Caleb's Pre-School Graduation

Last week, Caleb had his end of year show and Pre-school graduation. The school has been a wonderful learning environment for the boys, and they have had excellent teachers that are caring, nurturing, and patient. We are so thankful for the school and staff. We will miss them a lot when we leave, but there will always be a special place for them in our hearts.

Caleb's teachers Ms. Carla and Mrs. Eman introduced the class, then they sang a cute arabic song about colors and Hello, Goodbye from the Beatles.

One thing we are learning about Caleb is he does not like crowds. The past couple of shows he wanted to sit with us, as soon as he spotted us in the crowd. Thinking ahead, his teacher video taped the practice the day before, so we could see Caleb in action. But for those who know Caleb well, on-on-one or in a small known crowd, he is not shy at all and will talk your ear off!

After the songs, each child was called up individually to receive their graduation certificate. Caleb did join his class for this part, he's the second from the end on the right.

Each child told their teachers what they were going to do this summer, and Caleb said he was going to look for giant spiders in caves, in America :).

Congratulations graduates!

Caleb and his lovely teachers, Ms. Carla and Mrs. Eman

He was a little picture shy and didn't want to take pictures with his friends, but here are some of his besties in class. Dana has been Caleb's good buddy since his first day at school two years ago. Her mom says she talks about his non-stop, and same for Caleb. This year, he tells us he wants to marry Dana :).

Sami has also been Caleb's good friend for the past two years. He always has lots to say to us when we come pick Caleb up. They are a good match, and I'd love to listen to some of their conversations!

Fatemah has also been Caleb's good friend for the past two years. Most of the kids moved up to the same next class, and it has been a lot of fun to watch them all grow and develop into little boys and girls.

And, what you have been waiting for....the show!

We are so proud of the little boy that Caleb has developed into these past two years, and grateful for everyone who loved and cared for him at Pre-school.

Chevron Beach Day

Every year Chevron invites the U.S. Embassy down to their compound near the Saudi border, for a beach day. Last year we were out of town for the event, and we were glad to be here this year, so  we could make it to a Kuwait beach (where I can actually wear a bathing suit) at least once before we leave. On the drive down, the boys spotted some black camels.

 Hello beach!

 The boys had an absolute blast! It was a bit overcast, and very comfortable. It was still well over 100 degrees, but thanks to tents they provided and gorgeous water, we felt great all day.

 Both boys went in the water a lot and enjoyed floating around. Benjamin especially had fun riding in the waves and letting them hit his back.

The boys did a lot of digging and sand castle making. Ben liked his floaty so much he wanted to wear it all day :).

 While we ate and talked with friends, Caleb sat and dug with other kids or by himself. It was nice to see him independently having so much fun.

This was so nice of Chevron to open their beach and facilities to us, and they provided a delicious lunch of hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken schwerma, fruit and different salads. All of our co-workers came too and it was fun to spend time with our friends.

Sweet Clover

 Caleb loves our friends kids and he likes playing with bigger kids. Mazzy and Mo, our friends two oldest, are so great with Caleb and they had fun playing on the shore.

 Mo sneaking up on his sister...

 But it didn't even phase her, she kept on playing :).

Sweet siblings.

 And good buddies.

 More friends and co-workers enjoying the nice day!

 I know it looks like I am not wearing a bathing suit, but I am.

 Our neighbors kiddos that the boys play with.

 Getting some last minute playing done before showering up and heading home.

 Literally within 2 minutes, Ben was out cold. Caleb on the other hand, talked to Nathan and I the entire drive home :). It was a really fun day at the beach with friends and beautiful weather. One of Nathan and my favorite parts of the day was to see how much fun the boys had. We will have a lot of swimming and beach in our future the next few months, and it will be something fun we can enjoy as a family.

Friends and Gulf x 2

It's been a busy week, so I am posting these pictures about a week late. We are down to our last 2 weeks, and there is lots to be done at home and work, though we are in good shape overall. Last Friday morning, our friend Abeer came by with her boys for a visit. Faris and Benjamin are only a couple of months apart.

All the kiddos play so nicely together. We are going to miss them when we leave.

Sweet brothers.

Abeer is a wonderful mom. I love this picture of her an her oldest, Firas.

And I love this one too. Yes, our boys have semi automatic play weapons and swords. Welcome to this part of the world!

Later that day, we went to the gulf to walk around and play in the park.

Nice morning by the gulf.

Playing on the beach parks before the temps get too hot.

The next day we went back to the gulf and visited the aquarium and science center. One of our favorite things to do with the boys here. They love seeing the animals and playing at the museum. Now they even enjoy IMAX movies too, but we did not go to one on this day.

Ben has no fear and loves to jump.

Famous fish picture, been in lots of my aquarium blog posts ;)

Checking out the sharks and fish.

The big sandbox at the science center is always a hit.

And the boys figured out how to talk to each other through the tubes. It's fun to watch them play together, they are good buddies.

They lot of garbage cans decorated with recycled materials. Caleb loves monsters and thought this can made of potato chip bags was extra cool.

Afterwards, we enjoyed Bizza Hut...no P's in Arabic :).

After lunch, we played outside for a while.

It was a nice weekend hanging out by the gulf and playing.

This past week, Caleb had a end of year show at pre-school, and it was really nice. Once I get the video from Caleb's teacher next week, I will post about the event. More to come soon. Happy Friday :).