Happy Halloween-My Army boys!
WOW, time sure flies. The kids are having a great time at their new school, what a good choice it was to make that change. It didnt come without fear for the kids, but the first day they LOVED it and couldnt wait to go back and each day.....they cant wait!  Its a very pricey school, but I guess its worth it. Its just like home! The kids have all the specials like back home(art,PE, library, computer class, Ry has robotics and they both have arabic).  Its an all American curriculum, so they are learning what they need too, they will be all ready for when we come back. We still have not decided when that will be. It all depends on Andys job and if he continues to excel and they continue to get more jobs. It could be a good opportunity for him.

We are all safe and for the most part happy. Its hard some days to stay strong, but we both have jobs and we have each other, well kind of(that will be explained later). The kids are happy too, that is the main thing, to keep them happy. The weather has changed, so we are able to be outside all day if we want too. That, in itself makes the boys happy! We plan to head out soon to take in one of the local malls for some games and fun and then maybe a cookout tonight and park later on after the sun sets! Our neighborhood has really changed since we moved here a little over a year ago. We now have parks(with grass), many of them, nice tree lined streets &street lights. So, our nanny, Feruz takes the kids to the park several times a week before supper. She enjoys it as much as they do. What will we ever do without her when we come back? It will be a sad, sad day when we leave her. :(

Andy is currently working out of town again and we dont like it one bit(that is what I meant about we have each other-sort of)! He is home for two days on the weekend. He is driving distance from us(3hrs), so that is better than Qatar. He is in a little town called Ruwais, all oil and gas industry. They have a big project of ground compaction their and they are possibly getting another job there as well. Its not fun having him gone during the week, so we have some decision making to do for next year. I know staying is good for our future, but its so hard sometimes to be away from family ad so hard to be without a husband to help out. Yes, I have Feruz, but its not the same. I didnt come here to be without him, can I survive? Yes, I can, but I dont like it.  Here is Andys work website if you want to take a look at it. He is their Project Manager and they are really good to him.    
http://www.ric-me.com/RIC-me/Home.html

My job is the same, love my kids, love my arabic teacher.....but I dont love the way they have us teaching here. Its not the way it should be done, but they will learn by it. This reform will work or it wont......but if they would just let us do what we came here to do....it would work a whole lot better! :) I feel very blessed I have a job, with privided housing and insurance for my family, but sometimes I just wanna go home, to MY real home. Our house here is amazing and I will miss some things about it too(my tile floors), but I want the home Andy and I built together. It will come someday, just  not sure if it will be sooner rather than later.....we shall see what the new year brings.

Well, the holidays are upon us and we will be having Thanksgiving at our house with some friends and its RYDGES 6th birthday this day as well. We will have some friends over for a festive meal to celebrate. Then Christmas and then Rylans birthday, he will be 10. So, the next 2 months will be busy.

Take care and have a Happy Holiday season!

Love,
Abby and Family.

We are back in Abu Dhabi, the city of Al Ain for year THREE!  I can't believe I/we made it through the first week over two years ago and here we are.....for the third year. Our experience here has been pretty positive and we are happy to report we are starting another year in the UAE. ITs hot, its dry and its part of our new life. Although the weather is turning cooler and the fun will soon begin, sand duning, camel rides, four wheeling and bbqs outside!!! YAY!! The boys seem to be settling back into our old routine. We try to keep it fun on the weekends and pretty relaxed during the week. This weekend we went to the pool and took a trip to Dubai to eat at the one, the only.....IHOP!  It was AMAZING. We drove 1.5 hours and waited 1 hour in line to eat at IHOP. Crazy? NO....it was worth the wait!  Rydge had a playdate with a friend as well and Rylan needed to stay in and relax a bit, he had a throat and ear infection last week, so he needed his rest while Rydge had his playdate and mommy and daddy went grocery shopping.That was a FUN weekend!

Rylan  and Rydge started a new private school this year. Its called Manor Hall International School. Its an all american curriculum, with many new american children to hang with. They miss doing things from back home, such as PE and going to the library during school hours. Each of the children have PE twice a week, which consists of  things like, kickball, basketball, kung Foo(so Rydge reports)....not just calestenics like the last school for the past two years. This school believes that exercise IS important!  YAY...we are SO happy about this. The kids will each be getting their own IPAD(they should for what we pay!) I can't believe what we pay for private education here, its insane, but its that or homeschool and I AM NOT A TEACH AT  HOME MOM! So, we have to roll with this.

Andy is busy with his job in Dubai. He commutes each day about 1.5 hours. He seems to enjoy what he is doing. He is a project manager for a construction company that does ground compaction. The work has been slow lately, but its about to get super busy. He has a job coming up in the RURAL area in the western region of Abu Dhabi and then will spend about 14 days in Saudi Arabia. He is getting to see others parts of the UAE and also will be away from us, but we will survive. We are here to work and we both have excellent jobs, so we need to remember that. They have been bidding some really high dollar jobs lately, so this is wonderful for his company. One is here in the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the other is in Saudi Arabia. They are trying to build the  business in Saudi and Qatar, there is a lot of growth happening there and a LOT of wealth as well.

And then there is me......another school year has begun! I have 20 kids in my class so far...its gonna be a great year. I think the kids are all pretty good ones, with the exception of one "special" little guy. He will be a challenge for my arabic teacher and I. We hope for the best for all of us! I have the best arabic teacher anyone could ask for. When I returned this  year, I brought her and her family back IL t-shirts/hats and a special treat of JD tractors for the kids and a Isabel bloom called "friends" for her as well. They all loved it and she hopes to visit America one day. She doesnt ever want me to go and I cant  imagine the sadness when I do have to leave her. It's been an amazing experience to get to know her and her family, they are so sweet, kind and smart!

Well, its Saturday night and most of you back home still have another day to enjoy, and its back to work for me. We work Sunday-Thursday here....so its off to bed for me!

We are all well and back to our routine. We are very blessed for our life here in the UAE and look forward to our return home someday, whenever that may be. It could be next July or the July after....what ever works best for our kids and for my family. As long as the kids are okay, then we will stay and continue to prepare for our future, a bigger and brighter one! We have made great strides so far and look forward to this year of seeing more goals come true. We also look forward to some cool new travels as well. We hope to visit Thailand this year and maybe Egypt and Ethiopia!  We shall see. Check back for more updates!

Boys and their new sandbox.

♥Abby and family♥

I was inspired today to make a note on the blog! I ran into a ole teacher friend and she said she was reading my blog every now and then.....so people ARE reading it other than family! :)

We are home for the summer again.  This was suppose to be the summer we were moving back home and into our home.....but SURPRISE....we are going back for another year.  The job situation is still not good around here, so we need to stay where the jobs are! We are getting along okay and as long as the kiddos are happy, then we are happy! When is seems they are over living overseas, we will come home.  We love the lifestyle of traveling and saving some money. We would like to be saving more, like everyone does,  but we want to travel as well. We did not travel much this year with Andy's new job, but we plan to head to Thailand in December for a little fun for Christmas.

The boys are home on the farm enjoying grandma and papa and we have spent some time at Andys mom and dads as well. Each grandparent has different things to offer the boys!  We have been at my moms for the most part because Andys dad has had company over due to the McAlister Reunion in town over the weekend of July 20-21. We will head in there towards the end of the week.  Andy has been keeping the boys over at his moms a bit too, now that he is home.

new bikes from papa Randy and grandma Laura

 new utility vehicle for grandma...her new hip isnt cooperating and the boys LOVE this!

 Rydge is SUPPOSE to be watering the flowers.

 fishing with papa Mac at our pond(Andys dad)

cousins....all  boys!



We had a SURPRISE Thursday night. Andy showed up at my moms doorstep! It was very  unexpected as he told me he couldnt get the time off....but SURPRISE, he did!  We are very happy to have him home with us, as a family. It was going to be weird not having him here with us to fish, help with the upkeep on our home(which is occupied by some nice new renters!) and to just plain help out.  We picked TONS of wonderful huge blackberries  as a family yesterday to make jelly and today we are going out on a date together. The boys will stay with my parents. The sand pile and pool keeps them busy as well as watching papa put windows in his new barn.

I met up with a few teacher friends today for lunch, so that was fun!  We talked and had a good visit.

Well, enjoy the pictures. I will update again soon!

♥ Abby and family

Well, I have made several posts tonight, so make sure you see them all. A few down there are some links of the boys from facebook, be sure to check them out. For some reason, I could not get them to download with pictures seperately.

A few more updates:
Andy is now living and working in Qatar. His company he is working for, based in Dubai has signed a contract with a chinese firm, working in Qatar. He is overseeing a project dealing with compaction. I really dont have a clue, other than he has a nice place to live, hes making money and we are doing "okay" without him. We miss him, especially when these crazy boys are driving their mamma crazy! Feruz, our nanny is a big help. I ask her to take the boys on a walk and she does it, its nice. Its just not the same not having Andy here, and after a week of him being gone, I am over it, I miss him! He might get to come home this weekend(5th) for a few days, but not sure yet. He is only 1 hour away by air, so he is pretty close. We are able to talk on SKYPE and by phone, so we are dealing. Its suppose to be a month long project, that could turn into 2 years, I dont know if I could do that! If so, we had talked about us all moving there, but the thought of moving the boys and uprooting them from where they are now comfortable doesnt make sense. If they do get this 2 year job, he likely will be gone 2 weeks, home for 3 or 4, which is doable. This is a really good job! Qatar is pretty boring he said and much more expensive as far as groceries go. He would rather be here, but such as life. We hope to make that dent in our house we had been hoping for while being here and I think we can do that this year! We are pretty excited about that! :)

Anyway, everything is fine. The boys and I are on Spring break and we wish Andy were here. We took a short trip to the beach before he left and that was fun. The boys and I have been visiting the pool a lot lately, as the weather has turned pretty darn hot, about 100 now. I have a friend flying in tomorro(2nd) so that will keep me/us busy for 10 days!

Well, all for now. Everything continues to go very smoothly here. We are happy and all healthy!
Take care,
♥Abby and family

This is for Grandma Laura. They gave us some anniversary money and she wanted us to spend it on new pots and pans or outdoor greenery. We did outdoor stuff! We needed it, although its VERY difficult to keep things alive here, its not like home where I can grow anything!

I love this cactus!

Nice and inviting now! Thanks!

My parents were able to visit us again this year. The main reason for thier visit, the grandkids of course. Also, Rydge had his tonsils out and nurse Laura needed to be here and I was SURE glad she was. I am a worry wart and it helped me tremendously. When Rydge was in recovery, I couldnt even handle that, she had to come in for the rescue. I cant believe I am the daughter of a nurse, its so NOT me! I am a teacher and thats for me!

Here are a few pictures from their trip this time.



Camel Market. Need a Camel? This is where you go!

On the Dhow Dinner Cruise. Rylan INSISTED we go and he fell asleep by the end, it didnt run until 8:30 and ended at 10:30 and then we had a 1.5 hour drive home to Al Ain from Dubai. It was okay, a new experience we had not yet had.

I think this was the Dhow we went on for dinner.

Rydgee and Grandma after he came out of recovery. Poor baby was so sick from anesthesia. They finally gave him some medicine and that helped him. He is in wonderful shape now, no illness in almost 2 months!!! YAY

Morning of surgery, see the worry in mamas eyes? He is SO excited and ready to be over all the months of sickness! See his excitement??

The Dhow at night!

Out Villa. Papa Randy bought the boys a hoop when he was here. They have really enjoyed it and Rylan is signed up for a league, so this was pretty cool! I am sure he will do great things with the league, hes a great player!

Go Papa, go Papa! ALso...representing IC Fire Dept in the UAE!!!!

A beautiful flower garden next to our home. Look it up online, its in the Guinness World record book for the MOSt hanging baskets. Al Ain Paradise Gardens, UAE

The end!

Below are a few albums from FBook that I have created today. Check them out!!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2937832489755.2129251.1379402673&type=1&l=88384c33c0

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2937974493305.2129254.1379402673&type=1&l=f34325fdf2

We like to go out to the desert on Saturdays. Rydge likes to just hang in the sand after they are done running around and Rylan hit a few balls with his dad. Its beautiful weather here right now!

Rylan and Rydge making a huge mess....but they played for hours without fighting. So, I dont care if they made a mess and I dont care they almost ruined some screw drivers and used a ton of nails. They had FUN! And they didnt bother me! Their dad was gone all day trying to figure out what was wrong with my car...needed new brakes and rotors turned. So glad he got it fixed for 80 dollars!!! WOW..cheap!!!

Rydge joined in on the mess...they had fun!

Rylan gettin g-ma and papa Randys room ready. We had to take the table out so we could add a bed and wardrobe. Delivery tomorrow. They will be here in 12 days! :)

A few pictures from my classroom. We are learning about long/short here!

We made vegie soup for fruits and vegie unit.

We are learning all about 1-10...and one to one correspondance.

UAE handprint flag for Nat'l Day!

HOw many boys/girls in our class?

The boys having some quiet time in the reading corner! :)

Our Farm...just finished farm unit. We read the little red hen and made puppets! We also read Five little ducks and the Cows are in the corn. I am so glad I grabbed some books this summer when home. I love to read to the kids and they love to hear them! :)

Math clothespin game. Yes, that is a hat...the kids are so cold right now and its in the 70s during day. But to them...its WINTER after having 130 degree weather! It is cold, I agree. At night its been in the 50s..... so so cold we had to buy heaters, not built in heat here in the homes!

sorting camels by color.

awe...my lil cutie pie here...he colored a lion for zoo unit!

Check out this link.. This park is right across from where we live. It is so beautiful, my mom will love it when they come!


https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.171419722907858.37560.120640654652432&type=3

i hope the sound shows up on the video...it was so funny. bummer if it doesnt!

We pelted the boys with water balloons for a surprise for the birthday boy... It was Hilarious! They were not expecting it at all. It was fun!

HAPPY 9th Birthday RYLAN!!!!!


BALLOON FIGHT!!!!! We decided it might be fun to do this today....the boys were SO surprised when daddy and mommy started pelting them with water balloons. It was a fun day! It was gorgeous out today! We love this weather!

Rylan was totally enjoying his b-day ice cream cake!

Rydge liked it too.

Rylan helped me to make it!

He is NINE!!

Feruz, our nanny made Rylan a nice birthday banner! She is a good drawer! :)

New bike from papa and grandma laura

from cousins cael and trent...legos...cabin...he liked it...he LOVES legos and it keeps his hands busy!

more legos from granny. its funny how she sent us the tallest building in the world lego building set.....its in Dubai.....The Burj Kalifa....he loves it and is finishing this one up as i type right now.

some JD stuff....we brought back this summer from the US...def. none of that here. wish i could start a JD business here. They need it!

Well, that is it for now. It was a good day!

Abby