Isaac is in Nepal. He left early (3:45am!) Thursday morning. This was taken right before he got on the bus.
I picked up two Adams (father and son) in our ward and neighborhood and drove them all to the rendezvous. Our house has been noticeably more empty since then. Matt was off Thursday so that afternoon we took the girls to a Halloween movie--Hotel Transylvania -and we ate at a burger place. Matt asked for a table for 5, but after a confused look by the hostess, changed it to 4. We have been getting text updates like "In Nepal", "Saw a monkey on the street", "At site waterproofing", "Day 1 rafting is done. 1800 is time". That's when I asked myself, is he really 4 hours ahead?? Because my phone said 2:03 when I received that one. Yes, he is. He will be back Monday night, hopefully well and unbruised, but probably tired. They are spending 3 full days on the Holy River, Kali Gandaki. This is what paper from the scouts says.
"Named after the Hindu goddess of destruction, Kali, the river rises in Mustang on the northern side of the Himalayan range. As it tumbles down between the majestic Dhaulagiri and the Annapurna ranges, it creates one of the world's deepest river canyons.
The recent damming of the lower portion of this river has left us with one of Nepal's premier medium length river journeys that combine great whitewater with some of the most beautiful scenery in Nepal, seldom visited villages, truly quiet and introspective evenings, abundant wildlife, sandy beaches and beautiful waterfalls.
The rapids on the Kali Gandaki are much more technical and continuous and this keeps paddlers busy all day. Both experienced and novice rafters will love this. Nowhere else is it possible to find such diversity on a 3 day raft trip.
Nice drops, sparkling chutes and turbulent rapids provide class III to IV+ runs during the fall and spring seasons. This ancient trading route from Tibet takes you through the deepest river gorge in the world."
He has promised a full report and blog entry upon his return. We sent him with a normal camera, only to be used off the river, and the head cam to hopefully record some video of the runs. We just hope it doesn't get swept away and end up at the bottom of the world's deepest river.
Thursday afternoon turned into a sewing day. Matt and I took the girls to Dragon Mart before the movie to find a few things for their Halloween costumes. Jess needed some pirate jewelry, Makenna needed fabric for a pioneer bonnet. We found some sheets she liked with PLENTY of yardage. I found directions online and we started. Makenna measured, marked and cut all the pieces. She used the sewing machine for the first time and was in charge of all the straight seams. I did the gathering in the interest of time. She turned the ties inside out and ironed them flat. It looks really great! She was going to use a dress up skirt we had, but since we have so much extra fabric, she wants to make a skirt to match. That's the project for tonight, so I might be adding a picture later.
There are several local Halloween activities. By local, I mean our development which has a higher percentage of ex-pats than many. There were fliers put on doorknobs last week explaining what would be happening (children will dress up in costumes and knock on doors saying "trick or treat") and how to participate if you so chose (hang the attached pumpkin paper by your villa number and leave your lights on between 6pm and 8pm). We have friends from other parts of Dubai coming to join in the fun.
That made me think of something else. Matt brings home US mail from work, which is an amazingly wonderful perk of having a military job. Houses don't have mailboxes. You can buy things online and have it all delivered to your house, but it's all individual. There are no mailmen. That doesn't stop the junk mail though. EVERY morning we have 2-10 things hanging on the doorknob. They are most often fliers for takeout food (pizza, pasta, subway, burger king, chinese, indian, lebanese....) but there are also ads/brochures/booklets/directories for all sorts of other things from furniture stores, to grocery store ads, to info on the airport. Most people have a PO box that they check once in a while for bills and such (though you get a text when your water bill is due) but we just use L3's and didn't bother getting our own. So there must be thousands of people wandering neighborhoods all over Dubai each night passing out the junk mail.
You would think by now I would have primary all figured out and we would have a sort of routine. But each week is still so different. We only met twice this month, the first and last Fridays of the month with General and Stake conferences in between. Yesterday we had low numbers because many families were traveling for Eid, though a couple of the temple trip families had left their kids with others in the ward. One counselor was on the temple trip, the other was covering nursery because we couldn't find subs. The music leaders was gone too, so it was a one man show starring yours truly. It was actually rather fun and I didn't have to worry about cutting into anyone else's time.
The girls and I decided to bag normal school today and have a little Eid holiday of our own. We made some popcorn and went across the street to the little park Jess has named "the green community" with blankets, rollerblades, water bottles and iPads. We have book group this week, and the girls need to finish reading The Secret Garden. We had a lovely time outside for a couple hours, but it eventually got too hot. So we went home and switched to swim suits and cooled off at the pool.
"Named after the Hindu goddess of destruction, Kali, the river rises in Mustang on the northern side of the Himalayan range. As it tumbles down between the majestic Dhaulagiri and the Annapurna ranges, it creates one of the world's deepest river canyons.
The recent damming of the lower portion of this river has left us with one of Nepal's premier medium length river journeys that combine great whitewater with some of the most beautiful scenery in Nepal, seldom visited villages, truly quiet and introspective evenings, abundant wildlife, sandy beaches and beautiful waterfalls.
The rapids on the Kali Gandaki are much more technical and continuous and this keeps paddlers busy all day. Both experienced and novice rafters will love this. Nowhere else is it possible to find such diversity on a 3 day raft trip.
Nice drops, sparkling chutes and turbulent rapids provide class III to IV+ runs during the fall and spring seasons. This ancient trading route from Tibet takes you through the deepest river gorge in the world."
He has promised a full report and blog entry upon his return. We sent him with a normal camera, only to be used off the river, and the head cam to hopefully record some video of the runs. We just hope it doesn't get swept away and end up at the bottom of the world's deepest river.
Thursday afternoon turned into a sewing day. Matt and I took the girls to Dragon Mart before the movie to find a few things for their Halloween costumes. Jess needed some pirate jewelry, Makenna needed fabric for a pioneer bonnet. We found some sheets she liked with PLENTY of yardage. I found directions online and we started. Makenna measured, marked and cut all the pieces. She used the sewing machine for the first time and was in charge of all the straight seams. I did the gathering in the interest of time. She turned the ties inside out and ironed them flat. It looks really great! She was going to use a dress up skirt we had, but since we have so much extra fabric, she wants to make a skirt to match. That's the project for tonight, so I might be adding a picture later.
Her first seam!
Pinning the skirt pieces
This was always my most dreaded part of sewing. I wanted to sew, not take time to iron, but I learned the hard way. Luckily, Makenna likes this part.
Finished bonnet.
Jessica's pirate princess in the works. She has a more pirate-y shirt, but it's too hot.
There are several local Halloween activities. By local, I mean our development which has a higher percentage of ex-pats than many. There were fliers put on doorknobs last week explaining what would be happening (children will dress up in costumes and knock on doors saying "trick or treat") and how to participate if you so chose (hang the attached pumpkin paper by your villa number and leave your lights on between 6pm and 8pm). We have friends from other parts of Dubai coming to join in the fun.
That made me think of something else. Matt brings home US mail from work, which is an amazingly wonderful perk of having a military job. Houses don't have mailboxes. You can buy things online and have it all delivered to your house, but it's all individual. There are no mailmen. That doesn't stop the junk mail though. EVERY morning we have 2-10 things hanging on the doorknob. They are most often fliers for takeout food (pizza, pasta, subway, burger king, chinese, indian, lebanese....) but there are also ads/brochures/booklets/directories for all sorts of other things from furniture stores, to grocery store ads, to info on the airport. Most people have a PO box that they check once in a while for bills and such (though you get a text when your water bill is due) but we just use L3's and didn't bother getting our own. So there must be thousands of people wandering neighborhoods all over Dubai each night passing out the junk mail.
You would think by now I would have primary all figured out and we would have a sort of routine. But each week is still so different. We only met twice this month, the first and last Fridays of the month with General and Stake conferences in between. Yesterday we had low numbers because many families were traveling for Eid, though a couple of the temple trip families had left their kids with others in the ward. One counselor was on the temple trip, the other was covering nursery because we couldn't find subs. The music leaders was gone too, so it was a one man show starring yours truly. It was actually rather fun and I didn't have to worry about cutting into anyone else's time.
The girls and I decided to bag normal school today and have a little Eid holiday of our own. We made some popcorn and went across the street to the little park Jess has named "the green community" with blankets, rollerblades, water bottles and iPads. We have book group this week, and the girls need to finish reading The Secret Garden. We had a lovely time outside for a couple hours, but it eventually got too hot. So we went home and switched to swim suits and cooled off at the pool.
I may have a new favorite picture of Matt and I. Isaac took this a week ago on a day off after a long week. My cozy guy.
I don't like the ironing part of sewing either. Send Makenna my way. Isaac's raft trip sounds like so much fun and we can't wait for the updates. And I love that picture of you and Matt too. Take care!
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