Actual Christmas Lights in Bahrain

We were shocked to see Christmas lights in Bahrain. We are not sure if they were really for Christmas or for the National Day in Bahrain. But hey they were red and green. Bryan pulled over to the side of the road so we could take pictures. I should have taken a picture of our villa with the red and green lights on. We were the only villa on our block to have lights up. Maybe that wasn't such a smart idea, looking back on it. Oh well.

Christmas in Bahrain

For the first time in my life I was able to sleep in on Christmas morning. Ari gave us the gift of sleep. She didn't wake up until 9:30. We discovered quickly that Ari could have done with just a couple gifts. Her favorite was the car she received. She would take every gift to the car to open. We were all spoiled this year. We missed not being with family, but were able to skype with them. We had lots to be thankful for this past year and look forward to this year.

Lamb

For Christmas Eve we decided to attempt cooking with lamb. Lamb is a staple part of the diet here in Bahrain. We have eaten it when we go out, but had never cooked it ourselves. We decided to start out with something easy. Lamb kabobs. We ordered the Naan Bread from a local restaurant to complete the dinner.

Sugar Cookies

As to not break Smith tradition. I made sugar cookies with Ari and Daddy helped her frost them. I now appreciate all the work my mom put into this tradition. It is a very messy one, but very rewarding. Thanks to all of our friends that were willing to eat cookies frosted by Ari.

Breakfast wtih Santa

The Base hosted a Breakfast with Santa. They had gifts for all the children along with treat bags. The food was delicious and the program was great. Ari did happen to be 1 of 2 kids who recognized Mrs. Clause. As soon as Mrs Clause came out and started reading Ari recognized her as one of the teachers at her school. It was pretty funny.

Random pictures of Ari

JELL-O

Nana sent Ari a jello mold around Thanksgiving time and I decided to try it out. Well, my attempt at making jello jigglers didn't go so well. It ended up just being jello. I stripped Ari down and she really enjoyed eating it. I am not sure how much ended up in her mouth, but it was fun to watch her.

From JELLO

From JELLO

From JELLO

Tree Lighting on Base

This year we were able to enjoy a tree lighting on base with friends. Ari enjoyed herself. I don't think we would find a live camel at a nativity scene in the states. The Base did a nice job of trying to make it feel a little more like Christmas when it was 90 degrees outside.

Bahrain Bath

One of the downfalls of our new place is that it doesn't have one bath in the five bathrooms it has. The landlord did provide a big tub for Ari and she seems to enjoy bath time. I was even able to fit two children in it.

Turkey Anyone?

This year we decided to roast the turkey on the grill. It has now become our favorite way to cook the turkey. The cooking time is less and the outer skin is delicious. It also frees up my oven for other dishes. Enjoy the picture of our mouth watering turkey.

From Thanksgiving Turkey