Home, but not...

The kids and Russ are back home in Maryland, but it's not really home until Karla can be here, too. 7 more months, or so...

Egypt--Best Vacation Ever

We're back in Bahrain after a fun and exhausting 9 days in Egypt. We spent 3 days in Cairo, 2 days in Aswan, 3 nights on a Nile Cruise ship, and had 2 overnight train trips to and from Cairo. There are way too many photos to post here on the blog. We have 384 photos posted in 2 albums here and here. 

One highlight of the trip for me was getting a picture with one of my heroes--famed Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass. He just happened to be at the King Titi pyramid with some famous Egyptian movie star. Dr. Hawass has hosted leaders of countries (including Pres. Obama) but was gracious enough to take a picture with me.

The kids' (and my) favorite site was Abu Simbel. Karla's favorite was the huge Karnak Temple complex.

Swimming with Dolphins

We surprised the kids today with a trip to the Dolphin Resort to swim with dolphins. Of course, they loved it. We all swam with two humpback dolphins, Boris and Kola, for about 20 minutes. Very cool!

Tonight we're off to Egypt, but won't post any updates for over a week. Stay tuned...

More Bahraini Fun

The pool at Karla's apartment is a big hit. One night we went to "the coolest toy store ever." The highlight was the collection of giant stuffed animals.

We're all together in Bahrain!

After 16+ hours of traveling, Russ, Nic, & Katie arrived safely in Bahrain. We flew 8 hours on United to Frankfurt, had a 2 hour layover with a fairly easy transfer (no customs or anything) and boarded a Gulf Air flight for 6 more hours. The kids and I love Gulf Air--they know how to take care of customers! We arrived to 104°F heat at 7pm in Bahrain. Karla picked us up at the airport, and shortly after we were swimming in her apartment pool. So far, Karla's been working regular hours and enjoying dinner with the family. 

Last night we went out to a restaurant and then went rug shopping at Oasis Carpet. Abdul (the owner) is very friendly and warm. The kids enjoyed juice and running all over the shop. We bought an 8-foot circular carpet, plus 2 other little rectangular ones Karla has been "test-driving" in her apartment for a few weeks.

We're loving being a family again! More adventures to follow...

American Visionary Art Museum

Sunday after church the kids and I, along with our friends Bert and Josiah, went up to Baltimore's amazing American Visionary Art Museum. There are three buildings of very cool art. The kids kept saying how awesome it was, and wanted to be sure we saw everything.

I couldn't take pictures inside the main building, so most of these are from the outside, but this will give you an idea of the fun art. The movies of the mechanical toys I took in another building--not sure if it was legal or not! My favorite exhibit was Dalton Ghetti's pencil tip sculptures.

All of them were carved out of regular pencil leads using a razor blade and without the help of a magnifying glass! This Weekly Reader article has some more pictures.

South Dakota Trip part 4

Uncle Ben and Aunt Cathy took most of the kids for rides on their ATVs. Here are Katie's and Nic's rides around the house.