Bahrain

We had a great birthday weekend in Bahrain. We had decided awhile ago to go here for our birthdays to celebrate. For those of you who don't know, Josh's birthday is May 18 and mine is May 19, so we usually do something like this. 

We left at 6 AM and made it to Bahrain by 8 30! We were so happy. Our hotel even let us check in at 9, so we didn't have to wait at all.

We stayed at a different hotel this time. It was really convenient because the hotel is inside the mall. The hotel was much nicer than the one we stayed at last time, but wasn't as kid friendly. The pool was so deep that even I couldn't touch. So, we were floating around hanging on to Josh the entire time.  They did have a small baby pool. They also had those cool cabanas that you usually have to pay an arm and a leg for...they had them for free, which was so cool! 

The room was one of the nicest rooms I've ever stayed in. We had asked for a free upgrade on the phone and when we checked in we got it! There was a sitting room with a couch and a huge master bedroom. 

You can't get much classier than watching disney junior in the bathtub. 

They have pictures of these men everywhere here...I'm very ignorant about who they are, but I don't really care 

We used a babysitter at the hotel to get a few hours away! It worked out great! Claire went right to her and Elise was happy to watch a movie. 

We went to a lounge in the hotel, where you can have your own private area with a tv and as many drinks as you can handle! 

I snapped this picture because in almost all of the lingerie shops they sell masks...and no I did not make any purchases! 

It is such a kid friendly area, there are always kid activities everywhere you go! This was in the mall!

If the pottery barn here is anything like ours at home, these names must be the popular names in the Middle East.

There are no car seat rules here, if you look closely at this car you can see the small child in the front seat. Usually parents are holding the babies and toddlers are all over the place. It is so scary. 

Papa came back from the states and brought us lots of goodies that my mom and sisters packed!

Off to bed!!

Hospitals, IV's, and NO wine--OH MY!

Yes, you read that title right! 

Our poor Claire was sick last week and ended up having to go to the hospital for two nights. 

When I left for the doctor she was running a fever of 103 and by the time we got in to the doctor's office it was 105. Needless to say, they admitted her and started running some tests. The fever kept going up and down and at one point we had to use cooling blankets. I have never been so worried. 

The community in which we live was so amazing--they took care of Elise while we couldn't and were genuinely concerned about our baby. Finally, the fever let up and the conclusion was a virus!

The room was huge and very nice. It was the Maternity/Newborn ward of the hospital, so men could only be visitors. So, I was able to take off my abaya which was nice.

 The nurses were very sweet to her.

You should be impressed by the picture below because her Daddy got her dressed and did her hair all by himself!

This is Claire after she was obviously feeling much better! This is our favorite driver, Rodel. She loves him! I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

For Mother's Day, we went out for dinner, and celebrated on Saturday night since Josh works on Sundays.

If you look closely, you can see I was being scandalous with a little leg showing!

We are so thankful last week is over and our babies are healthy and happy again! We are so grateful for everyone that helped us!

I'll end with a picture of this sweet new baby, Hannah Elizabeth. Our good friends had her last week and she is absolutely perfect. We are so happy for them and can't wait to get some Hannah hugs.

Sewing Graduation, Drive in Movies....and OUR SEA SHIPMENT!

So sorry for the delay in blogging! However, I have fabulous news--we received our sea shipment last week so that is what we've been working on. This is going to be a short post because I have a lot of work still ahead of me this week!

I finally graduated from my sewing class and have the quilt to prove it! Believe it or not, I also signed up for yet, another class! I'm going to learn how to make a Celtic quilt. I apologize in advance for all the quilts people will be receiving soon!

We had a great brunch at the Intercontinental in Jubail. It was an excellent buffet of food, and I am not a buffet person! 

Our Science experiment this week was making our own colored play dough! It was fun and sticky!

One of the kids on the compound had a precious fishing birthday party. His mom did an excellent job of putting everything together! Elise loved the fishing game and the treats!

I think our most favorite night last week was when we had a make believe "drive-in movie theater." We Josh decorated the girls laundry baskets into cars. You can see they are sporting a BMW and a Mercedes.

Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks! We miss all of our friends and family back home and are counting down the days to get back!