Filling the Ramadan Fridge

We wanted to spend this Ramadan giving back to the community of Dubai so we decided to help fill one of the Ramadan Giving Fridges in our neighborhood.  This fridge is provided by someone and filled by people like us for local workers to help themselves during the day.  This has been such a wonderful experience for our family and we are eager to fill the fridge again soon.

Teddy's Animal Project

Teddy had to design and create an animal for school.  His animal is called a Gale.  

He had so much fun working on this project and was so proud of the result!

Happy Birthday, Michael!

A fun hockey cake (decorated by Shana and Ripley) for Michael's special day!

Ripley's Friend, Oakley

Goodness, we love this little girl and her family.  So thankful for their friendship!

Milan

I was invited by Bocconi University in Milan, Italy to visit there campus this past weekend.  How fun to have a FREE trip to Milan!

I had the first afternoon to myself so I walked from my hotel to the Nagigli for some shopping and dinner.

The view of the canal that I walked the first night.

The delicious pasta I had for dinner.

And the tiramisu that I had for dessert!

I had the next morning free so I walked with a colleague to the Duomo.

The front of the Duomo.

Inside the Duomo.

We had the chance to walk to the top of the Duomo for a stunning view of the city.

The roof of the Duomo.

Then we walked to Michael's favorite gelato shop as a child - Toldo!

Oh my goodness, I'm dying!

I ordered three different flavors - chocolate (of course!), mint, and tiramisu.

In addition to spending a lot of time on the Bocconi campus, they also took us to the Molteni Furniture Company.  It wasn't the best way to spend an afternoon, but I did have a little fun with their iconic exclamation point!

That night we went out for dinner and drinks with the group. 

The next morning, I had a few more hours to myself to walk around the city in the early morning. 

At the Galleria.

Stepping on the bulls balls for luck.

Teddy's Self Portrait

Emerald 103

We are moving from our apartment in Emerald 103 to a bigger apartment, Emerald 602.  We are so excited for this move, but sad to say goodbye to our little apartment!

Living Room

Kitchen

Boys' Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Guestroom/Storage Room

Camel Racing

The boys and I had a great time at the camel races.  We had heard a ton about the races but they never seem to have consistent timings so we missed them entirely last year.  I guess we just got lucky this year.  

The camels all suited up and waiting to be lead to their race.

The camels getting loaded into the starting line.

The starting line from above.

They draw the curtain from in front of the camels and they take off running, rather awkwardly, far into the distance.  They run about 15 minutes and then head back to the finish line.  It was very exciting and very strange, but we loved every minute of it!

Ripley

This kid really has style!

Goodbye to Justin, Everett and Loy

Well, the yearly goodbyes have begun.  I never have gotten use to watching so many wonderful colleagues leave at the end of every school year.  It's hard to say goodbye, especially to these three awesome guys, but at least they got to go out in style. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Jan, Justin, Katrina and me!

The whole group!

Cinco de Mayo at Trump's Wall!

Shana and Everett

Baseball

We were very proud that Teddy made the all-star baseball team in his league.  He was on the Dubai White team.  The boys played hard and, although they didn't win the tournament, they had a lot of fun!

Chuckie Cheeses

We bought a Groupon for Chuckie Cheeses and the boys were beyond excited to use it.  Teddy had one hour of unlimited play and he really worked hard to make the most of that hour!  Ripley just loved being there!