Drew's 2nd birthday, a few days early

We celebrated Drew's birthday five days early because Nick left us for 2 weeks. Nick is sad he is going to miss Drew's and Bret's birthdays. We just hope he won't miss #4's birthday. Yeah, I'm crazy sending my husband halfway around the world when I'm 36 1/2 weeks pregnant. He's just a short 13 hour plane ride away. We're just crossing our fingers this baby doesn't arrive early. Anyway, we gave Drew his presents, sang to him and had cake on Saturday - really exciting, I know. He didn't care that it wasn't his real birthday. We'll celebrate Bret's #8 when Nick gets back. Now, Bret, on the other hand, is a little upset that he will have to wait a couple of days to open his presents.

Drew waiting patiently to open presents.

Wow, a new book! He doesn't care that it's upside-down.

Unwrapping presents, with Bret's help.

Drew loving the candles. The cake is sooooo boring. Finding decent, or any, decorations here isn't an easy task.

Drew blowing out the candles.

Drew enjoying the boring cake.

He enjoyed it so much, that the next day, I caught him sneaking more cake and cupcakes. Don't worry about that large knife within his reach. I've got it all under control here without Nick.

And, last, but definitely not least............................a much anticipated belly shot. Drew and Cole wanted in on the action, too.

Summer

I'm finally getting around to the Summer recap. It seems as though I'm on the quarterly report schedule, oh well. Warning: A lot of pictures ahead. There would have been more, but I was too lazy to find an adapter to charge the battery in my camera and I put it off until the last minute when I realized I hadn't taken many pictures. Anyway, here are the pictures, in no particular order:

Bret and Cole getting a taste of real snow - none of the fake stuff like there is here

Cole getting a shave at Pioneer Village (I think that is what it is called)

Cousins on the train at Pioneer Village

Boys at the zoo - no cougar fans here

Drew and Jenna or "Nenna" as he calls her. When I was putting these pictures on my computer last week, he walked by and saw this picture. He started yelling Nenna and dancing around because that is what she would do with him. He loved it and very much remembered it.

Drew and Emme playing with the water

Slip and Slide day at the cousins' house

Drew enjoying the slip and slide

Bella and messy faced Drew with his faux-hawk

Relaxing on the hammock

The highlight of our vacation was the trip to Disney Land. It was the boys first trip and they loved it. They still talk about it almost every day. It was referenced today as we were riding an elevator and how it compared to the Tower of Terror. They are already planning next years trip.

Bret and cousins on California Screamin

Cole at the little petting zoo

Drew hangin' out with mom because we weren't allowed on very many rides

Bret and Cole in front of Tower of Terror, their favorite ride. I don't know how many times they rode this, but it was A LOT.

Censored K

It's Ramadan right now and it is the one time of year where expats are expected to respect the local culture more than normal. People are to refrain from eating or drinking in public during daylight hours. Most restaurants are closed until sunset and those that are open, only offer delivery or take-away. Smoking is also a no-no while the sun is up. It is also thought that people should dress more modestly. We're not sure if the pictures below have anything to do with Ramadan or not, but it's still pretty funny. This is how our box of Special K looked when we brought it home from the grocery store:

This is how the box looked after I peeled the cute little sticker off: