The end is near...

The end of the school year...that is! The last day of school for Kaleigh and Ashlyn is in mid-June, but we are heading back to the US for our summer break a little early. We are flying home on June 2...taking off around 2:45 am. We fly for about 8 hours to London, then board another 8-hour flight to Cincinnati, and then yet another to Roanoke. It's no small feat to fly back to the US with two little ones...but they are pretty seasoned travelers now and know what to expect. We are packing, cleaning, and spending as much time with our friends as possible before the long break! It's hard to believe that the girls only have 1 more day of school left! Ashlyn will be entering into the first year of Kindergarten in the fall and Kaleigh will now be a "grader"...a first grader! We won't be blogging for a few days (we've already been slow this week), so we'll be back on in Roanoke, VA!

See Burj al Arab being built

Gulfnews.com had some great photos on their site today of the Burj al Arab being built. Check out the 10 photos here. It is truly an exquisite building and we are so fortunate to be able to see it every day. One day, we'll take out some time (and dirhams) and have the high tea there. Seeing photos of it simply doesn't do it justice. You must see it in person...from the beach and from the air. It's breathtaking!

Gulf Air gives us a cool mist facial

It was so hot outside in Bahrain (our connection from Athens to Dubai), that the air conditioning was heavily visible on our Gulf Air flight.

Desert Safari & Tiny Dancers

We recently went out on a desert safari with some friends from Dwayne's office and we had a blast! We all met up at the Habtoor Grand Resort & Spa and loaded up into a minibus. After over an hour on the bus, we arrived at a small middle-of-nowhere minimarket/tacky souvenirs shop where we all eagerly exited the bus and headed in to buy bottled water and snacks. It was a good thing that we picked up those Pringles because Kaleigh and Ashlyn were starving and the SUVs that would take us into the desert were late...late...late. Like...the sun was going down kind of late. After almost an hour of waiting, our desert rides arrived and we loaded up based on whether or not we wanted an "easy" dune ride or a "fast" dune ride. Sand-duning is basically riding in an SUV up, around, across, and through the dunes at speeds high enough to make it over the summit of the dunes and not get stuck in the sand. It quickly became evident that it didn't matter what we told the driver...we were going fast! We had one of our friends and her youngest child (1st grade) in the SUV with us and she laughed at Lisa when we approached our first dune. It was high and STRAIGHT UP. Lisa had butterflies in her stomach and quite the look of panic on her face! Ashlyn was in the backseat saying she wanted to go home and Kaleigh was just laughing! We climbed up to the top and WOW - - was that ever fun! Dwayne had done this before so he knew to expect.

It was a fun and insane ride over the dunes and only last about 10-12 minutes (because we were running late!). We arrived at the desert camp where Ashlyn exclaimed "That was fun!" The desert camp is literally in the middle of all the dunes and was set up in a circular format. There were some little shopping tents, a henna station, a drink station, a shisha area, an area where you could dress in National Dress (very cool), and of course the food! Fantastic...fantastic.

In the center was a stage for dancing and surrounding the stage were traditional Middle-Eastern style tables (you sit on a small cushion and the table is at about knee height). These are absolutely the best tables for kids and the style encourages conversation and intimacy because you are so close to everyone at the table. Almost immediately, Lisa, Kaleigh and Ashlyn headed over to the henna painting to have their hands painted. Lisa had henna done before at the Bab al Shams resort (another company event) and knew it took awhile to dry. It generally takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour. After it dries, you can wipe away the dried plant-based paint and you are left with a semi-permanent tattoo which lasts about 2 weeks. It's quite beautiful! Kaleigh and Ashlyn then took off and started running around the camp with friends they had made and simply were having good old-fashioned fun. The girls are very accustomed to hearing Middle Eastern music and they knew a belly dancer would be performing later. Check out their moves!

Just before dinner was served, Lisa and the girls decided to see what they would look like in the National Dress. Ashlyn then refused to put on an abaya or head scarf, so here are pictures of Kaleigh and Lisa! Ashlyn did have a good point...it was hot!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

For all of you Americans out there, Happy Memorial Day weekend! Here is a really great site about the origins of Memorial Day. Since Kaleigh and Ashlyn attend an American curriculum-based school, they do not have school on Sunday (our first day of the school week here), so we will also have a three-day weekend. Whether or not you agree or disagree with the current war effort in Iraq, we all should take time to reflect and honor our soldiers (present and past) on this important holiday. Don't let it just be about a family picnic or going to the beach/lake. Make it matter...we are so fortunate to have our freedoms! You don't appreciate the freedoms you have until you no longer have them.

Is it time for Americans to think smaller?

Exactly one month ago today, we posted a blog about the ever increasing price of gas back home. Today, Lisa's mom sent a new photo of the same gas station sign in Roanoke, VA and it's posted over to the left. It's just a few pennies under the national average. AAA keeps a listing of all states and their current gas prices, which is kind of interesting to read. We wanted to note that gas prices in Europe have been sky high for years now and we have noticed in London, Paris, and now Athens...that you simply don't see SUVs. Gas prices there are nearly double what the US is experiencing right now, so the world doesn't have much sympathy for the woes of Americans. People drive small cars in Europe...everyone drives small cars. This is a reality for most Europeans. Now, here in Dubai, where gas is cheaper than the US (but expensive for the Middle East), you see the SUVs. Most families (dare I say every garage in our neighborhood and all similar neighborhoods) have them. The only reason we have one is for the protection needed against the daily onslaught of poor and reckless driving here. When we return home for the summer, we will be driving a very small car. It would be an interesting study to determine the correlation between the types of vehicles driven and gas prices in that country. This last picture is of a gas station (or petrol station as they are called here) at which we frequently stop. It's located about 2 blocks from the Mall of the Emirates and there is a steady line (or queue as they say here!) for the gas pumps. The gas prices are not posted, but we pay about $1.64 per gallon of gas. Now, don't think we're getting off too easy! We can guarantee you that we are paying about 3 times as much for our groceries (especially fruit, American products, and dairy products) as you would in the United States. Remember...the United Arab Emirates produces almost none of its own food...a growing problem for this growing emirate of Dubai and the country as a whole. All of us pay for Dubai to import food and it's getting more expensive by the day.

Greece: Day Five (Athens)

Today was a late sleep-in day. We didn’t even get out of our room until 11am! We are on vacation after all! We started our day by taking a taxi over to Syntagma Square and visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Kaleigh and Ashlyn were ecstatic about ALL OF THE PIGEONS nearby and so we bought official Athens pigeon-feeding food for them. (Ok, ok…so it was a lady sitting at a table selling pigeon food for 1 euro…nevermind the fact that we had perfectly stale bread that we brought from the hotel in our backpack. Pigeons deserve better, right?). The police then shooed all of us back to the sidewalk because the Changing of the Guard was about to take place and there was evidently also a marching band and a group of soldiers headed our way.


After all of this excitement, we walked down to the National Garden and enjoyed more pigeons, yet again! Then we went off in search of the playground and a duckpond. The only problem was that all of the signs were in Greek…so it was all Greek to us…ha ha! We took the middle road (like the rest of the world) and wound up right where we wanted to be. Kaleigh and Ashlyn bolted into the playground and were at first overwhelmed by the sheer number of children playing there. They quickly found the swings and we played there for about 30 minutes before asking to find the duck pond. We next found a turtle pond where there must have been about 50 turtles. While we never found the duck pond, we did find what we think was some type of small zoo…there were different fenced in areas with peacocks (and pigeons), roosters/ducks/chickens (and pigeons), donkeys and small goats (and pigeons), and finally…pigeons. Did we mention that we saw some pigeons? We think that some of these pigeons have actually eaten other pigeons.


After a substantial amount of time in the park, we walked down to The Plaka for some lunch. Lisa ordered a small plate of souvlaki…Dwayne some grilled octopus (very common dish here in Athens), and the girls had spaghetti noodles sans sauce. We had planned to do a little souvenir shopping, but Ashlyn declared she was tired…which is something she rarely admits to…so we took a break and went back to the hotel. That break turned into an over 2-hour nap for Kaleigh, Ashlyn, and Dwayne. It was much needed rest for everyone. We spent the rest of the evening back down in the Plaka area…shopping and stopping for dinner at a terrific little Greek restaurant that promised live music! Dwayne bought Lisa a beautiful contemporary painting depicting the Mother and Child that Lisa really liked for the expression and colors used in the painting. Today Lisa officially has earned her Master's degree from Hollins University...so it was a little bonus gift for Lisa (other than the trip to Greece!).

KISS is in Athens today

We found out that KISS is in Athens today and from the looks of things...may very well be staying in our hotel. Now, Dwayne is quite excited by the prospect of breathing the same air as these guys with all the make-up and big hair (hmmmm...), but Lisa is pretty indifferent about it. That's not to say she wouldn't run after them with her Nokia N95 if she had the chance...just to prove she saw them in person. In fact, Lisa wasn't able to name one single KISS song when asked. But, we decided that we would probably rather see them with their make-up on...than without it!!!

Greece: Day Four (Poros Island)

Our fourth day in Greece was mainly spent on Poros Island, which is about a one hour hydrofoil trip from Athens. What we immediately noticed was that there were cars and motorscooters on Poros, unlike Hydra from the day before. Poros is also much larger than Hydra and the vehicles do lend noise to the otherwise very tranquil atmosphere of the area. You need to be careful when walking around the corners because there just might be a motorscooter there to run over your feet! They come up quickly! We literally walked from one side of the island to the other (at least the parts that connect to the ports) and spent the entire day just exploring the island. After eating lunch, we went into a cute kids' clothing store that Ashlyn found and the girls tried on some swimsuits. They both ended up getting one each...they were just too adorable and we just couldn't say no. Dwayne thinks it's pretty funny how both Kaleigh and Ashlyn act like their Mommy when shopping...talking about fabrics and good colors...so grown up-sounding. Kaleigh and Ashlyn wanted to be the "line leaders" and would take us off onto a narrow backstreet adventure...saying they had been there before and "Oh...aren't the colors just beautiful!". Ashlyn is very "into" mermaids and we found a beautiful mermaid fountain where the girls had a great time splashing the water on us and posing for silly pictures. We then met a nice old dog who just followed us around for a bit and wanted us to rub her tummy. Of course we indulged her. Hydra was filled with cats...cats cats cats. Poros had dogs, mostly...but not so many.

We decided that next time we come to Greece, we will stay on one of the islands. Our vacation style is to just relax and explore what is naturally around you...rather than searching out things to do. That's why one of our favorite places to vacation back home is the Outer Banks of North Carolina...mostly Avon and Ocracoke. These Greek islands reminded us very much of Ocracoke...so relaxed, beautiful, and full of interesting people who love the water and nature as much as we do. At the end of the day, we boarded back onto the Flying Dolphin hydrofoil and headed back to Athens. Even though we were all pretty tired, we decided to make our way over to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and we were really glad that we did! It wasn't crowded (most Europeans eat dinner much later than we do) and we literally had a room all to ourselves...the non-smoking floor! Lots of smokers here in Greece...so it's nice that you can usually eat outside where you can somewhat escape it. Dwayne and Lisa split an order of Souvlaki and the girls enjoyed good old-fashioned macaroni & cheese. Then we went down and splurged in the Hard Rock cafe store before heading back to the hotel.

Greece: Day Three (Hydra Island)

Hydra Island was our destination for our third day in Greece and it was absolutely stunning. It was about a 1.5 hour hydrofoil trip. All motorized transportation is banned on the island (cars, motor scooters, etc.), so what you end up with is complete tranquility. We spent the entire day walking around, riding burros/horses, shopping, exploring, and grabbing quick bites to eat. We chatted with local shop owners, artists, and even met some people from Seattle (one who has a sister in Roanoke, VA!). Our pictures and videos below will honor the beauty and quiet of the island more than our words could explain...so enjoy!

Greece: Day Two (Athens)

On our second day in Athens, we started out at Hadrian's Gate and worked our way around the park to a Roman Bath and then over to Zeus' Temple. While Dwayne and Lisa were amazed to be standing in such an OLD place and were in awe of the fact that any architecture remains, Kaleigh and Ashlyn turned our morning into a nature hike and found delight in the rocks, large pigeons (think Cornish game hen), butterflies and seemingly thousands of snails! We left this area after about an hour and walked through The Plaka and started our ascent to the Acropolis. The paths were easily walkable and took us past the Theater of Dionysos, the Stage of Dionysos, and then eventually we reached the summit of the Acropolis. Words simply cannot adequately describe the feeling of being surrounded by such magnificent ruins. You feel completely diminished by the enormity of the structures and are awestruck by the view that awaits you when you peer over the edge of the Acropolis. Unbelievable. We spent about 2 hours in total at the ruins and then began our descent back into The Plaka, where we hoped to find some good food for lunch and perhaps a few nice shops. We were winding our way down the "mountain" when a very excited Greek man started telling us to "Come, Come...eat at my restaurant!" It was just what we had hoped for...a local restaurant where we could eat al fresco and have authentic Greek food. Let's just say that they gave us at least four times the amount of food we could have possibly eaten - - even if we had stuffed ourselves with the first portion! The service was friendly and it was just plain fun. This was a good, good day. It ended with some shopping, ice cream, and more walking around in The Plaka. We heralded a taxi to go back to our hotel and decided to chill for a few hours before going to dinner. When that time came, we requested a taxi to take us to the Hard Rock Cafe, but we were told those roads were closed due to some government demonstrations. So, we weren't able to go there but instead took the taxi driver's advice and went to a more "local" area...where the "Greeks" eat (he said). It was another lovely, lovely dining experience at a place called Zorba's (of course!). It was right on a marina and the girls fed the fish from our table. The restaurant had glass windows facing the marina and all of the windows were open - - so you could completely enjoy the water and fresh air. Every where we go (in the world), these two precious daughters of ours are completely fussed over and spoiled rotten (except by our first taxi driver, of course...ha ha). They were treated like royalty once again by the staff at Zorba's and of course if Kaleigh and Ashlyn are happy...so are we.

Greece: Day One (Athens)

We left our villa this morning at 6 am and departed the Dubai airport around 8:30 am. We will note that as Americans, you are treated very well at airports in the Middle East. If you have a US passport, you are basically as good as gold. They don't ask you any extra questions or subject you to extra security searches. In fact, when we checked in at our gate (Dubai), the security person checked our passports and then personally escorted us into the gate. He announced to his coworker "US!" The skies above opened up and a big ray of sunshine shone upon our golden locks. Rainbows and unicorns appeared and the world was all good. Ok...maybe no unicorns...but it was kind of nice! We arrived in Bahrain (connecting airport) and from there it was a "hurry up and wait" situation! While we sat on the runway for almost 45 extra minutes (no reason provided), Dwayne and Ashlyn seized the opportunity for a cat nap. This was the Stover Girls' first time flying on GulfAir...while Dwayne is an oldtimer with that airline (he now mostly flies Emirates). The girls were treated to GulfAir caps and some very cool static/sticker books. Our plane was at the most 25% occupied...which meant extra stretching room!! We arrived in Athens around 3:30 local time (4:30 Dubai). We arrived to 3 extremely long lines at Passport Control and we were summoned up to the front of the Diplomats line. We'd like to think they took mercy on us since we were the only ones there with little kids! That was a very good start to our trip! We collected our bags, found a taxi, and off we went!

Our first impression of the area was "Wow...this looks so much like Roanoke!" That's mainly because of the mountains surrounding the area and the light traffic around the airport. We then quickly realized we hadn't seen the "real" Athens yet! Also, after living in a literal global village in Dubai...the population here seems very homogenous...although it's hard to beat the multiculturalism of Dubai. Our taxi driver did not seem amused AT ALL by Kaleigh's and Ashlyn's giggling and silliness in the backseat with Mommy.

They were not misbehaving but simply had just a little too much extra energy from sitting for about 5 hours on a plane! At one point, the taxi driver slowed down on a very narrow street and pointed at Kaleigh. We thought he wanted to show her something outside (we're so used to the child-friendly environment in Dubai). But...he simply wanted to inform us that it was unacceptable for her feet to be on the seat (mind you...she was wearing Crocs...harmless shoes!) He said his taxi was clean and the "girl's" feet were on the seat...ha ha! We were hoping for a helpful tip on a local restaurant or something! Tomorrow we are headed out to the Acropolis/Parthenon, the Plaka, and the Athens Hard Rock Cafe (if they have built it...we will go!)

What we see on the way home...

Hi everyone! We thought we would share a few videos of what it looks like around where we live. Keep in mind that we live in a new area of Dubai that has only begun development within the past 2-3 years. Up from a beautiful desert has sprung our sprawling neighborhood and what will be Dubailand. Located next to the Arabian Ranches (where we live) is Studio City, the Dubai Autodrome, Global Village, and Dubai Sports City. Driving in Dubai can either increase your patience (because more is certainly required of you as you wait and wait and wait behind the dump trucks, "sweet" water tankers, street sweepers, Maseratis, Land Rovers, Porsches, vegetable trucks, sheep trucks, chicken trucks...etc. etc) or make you absolutely insane. For us...it's pretty much a mixed bag!! The video below shows you what it currently looks like in the upcoming Dubailand location...just about 2-3 miles from our house. The next video shows the roundabout outside of our neighborhood and driving past the entrance to the Dubai Autodrome. And finally, we go past the Studio City entrance (all of these places are literally right next to one another) and take a left into the Ranches...home sweet home!

How rich is the Tooth Fairy?

Kaleigh has another loose tooth! She's showing you in the picture which tooth is wiggling! How much money does the Tooth Fairy bring to your kids (or their friends) for a tooth? Just curious what her going rate is these days. Would love to hear from anyone with connections to the Tooth Fairy!! We have a sneaking suspicion that perhaps the Tooth Fairy was overly generous to Kaleigh for her first two teeth. Ha!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hi there...it's Lisa here. I have had such a wonderful Mother's Day here in Dubai! I just wanted to share some videos from Kaleigh's and Ashlyn's school performances today. At 11:30, I joined Ashlyn's class for a very special time. The children helped Ms. Cabbie read/explain a book about mommies to all of the mommies in the class. The sweet little ones then sang a cute song about mommies (to the tune of B-I-N-G-O). Then, I was treated to a little cupcake which Ashlyn frosted for me, as well as some
Peach tea. She had one to enjoy also. ;) She then presented me with a lovely gift that she had painted herself, along with a picture she drew on the Promethean Board. The class sang another funny song that really got them moving!

At 1:30 I joined the KG2 moms in the DAA Elementary School's front lobby for a special presentation. There are about 8-9 KG2 classes, I believe. They separated the classes into three groups. After these sweet songs, Kaleigh took me by the hand and led me into her classroom. Ms. Katie had the lights turned down low and relaxation music was playing. Kaleigh took me to a chair and I sat down. She put a crown on my head and then massaged my shoulders. It was just too cute! After a few minutes, she served me a brownie, some peach juice, and a cookie. Kaleigh then presented me with some adorable Mother's Day artwork and a magnet with her picture on it that she had made in class.

Last year, we had just moved to Dubai when I celebrated Mother's Day. Dwayne wasn't here, so he sent me some beautiful white roses. This year, he is in Qatar...and he surprised me with some new sunglasses (the girls gave them to me this morning at breakfast). While I'm really hoping he can be around next year, maybe I should hold out for a puppy or a car. Ha ha!! I'm just kidding of course...the timing of his trips is off but I know he loves me!!
It was such a fun day and I am so happy to be the mommy to these two precious girls. They are my life and I can't imagine a day without them. I tell them almost everyday that they are God's gifts to me...and I really mean it. They are my treasures. I love you Kaleigh and Ashlyn!!!

And the WINNER is...

DIANA! She correctly guessed where we are headed May 14-19. The guesses posted on our blog were Japan, the Holy Land, South America, Italy, Beijing, Tibet and Kuwait. All really great guesses (although some a little too far away for a 5 day visit), but we'd love to go to all of those places!!!

Let us give you some information about where we are headed. First of all, it's the home to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The population is about 3.5 million and it's 3,290 kilometers from Dubai. Still haven't guessed it? It's Athens. More to come later this week when we are there!! Our hotel will overlook the Acropolis, so we're very excited about that! Like Cairo, this is one place both Dwayne and Lisa have always dreamed of going. We feel so blessed to be able to see so much of the world!

Artificial, superficial...

Well, much to Lisa's dismay, the thunderstorm the other day was not sent by God. It was sent by the UAE. The clouds were seeded and the public was notified after the fact (of course). They plan to continue these experiments throughout the summer. You know, we have manmade islands here, manmade waterways, manmade grass, etc. etc. Now even the rain isn't real! Well, the rain is real...just not the cause. Nevertheless...a thunderstorm is a thunderstorm. Or is it?

Can it be...RAIN?!?

Just like Lisa's inspiration to blog the past few days, it's been dry, dry, dry here in Dubai since our January floods. This morning as Lisa left school, she was stricken by how dark the sky appeared. You know how you see the sky darken...and you just KNOW it will rain? You just KNOW it's coming. Well, imagine feeling that way but only to have a sandstorm hit hours later. And sandstorms...our friends...do not include rain. :)

However, this morning there was a bolt of lightning. Then...a roar of thunder. More thunder. One raindrop...two...three...four....well, you can count them on the windshield photo above. Not much to you non-desert people...but here...this made front page news. It was a big deal. We have a polka-dotted spotted black vehicle to prove it. Lisa loves thunderstorms...not the violent "was that really a tornado" kind, but the gentle, rolling ones that occur around 3:00 on a hot summer afternoon. The kind that make the earth smell freshly scrubbed.