of Toilet

Eighteen Months

What happens in eighteen months?You go from this......to this......and this......to this!

Easter

At The BeachEaster Egg Roll

A Day At The (Air) Races

A Day On The CornicheZ O O M ! ! !Mmmmm! Water good!

Sleeping Baby

In The Spaces Between...

Saturday in the Park with Aubrey

Yo ho! Ship ahoy...Ready to play!Um, yeah, you can trust me...I promise I won't put this in your shirt...yeah, sure...So many ropes, so little time...And this pile of sand goes right here...On the theory that the box is more interesting than the toy, we proudly present a cup, a rock and a straw.

La Fashion Plate

Baby

Organized Baby

Santa Baby

Faces of Baby

A Day in the Park

Sitting with DadOn the see-sawBy herself. No joke. 23 months old, and she can do this by herself.Baby loooooooves the slides...After her post-park bath, Aubrey loves getting her hair styled.

Happy Halloween!

Painting her pumpkin...and pretty much everything else...All dressed up in her costume, which Mama made...

After a hard day of trick-or-treating, Aubrey likes to relax at home and watch her sign language DVD with friends. Lots of them. And a beverage. And a snack. And shoes. And...

Back in the UAE

The Virginia Air & Space Museum in Hampton, Virginia:Baby loves to swing!Bluebird Gap FarmFashion starts early...Check out my dance moves.A Quiet Moment in the Sunlight

It's Been A Long Time

Little Baby Walkin'

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

A Visit to Sharjah

The Pace Of Change in the UAE

January and February

Fine Local Cuisine and Merchandise

ONE!

Christmas in the Desert

December, And It's Still 80 Degrees Out...

The Prisoner's Protest...Hey, What's Up With Baby Jail, Dad?

Afternoon Nap

Business Meeting

In Case You Thought We Were Starving

A Wide Selection of Produce

Aubrey Playing With Daddy's Toys

A House Full Of Toys, This Kid Wants To Play With A Hammer

Zoom!!

James Cameron, My Eye -- I'M Queen Of The World!

OK, So Who Owns This Bit Up Here?

In The End, It's All A Matter Of Taste

October/November: The Fall Report

Nine Month News

More Photos of...Who Else? :-)

How You Know The Seafood Section Manager Has A Sense Of Humor

Scenes from...

Random Cellphone Shots

Our First Outing

IKEA!!

Welcome To Abu Dhabi

Aubrey's Baptism

Fun at the River

Aubrey loves her crunchy star toy...Grandma R & AubreyAubrey gets to meet her first dog, Little Bit (a.k.a. Squirt, because when he gets excited...)

Aubrey and Grandpa

Teeth, Toys and Bananas

LET THE SOLIDS BEGIN!!

Look At That, Reading Already!!Sitting Up All By HerselfThe Shirt Says It All...

Getting Bigger...

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille...Hanging with mama at bedtimeAunt & UncleOne Big HappyGoofing with Dad at the iMac...

Almost Four Months Old

Hawaii 2007

A Sunday in March

Two Months Old

Having a snooze:Pretty Smiles!Bath Time!Oh, yeah -- she's a Daddy's Girl....

Six Weeks Old

According to Jenny, The real reason Virginia Tech Basketball is doing so well this season...Momma & baby"Yeah, I'm letting him watch now, but wait until the commercial comes on..."Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be contestants on American Idol...

Aubrey's First Big Trip

Just hanging around...

Oh, by the way, want to see the same shirt, two years ago...? Here you go...

Aubrey put all her friends down for a nap, then tucked herself in, too.

Swimming with friends. She's getting really good!

What happens in eighteen months?

You go from this...

...to this...

...and this...

...to this!

At The Beach

Easter Egg Roll

A Day On The Corniche

Z O O M ! ! !

Mmmmm! Water good!

Sitting with Dad

On the see-saw

By herself. No joke. 23 months old, and she can do this by herself.

Baby loooooooves the slides...

After her post-park bath, Aubrey loves getting her hair styled.

Painting her pumpkin...and pretty much everything else...

All dressed up in her costume, which Mama made...

The Virginia Air & Space Museum in Hampton, Virginia:

Baby loves to swing!

Bluebird Gap Farm

Fashion starts early...

Check out my dance moves.

A Quiet Moment in the Sunlight

Aubrey loves her crunchy star toy...

Grandma R & Aubrey

Aubrey gets to meet her first dog, Little Bit (a.k.a. Squirt, because when he gets excited...)

Look At That, Reading Already!!

Sitting Up All By Herself

The Shirt Says It All...

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille...

Hanging with mama at bedtime

Aunt & Uncle

One Big Happy

Goofing with Dad at the iMac...

Having a snooze:

Pretty Smiles!

Bath Time!

Oh, yeah -- she's a Daddy's Girl....

According to Jenny, The real reason Virginia Tech Basketball is doing so well this season...

Momma & baby

"Yeah, I'm letting him watch now, but wait until the commercial comes on..."

Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be contestants on American Idol...