Look what I found!

Three days ago Elli woke up sticking her tongue out. And she really hasn't stopped! On top of just finding her tongue, I think her bottom teeth are getting ready to pop through, so she is rubbing her teeth against her puffy, sore gums. I thought it was cute enough to share!

I think this is the longest tongue I've ever seen on a little girl! And she shares it so freely!

The Legendary "Duffy"

Anyone who has spoken with Ethan knows that we are at "Duffy's House." I thought it was time you saw who Duffy was. This is the little dog that has won my son's heart and has him expectant for weeks before we actually arrive in the UAE. Unfortunately, for as much as Ethan loves Duffy, Elli is not as convinced. She is getting more and more comfortable with him, if he keeps his distance. If he approaches to offer a kiss her breathing rapidly increases and she is quick to get away.

Duffy loves Elli as she leaves all kinds of "droppings" for him to enjoy!

This is Ethan, right after his nap, enjoying his friend Duffy and his new McDonald's Happy Meal toy. It's Wonder Woman, which considering her super hero costume is quite strange for this culture. The great thing is that Ethan has named her "Eeka." Aunt Eeka, you should feel loved!

Moochers Meet their Match

Our room is the only room at the staff house with it's own personal bathroom. Much like the community leftovers we freely peruse in the kitchen, we are always quick to use up the miscellaneous shampoos and conditioners found in the bathroom. However, we have found our match. A small bottle of "Proctonet" was left in our bathroom by a previous traveler. What is proctonet used for you ask . . . the bottle reads more graphically than I would choose to post. It's a "personal cleanser," we'll just leave it at that. Needless to say we won't be using this one up. We're still shocked that it was left behind.

A Team T-Shirt

I don't know what my fascination is with t-shirts, but I have one! I'm usually the first to say "We could make t-shirts!" So we are on our team retreat in the UAE. In the staff house we are staying in there is a "Community Leftovers" pantry with miscellaneous amounts of pasta, seasoning packets and your odd assortment of vinegars. They are "free" game. Community stuff also includes the various salad dressings and jellies found in the refrigerator. Austin and I love using up free stuff. It must be the combination of our frugal side and a value of letting nothing go to waste.

One of our teammates has an equally strong value of things being fresh; within their expiration dates. So the year and a half old Ranch dressing that Austin and I were enthusiastically using on our salad was cause for concern. She has since sorted through the Community Leftovers stash and has purged things beyond a 3 months expiration cut off. You could say she values things that are "fresh."

Thus the T-shirt idea . . . . "Free and Fresh! Winter Retreat 2008." Beyond the food items, we are having a great time enjoying freedoms we do not have at home. And through Him, we are being refreshed! I thought it would make a great t-shirt!

Vacation Begins Today

We have arrived in the UAE and vacation starts now! I think all four of us are ready for it too! This is the best time to travel to the UAE as it is cool enough to actually enjoy being outside. The staff house we are staying at has newly added playground equipment and my kids are loving it.

Ethan in the sand, climbing in the fort, and flying like Spiderman!

Elli's first exposure to sand. It was fun watching her discover!

Discovery ended with a bath before nap time!

I don't know how it started, but she's doing a "crinkle nose smile." She figured that and the model stance out all on her own. She sure is a silly one.
Here's to a family vacation packed full of fun and memories!

Preparing to Depart

We are headed out of country for 2 1/2 weeks of vacation and retreating. Before leaving I wanted to defrost our fridge. This meant using up the 4 bags of pureed pumpkin I had frozen. Ethan and I made pumpkin bread and muffins for our family. We also shared the bounty with 4 other families, as you hate for anything to go to waste.

Like his mother, Ethan loves the batter and couldn't keep his fingers out of it.

And once the muffins were made, Elli helped with the defrosting. She climbed in there all by herself!

Operation Teamwork Cheesecake

One plus of life in our country is that I can make a cheesecake for less than $5.00. It is a fun special treat dessert that we like to share with friends. I was motivated to bake a cheesecake when I found some frozen strawberries in syrup (a first ever find) at our little foreign store.

This is how many matches it took to light my oven. The oven is fine, it's the matches that are pathetic!

These were my helpers, because in our family we never do anything alone. Elli was in the sling and Ethan was "reading" me the recipe, which almost always says "half a cup of milk."

My oven does not have a temperature gauge, so I use this inserted one and the sharpie markings on my dial to get the approximate temperatures. It's a little trickier with cheesecake.

The cheesecake turned out great. I meant to get a picture of it before we shared it with our friends, but things just got too rushed. I shared it with a local friend who really loved it. It's fun for me to find new foreign recipes I can serve to local visitors!