Gaby's Piano Lessons

Gaby started taking piano lessons last month.  She has a good ear for music.  This is one of the first few songs she has learned.  

Oh Christmas Tree

Here is our Christmas Tree. We are living here in DC with the bare minimum since most of our belongings were shipped right to Jordan. So our tree was decorated from what we found at the Dollar Store and homemade decorations. The kids gathered pine cones that we painted gold. Then we made cinnamon pseudo cookies that the kids decorated with puff paint. Here we are starting to decorate.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

This morning the kids woke up to find snow on the ground.  Although it was only a thin layer, it was the first time any of them remember seeing snow.  The three kids opened the front door and ran outside.  After being outside for about 15 seconds, they realized that being outside without shoes and only in their pajamas was very cold.  So, they came back inside and we dressed them in full winter gear.  They had fun in the snow, but had a hard time making snowballs with the little amount of snow that had fallen.  The novelty of the snow made it an exciting morning.

Santa Claus is Coming. . . .

Yesterday we rode the metro to The Mall to see the Christmas tress (one for each of the 50 States) set up in front of the White House.  The trees were not much to write home about; however, there was a group of about 300+ Santa Clauses that came strolling past the White House.  Many in the group smelt like alcohol - apparently to keep them warm and keep their spirits high in the bitter cold.  The kids, especially Andrew, thought the Santa Clauses were very funny to watch.  We then went to see "the Real" Santa Claus in Santa's Workshop that had been set up by the National Park Service.  Colin was too afraid to sit on Santa's lap alone so our nanny Eli accompanied him.

 

Happy Birthday Colin !!!

Colin celebrated his 3rd birthday on Nov. 10th at Chuck E Cheese.  

He had a great time if you couldn't tell from his smile.

Inherited from the Carter side of the family, Colin sticks out 

his tongue when he concentrates on sports. 

Fall Activities

We took a weekend road trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania.  We enjoyed the tour of the town and, of course, the rides and free samples in the Hershey factory.

Gaby started attending Brownies.  She was in the parade with the Brownies and her dad is anxiously waiting for her to come home with an order form for cookies.

Lately, the boys have been playing better together.  

They can now play for about 10 minutes without a fight. 

Back to School

Sept. 2, 2008 - First day back to school for the kids.  

This day is known in our household as "Mother's Day."

This was also the first day of Arabic language training classes for Shelley and me.

After riding a taxi to school each day in Mexico, 

riding the school bus was a novelty.