Meg Loses One More

Christmas Eve and Day

We're all set up and ready for the morning!



Doll clothes. Lots and lots of doll clothes. Do I really need to comment more?


My brothers got me a new football! They're the best brothers in the whole wide world!


For the past three and a half years, the old one has been tossed around our complex, campus, and the mountains. It's ready for retirement. Enter the reinforced super-galactic orange missile.

Mint Chocolate Bark

My incredible bride made me this! Amazing deliciousness!

More Christmas Cookie Decorating

European Grapefruit

This is our family's new favorite fruit which locals and we call 'you zi.' We've seen some that have a sticker on them that says 'European grapefruit.' It's very much like grapefruit as we're used to, but it is significantly sweeter.

We like it so much we had to feature it in its own post.

Kids Christmas Party

Lia had the idea to invite some of the girls from our apartment complex to our house for a Christmas party. A few days before the party, the girls and I went around our complex inviting friends. Some we didn't know where they lived so we had to ask our little friends, "Do you know where so-and-so lives?" They always knew.

One girl - from a Muslim family - was a little leader. She was very thoughtful about who to invite and confidently led us to the homes of other friends. Another girl - from a Mongolian family - provided the enthusiasm as we went to others' homes. As we went from home to home, the former girl walked deliberately, and the latter girl skipped and twirled. It was fun to see their unique personalities.

The Mongolian girl accompanied us back to our home and said with huge eyes, "I can see your Christmas tree from my house. It's so beautiful! Can I see it now?!" I replied, "No, sorry, you'll have to wait for the party." "Oh, but I don't want to wait!"

We were encouraged by our invitation efforts, but we had no idea how many - if any - girls would show up. So we were delighted when seven little girls came to our door. They were all crazy cute.

They brought snacks, fruit and a stuffed Santa as a gift. They were very clear when they told us these things were from all of them. So kind. A few girls brought ornaments and immediately asked, "Can we hang these on the Christmas tree?!" After saying yes, they ran to the tree with big smiles.

We started with a Christmas tree craft that everyone totally got into. Glue got everywhere so next time we might choose a craft that doesn't require glue. Here are some pictures of the craft action.




Below is our little leader friend.


Below is our little enthusiastic friend.


We then played a game with a gift wrapped multiple times. As the ten of them sat in a circle and music played, they passed the gift until the music stopped. The girl holding the gift was able to unwrap one layer. The laughter and squeals were infectious. As the game progressed, their circle got smaller and smaller so we had to tell them to spread out a bit. Thankfully, the gift was wrapped seven times, and with Lori controlling the music, she was able to have each of our guests unwrap a layer. They had a blast. The final gift was a colorful pencil for each of them.

We also looked at a book together about the Christmas story. They first huddled around the book on the floor.


Some couldn't see well so we then held up the book.

Love this below picture.


It was a tremendously fun evening.

Below are the girls with the stuffed Santa. Note the "Happy Christmas" on his hat. So great.


A couple days later, we printed a bunch of pictures from the party - including the above, and then gave them to our little friends as 'thank yous' for coming. The friends - and their parents - really liked getting the pictures.

Christmas Cookies

After sampling the dough for awhile, we got down to business.

Meg's Big Loss

It had been loose for weeks. This morning, much to Meg's delight, it was finally time for Dad to take things into his own hands ... literally.

Pre-yank


Post-yank

Christmas Family Picture

Getting set up.


Almost there.


Got it!

Basement

We're continuing our tradition of decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. (No Black Friday on this corner of the globe.)

Hmm, I know I put the Christmas tree down here ... but where?

Turkey

We had a ton of people at our place to celebrate Thanksgiving, but for some reason the only pictures we took involved the turkey. And I was equally shocked to see that I was in most of them as I am often the one behind the camera. Mark and I were the carving duo.

Duck

This duck lives opposite us on the first floor; our girls quickly named him Dan the Duck. Dan's owners often let him wander our apartment complex, but Dan never goes far.


After the above picture was taken by the girls, Meg returned home and drew this picture of Dan from memory. Not bad at all.

Excursion #2

The second short trip with our family was to a nearby town/city. It's home to a local Muslim minority group who migrated here some years ago from one of the 'Stan countries. We had a great time exploring a new place!

On the way, there was a section of road that cut and weaved its way through the mountains. The scenery was a complete surprise and thoroughly enjoyed. With the camera pointed out the window, a couple hundred photos were snapped. Below are a handful.







Next to the hotel we stayed at was an elementary school. When we arrived, some kids were piling into a small bus to head home. I went over to chat and take some pictures. Very cute.



Skipping rocks in the river near our hotel.




This garden and spring was quiet and pretty. It was located next to a mosque - which is reflected in one of the pictures. The garden would be an excellent place to spend a couple hours with a good book.







But outside this garden was a bit more interesting to me. We wandered the local streets - a labyrinth of narrow roads - and channels of water lined the small streets. We peered into the homes if their door was cracked. Behind large, elaborate doors, most homes had a central courtyard garden surrounded by smaller rooms - really neat to see. We had fun slowly strolling along smiling and waving to the locals. One older man taught me how to say 'hello' in their language so I took any opportunity to practice. And we made a young friend along the way. (He deserves two pictures.)




We sampled some of the local favorite dishes. This was a neat environment but definitely BYOT - bring your own tablecloth.


Meat prep


Sometimes it can be a bit tough to get off. The girls did prevail though. Val and Meg had the best expressions so they're featured on this post.



Remains of the meat and spicy bread - all so good.


Pasta prep



'Ding ding' noodles are ready! Very tasty. All five of us devoured every single 'ding.'


We ventured a bit out of town and did some exploring along the river ... and through A LOT of rocks into it.


Well, okay ... maybe not THAT many.