London in a Day...

I know, I know... I promised to update this blog more often once we moved and got settled into our new country...

It seems like just as we got settled, it was time to travel. Again....

But this time I traveled alone to the UK for 5 days for meetings/trainings & a retreat. The only time I've ever been to the UK is to travel to and from The States with a layover at Heathrow Airport. I had never actually toured or been on the ground... Until Now....

In between a week of meetings/trainings, we took a day off to ride the train into London, prayer walk a very multi-cultural neighborhood...lots of Arabic Everywhere!!! 

But then.... we toured the 2nd half of the day... Whoo Hoo!!! I've only waited 32 years to walk the streets of London...

This was an ABSOLUTE MUST!!! You can't go to London and not take a Telephone Booth Pic!

And the GREEN! So Much Beautiful Green, EVERYWHERE! (this was outside the city where we had our meetings)

Big Ben...Oh! This site was absolutely breathtaking! When I came up the stairs and out of the tunnel from riding the tube and looked up to see Big Ben with my own eyes.... AMAZING!!! (I have to admit, I was imagining Peter Pan, Wendy, John & Michael flying around it on their way to Neverland) :)

The (backside of) Westminster Abbey... The architecture is so beautiful!

It was like a scene out of a Movie being played out before my very eyes!

We literally ran to see Buckingham Palace because we had a 9pm train to catch.. but it was worth the quick peak! I've seen this site so many times on T.V. and to see it with my own eyes was really cool! The rest of the pics in the collage below are sites around the city.. whether it was the architecture, the movie-scene look-alike (in my mind at least), or the famous red, double-decker bus...ALL of it says LONDON!

The top Left picture says it all.. EAT. Seriously, it was like culture-shock, similar to America seeing all of these yummy, familiar food joints. But my FAVORITE was Chipotles... which I actually did eat at.. the rest were just places in passing. But Chipotles was like a Taste of Home for me! 

And one more telephone booth pic... because I can... and because this is such a classic London Picture... (excuse the little-girl/un-natural pose as Randall calls it) :)

 

I loved my time in the UK for several reasons... the ladies I was with are like family to me and the time with them was so special. You can't beat the food there! The touring in a day was so much fun and surreal...and definitely a place I would like to go again with more time to see and visit the inside of some historical buildings. 

Needless to say, another country checked off of my bucket list (with the hopes to return again)... and a reminder of such a blessed, adventurous life I (we) live. 

Transition, Changes & Newness... Oh, My!

We are now 2.5 months into living in Jordan. So many adjustments, changes & newness!

For starters, there are quite a lot more "Western" kids in our new city for Morgan & Micah to play with! And with us moving here in the summer, it was such a Blessings to have playdates with new friends!

After living in "temporary housing" for the last 3 months (1 month in Dubai, 2 months in Jordan), our crate arrived with our furniture and we are fully functioning in our new home.

And to add to all of it... The kids started school! 1st time in an International School!

Morgan started 2nd Grade (did I mention that we were still living in temporary housing during the 1st 2 weeks of school?)... Yes... it was a bit nuts during those 2 weeks, trying to get the kids adjusted to school, the school bus schedule, etc. But they are both doing great!

And because "for the first time in forever"... (haha! Go ahead and sing the song, all you Frozen Fans..) :)

Randall and I get to enjoy Breakfast for 2!!!

Not everyday... but we definitely treat ourselves to a yummy breakfast (at home) & have our "date in" while the kids are at school.

And Micah started Kindergarten!!! (KG 2, they call it here)... the schools run off of a British system, so they start Kinder at age 3.5 or 4 and split it into 2 years... KG1 & KG 2. I can't believe my baby isn't a baby anymore!!! Oh! And this kid is beaming every time he gets on the school bus! (No fear, I tell ya!)

And now... this is what our weekends consist of... homework... plus lots of family time and catching up on sleep! :)

Both kids are taking Arabic as a second language... So proud of them as they are learning to write their letters, speak & read! 

We are finally in the "groove" again of Life. I am hoping to get back to my blog on a consistent basis and update pics, videos and start up my 365 Project again. I reintroduced myself to my camera, dusted it off & a beautiful reunion occurred! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

Greece & all its Greekness...

Well, Hello! Have we met?

Geez... Has it really been over 1 month since I've updated this blog? 

I guess there is good reason for the long silence & lack of updates. 

We have moved. Again.

Yes, we moved from Dubai, U.A.E. to Amman, Jordan. We moved out of our house in Dubai on June 1st and have been in transition ever since... And in between the move, we traveled to Greece for business/pleasure.... We spent 10 days in Greece and were able to explore Athens for a day as well as other small communities. 

Enjoy our pics of Greece & all its Greekness!

Oh! The green trees! We loved it! Our allergies went a little crazy since we are used to brown desert, but we soaked in as much of God's beauty as we could!

Olympian Zeus' Temple

Huge Amphitheater! 

Oh! This View!!! AMAZING!

Lots of construction, but we toured around it!! :)

We had a "date night"... us and 200+ other adults.... but it was fun!

 

And the view, food and entertainment was wonderful! (I thought of my family and their love for the movie: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding")

Did I mention that the food in Greece was Amazing? It was so fresh and tasty! 

We had another lovely dinner out with some co-workers... Awesome view!

We (Randall and I) enjoyed a morning of hiking!

I Love my family!

Thank you for checking in on us!! We have been in Amman for 2 weeks now and are looking forward to settling into life here! Stay tuned for more adventures!!!

A Special Weekend...

Pink & TuTu's Everywhere!!!

This is how we spent our Thursday night... and loved it! We are so proud of Morgan as we watched her dance her heart away! She definitely has found her "nitch" and Love!

Morgan started taking ballet when she was 4 years old and we lived in Oman. A dear friend of ours taught Morgan, along with 4 other little girls in the privacy of her home. She performed in her first ballet recital in the summer of 2011. We then skipped a year of ballet as we moved to a different country. But then moved back to Oman where Morgan started ballet up again with the same teacher. She had her 2nd recital in the summer of 2013.

We then moved to Dubai where she joined Brooklyn Melodies (Music and Dance School) and has been taking lessons there for the past year. She had her 3rd recital last December 2013 and then her 4th recital was this past Thursday night (June 12, 2014). We have loved watching Morgan dance around the house, twirling, jumping and know that ballet is truly something she loves to do. 

Enjoy the pictures of our sweet Ballerina!

Over the last year, Morgan moved up from the Pre-Primary to the Primary Class.

Proud Daddy!

Proud Mommy!

 Please be sure and tell Morgan how proud you are of her (leave a comment!) :)

And to continue this special weekend, we celebrate Father's Day! 

For Randall, this is his 7th Father's Day and he has been a wonderful Daddy to Morgan and Micah. They both adore him and love spending time with him! We love you Randall! Happy Father's Day!

And to our G.Pa, PaPa, Great Paw Paw and Grandpa... We love each of you and miss you so much!

Happy Father's Day to you too!

And an extra special Happy 1st Father's Day to Uncle Brandon! Resse is so blessed to call you Daddy!