Good-Bye Breakfast

It's hard to believe that two years has gone by already. As our time is closing here in Doha, we are taking our opportunities to have a few get togethers to say our good-byes. Living an expat life has been life changing for me. When I first moved here to Doha I was lost, didn't know even where to find certain foods or good deals. One thing I did learn is you have to meet the right people to help you through the in and outs of this place. My first dear friends Luisa, Mary and Esther made Doha more bearable and helped me to get through a day and still do, I don't know what I would have done without them! They have been with me through this journey the whole two years. As time went on, I was able to meet another amazing group of women that have made Doha even more special. This morning we had a breakfast at an all time favorite Ric's Kountry Kitchen it serves a great American style breakfast, which we have found that once in a while you just need a reminder of what home is!!

Here is Madison all ready to go in her super cute new outfit from one of my best friends back at home Kyla!!

 



I met this wonderful lady by word of mouth!  She was dubbed as one of the best photographers in Doha, so I snagged her up to do photos for me and she sure did deliver some amazing work!  Sherry is always full of smiles and my little girl just loves her!



Here is Sherry with little Ms. Georgia and my cute little button!



Three fabulous ladies - Vicky, Michelle and Esther!



Naomi and Rebecca - two wonderful beautiful ladies!  Rebecca introduced me to Wendi through Bunco and we both LOVE to scrapbook even though we didn't get to do it here!



Mr. Jake and his little unicorn, I can not believe how much this little guy has grown.  He was just three months old when I met him!!



Daniel is already 18 months old, it feels like yesterday that Naomi just had him.



Sweet friends (Rebecca and Wendi)



Sherry, myself and Ms. Madison



Naomi and me



Michelle and Esther



Vicky and her sweet little girl



Good ole eggs, potatoes, texas toast and ham (don't get to excited it's not the real thing, but it tastes pretty close)!!



Rebecca and my sweet little bundle



One last group photo with these amazing women.  Thank you girls for all the special memories!  I certainly hope our paths will cross again! Love you all!

First Swim

It's pool time in Doha so we had to get little Ms. Madison in for her first swim.

Here she is already to head to the pool!


She loves the water, she is sporting her band-aids here from her vaccine shots!


Look at this little water baby, she is definitely a Sartain, because all the Sartain kids LOVE the water!!



Hannah loves to dive for the rings, she really has become a little mermaid!


Nathan taking a ride on the reindeer!

Cultural Day at Apple Tree

For the last two days Nathan's school has been celebrating cultural days. Each child dresses in their country colors and we were to bring a dish that represents their country. Well we all decked out in our Red, White and Blue and brought "pigs in a blanket" for everyone to enjoy. Well I didn't name them that as the pig is a big no no here in Doha, so we called them "crescent dogs" instead, after all they were beef franks! It always amazes me how many countries are represented at these schools, it is such an amazing thing for our kids to get to experience! It was a wonderful morning and we got to try so many different types of foods!

One class made posters representing their country.


Nathan's class parading out to join the party!


Nathan's class with their teacher Ms. Julie!


Proud to be an American!





Everyone surrounding the yummy food!!


Look at this feast of goodies!



This is a world map of Nathan's class and where they are all from. Judah and Nathan are the only Americans. Other countries that are represented in his class our Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, China and New Zealand. His teacher is from United Kingdom.



My USA boy!


My sweet USA baby! She is all decked out in her country colors, but hasn't even been to her country yet!!!


Look at that adorable face, melt's my heart!

Mom makes it to Doha!

I was so excited that my mom was able to make a trip to Doha to see us and spend time with us.  She was such a trooper to make this trip by herself.  My mom got her first passport and we booked her ticket.  She has barely traveled inside the States, but she was all about getting a plane to head out on her first international flight!!  Here is a small snapshot of her trip here, thank you mom for enduring the flight and visiting us all the way in Doha, it was truly a blessing for us!

The kids were excited to make yet another Welcome Grandma sign, they were so excited to show her Doha!!


A nice gentleman offered to take our family pic as mom arrived!


The first thing I had to introduce mom to was to morning coffee at Dean and Deluca's!  I enjoy meeting these ladies out for coffee and some good conversation and just taking time!!  In this picture are some great friends Luisa, Mari, Christa, Lucie, Mary and my mom!


Mom and her large cup of JO!


After Hannah's sports day we decided to head over to the mall and cool off and grab a bite to eat at Paul's restaurant.  Mom and Hannah waiting for our food!



Mom with her yummy lunch!


One night we decided we needed a girls night out!  So we headed out to the mall again (honestly everything is at the mall), we ate at Caffe Spasso an Italian place.


Mmm milk!


Then we headed out to a 3D movie, it was Beauty and the Beast.  My mom had never been to a 3D movie, so we were excited to get to share that experience with her!



You can't come to Doha and not see the Pearl, which is man made island and has some amazing yachts, buildings and shopping!  Of course, we couldn't start the day without having a coffee first!!


Doesn't that look delicious!


Hannah and Mom, Hannah enjoying her strawberry smoothie!


Coffee turned into a light lunch!


Madison is getting use to these coffee dates!



The pearl with one of the yachts.


Another favorite of visitors is to walk along the Corniche and see the Persian Gulf and the city skyline. So we took advantage of the back drop and did a few poses!
 




The Souq is something everyone must see, so we headed out for dinner and walked around to show mom the Souq.





Some guards riding through the Souq that evening.