July Happenings

We kicked off the month of July with a fun Fourth of July celebration and also celebrated our favorite twins turn FIVE! We've spent a good amount of time at the beach. The rest of the month was filled with staying busy, indoors and outdoors, with different activities!

1. Since our compound pool was still closed we finally caved and bought this pool second hand for the girl to have some water fun!
2. Afterwards homemade popsicles (I blended strawberries, greek yogurt, and added little honey for sweetener and they loved them.)
3. Some DIY - I painted a dresser to convert to a side table and also this kids vanity we got for free. 
4. The new arm - temp checks at the museum.
5. The fire station museum had a Picasso exhibit and since the twins did a big art unit in school and learned about him we decided to check it out. 
6. We were able to participate in online VBS with our church back in Houston and were so thankful!
7. CeCe relaxing on the new sofa. 
8. Zoey interfering with a game of Uno Attack by laying on the discard pile.
9. The cheese fiend in her element making nachos. 

1. We dragged the kids and our friends out early one morning to bike the Lusail boulevard. It was super humid, 😓 
2. Thankfully they had the sprinklers going and these two jumped in to cool off.
3. Afterwards our friends came over for a movie and playdate.
4. Delicious blueberry muffins for everyone!
5. The girls new favorite game - Spot It!
6. CeCe helping Madi build her circuits (highly recommend this toy, which we love!)
7. Zoey escaping the chaos by jumping on top of the cabinet 🙄 
8. Olivia with her birthday gift Lego she built by herself!
9. Evelyn with her birthday gift Lego set she built by herself!

The other things we decided to do this month to mix things up was have a family sleepover with our good friends. The kids were so excited and the adults stayed up playing card games and visiting!

1. Madi has been doing virtual ballet and loving it!
2. We were surprised with a gift bag from some sweet friends who we also "miss berry much" 😊 
3. Chocolate chip scones for a Saturday morning snack.
4. Gaming with a cocktail after bedtime.
5. The girls have also been doing Generation Pound classes and one them!
6. Madi has been begging me to show her how to sew and she helped fix some toys and clothes that I've been meaning to get around to fixing for awhile.
7. Jason upped our pizza game with this new pizza oven!
8. Mad had a lovely catch up with one of her Baku besties.
9. New level of quarantine - movie in the pool  😂 

The girls have been practicing their tricks with Zoey!

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Beach Fun!

On July 1 the beaches opened back up for visitors in Doha! We didn't go straight away because we were concerned about crowds and sure enough we heard stories of packed cars along some of the popular spots. As the allure of finally getting out settled some we have ventured out to the beach and on the water with friends. 

We've usually gone super early in the morning to avoid the crowds - and when I say early, we are leaving the house between 4:30 - 5:30 am to arrive at the beach by 5:30 - 6:30 am and we have never been the first there! The sun is up here between 4:00 - 4:30 am so we've never quite made the sunrise, but it's been gorgeous still!

We also took the kids tubing for the first time and they loved it! 

One morning we headed out the cloud cover was absolutely stunning!! We arrived so early the tide hadn't come in all the way and we were able to walk out pretty far into the water and slowly move backwards as the water began to rise. It was a refreshing and relaxing time and just what our family needed after a bit of chaos at home!

The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.

Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

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Spelunking in Sinkholes

After seeing some friends post a picture of a relatively well-known sinkhole I knew I had to visit it. A couple months ago, before the heat had gotten too bad, we headed to adventure there with some friends. The sinkhole had a big, cavernous opening, and was very easy to maneuver down and play at the bottom and explore a bit with the kids. 

We were hooked. It got me wondering and thinking if there were possibly others around Doha that we could go explore. I found an old PDF that listed a handful of ones in Qatar. Unfortunately most aren't big enough to be able to go inside, but one looked promising. I shared the article with a friend and her family graciously took on exploring the cave first on their own. 

Once restrictions started to ease up a bit in Qatar and we could go visit together we made plans to head there.  This sinkhole was definitely more narrow, technically challenging, and required headlamps because it was pitch black at the bottom. It also had a fun surprise at the bottom that our girls loved... bats! 🦇 The kids sat for a long time watching and listening to them (and also counting the cockroaches scurrying one level below them - this sinkhole is not for the faint of heart - ha!)

Due to the heat we explored the sinkhole in the late afternoon and then sat outside to see if any of the bats would come flying out at sunset. Only handful did, but we enjoyed watching the sunset and letting the kids run around and explore some more. It was nice to get back in nature and see more of Qatar's hidden beauty.

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Happy 5th Birthday Evelyn and Olivia!

These girls have been so excited for FIVE! Once Madi's birthday passed, they quickly started their own countdown to July 10th. 😂 

They requested a Frozen 2 cake and our sweet friends helped print a snowflake template to make this creation. (I think it was my hardest cake yet even though I expected it to be easier than it was 😆)

We sang, watched a video of birthday greetings from family and friends around the world, and had a wonderful day celebrating with loved ones. We also made a collage of some of our favorite pictures of the girls and they opened their presents. 

Happy Birthday Evelyn!

You are sociable, spunky, and adventurous. You are clever and want an explanation for everything. You have a loving heart and love playing with everyone. We love you so much Evelyn Grace! 💖 

Happy Birthday Olivia!

You are observant, caring, and hilarious. You want things to be fair and you balance your sister perfectly and have a kind heart. We can't believe you are already five years old and have so much sass! We love you so much Olivia Ann! 💖 

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Happy Fourth of July!

It's always a bit weird celebrating the Fourth of July outside of the US, but we manage to find some friends to celebrate with and do something for the occasion. This year our friends had us over for a BBQ and swimming like a lot of our friends in the US were probably doing as well!

Delicious burgers, sides, and desserts!

Glow wands for the win. 

And ending the night with their birthday pajamas from the boys and cookie decorating!

Happy Fourth of July! 🇺🇸 

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