Nicholas, Sarah, Rolando, Gabrielle and Lucy in the Arabian Desert

Nicholas, Sarah, Rolando, Gabrielle and Lucy in the Arabian Desert

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Happy Halloween, Vatos Locos!

OK, let me explain the title of this post. Halloween for us has always been about the KIDS having a good time, dressing up as their favorite superhero or idol. Well, they weren't the only ones dressing up and having a good time this year, baby! This was OUR year to cut loose and enjoy, as well.








The Doha Players hosted an adult Halloween costume party at Doha's InterContinental Hotel. Back in June, our friends emailed us from Doha asking if we wanted to join them at this BALL. The theme was Gangsters and Molls, which sounded totally interesting to us so we told them to sign us up!! Originally, we thought about dressing up in zoot suits and flapper dresses with the big feather, fishnet stockings, and fancy boas. But our host became very persuasive about the idea that we should dress up a little different, and stand out from the crowd. And, oh my, our mission was DEFINITELY ACCOMPLISHED.

She suggested we dress up instead as Vatos Locos and Cholas. Now, yes, Rolando and I are both from Southeast Texas and, just like any other South Texan out there, we have seen our share of Vatos Locos and Cholas to last us a lifetime. And even though the thought of children growing up exposed to this type of violent lifestyle is a nightmare for us, we did as our friend requested and complied. This is where it gets good. As the three of us couples walked in and made our way through the crowded lobby area, we quickly realized 2 things: 1. not a single person was dressed the way we were (YAY!), and 2. ALL eyes were on us!! It could have been the worst thing ever, but as the minutes passed, the glances turned into smiles, followed by head nodding; and eventually, a lot of them even became "brave enough" to approach us and ask if we, in fact, were from South Texas!! Too funny! The night just got better from that point as we began to steadily win over the crowd and even the hearts of some teachers that opened up and confessed to us that we reminded them so much of students they used to have in their classes whom they were afraid of. That was hilarious!! They told us about how they used to worry so much about them; and how they would later be so proud to hear that most of them succeeded in life, after all. This was sort of like us, as we totally could have bombed with our choice of costume, but ended up having a great time and even having our picture flashed up on the big screen slide show!! I must give credit where credit is due, though. If it had been up to me, we would have worn the boring suit and dress. So we say, "Thank you, Patricia and Brian, for being the inspiration behind it all!!! It was a night we will not soon forget!!!!! The tattoos are proof of it all!" And to Meagan and Kevin 'Ferderline', "You guys were sooo BAD!"



Friday, October 10, 2008

"LET'S PLAY BALL!!!"



Yes, the All-American Sport has finally hit Doha! Well, our family here in Doha, anyway. It has been here for past years, but this year, our family will have its own little star-player named NICHOLAS LORENZO!!!













Daddy, Mommy, and Sissy were all up-and-at-it early this morning, to show our support of our lil' t-ball player. Armed with his glove, bat and ball, Nick was off to the skills assessment event at the American School of Doha. All 11 of the boys and girls that signed up to play ball this season were, as expected, simply adorable! The morning consisted of a rotation through 4 stations: running the bases, catching, pitching, and finally Nick's favorite, BATTING!! He did so well at all of them, running only 3/10 of a second slower than the top runner (a six year old)!!! He didn't catch any balls, but fell over himself just trying to stop them from getting by him; and he hit 3 out of the 4 balls attempted. Overall, he did amizingly well; already being called a little "firecracker" by some of the other parents, whom I should add, kept coming up to us asking if he was OUR son!! "SURE IS; AND WE ARE SOOOO PROUD OF HIM!!"








See you all at the games!!! You know we'll all be there, cheering on our lil' guy!! "GO, NICK!"

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

EID MUBARAK, AMIGOS!

I figure it's alright to mix Arabic and Spanish, after all, we are Latinos living in Muslim country. LOL!! I wanted to post about the start of EID because it brought with it a very interesting night for us last night. As everyone was waiting around for the ultimate call about Ramadan being over or not, meaning if Tuesday would be a holidy from school and work; the biggest challenge for us was whether or not to put the kids to bed on time! Then, the calls and text messages rolled in one after the other - THEY SAW THE MOON...and the fun began for the four of us: we pulled out favorite movies, snacks, and games; just about anything the kids and us wanted to do....and did that until we literally passed out about 1:30 AM. Not so bad given the fact that the kids really should have and could have been in bed 5 hours earlier!!

Also, I wanted to share a post that our friend Gina put on her own blog about her and her hubby's experience about last night....She added a wonderful song (in English) that I absolutely had to share. Ramadan is over, let the fun begin!!! http://ginaandmichael.blogspot.com/2008/09/eid-mubarak.html