Mr. Mason

It's safe to say that Mason is adjusting just fine to life in Dubai :)  He's enjoying school now, and has a couple of good buddies in his class.  Adam and Tate, and they are both from Canada.  We are still trying to get used to the 6-day schedule, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to the Fri/Sat weekends!  I know the 6-day schedule must be confusing to everyone back home, so this is basically what our first two weeks looked like:

WEEK 1:
     Sun, Jan 2 - Holiday
     Mon, Jan 3 - Day 1
     Tues, Jan 4 - Day 2
     Wed, Jan 5 - Day 3
     Thurs, Jan 6 - Day 4
     Fri/Sat - Weekend

WEEK 2:
     Sun, Jan 9 - Day 5
     Mon, Jan 10 - Day 6
     Tues, Jan 11 - Day 1
     Wed, Jan 12 - Day 2
     Thurs, Jan 13 - Day 3
     Fri/Sat - Weekend.....Repeat

Not sure if this helped clear things up, but I've gotten questions from a lot of ya'll out there :)  I don't think it makes any difference to Mason, but I'm the one trying to keep up with homework, library days, PE days, etc, etc.

We had our first official playdate last week with his buddy Adam.  We went to Dino Live, which is supposed to be the "World's Largest Dinosaur Show!"  (Everything in Dubai is considered to be the "World's Largest" such-n-such! Ha!) But this was a pretty cool dinosaur exhibit filled with animated models, a 3D movie and an electric ride-on dinosaur :)  These pictures didn't turn out too well, but you get the idea!  (I realize most people look at the blog for the photos, so I've figured out how to enlarge them!)

 Adam & Mason roar with the T-Rex

 Mason enjoying his popcorn and slushie

You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the Texan out of the boy! Ride 'em Cowboy!

And I'm saving the best update for last.  Mason completed his first week of Mixed Martial Arts Class last week.  Yep, Mr. Mason is enrolled in an MMA Class (thank you Daddy!)  I thought it was more of a karate class, but it truly is a combination of karate, boxing, wrestling, self defense, etc, etc.  It's an hour long class, and they meet twice a week. Rod's buddy has had his three boys in this class for several months and had nothing but great things to say about it and the instructor.  Mr. Tam Khan is an experienced British MMA fighter, and the kids both love and fear him.  Basically, the first 45 minutes is full of intense cardio and drills: jumping jacks, crab crawl, punching the bag, push-ups, running in place, sprints, etc, etc.  Then at the very end, he pairs the kids up and lets them wrestle but no hitting or kicking.  Mason got a bit overwhelmed the first class during the drills and cardio portion, but he quickly got fired up when it came time to punch the bag and wrestle another kid his size.  He got that determined and serious look in his eyes (a lot of you have seen this "look" before!) and took his partner down three times in a row.  Papa Nelson would be proud of Mason's wrestling moves!  You can check out their website at www.contendermma.com.  The best part about all of this is I get to use this class as leverage now!  "Mason, do you think Mr. Tam would approve of you doing that?"  "Mason, if you don't stop doing whatever it is you are doing, then no MMA class for you!"

 Mason hitting the bag along side Mr. Tam

 Take him down, buddy!!