Bonjour, Paris!

4 / 6 / 144 / 14 / 14

After 15 hours of travel and arriving into Paris late last night, we spent the night at a hotel pretty much right at the airport. Though sort of accidental, it worked out well. We all got a good night’s rest before making our way into the city and therefore had {slightly} more patience while tackling the not so stroller-friendly train system. We arrived at the flat Brad and I stayed at during our very first spring break abroad just before lunchtime, got somewhat settled, and then headed out on the day’s adventures – walking down cobblestone streets, soaking in the sunshine, admiring cherry blossom trees, eating baguettes wrapped in brown paper, and stopping at parks and playgrounds along the way. This was our day…

A bedroom with a view.

A Birthday Party at the Beach

3 / 6 / 143 / 25 / 14

Oh, how we’ve missed the Hilton… We were invited to a birthday party on the beach this afternoon and it was absolutely beautiful. Grae frolicked in the sand, dipped her toes in the ocean, and loved every minute. I had almost forgotten how much we enjoy our time there. Needless to say, my pangs for a ridiculously overpriced membership are stronger than ever. Ugh.

Are you following us on Facebook and Instagram yet?

We’d love to have you!

Beach Morning

2 / 18 / 143 / 14 / 14

Another gorgeous morning and a few new sand toys meant another day spent at Anjafa Beach today. We scoured the beach for treasures, opened a treasure shop, built sand castles, talked to stray kitties, and took about a gazillion photos… It was a good morning and I’m so, so grateful for the lovely weather we’ve been having here in Kuwait. Before long, we’ll be be melting from the heat, so we’re soaking it in while we can.

Pottery Painting Party

2 / 15 / 143 / 14 / 14

What a weekend it’s been. Party number 4 of 5, a fifth birthday party, took place this morning… The theme was ‘pottery painting’ and the birthday girl’s grandma actually made teacups and saucers for each of the girls to decorate. The mamas stayed and we all sat outside under a tent while enjoying the gorgeous weather and painting our pottery pieces. Grae and I went for combination of purple and aqua (can you guess who picked which colour?) and we’re excited to see the finished set once it’s been fired. Here’s to having just one more party left this weekend!

Party Girl

2 / 14 / 143 / 14 / 14

Whew! After a fun {slightly chaos-filled} Valentine’s Day tea this morning, we left our apartment in its ransacked state and headed out to a birthday party for Miss G’s very sweet little friend. The birthday girl’s present, a brand new trampoline, was a huge hit with Grae. As were the cupcakes and prince and princess photo op cutouts….

Teacher’s Assistant

2 / 2 / 142 / 17 / 14

Today, after nearly 3 1/2 years, I had my first day back in the classroom, only this time it was teaching 1 and 2 year olds! The best part? I have the sweetest little teacher’s assistant I ever did see. ☺

Messila Kites

1 / 24 / 142 / 3 / 14

One of the things I love doing here in Kuwait is heading down to Messila Beach on a Friday or Saturday afternoon and watching the giant kites fly in the wind with the beat of loud Arabic music pulsing in the background. Gracen loves it too, and though Brad doesn’t find it nearly as captivating as us girls do, he humours us and comes along most of the time {normally with the prospect of a yummy dinner out afterwards}. Here’s a peek at today’s outing…

Bits of Beauty in Mahboula

1 / 14 / 141 / 20 / 14

One thing I adore most about children is their innate ability to see the beauty in the world around them. And our adventures in the desert space near our apartment remind me of that admirable quality every time we go on one.

While I often suggest going on a ‘desert adventure’ as a way to get out of the house {and stay sane} when we’re vehicle-less, Gracen is always thrilled with the suggestion and often shouts, ‘Yay! We’re going on a treasure hunt!’ before running off to retrieve a bag to house her findings. She returns, pops her shoes on her feet and cheers, ‘Let’s go!’ anxious to see what sort of beautiful things she might find today.

Truthfully, in the stereotypical sense, our neighbourhood is far from beautiful. It’s filled with piles of trash, mounds of sand are scattered throughout, dumped building supplies are plentiful, and plastic bags float around at your feet. But Gracen? She sees mountains to climb, things to investigate, and treasures waiting to be discovered. If only we could all be so optimistic.

Well I’m up for trying. Here are the bits of beauty we discovered in Mahboula today…

Happy Little Biker

1 / 6 / 141 / 12 / 14

Our 2013

1 / 1 / 141 / 4 / 14

What a year it’s been! 2013 was filled with family get togethers, fun trips, big milestones, and huge changes for our little family, and looking back at it all, I’m feeling nothing but extremely grateful.

Here’s our year in review…

Last year started with us amidst a Christmas road trip that involved 40 hours of driving and visits with every grandparent and as many other family members as possible. We rang in the New Year with an awesome bonfire and fireworks show my brother put together for all of us.

Today’s Adventure: Skating

12 / 30 / 131 / 12 / 14

Ugh…. As the end of our vacation nears, I’m trying not to think about the fact that we’ll soon have to say goodbye to this gorgeous city. We’ve without a doubt been living in a vacation bubble, and I’ve been loving it.

Today, after coffees and pastries, we crossed another big to-do off of our list – skating on the outdoor rink at the base of the castle! Sadly, Miss G wasn’t all that thrilled with the actual skating part of it, though she did love her little penguin friend. We finished off the day with an afternoon walk and a visit to the park and came home with that amazing feeling only a day outside in the cool fresh air can give you.

Here’s our day in photos…

Little Beauty

12 / 30 / 131 / 12 / 14

Though I’m pretty good at taking out my camera and documenting our projects and adventures, I feel like I’ve been forgetting to capture the ordinary moments lately. So tonight, in a steamy bathroom filled with soapy bubbles, I got out my camera and took a few photos of this little beauty I call my girl…

Vacationing

12 / 29 / 131 / 4 / 14

Vacation means low-key days, right? Because today I think we did a fantastic job of actually vacationing. Besides a late breakfast and an early dinner out, we basically played Lego, walked around the neighbourhood, and visited parks. Here are a few snippets of our day…

Morning park visit with Grandma. So thankful to have an awesome park right across the street from our flat.

Heidelberg Castle

12 / 28 / 131 / 12 / 14

Despite the rain, we bundled up, walked the 40 minutes to Hauptstaße, and then hiked up the steep cobblestone hill {Brad pushing G in her stroller, bless his heart} to Schloss Heidelberg (aka Heidelberg Castle) today. Miss G wasn’t at her best and it undoubtedly would have been more fun on a day that it wasn’t pouring rain, but my goodness – was it ever fascinating to roam around a castle as old as this one, soaking in little bits of the history.

Here’s a peek at Miss G’s first ever castle visit…

A Cinderella Dress

12 / 27 / 131 / 7 / 14

Early this morning my little love padded across the flat, her gorgeous ruby starlet sparkle dress in hand, and asked, ‘Mama, will you please help me? I’m dressing up like Cinderella.’