Grandma Sue is here!

Grandma Sue is here to visit us for 6 weeks, and we are all so happy to have her here! We are about 1.5 weeks into her visit, Grandpa Art arrives in a little over a week and Uncle Aaron arrives a couple of weeks later. The boys welcomed Grandma with this sign when she arrived.

She saw both boys when she arrived late at night, and she got them off the bus the next day....and pretty much every day since then!

After school, they play, work on puzzles, and read books. Benjamin is really into puzzles these days. He put together all of these by himself! One of sea creatures, 4 dino puzzles, a construction puzzle, and a puzzle of the U.S., which I think is his favorite.

Caleb loves being read to. He is learning lots of sight words in school, and grandma has been practicing them with him as they read books.

It's been a full first couple weeks for my mom, and even more so because Nathan is out of town for a few weeks. On her second day here, she attended a bridal shower. The boys have had karate tests, several halloween parties,  (I'll blog about those),  trips to the park, parent-teacher conferences, going out to eat, and play dates with friends. It's been fun for her to just live life with us and see what our day-to-day routine is like.

Lunch at our favorite schwerma restaurant! We usually take out, so it was nice to sit and eat for a change.

One of my favorite views near our house.

The boys gave grandma a tour of their school while I had parent-teacher conferences one afternoon.   They got great reports, and we are thankful for how they have adjusted to the new school and many new friends this year.

Tes and my mom are really enjoying each other's company. She is such a blessing to us, and takes great care of our family. The last time my folks saw her was during their visit to Kuwait in 2014, so they have enjoyed catching up. Tes is laughing in this picture because she is wearing the boys' sweater...yes, she is that small, but mighty!

We have a great park close to our house that they have already enjoyed a few times already. We planned to ride bikes at the park one morning, but got our first thunder and rain. It cleared quickly, so we were able to play and enjoy the park all to ourselves.

One afternoon, the boys were supposed to get flu shots and Caleb also needed several shots for his 6 year well check-up. Turns out the scheduling got messed up and our appointment was changed. Surprisingly both boys cried when I told them, because they were looking forward to ice cream afterwards, but of course we still went. And will go again next Monday after the appointment!

It has been a fun first couple of weeks with my mom here!

ACS Wellness Day

The boys school is focusing on promoting wellness and healthy life styles, and a couple of weeks ago they hosted a wellness day event. There was music, local fruit and vegetable and healthy foods vendors and had some activities for the kids. The boys favorite was the zip line!

Here goes Benjamin...

And Caleb.....

And the rock wall. What you don't see in the picture are the kids unscrewing/screwing the rock pegs in the wall, but these were secured.

One of the gyms brought in some kids exercise equipment. They had treadmills, stair steppers, and weight circuit machines. It was cute.

Front entrance to their school.

Caleb has gotten very good on the monkey bars this year!

It was a fun day and healthy day :)

Festive Week part 3: Benjamin Turns 5!

Our sweet Benjamin recently turned 5! He bring excitement into our lives and is always keeping us on our toes. He is eager to learn and do new things, a great helper, and adds a little spice wherever he goes. Benjamin loves to be outside, play sports especially baseball and soccer, sing, dance, ride his bike, swim, and play with his brother. 

Benjamin is in Pre-K this year at the American school, and he has adjusted very well and made all new friends. He rides the bus to and from school and thinks it is fun to go to school with bigger kids (his school is Pre-K - 12). Benjamin loves being read to, and says he enjoys the art, music, and library classes the most.

Benjamin loves food and still has a very healthy appetite. I worry what it will look like when he is a teenager! He loves just about any food, and is still more than willing to try and enjoy ethnic foods. Some his favorites are anything beans, chicken schwerma, falafel, and hummus!

This year, we asked Benjamin if he wanted to have a party at the house, or go to the Dead Sea....he chose well! Both boys got into the sea and swam around and had a great time. Here's some photos of the trip. He liked throwing up his proud 5 :).

When we got home, we celebrated with cake and some gifts. Tes made him this great spiderman cake!

Nathan was most excited about this gift....I'm being serious...he ordered it!

The next day he celebrated at school with his class. Their class has a tradition that when it's your birthday, you gift wrap a book and donate it to your class. Benjamin chose one of his favorite books, If you Give a Pig a Party. I read the book to his class, then we moved onto pumpkin birthday muffins - his school is on a healthy kick, so no cupcakes.

They sang him happy birthday in Arabic and English, then everyone enjoyed. It was fun to meet his little friends and be a part of their class for the afternoon. He had a great birthday! And now for the annual birthday questions:

1. What is your name? Benjamin Aaron Purcell

2. How old are you? Five

3. Who is your best friend? Caleb, Lydia, and Mary

4. What is your favorite thing to do? Play with my friends

5. What is your favorite color? Black and blue

6. What is your favorite food? Black beans

7. What do you like to do with your family? Family movie night 

8. What is your favorite toy? play swords

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor

10. What makes you happy? Going swimming

11. What makes you sad? Falling down

12. What is your favorite TV show? Peppa Pig and PJ Masks

13. What is your favorite book? If you Give a Pig a Party

14. What do you love to learn about? Germs, so we don't get sick

15. What was the best part of your birthday? My Spiderman cake from Tes

16. Where do you like to go? Dead Sea

17. Who is your teacher? Ms. Tina, Ms. Farrah, and Ms. Mahayla

18. What is your favorite treat? Ice Cream

19. What do you think about before you fall asleep? Puppy Dogs

20. If you could meet someone famous, who would it be? Peppa Pig

21. What was your favorite birthday present? My big drum.

Happy, happy 5th birthday sweet Benjamin! We love you to the moon and back!

Festive week part 2: Eight is great!

We recently celebrated our 8 year anniversary, and I couldn't be more thankful for this sweet, loving, and kind man that God chose for me. Over the past 8 years, we have been blessed beyond measure, and I am so thankful for each day together and for our family. 

Eight is great!

Even the boys thought so ;).

Happy 8 year anniversary, Nathan. I love you, I love you, I love you!