February Highlights

The month of February has completely flown by this year! I can't believe it's already been over a month that I've been back in Abu Dhabi. Here are a few pictures from the shortest (and one of the nicest months, here at least) of the year: 

The weather in Abu Dhabi is great for outdoor BBQs right now! We have been enjoying our fair share of grilled delights:

My older brother, Chas, joined facebook, so now I get to hear from Chas and see pics of my niece and nephew way more often than I did before! Miss you guys! :-)

Pete and I stayed home for Valentine's Day this year and I cooked a tasty meal to celebrate - salmon with dill, risotto, and steamed broccoli. Yummmm!

We had another ultrasound and got some pretty amazing pictures of the baby. Boy or girl? What do you think?

I got to meet Benson and Mikayla, my friend Julie's kiddos from Ethiopia. She and her husband Damian were able to bring them home on Christmas morning, but I only just met them. What beautiful babies they are! Congrats guys!

More baby-related celebration was in store as my friend Jane is preparing for the arrival of her first child sometime in March. We had a baby shower at my house to celebrate. I created a fruit pizza (among other things) for the guests.

Here's Jane at the table before the rest of the party showed up. Looking good Jane!

The Rainbow Car Museum

Pete and I took a little drive out to the middle of the desert this weekend to pay a visit to the Emirates National Auto Museum. It is the private collection of H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan. For not really being that into cars, it was still worth the visit! Check out some of the crazy vehicles this guy has! 

This Mercedes greets you at the doorway.

Hello Tasmania!!! :-)

Entry into the 1993 Guinness Book of World Records...

8 bedroom, 8 bathroom, 4 car garage caravan on wheels. I'd love to take this thing out to the desert!

I'm not sure what kind of vehicle you'd need to pull it though.

"The Rainbow Sheikh"

Rainbow Mini

Do you think this truck might be large enough to pull the camper that was outside?

A cop car and a New York City taxi!

I think Lady Gaga would like to take this golfing

Pete's vehicle of choice. Only the 2nd F-350 we've seen in this country. 

Check out the rainbow collection of Mercedes:

In case you were wondering...

Yes, we're having a baby! The due date is June 14th.

Just the other day, I woke up and my stomach was suddenly protruding. Wanna see?

22 weeks

Nesting...

Since I've been back in Abu Dhabi, I've been working on putting some finishing touches on our villa (before we tackle the baby room). My inspiration for the master bedroom is this years HGTV dream home. I'll put some more photos up once the transformation is complete!

Camel Ride

A few photos Pete took on his drive to Al Ain (about an hour away) for work the other day.  

Elvis camel!

Highlights from 2009

New and Improved Version! :-)

Giving Thanks

We celebrated an All-American holiday in Abu Dhabi last week - Thanksgiving!!! Many of our friends here had never attended a Thanksgiving feast, so we thought we'd put on a good spread and bring some of our new "family" over for dinner. (Two things I'm thankful for: Pete's mom was in town to help with do most of the cooking. Thanksgiving fell on the first day of Eid, so it was a holiday for everyone else here too!)

The table is set...

One too many cooks in the kitchen?

The gentlemen say they are thankful they don't have to cook!

Getting ready to sit down: Pam, Mandy, Aitch, Jayne, Sinead, Dave, Katia, Jane, Walid, Maria, Pete, Me, Mark (and Erik, behind the camera)

Pre-carving - 19 lb turkey

I could be wrong, but I think Thanksgiving might be Dave's new favorite holiday - I swear the man has a hollow leg!

The aftermath

Privilege Parking

If I had one of these cars, I could park right up front at hotels in Dubai too!  

Crash

Poor abandoned car left on the side of the road near our house...

Pete's Mom at Emirates Palace

Pete's mom is in town visiting for the next few days.  One of the first places we went to see in Abu Dhabi was Emirates Palace. There's an exhibit there at the moment with models of the upcoming developments on Saadiyat Island (the Island of Happiness). But, there was also a short-term exhibit of art from India. Definitely glad I got to see it while it's here.

Maria - in front of the entrance

The main part of the lobby - looking up!

- - - - - Saadiyat Island - - - - -

Saadiyat Island Guggenheim

The Louvre - of course

The Marine Museum

- - - - - The Indian Exhibit - - - - -

I love this guy and his bike...

...all made out of watches