Sabeena's Graduation

I can't believe that the last of my 3 babies has finished Primary School, next year all 3 girls will be in Secondary.  Sabeena will be starting her first year and Amani finishing her last, where did the time go.  I just lose my breath when I think of how big they are and all that they have and continue to accomplish.

Sabeena-The Graduate!!!

 Katya's teacher let her come for the issuing of the graduation certificate, but she had to go back to class right after so she wasn't there for the family photo.

 Our friend Ashley was staying a couple of days with us and attended Sabeena's graduation.

The Graduate and her daddy!!

RATS-The Musical

Sabeena did a rendition of RATS-The musical for her year 6 Drama Production.  It is basically a musical based on the story of the pied piper of Hamlin.  Sabeena played one of the rats.  She had a lot of fun doing the production and did a great job in her performance.  It has been amazing watching the girls grow throughout the past year.  Sabeena has become quite the orator with a very strong and clear voice and this was very evident during the play.

Sabeena with her Rat make-up

Sabeena in Rat Mafia Line

Sabeena & Fellow Rats with attitude

Close-up of Sabeena

Pied Piper and his Shadow

SES Music and Arts Evening.

The music and art evening is a night where the students get to display much of what they have been working on  throughout the year in the way of the ARTS.  Katya performed with the Advanced Singing Group, the Flute Choir and the Orchestra.  Amani presented in the Art exhibit.

Here are a few of Amani's art pieces.  She won the Art Award for the upper level in secondary for these pieces and others.  I didn't realize that I didn't get a full photo of the Animal Parts Sculpture.  If Ashi snapped one I will add it later.

Mod Rock Castings with Acrylic II

Skull-Glass, Glue and Glass Paint

Animal Part Sculpture (Horse Head)-Aluminum and Glue

Animal Part Sculpture (Bat Wing)-Aluminum and Glue

Dragonfly Sculpture-Wire

Amani with her friend Jen!!

Katya has been participating in the Drama Club and they did a production of A Midsummer's Night Dream for the Secondary Arts Evening.  Katya played the fairy, Cobweb. Katya also played her flute with the orchestra and flute choir and sang with the ASG.

  Katya on Flute

Fairies presenting themselves

Katya backstage with friend Claire

A Big Night for Amani!! Prom & First Date!!

Lot's of fun stuff accompanies your baby girl turning 16 years old including the world of "DATING!!"  ARRRGGHHHH!!!

Amani's Prom was conveniently scheduled for the weekend after her birthday so she got a 2 for 1 deal, Prom and First Date.

Corsages and Boutonnieres are not the norm here in the Middle East, (as a matter of fact Proms aren't the norm)  therefore it was no surprise that the florist really didn't have the best ability of completing this task.  However, we did end up with what we needed.

DRESS:  Amani was wearing a black & white plaid gown from Alyce Designs with a lace bolero.  She won the title of "Best Dressed" for the evening.

DATE:  Amani was escorted to the prom by her good friend Stefan.  They met a few years back at her friend Johayna's Halloween Party where they were both helpers to care for the younger kids.  At the time they were both playing Soccer.  While, Amani isn't playing anymore she continues to go out to the field and support Stefan and all her friends when they have games.

SHOES:  Black Jeweled High Heels from Splash!!  (Sorry didn't grab a photo)

VENUE:  Al Bustana Rotana Hotel in Dubai.

I think this date has set the bar high for all future dates.  Amani and her friends all seemed to have a fabulous time.  I am thankful for Stefan for treating my baby girl like the Princess that she is and dancing the night away with her.  I don't think the heels even made it through a whole dance.  ;)

Here are a few of Amani's friends and their dates.

Genna & Josh                            










Jen & Ben                                            

                                   








  
Jay & Rachel









More Photos can be see here or here.

My Princess Turns 16!!

Amani is 16!!  She opted to not have a Sweet 16 in exchange for taking friends to Southern California with us this summer to Disneyland and Magic Mountain.  Therefore we just had a small little get together at the house with some Chicken Fajita & Bean Dip followed by cake and ice cream!!

Over the summer we get to squeeze in Driver's Training and I believe her cousin and her friends have already started lining up some blind dates.  Oh Joy!!!!  Not to mention the first date this week!!  Prom!!!

A Day of Happiness & Heartache!!!

We had Stake Conference today where Elder Jeffrey Holland was in attendance and the Patriarch was also in town so Amani was abled to receive her Patriarchal Blessing.  These were very happy things for our family.  The speakers at conference were amazing and very inspirational.

On the way to conference I received a text from Ashi telling me to call my sister because my grandfather had passed away.  I called my sister and got the news and information for the funeral.

At conference Elder Holland gave a blessing to the congregation and their families that they may be comforted through their trial and through times of grief and loss.  I felt the impression of this blessing strongly and new that we would make it through.

After conference we headed to Dubai for Amani's blessing which was a wonderful experience for her.  :)

When we got home I began to make arrangements to fly to Indiana.  I called and coordinated with my mom and sister.

Today was definitely a day of happiness, yet a day of heartache as well.

Happy memories of my papa:

• When I was 8, I flew to Indiana all by myself to spend time with my papa.  While there I went to work with him at the school where he was a Phys. Ed. teacher.  This is where my love of health, fitness and sports began.
• Trips for ice cream at dairy queen.
• Walking through the garden as he worked.
• Playing cards with him and my G-grandma
• Listening to music and dancing through the house.
• Watching a parade from the porch and him telling me stories about how my mom use to think the 4th of July parade was just for her birthday.
• Every time I received a letter in the mail from him knowing he would have answered every pointless questions I asked in my previous letter.  

Here is a link to the beautiful obituary, which will tell you a little more about my Papa.

My photos are all in California, so I can't post any at the moment.

2011 Switzerland

2011 Switzerland, a set on Flickr.

Here's where photos that I took will be posted...so far only a small amount is here, but more to follow...

Last night Amani learned that it was stormy at home and was sad that once again we had traveled and the rain had come to Sharjah.  She asked one of her friends to share the storm and send it to Switzerland which he promised to do.  Thank goodness he only sent a light rain and the thunder and lightning stayed behind. 

The rain actually was a nice setting for the day as we planned to head off to the Gothic Castle of Chillon.  We had originally planned to go to Zurich, but after evaluating how tired everybody was we decided on a low key day of a castle tour and then a visit to the nearby city, Morges. We started with the castle we was set in the side of a mountain overlooking the water.  The first amazing thing we saw (outside of the castle itself) was a nesting swan, which the girls thought was great.  We then entered the castle and enjoyed the beauty of it all.  This was by far the largest castle I have ever seen.  In many of the basement rooms that mountains natural structure was still intact, which added to the beauty of the castle. 

After the castle we went back to the house and had lunch with the Vigliottis.  After lunch all of us with the exception of Fabio (he had an obligation to help some friends move) went into Morges.  We visited the river of tulips, which was Sabeena's absolute favorite spot.  She stole mommy's camera and took pictures of all the flowers.  We then went to a store to buy a few gifts as we had missed Molly's birthday party and promised to bring her a birthday present from Switzerland.

We then headed back to the house to pack and prepare for our 6:00 am departure for the airport.

Cheese & Chocolate. Yum-Yum!!!

Today we visited Gruyere, which houses the Cheese Factory and Broc where the Callier Chocolate Factory is located.

We started with Gruyere.  This was the first time we had a bit of confusion with the trains.  We went to the platform and were unsure which train to get on.  There was the normal train and then a very small (2 car) train which said Gruyere on the side, but wasn't really on the platform.  Finally, we decided to ask which train and were directed to the smaller train.  We got on  a basically empty train (which wouldn't be the case for long) and headed off.  At the next stop the train was boarded by a group of elementary students going on a field trip, this pretty much filled up the train car that we were in.  At the next stop we picked up a junior high class that also appeared to be going on a field trip.  The train now was really full.

We arrived in Gruyere and headed for the cheese factory while the little ones headed to have a picnic lunch.  The cheese factory was great our audio guide was a cow by the name of Cherry.  She led us from the alfalfa to the cheese production.  Let's not forget the sampler on 3 different aged Gruyere cheeses, 3 mos, 6 mos, and 10 mos.  I preferred the first 2.  The last was too salty for my taste which of course meant Ashi liked it the best.  :D

As we left the factory the little ones were lined up to enter for their tour.  We rushed to the train station and boarded for Broc.  We were on our way to Chocolate!!!

We passed the Village of Broc and headed to the next station Broc Fabrique, where we would find the factory.  This was the first place to not accept our Swiss pass, but the entry was only 4 Francs each.  We went on an audio animated tour which began in the mexican rain forest, went on a boat across the ocean, and ended in Broc, Switzerland.  We then entered a room that housed some of the older equipment for chocolate production and we learned of the potential closing of the factory until a merger with Nestle occurred.  We then entered the factory, and watched the production of the classic Callier Branch candy.  We then walked through a hallway where you could post what chocolate means to you. The next room would have to be Sabeena's favorite, can you guess what it was???

THE TASTING ROOM!!!!

In this room there were samples of all the chocolates made in the factory.  However, on our go through there were 2 flavors missing. :(  The votes are in and these are the favorites.

Ashi-Chocomel (Milk Chocolate with honeycomb)
Sindi-Dark Chocolate Almond from Ambassador Collection
Amani-Dark Chocolate Creme filled from Ambassador Collection
Katya-Can't decide, she loved them all
Sabeena-Dark Chocolate Bar

After the factory we wanted to have lunch, but were informed that there were no restaurants and would have to head to the village, but we had just missed the train.  We decided to take another hike and headed of the hill.  We were very glad we did as we entered a beautiful little village.  The majority of the restaurants were closed, so we walked around a bit and then boarded the train for the closest big city of  Bulle where we would be making a transfer.  Again after walking we discovered that the restaurants were all closed except for the delis at the train station.  We ate at the train station and then we headed back to Cossonay.

Bern & Interlaken

Today was a beautiful day filled with beautiful sights.  We headed for German speaking Switzerland.  This meant that Sabeena and I were the translators of the day.  We hopped on the train and headed for Interlaken.  The first thing I noticed was that the temperature had dropped incredibly from the previous days, the 2nd thing that I noticed was that when my stuff had been grabbed as I was clearing the breakfast table to hurry us out the door, my jacket was not among the things brought.  Brrrrrr.  Now those of you that know me, know that I am always cold when everybody else is warm.  So, if Amani was cold, then I must have been freezing and Amani was cold!!! 

Therefore the first thing we did was by me a souvenir in the form of a nice fleece jacket.  :D

We then headed out into the city.  We stopped at a little diner called Mr. Grill for lunch which Sabeena and I ordered in German.  Yay!!!  Interlaken was full of beautiful architecture, gardens, mountains, and yummy chocolate & bakeries!!!  We learned that there was also an ice palace, however as we weren't aware of this ahead of time we did not dress appropriately so this would have to wait for another time. 

Way to soon it was time to head back to the train station to head to Bern. This really proved to be another place of gorgeous architecture.  I enjoyed the city/village feel as we walked through Bern.  We visited Einsteins house and saw many fountains.  We then headed across the city to see the Bear Pit, where we found a natural habitat with a family of bears.  We then took a detour through the woods to head back to the village for dinner.  It was a beautiful hike with the mountain and forest on one side and the water on the other.  The girls wanted to take the high rise bridge back across the water, I had to quickly VETO that decision, so we walked a little farther and took the smaller and much LOWER bridge across.  We took a long walk up another hill to the House of Parliament where the restaurants were located on the other side.

Well being the family of picky eaters that we are, we could not choose one restaurant.  Luckily we found two restaurants right next to each other so Amani and Ashi sat at a table at the Fondue restaurant, while Sabeena, Katya and I sat at the next table belonging to the Italian restaurant.  Katya jumped back and forth between restaurants.  She spent the early part of dinner with Ashi and Amani when the waitress mistakenly brought her a pasta dish with squid and shrimp. (definitely not what she had ordered)  When her actual vegetarian meal of arrabiata spaghetti arrived she rejoined us at our table.

After dinner we headed back to Chateau Vigliotti.

Bern was another city

Geneva

Today we are having a short day so that the girls can get into bed relatively early for the long day we have planned for tomorrow. We headed into Geneva around 900 arriving around 1000. We started with the famous jet in the middle of the lake then headed to the art museum. There were 3 different exhibitions, a photo essay of indigenous Brazil, oil paintings by Dominique Rossborough and Swatch Memorabilia from 1984 to present. I enjoyed the oil paintings the best.

Photos to come

We then set off on the walking tour. We observed lots of beautiful architecture and we had lunch at a cute little Creperie called Le Rozelle.

We lost our way quite a few times as the map for Geneva was not as nicely laid out as the one for Lausanne. Needless to say we eventually found numerous points of interest, including Cathedral St. Pierre which had a archeological dig and a museum attached. We saw much art related to Calvin & Martin Luther. I never knew there was so much art putting them in the company of demons and Hell.

Our last adventure in Geneva was the Calvin University which had many portions under construction. We then took a different route back to the train station and passed by the waterside park. We realized we had not seen anything on the train side of the lake, these things would have to be saved for another day.

We arrived back in Penthaz shortly after 700 (900 UAE time) and attempted to start the bedtime routine. It tok awhile to get the girls into bed while Ashi and Fabio planned the itinerary for tomorrow.

Evian-cute village still not a fan of the water

Today we had a lovely breakfast, then after packing our bags we headed back to Esplanade De Montbenon, which houses the port where we would be taking a ferry to Evian, France. We walked around the port for a little bit and found out where the ferry would be departing from at 1230, since we had 45 minutes we decided to have lunch, which consisted of baguettes filled with cheese and veggies or hotdog and fries. We then headed over to wait for the boat. Sabeena chose the top deck of the ship, which turned out to be all enclosed. I think we were all hoping for open air, but still had a gorgeous view of the Alps as we crossed the lake.

We received a map at the port and set off. There should have been a sign at the previous port stating that the village of Evian is closed from 100-300, therefore arriving at 107 with a 245 departure was not the best trip to be on. We got to see the remnants of the Farmers Market and the architecture of the village.

Once back in Lausanne we headed for the Olympic Museum. The museum had a some great exhibits, but in my opinion the walk up to the museum was the best part. There were some great sculptures and the hill was lovely.

After the museum we went to dinner followed by the botanical garden and then back to Chateau de Vigliotti.

Le Cheval

Today we spent the day in Lausanne after a night flight. We arrived at the Geneva airport about 8:30 and after learning that the girls suitcase had not arrived we headed out on our adventure. The girls immediately forgot the worries of their lost luggage when they were greeted by the wonderful smell of a fresh European bakery. Amani was able to use her French and place the order for some pastries. Once done she promptly told Katya she got to order next.

We then headed to the train concierge where the teller was from (of all places) Daly City. This is where Ashi's parents live in California. Therefore Katya didn't get the chance to use her French. We headed down to the train station and somewhere between the concierge and the platform we managed to lose one of the train tickets. Ashi's had to run back up and had to purchase another (luckily a children's ticket), and made it back just as the train arrived.

The rest of the day ran rather smoothly. Fabio met us at the train station in Cossonay and took us back to Chateau Vigliotti where we would be residing for the week. We had a lovely brunch with Fabio and Elodie and made our plans to spend the day Lausanne. After brunch, Fabio took us back to the train station and we were on our way. We started at the tourism office and picked up some maps and points of interest then bought our tickets. We started with Eglise St. François, a church that was built around 1270. After that we headed to Place de la Palud, where there is a colourful fountain and the City hall. The fountain looked a tad out of place with all it's bright paint.

Next we went to the large cathedral in the middle of the city. It took quite a few steps to reach it on top of the hill where it is situated, but it was well worth the climb. We looked out over the city from the courtyard then visited the museum, which use to be the Bishops housing quarters and finally into the Cathedrale Notre Dame a structure built between 1150-1275. While the rest of us we're impressed with the architecture and internal structures Sabeena found it all to be rather haunting and was eager to leave. From here we ventured on to the Chateau St-Marie,followed by the Palais De Rumine (serves as a university, library and museum)

Next item on the agenda was food. We began to view the options as we walked around when the girls noticed an unusual item on the menu, Le Cheval, which is horse. The girls then proceeded to vi and reject restaurants on these grounds. If Le Cheval was on the menu we were NOT eating there. We found a few without it on the menu, but the girls weren't happy with the rest of the selection or the place was about to close (we were a little confused as for us 530 is dinnertime). Finally, almost back to the main strip we came upon a hotel with a restaurant (Le Chene Brasserie), I don't think they were actually open yet, but the hostess told us they were and single-handedly got us a table and took our drink orders. As she was preparing our drinks the st of the staff began to trickle in. She took our food order and then the waiters arrived. Needless to say the food was amazing.

We still had a little time before we wanted to be on the train so we decided to take a walk down to the water and get a preview of the area we would visit tomorrow, Esplanade De Montbenon. This area was a large park with lots of activity. We saw young adults mingling, practicing back flips and tightrope walking. There were some nice pieces of sculpture spread throughout the park as well.

After this we headed back to the train station and then back to Penthaz for bed.

Returning to the 20's

Well it has finally happened, I have officially hit 20 for the 2nd time!!  Or as some people say I have turned 40!!  I had mentioned to Ashi that I would love to have a Roarin' 20's themed party for my Return to 20, but he informed me that he would be traveling the week of my birthday and wasn't sure it was doable.  So we were going to have a family lunch and then dinner with friends.

Well Ashi, said he was sorry he couldn't give me the party I wanted so he bought me a 20's style dress to wear for lunch and he would wear a suit.  Well when we got to the restaurant I was surprised by a great group of friends all dressed in 20's garb!!!! 

It was amazing.  The staff at the restaurant were even dressed up and went out of their way to make it a very special day.  This included making a very delicious sugar free cake for me!!!  I have said it in a previous post, but I am telling everybody, "You have to visit Chocopologie Dubai they are an awesome restaurant with great food, fantastic desserts and a truly amazing staff!!!!

Call and make a reservation 042329880 or just stop by for a fantastic dining experience!!!  They are located at DFC across the bridge from Macaroni Grill and just past m0re.

Thanks everybody for making my birthday extra special!!!!

Lunch, Art and Fun Run!!!

Today was a very busy day! 

First off as you know from Ashi's posts he is away at a conference.  This morning Amani had an art workshop at school that began at 8 am while on the other side of town Sabeena had her ballet lesson starting at guess what time???  You got it, 8 am. 

Luckily, Amani's friend Caitlyn was going to drive to school with us for the workshop day, which made me a bit more comfortable with dropping Amani off at the school at 7:30.  However, the best part was when we pulled into the school parking lot, first the gate was open which meant the girls would be able to wait inside, but even better than that was when the teachers pulled in right behind me at 7:31.  With a sigh of relieve and Amani and Caitlyn getting a little extra time to work on their projects Sabeena and I were off to ballet.  While Sabeena was dancing I did my walking circuit and then called Katya to make sure she was awake and getting ready for the birthday party she was attending  about an hour after I would get home, YAY she was. 

Once home, I helped Katya to finish getting ready (finding a gift bag for the present, Sponge Bob it would be, Sorry Alana ;) then we relaxed a little bit.  At 9:58 we took the LONG JOURNEY, through horrendous traffic to drop Katya off next door at 10:00.  Needless to say we arrived 2 minutes early.  ;)  Katya was ready for an exciting day at Atlantis to celebrate.  Sabeena and I decided to watch a movie (her choice), Lizzie Maguire.  It was nice for her to choose one that she hasn't seen 3 times in the last month or 2. 

At 12:00 we went to school to collect the girls and our neighbor Josh.  Was able to see a few of Amani's pieces  (cool skull, some wire creation, and a skeleton sketch). Dropped off the friends then we went to pick up Jack and Deborah to meet up with Mark and Samia at Art Dubai. 

We had lunch at Noodle House and then went to the exhibit.  Amani found a few artists she really liked; Diana Al Hadid, Jakob Gasteiger, Antonis Denof, and Parashtoo Ahovan.  The exhibit was nice with quite a few good pieces as well as a few to make you scratch your head and go hmmmm.

After the exhibit it was back to campus for the fun run.  This month we were raising awareness for Traffic Safety.  Sabeena rode her scooter while I ran 1/2 and walked 1/2.  I am still getting tired really easy but I am feeling a lot better.  After that it was dinner, shopping, ironing and then off to bed!!!

Once Ashi is back home I will figure out how to get the photos from my phone to the computer. :D

NOLA Day 2

NOLA Day 2 a photo by HopeHubris on Flickr.

So today was the second day in NOLA. Since the conference starts tomorrow, I decided to find my way to the convention center location and see what there was to see. I ended up walking along the riverfront past the aquarium and a Holocaust Memorial art fixture.

While waiting for registration period to open up, I was watching TV at the hotel bar when I started up a conversation with a gentleman who was waiting on someone to arrive. This gentleman is a physician who works for the company that BP turned to for emergency services after the Deep Sea Horizon explosion last year. He is a lifelong Louisiana boy and his wife is originally from New Orleans so he was full of info about the area and how its recovering from Katrina and the oil spill.

Finished up the evening with a walk around Bourbon Street taking photos. Nothing special...

NOLA - Day 1

C360_2011-03-17 15-25-51.jpg a photo by HopeHubris on Flickr.

So I arrived in The Big Easy just after midnight on St. Patrick's Day which was interesting in its own right after a great three days in Las Vegas with Amish, Heath, Leon and Simon. After a quick ride from the airport, checked into my hotel around 130AM and spent the next 12 hours in bed (not always asleep - but that's ok).

I took a two hour walk around the French Quarter since my hotel is a block off of Bourbon St and realized that this would be a great place with friends (even acquaintances) but isn't really as much fun if you're here alone. The place is gorgeous, but its definitely a party place (especially if you're here on St. Patrick's Day) and since I'm not exactly the party solo person - the value is less.

As for the area, since I've never been here before, I can't say how much the place has recovered from before Katrina. What I can say is that there's not much to show physical damage that I can tell. All of the shops I walked into seemed to be ok and there's not much visible damage to the ground or base of buildings. At least there doesn't seem to be much that can't be accounted for by just being a couple of hundred years old.

I'll take another walk around with my new fast lens (50mm/f1.4) and see what there is to see during the parties going on for the holiday.

A Busy Day-A Farewell and A Welcome Home

Last night we took the big girls to see 30 Secs to Mars. The band was great, but the venue was horrible. Anybody under 5'5" (me, Katya and our 2 friends) couldn't see hardly anything. All flat, all standing room only. YUCK!!!!! Well anyways we all still had a good in the end. About 1/2 way through the concert Amani and her friend received an upgrade and were sent to the Fan Pit. About 15 minutes later Katya and our other friend received an upgrade too and joined them.

At the end of the concert Jared Leto invited fans up onto the stage and Amani's friend Anna made it up!!

 On the way home we stopped and got some McD's and Katya decides to announce that Justin Bieber movie starts at 945 and can we please go since we didn't get the chance after last weeks fiasco.  (FYI-we went to another theater and found out that the movie had opened everywhere the following day, except the one that we went to and were given the wrong info).  I must have been extra sleepy and delirious, because I agreed.  Can't remember what time we got home, but it was late.  Woke the girls up at 8:00 and we were outta the house by 8:55.  Dropped Anna off at school for Saturday DT session. (Tried to ditch Amani there too, but she insisted that since she didn't sign the register on Thurs she couldn't stay, even thought both teachers said she could)  ***note-she was not going to the movie with us, just decided to go window shopping (and talked our friend Nausheen into meeting her there and joining her).

We got to the movie and in order to not sit in the first 5 rows had to purchase VIP seats (crazy, right??)  who wants to sit in the first 5 rows????  The movie was 3D and was actually very well done. 

After the movie we met up with Amani, Nausheen and Ashi for lunch at Uno's.  After that we walked a bit then headed home.

I whipped up a batch of my Artichoke Dip (with added spinach at Katya's request) and made a blueberry cobbler to take to Mark & Samia's for dinner.  Our friends the Mundy's were visiting from Doha for the weekend so it was a nice get together.

After dinner we headed to Sharjah English School to collect Sabeena!  The 2 younger Mundy children came with us to see Sabeena and their friends that they hadn't seen in a while.  Sabeena's bus arrived about 10:20, 35 minutes after the proposed time given to the phone tree.  There were many happy parents and tired kids.

We drove home and Sabeena was bubbling with news and excitement.  She was very excited that she had managed to purchase a small gift for each of the people she had promised.  Once home bedtime preparations were made and Ashi prepared to fly out for the states.  Sabeena was a bit upset that she only got 30 minutes with daddy before he was taking off.  About 10 minutes before Ashi's driver arrived I was hit with a migraine, so once goodbyes were said and meds taking it was definitely bedtime!!!!