The Month of May

This May we experienced our first Ramadan - the school had shorter hours and there is no eating or drinking in public until sundown to respect those fasting. It was not easy to get into that mindset and the hours of shops were all different. We had a lot of playdates with friends and time indoors since no one wants to be int he hot sun without being able to drink water!

Before the changes of Ramadan set in we got a girls dinner and ice lounge experience at Subzero. It was cold and fun!

A lot of activities finish up in May as well so the girls had their last Awana, an awards session. All the girls did great at finishing their books and Madi got an award for perfect attendance.

1. The girls had sharing day and since Jason wouldn't let me send them with a crude oil sample, we had them draw oil derricks instead. 
2. The oil sample in question along with my super talented oil derrick painting from an SPE event in Houston years ago.
3. Fun with friends after graduation rehearsal.
4. Awkward CeCe.
5. Gymnastics is exhausting!
6. But they quickly recovered and enjoyed playing the rest of the evening.
7. A fun playdate with bestie Ana Helen.
8. More fun playdates with Ella and Delilah.
9. The most delicious homemade pizzas in this portable oven that took like a minute to cook. YUM!

One of the events that was held prior to school finishing was the Montessori graduation. They had practices for a couple weeks and sang a few songs to us and got little diplomas. It was very fun and Madi enjoyed it.

Our May was broken up with a quick, but long trip to the US. (Blog post to come soon!). When we returned there was the inevitable jet lag to battle and more playdates with the Ramadan hours. 

1. These two were ecstatic to be reunited after the separation and even more thrilled to discover they both lost the same tooth while apart. (We have suspicions they picked and loosened the tooth at school, but no evidence has been brought against them at this time. ;-) )
2. Fun birthday party with friends before they left for the summer.
3. Zoey cat enjoying the ikea tunnel.
4. Zoey was both happy to see us and equally annoyed at us having left her for ten days so she expressed her annoyance by chewing a hole in our "suitcase" from the trip.
5. Princesses got themselves breakfast on the weekend and let us sleep in. #winning
6. Olivia was the first to get sick after the trip - she swallowed too much pool water and spent a day at home throwing up. 
7. The next day when I was excited for them to all be back at school Evelyn woke up saying her ear hurt. We decided to go ahead and have it checked out to discover she had a full-blown ear infection. 
8. The following day we were out in the water and both Madison and I got stung by jellyfish. Ouch.
9. But at least we enjoyed a nice sunset before the incident!

One of the fun things about Ramadan is that to end the fast they have big celebration dinners called Iftar. The fast is broken as sundown (varies each day as to the exact time) and you break the fast with eating a date and drinking a cordial called vimto. We got to attend and Iftar one evening and enjoyed taking part in the tradition.

1. Shortly after returning from the US I hosted our monthly book club. The host picks and so we read Where the Crawdads Sing. I should have brought grits, but instead went with my homemade salsa, queso, and dips. 
2. And of course margaritas. :-)
3. The girls don't typically get jet lag too bad, but the combination of activity and heat got to them. They rarely nap anymore and never on the sofa. 
4. These two are inseparable. They spend all day together and then beg to spend every afternoon together. Love their friendship. 
5. And the rest of the crew. Madi's bff has a younger sister in the twin's class and she's Evelyn's bff. They love having gymnastics together.
6. Swim date with our other besties, the boys. They had a much needed pool outing.
7. It's probably no surprise that I ended up Madison's room mom this year. It's been a fun way to get involved with the school and meet some of the other parents. They gave me this sweet card.
8. And inside the card are all the kids fingerprints - how precious!
9. Loved getting surprised and hugged by this special group of kids that welcomed Madi to Doha and helped our transition to Qatar.