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

Pictures of Ari

A friend of ours had family visit and they were kind enough to take some pictures of Ari. It is fun to see how much she has changed in just the past few months. The pictures were taken in October sometime. Enjoy!

I promise I will blog soon...

Since I went back to work three weeks ago things have been a little crazy around our home. I promise I will blog soon. I am loving my job and Ari is starting to adjust to school. It is nice that the three of us are so close to each other on base. Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.

Halloween 2010

From Halloween 2010

I know I am a little late, but it has been a crazy two weeks. I don't think Halloween is what I wanted it to be for Ari, but at least she will not remember how crazy it was. We celebrated Halloween on Thursday, October 27.

Our Branch was holding a Trunk or Treat. Brother Wells was going to give the message so he offered to take us. We also had to go and pick up keys to our new home that same night. Bryan also had a meeting that was suppose to finish by 5 and went until 7pm. We had to pick the keys up at 6 but ended up getting them at 6:30 and then arriving at the Trunk or Treat at 7:30. Just little late.

Needless to say Ari was tired by the time we got to the meeting house and didn't really really understand what was going on. She got a few pieces of candy and I took as many photos as she would let me. They had a bowling game that she loved.

I promise next year will be better for Halloween and we will show Ari what it is really about. And maybe just maybe daddy will get to be there. I feel bad that Bryan has missed both Ari's Halloweens. Enjoy the photos.

I almost forgot to mention it was only 100 degrees and Ari would not take this costume off. I don't know how she wasn't dying of heat.

Day at the Beach

A couple people from Bryan's work invited us to join them at the Beach. We had a fish fry and enjoyed the warm water. The weather was just starting to cool down.

Captains Cup Softball and Volleyball

I forgot to mention before that Bryan has been playing softball with his command. He is really enjoying himself and is glad to have his own mitt and cleats. He usually plays third base. The pictures are not great, but he is the guy just past the pitcher.

From Base Softball

After his in field home run.

From Base Softball

Warming up for the game

From Base Softball

We have also been playing volleyball. We played in the Captains cup Sand 4's tournament and ending up winning it. We played one of the ships in Bryan's command in the final. Kinda funny. It was a lot of fun, but made me realize how out of shape I am. I was the setter so I had to work more than usual.

Bryan also ended up playing the last night of the Captain's Cup 6's indoor tournament. They ended up winning this tournament as well. I'll post a picture of our trophies latter. BTW I ended up officiating the final match with Ari in my arms. I'm starting her young. She now walks around the house with a whistle in her mouth pointing at the ground.

New Attachment

From Mi Mi

Ari hasn't really attached herself to a specific toy, before now. She has always had a "B" (blanket) issue, but MiMi is her new attachment. MiMi goes every where with us. If I forget her I have to go back into the house for her. I guess there could be worse things.

From Mi Mi

From Mi Mi