Kai had been getting his allowance for a couple of weeks now and his first purchase was a spiderman mask that he found for 3SR (about $.80).
Spiderman
Before it Gets too Hot
There have been a couple of over 100 degrees days so far but for the most part the weather is still pleasant enough to be outside, even in the afternoon. We are trying to take full advantage of it before the heat drives us indoors for most of the day.
Visiting Uncle Eric
Aunt Julie and Uncle Eric are moving to Bahrain! Uncle Eric has already arrived and we drove over on Friday to spend the morning with him. We had a nice breakfast as Ric’s Country Kitchen across from the Grand Mosque (which hosts the worlds largest fiberglass dome by the way) and then went on to a supermarket with good asian produce for some Thai food fixin’s.
Easter
Truth be told it was Friday, not Sunday that the Easter Bunny came. Since Sunday is a work day here we put in a special request that he visit us early and, since Dad has some Easter Bunny wasta, he was happy to comply.
The Easter Bunny hid some baskets with books and a new toy in the house and then left a series of clues scattered through the house. Each clue was a picture inside an egg that led to the next clue until finally the basket was found. Kai and Nora really got into it and it was a hoot to watch them decipher the trail.
When that was done we found the Easter Bunny had left some plastic eggs hidden outside. Some had chocolate and some were filled with confetti that looked like someone had emptied the bin on an automatic 3-hole punch. Clearly the Easter Bunny works in an office when he isn’t doing his egg gig.
At the Car Wash Yeah!
Last week it rained a little bit so the kids were outside with their umbrellas (and wet anyway) when Kai decided he wanted to wash the car. Even though they are too young to do a through job, we certainly want to nurture the sentiment.
Tire Swing
A recent addition to the new house has been the horse shaped tire swing that Lisa and Chris gave us. We hung it from a tree behind the house–it is actually outside of our gate which isn’t exactly “Aramco standard” but it is such a perfect place for it. It is a super hit with Kai and Nora (and pretty much all the kids in the neighborhood).
Motorcycle Rally
Last weekend was the second annual motorcycle rally here in Dhahran. It was quite an event with over 200 bike that lined up in main camp and then drove through camp to the soccer field across from the Hills fire station. It was very loud and very impressive and there was a “family fun day” set up with some music and food at the end. It was a Harley rally with no beer but plenty of bouncy castles.
Science!
A little while ago, on a nice spring day, Crystal took Kai and Nora out to the desert outside the perimeter road to go a scientific expedition. We purchased a digital microscope and finally got it working on Dad’s 64bit system so it was time to collect samples. In addition to the raw thrill of science there was looking at bugs in the desert, running on the perimeter soccer field, and hopping brick to brick as they passed the mosque on the way home.
Looking at the specimens under the microscope was fun but it was surprisingly difficult to illuminate and focus on irregularly shaped objects. I can see why people prepare slides for microscopes.
Random Pictures
Here is a quick post with a few pictures that have accumulated. There is a box fort made with remnants from the move, reading books with face paint and Nora playing in Dad’s shoes.
Fun with Nora’s Bedroom Wall
Nora’s new bedroom has 3 walls painted yellow and fourth is painted green ((it is what I am told is an “accent wall”)). When I saw the color green that Crystal and Nora picked I immediately thought of chroma-key effects. These are just with a still camera, my new attempt will involved better lighting and a video camera.
