Friday, January 25, 2013

The Twins

Jake and Cash are as funny and silly as ever, and now they are really starting to play with each other.  They love to listen to music and dance, play chase, hide & go seek, wrestle with Daddy and Mason and ride on their cars.  The boys have adjusted very well to life in Dubai.  They spend a couple of hours in the morning playing outside at our hotel playground, come in for lunch, nap for a couple of hours and then back to the playground (either at the hotel or at Mason's school).   We do play dates at the local parks, go swimming and for walks around the complex.  Everyone here at our hotel knows and loves the twins!  From the hotel concierge, all of the cleaners, security guards, nannies, desk clerks, etc, etc!  Life is good for Jake and Cash, and we have the sweetest nanny named Indu.  She loves the boys and they love her!!

Their personalities continue to vary as much as their looks do!  Jake is silly and loves to make people laugh.  He uses a special deep voice when playing and throwing the ball!  Jake likes to shout "down set hut" then runs fast with the ball.  He loves to tackle, throws EVERYTHING and has a wicked side arm.  He will wind up when giving a high-five, so watch out! Jake is also a Momma's boy, is very shy in big groups and it takes him a while to warm-up to new people.  Jake tends to be more cautious than Cash, but he is a very good climber!  He is also my big talker and does a lot of repeating.  Some of his favorite words are: Momma, Dadda, "Dash" (Cash), "May-May" (Mason), more, thank you, no-no, down, bye bye, night night, and calls his friends Liam and Shyla (Eeemmm and Lyla).   Jake does not like to get dirty and says "Ewww" whenever he gets into sand or dirt!  Jake plays really well with the other kids and is a super sweet boy!

Cash on the other hand is my wild child!  He's got several nicknames: Crazy Cash, Crash, Casharoo and Jake calls him Dash.  He loves to climb and jump off of anything and everything.  This kid is tough as nails!  He's always trying new stunts, and I have a feeling we'll be making numerous trips to the ER for various broken bones.  He can also be very sweet and wins the hearts of everyone!  He was the first to give kisses and hugs but it's always on his terms ;)  He has no problem in large groups and takes off the second we reach the park.  But for a kid that is super tough, he's got super sensitive skin and something here in Dubai really aggravates his skin.  We've been to the doctor several times for his eczema, hives and allergies!  He also got Hand-Foot-Mouth when we first got here, but it did not slow him down much.  He loves to terrorize Jake, take his toys away and wrestle with Mason.  Cash is just a cool kid!

 Play time at Mason's school playground.  Mason and his friends play here at least twice a week after school, and the twins have just as much fun playing too! 




 Ewww, I don't like Cheetos on my hands!

 More Cheetos please!!

 Boys hanging out before bedtime!

Don't speak or look at me while I'm in time-out!!

 Chicken and rice sure was yummy!

We just discovered the Teletubbies!  It's odd and good at the same time :)


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The "Safest Way!"

There is a grocery store here called The Safest Way, and it is well known for carrying some good ol' American items that you cannot find at the local stores!  Their product selection varies on a daily basis, and what is there one day might not ever be there again!  So stock up if you find something that you cannot live without!  Mason and I made a trip there today to get a few essentials that we have been missing from back home.  And these are the real deal - made in the USA!  Not the American products that are manufactured in the Middle East with English and Arabic writing!  Trust me, Coca Cola Light does not taste the same as Diet Coke!  Now, these items come at a hefty price and are nearly three times the cost of what we would pay back home.  For example, my Clorox wipes (that I cannot live without) cost nearly $10!  And Mason's Life Cinnamon cereal was almost $8!!  The crazy price we'll pay to have a little bit of home!  My only disappointment was that I was not able to find any Diet Dr. Pepper or corn tortillas!  Maybe next time :)


SOME OF OUR ITEMS FROM THE SAFEST WAY!



AMERICAN / ARABIC PRODUCTS

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Mason in Dubai

Mason started at a new school in December, and is now going to the American School of Dubai (ASD).  He was on the wait list for a few years, and he finally got in this year!  This school was founded back in 1966 and was the first American school established in Dubai.  It now has over 1,500 students and offers grades Pre-K through 12th grade.  Mason was excited to learn that several of his classmates from his previous school had also transferred to ASD, which made the transition much smoother.  His classmates were also so excited when he arrived!  They made a special welcome card and banner for his first day, and there was a group of girls giddy with excitement with the new kid from Texas finally arrived in their class - ha!  He got to be part of the Christmas Concert and their class Christmas Party!  Next week he will sign up for the After School Activities, and he wants to try out the soccer and basketball programs.  

CLASS CHRISTMAS PARTY AND CONCERT


Do you see Mason?  He's in the center with a swirly santa hat :)


Mason and Austin acting silly after school



Mason had a two week Christmas holiday and enjoyed every minute of it!  He did a lot of swimming (yes, it's warm enough to swim here - crazy, I know!) trips to the Dubai Mall and arcade, playing at the park, football with daddy, visits to his favorite Dubai restaurants: TX Roadhouse, Noodle House, Bentoya Sushi and KFC!  He also had a fun time at Kidzania with his friend Austin.  Kidzania is an indoor theme park that is built to look like a city for a child.  Here they can earn money by working at places like a doctors office, Coca Cola, McDonalds, fire station, dentist, etc.  And then they can spend their money at shops and entertainment.  He and Austin had a blast!

TRIP TO KIDZANIA

 Flipping burgers at McDonalds!



 Emirates Airlines pilots



And last but certainly not least, Mason got to cheer on the Texas Aggies as they "killed" OU in the Cotton Bowl.  Mason's favorite phrase is "They killed them!" And that they did!  We woke up at 6:30 on Saturday morning and Face Timed with Aunt Demar. She placed her iPad in front of her big screen, so we could watch the second half of the Aggie game.  I knew we could listen to the game over the internet, but Mason was insistent on actually watching the game!  He is now counting down the days until the 2013 rankings are released and the next season starts.  Mason predicts A&M will be in the top 3 and a repeat for Johnny Heisman Football!!  










Happy New Year!

It's been a while since I last updated, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  We live right across the street from the world's tallest building, The Burj Khalifa, and they put on an amazing fireworks show every year!   Fireworks literally shoot off the sides of the building as well as off the rooftops from nearby buildings.  They estimated that nearly 1.7 million people were in attendance to watch this spectacular show!  A window table at Atmosphere, a restaurant on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa (1,350 feet up) went for $4,300 per person!   We opted for the less expensive route and had dinner at a neighbors then walked out to the pool patio to watch the fireworks show.  Here are a few of my amateur photos.