Grandma and Pop-pop in Phoenix

At the end of December, Grandma and Pop-pop came to visit us in Phoenix while we were there for the holidays.  We hit our usual restaurants including one at the Biltmore.  But first, photo op in front of the poinsettia Christmas tree:

Yummy desserts!!!

At night, we decided to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens instead of the Phoenix zoo this year.  I'm glad the boys actually really enjoyed it! Phew!

Those cacti-looking things in this top photo are actually made out of glass! And below are the luminaries.  Spectacular with the desert backdrop!

I really wanted the boys to see the hand-bell orchestra.  Some of those hand-bells were quite large!

Charlie does not like loud noises:

It was actually quite pleasant and intriguing!

Photo op of Bobby and Grandma.  I just realized how HUGE that Agave plant is (to the right of Bobby)!

Happy first-timers to the Desert Botanical Gardens! 

Speaking of garden, we bought some new cacti/succulents for our backyard. Oh, and also bought a new pot from a little town called Guadalupe.  Love the splash of color!

I hope these new plants survive. The previous succulent ground cover were pulled up by the landscapers. Boo hoo!  These are Charlies...

And Graham picked these up:

The cacti in the blue pot is mine from college - funny enough which I named Bob even before I met my real Bob!  Some of the joints were tilted and leaning the wrong way so I decided to just break them off.  Hopefully "Bob" will recover!

No trip to Phoenix is complete without a meal at In-and-Out burgers!

Okay, back to business.   Been wanting to replace our outdoor/garage lights for years now but figured a can of spray paint would be a lot more affordable!  It did take more time and lots of blue tape!

But I have to say, it looks pretty good!  Happy me :-)

And as the sun starts to go down, shhh.... we are sneaking onto the golf course.

 The boys really wanted to try out these glow-in-the-dark golf balls:

We are learning to hit it from anywhere!

Hopefully this is a good start for the boys in learning how to love the game!

The next day, it is New Year's Eve.  Mommy and Daddy get a date on the golf course.  I'm pretty sure Bobby was on the fairways most of the time, except for this time :-P

After golf, it's hair cuts for the boys.  I don't know why but Graham was crying when I was buzzing his hair since Charlie had no issues at all!

And at night, some sparkles.  Needless to say, Graham and Charlie love these!

 To be continued...

More photos from Phoenix (December)

Eventually I am going to catch up on all these photos taken during our Christmas/New Year trip!  After Christmas, both Graham and Charlie had a visit to their pediatrician.  Charlie had 4 vaccination shots - 2 on each arm, and he didn't even flinch!

Not a single tear from Charlie!  Graham, on the other hand - had one flu shot.  Guess the photo below tells all. Poor kid!

Obviously he recovered after a little while.  Later that evening, we went out with our neighbors to a local favorite for dinner - San Tan Flats:

Obviously not quite dark enough yet for dinner, but this place gets so crowded so quickly!  We all enjoyed the fire pit:

Ahhh... really love seeing the sunset from our backyard too:

The next day, off to the playground!  Not just any particular playground, but this one has a built-in digger in the sand pit. Graham and Charlie love this place!

Graham is able to dig with this now with little issues. Charlie still struggles a bit as it is quite heavy. One of the arms was actually broken but Momma a.k.a. McGyver managed to find the perfect branch to put into the bolt slot to fix it :-)

Charlie and his hat!

Okay, time to feed the ducks.  These ducks were hungry!

And then, it was time to feed ourselves.  Yummy pizza!

To be continued...

Visit to Aldar HQ

Graham, Charlie, and I finally had a chance to see the Aldar HQ building up close and personal.  We have been calling this the "Coin Building" from Day 1 since we arrived in Abu Dhabi.

A good friend of ours works in this building which is how we managed to get access to it.  There is a valet service and the attendant wouldn't take my car until I told him which company our friend worked for!

Happy boys!!!  We were not able to take any photos inside the building so we spent lots of time taking photos outside :-)

Graham actually had a Home Learning project to write: "Write 5 facts about an interesting building in the UAE."  I think this building definitely qualifies as "interesting"!

We-fie opportunity!

Graham had a fun time playing with the reflection of the building:

Charlie on the other hand enjoyed walking along the railing:

Thank you to our friend John for the tour of Aldar HQ!

International Week at school

The boys' school celebrated International week last week.  There was a food festival this past Wednesday and the children were able to dress up in their national outfits or flag colors.  What a lovely sight with all the vibrant colors!  I managed to borrow a Baju Kebaya - a traditional Malay outfit.  Graham represented the USA with his red, white, and blue colors and Charlie represented Malaysia with his printed shirt from my home-state of Sabah (Borneo).

The boys had a chance to parade around the field.  Here is Charlie. He did such a great job waving his flag and waving to the crowd:

After that was over and done with, we were waiting for Graham's turn to parade around the field. So many kids representing so many countries! While we wait, time for a selfie.  Cheeky Charlie!

My camera battery ended up dying when I was trying to take Graham's photo. So I took one with my phone after he was done with the parade. Happy camper despite the heat!

Once all that was said and done, we hit the Malaysian food stand:

So much food!  These Malay moms can really cook!  I did not contribute last year so I decided to try and make some pineapple tarts this year - supposedly quite a popular treat during Chinese New Year in Malaysia.  Wow... didn't realize how tedious it was! It takes quite some time to cook down the pineapple puree, but I finally figured it out after an earlier test batch. Larger pan and higher heat!!!

And then, it's a matter of making the perfect dough to fill the pineapple:

Charlie did help (a little :-)

By the 200th pineapple tart, I think I was really starting to get the hang of it!  

Although, I think this might be it for the rest of the year. Ha ha ha!  The boys really did enjoy them though. The dough has a shortbread consistency - made with lots of butter, condensed milk, and flour.  I think I gained a few pounds this past week eating these!

What a great experience for the boys (and me too!) to be able to taste food from other countries during this food festival. And perhaps someday, we will be able to visit the real Sphinx!