Doha with Honey and Papa

We had a perfect visit with Honey and Papa while they were in Doha. Needless to say the feature of their week was seeing the Bees! Same for Brooks and Barrett. They loved every minute with H&P! We tried to spend most of our time out of the heat but its a little impossible to avoid it completely. We were all sad that Nick had to work during their visit but we had some lunch dates and agreed that our time in Italy together would be worth the wait. Here are a lot of pictures which is just a few of hundreds we took!

Villagio Mall



The boys have been saving the much anticipated gondola ride for Honey and Papa.
They loved riding the boat!
Great warm up for Italy...

Venice or Doha?


Later that day we visited the local Arabic markets (aka Souqs)
Its always an interesting place for visitors. I'm not sure why I planned to take them at the beginning of their visit. Qatar takes some warming up and the shocks need to ware off before you dive into the old Middle East. We all enjoyed it but its sure a good dose of culture.

As usual, Brooks rode the donkey!
Honey was a tad nervous letting him go by himself so far away from us.




I'll never forget this picture. Long story but I wasn't being disrespectful with my camera and I accidentally took a picture of a very nice (covered)Muslim woman. She kindly asked me to delete the picture. Italy better be ready for some serious public camera action. I'm not holding back! (but learned my lesson and I will when I'm back in Doha) I felt like a 3rd grader sent to the principal after that incident!

Dinner at Johnny Rockets with some nerdy Bees!



New PJ's from Honey!! We like to sleep with our characters and leave them there :)

How could Dad and Nick get together without a little handyman project??

Dad was a personal Lowe's shopper and he brought us a wide variety of locks to choose from. We have had some little boys and dogs escaping without supervision so we wanted some deadbolts we could install (high and out of reach).

Swimming at our Club House

Lots and lots of Memory!

I was so so glad Mom and Dad got to meet a few of our sweet neighbors (Biny and Brian- not pictured) as well as our close friends the Duncans and LaRoveres. We visited over the local food of choice - shwarmas, hummus, grape leaves, fotush, shish tawooq, etc.


Good ol American Trifle Dessert with Cool Whip and Jello Pudding that probably cost too much but was worth every Riyal (our local currency).



Visiting the Pearl (similar to Dubai's Palm)

Interesting Doha site just outside Landmark Mall...gotta love it! Muslims must cover for modesty but just throw those naked manikins in the back of the truck.

Circus Land...all time fun and a special treat for the boys.
Similar to Chucky Cheese without the pizza.



Here's to a terrific week with family in Doha. Thank you to Honey and Papa for making the flight over and enduring the awful heat! We absolutely enjoyed every minute!!!

Honey and Papa's Arrival

They made it!! Honey and Papa arrived in Doha Sunday night. With tears and hugs it was a SWEET sweet reunion!! All of us were so excited. The boys were off the wall...absolutely BONKERS! They couldn't stand to do anything but get to the airport to pick up H & P. I was so anxious and excited I could hardly talk, much less eat dinner before we picked them up.

Anxiously waiting...

We didn't take our eyes off those doors. As soon as we saw H&P we dropped the boys on the other side of the wall. They went runnin'...



We tried to get the luggage porter to take a picture of all of us...turns out his English was ZERO and he thought we wanted to take HIS picture.

Honey and Papa brought these toy lizards to the boys. Security in Dallas was extremely relieved to know they (and their long tails) weren't real, all though it took some serious convincing by Honey.
They snagged Papa's peanut butter but left the lizards.

Their flights were smooth and easy but the food was a little shady. We ran by Chili's to fill up our tummies and ease them into the Middle East. "No Place like Chili's"

We've had loads of fun since they've been here. Doha's main event and feature for Honey and Papa has been, (you guessed it)...BROOKS and BARRETT. And I can't begin to explain what it feels like to have my mama and daddy around...whew...nothing like it! We have enjoyed every second of each other. The boys can't get enough. Jet lag has proved to be OK. They are toughin' it out and doing well. 3 am wake up calls but hopefully each night will get better.
They've already had a good (or should I say bad?) dose of Doha driving. Getting used to the driving is worse that getting used to a 8 hour time change. Crazy drivers and constant round-abouts prove for some woozie car trips :(
Thank goodness there isn't much to do in Doha, plus its just too darn hot to do anything but stay in the A/C. No doubt the Watkins have been quickly introduced to our life in the Arab world. More posts and pics to come.

Dress Rehearsal

Barrett has been practicing his authentic Qatari look (serious face too) so that he can do his best when Honey and Poppa get here on
S-U-N-D-A-Y!!!
Whoohoo!!!

On to Moscow

The Granmayehs are headed off of to Moscow after living in Doha for 4 years. Last night we had one last chance to get together to celebrate and say good-bye. John and Stacy are excellent seasoned expats from Houston! I have learned a lot from watching them. They know how to roll with the punches and take on any new adventure. Moscow is an adventure to say the least. They are learning Russian in order to live there and function on a daily basis. Lots of new challenges and things to look forward to. We will miss them as neighbors and friends.


Stacy and John

Karen, Wendi, Jesica

Casey, Karen, Malcom, Yvonne, Nick

DeeDee, Stacy, Biny, John

God was so so good to me when I was getting ready to move to Doha. Shortly after confirming our decision to make the move, one of my Baylor Pi Phi sisters, (Sarah) heard about our move and contacted me to say she had family in Doha...turns out her brother-in-law is John and he works for the same company!! So Stacy and I connected and talked last summer while we were both in Houston. She hooked me up with the Doha scoop to help ease the shock :) And during our pre-assignment visit to Doha, she kindly hosted a little get together for Nick and I so we could meet some of our future neighbors.
I will surely miss Stacy at our 4:30 dates in the middle of the cul-de-sac every afternoon during the witching hour! And pizza or shwarmas on Thursday night in the Sac just won't be the same without the Granmayehs!

Last Day of School and Fun Finds!

Today was the boys' last day of school at Apple Tree until next fall.

I took this picture on the way to school. Just shows part of our route to school. Notice there's no lane. Just drive where you want. Its kinda like a parking lot, kinda like a street. That's just the way we roll in Doha.

Apple Tree Nursery...see ya in September!!

Barrett's teachers and a few of his classmates on the last day.

Bear and his teachers.

Brooks and a few of his friends on the last day.

Brooks' teachers and his random friend who wanted in the picture.

Lookie here!! We found Tyler candles to give as one of the teacher gifts. Butterfinger, we don't have but Tyler Candles, we do! My favorite scent too! I'm sure I'll never see them again but it made for a fun personal gift all the way from Texas!

When running childfree errands I spotted this. Might as well have your shovel handy if you get stuck in the sand. Looks a little like a murder weapon to me.

Also while running my childfree errands I found and bought my first fridge pack of Diet Dr. Pepper in Doha! Fridge packs are only in the States! Cost me about $12 but it was DDP all the way from Texas!!!

The boys requested donuts for a special treat since it was the last day of school.



After naps we enjoyed the afternoon with popsicles and our best buddies Isaac and Jacob.

Smiley, dirty friends!

Barrett=Stinker

The many sides of the 2 year old living in our house...