Nick at "Music 4 Me" Class with Gabrielle - March 19th

With Nicholas not enrolled in school just yet, we have had to find other activities he might enjoy to occupy his weekdays. One of them has been taking ice skating lessons at Villagio Mall. (See older posts for those pictures.) The other one, is a popular Music 4 Me Class held at the Alfardan I Compound. For the past 10 weeks, Mommy and Nick have attended a 45-minute a week class, singing and dancing to all sorts of different children's songs; plus get to keep a copy of the songs on a CD which are played practically non-stop in Mommy's truck. Let's just say, the songs just grow on you!!!

He'd enjoyed them so much and was so cute when singing at the top of his lungs in the back seat, that his big sister Gabrielle's curiosity got the best of her. She had hoped that one day she would get the opportunity to attend this class with her little brother, and that day finally did come. The kids were so excited! They sat together and for once in their little lives, sissy was following Nick's lead. They sang, danced, played instruments, popped bubbles, played peek-a-boo, and received cute little stamps on the backs of their hands to end the session off nicely. All in all, they were both very happy and tired little campers at the end of it all. I must admit that it's nice they are this little and close enough in age that they can still enjoy some of the same things. Daddy and I are enjoying this time, too, since we know it will not last forever. Se la vi!!

Here are some pics of classes from the previous session. You might recognize Nick's most constant Doha companion, Parker Jackson, Todd and Hannah's son. Both boys have truly blossomed during this term of these classes. What fun we've all had!

Doha Zoo Field Trip with Gabrielle's First Grade Class - March 17th

Gabrielle will be a full 7 years old on Cinco de Mayo this year, and we are a bit ashamed to admit that it was here in Doha, Qatar that she had her FIRST TRIP TO THE ZOO - EVER! When her school sent home the note announcing the trip and requesting parent volunteers, Gabrielle was beside herself with excitement. Neither one of us would have missed it for the world! After a quick group picture with her closest of friends, we were off. The first LIVE animal Gabrielle saw was a GIRAFFE! "It's real, Mom! A giraffe!! A giraffe!" (Real discreet, right?) Then, we were off to zebras and several others. Hungry anyone? Gabrielle was very intrigued by the fact that a lot of these animals mostly ate green "grass". (See picture below where she was willing to give it a try for herself - not really!)

We had heard many stories about how interesting the Doha Zoo here is. Some people were said to have loved it because of the types of animals you are able to see there, different from those in the zoo's back in the States. Others from the opposite end say it is extremely sad to visit it and see the horrible conditions these animals shelter's are in. Also, seeing beautiful tigers and jaguars, etc. in captivity can be a lot to handle for some animal lovers. Well, as for the two of us, we seemed to give our sympathy more so to the little mice that were being sacrificed for the sake of the SNAKES at the zoo. You know, in the back of your mind you know that these things have to happen since it is the whole CIRCLE OF LIFE thing, but to actually see it live and in person alongside several FIRST GRADERS was another thing! If only us mothers had been warned about this, we probably would have been more prepared!! LOL~

Nonetheless, I believe the children had a wonderful time at the zoo and are better off for having this experience behind them. None of them seemed to be traumatized one bit - how resilient! Truly, from a kid's perspective, it was a great learning experience as Gabrielle and her class were requested to walk around the zoo with notepads and pencil in hand, identifying the differences amongst all the groups of animals located there. A GOOD PLAN CAN CERTAINLY TAKE YOU FAR. Great idea, Mrs. Shahen! As for me and my fellow parent volunteer, we had so much fun that we came up with a name for our little group of kids: The Fantastic Four! And they were truly fantastic kids! We hope the true adventurousness of our trip comes to life in these pictures; and hope you agree that this trip was well worth it for the two of us as well as worth sharing with you all!

BTW - If you're wondering why there aren't any pictures of camels within this zoo's walls, well, it is simply because they are free to roam pretty much everywhere else OUTSIDE of these walls!!

Happy 40-something Birthday, Rolando!!

There are about six other posts/entries which I have been working on to be able share with you all, but I must say that they will all have to take a back seat today for one reason in particular. Today is a very special day for a very special man in OUR family....Rolando Garcia. It is his birthday, so we would like to take this time to wish him a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Honey, you are a very wonderful and supportive husband and friend who can still make me laugh until my belly hurts and I love you for that! And you are a great father with one of the biggest and softest hearts I know, which is exactly what all three of our children need to fall back upon! So today we just want to tell you that we LOVE YOU VERY MUCH and we are so blessed that you are in our lives.

As your family back in Texas might say, "SMILE, Red!!!"

And here we say, "Now get up off that Lay-Z-Boy and let's go have some fun!!!"

(This is one of the songs Roland remembers from his childhood that has become one of his all-time-favorites....ENJOY!)