Sunny Days Are Here Again

Thank goodness the sun finally decided to come out and play. We still have the sniffles, but that couldn't stop us from heading out to the Wild Animal Park to enjoy some of this wonderful sunshine and warmth.

Great news this Spring, there are seven new lion cubs. A huge increase compared to the two cubs they had last Spring.

Mama lion is checking out Maya. We both agree Maya looks good enough to eat.

Watch out Maya !!!

Sahara didn't want to miss any action.


Feeding the ducks is a big hit with the girls.

We emptied our wallets of all the change we had for duck food, and it still wasn't enough. Next time I will bring duck food with us. There will be no duck left unfed.

The meerkats have their own manor at the Wild Animal Park.

The petting Zoo was a lot of fun today. The animals were happily sun bathing and didn't mind any of the rough petting from the girls.

Rainy Days

What do you do when the whole family has a cold and it's rainy and cold outside? Easy...we pretend it's Summer.

Here's Maya with her sun glasses. All we need is the sun.

Here's Sahara with her sunglasses upside down.

Here's Maya playing with finger puppets.


Daddy got the girls an awesome play house. Here he is assembling it while the girls are already playing in it.

Here's Maya checking out her new porch.

It fits just right.

Here's Sahara putting sand in her mailbox. This house includes a sink (no running water of course) a counter and shelves inside. The girls managed to drag all of their toys into the house once it was assembled. It was pretty tricky trying to get all of it out once they were done.

Here's Sahara smiling despite having to be indoors for a week straight because of bad weather and a cold. She doesn't mind as long as she gets to run around naked.

Maya's smiles are so sweet, you almost don't notice the crooked bangs.

What's Up ??

Well I'll tell you what's up, it's Maya and Sahara. They are bouncing up and down like little monkeys on the loose. Check out the footage below from Gymnastics class.

I figured out what Maya and Sahara's list of favorite things are. Not necessarily in this order...

1. Be naked

2. Jump, especially on the couch and/or trampoline

3. Play with dirt

4. Play with water

5. Binky (Sahara only)

If we could do the above list all day everyday, the girls would be in heaven.

These past few weeks the girls have been learning how to use the potty by themselves. I didn't include any pictures of this for obvious reasons. They enjoy taking their close off, by themsleves. Then taking off their daiper, by themselves. And, well...you get the idea. With the use of a stamp as a reward, the girls have been successfully using the potty to go "pee pee". They are even telling us before they have to go. So we are very happy around here that maybe one day we won't need daipers anymore.

In addition to this the girls have been talking quite a bit. Maya likes to say "EBITA" which everyone knows is earnings before interest, tax and amortisation. And they both like to say, "Allah", after every cough and sneeze they hear. FYI, Allah means god. I thought I would mention that just in case.

Well, that's the latest with the twins. I promise to be more consistent with my postings from now on. (Sorry Grandpa Epi)

What do our animals say?

Maya and Sahara are starting to talk more and more each day. For example they can say:

sit = pronounced "shit"

up = pronounced "up-a"

more = pronounced "moooo"

These are just a few examples. The girls are also having fun with their animal sounds.

You have to check out this video clip of Sahara below.

I'm asking her in Arabic, "Who is my love?" She is raising her hands saying "Ana", which means me. I then ask her "Who is my soul?" and she raises her hands, "me!" I then ask her "Who is my heart?", "Me !" As you can see, I'm really enjoying this age (21 months).

Two little girls and their grandfathers

"Enough with the pictures mom".

Toes on the nose.

Grandpa Epi and Sahara.

Grandpa Sido with his two little granddaughters at Oceanside beach.

Can you believe it was warm enough to be in swimsuits.

Sweetness...

SURPRISE !!!

Last weekend Nader decided to treat me to a weekend birthday getaway. We left the girls with the grandparents and took off to San Diego. We started our little vacation in Hillcrest where we found the most amazing french bakery. After we enjoyed some of their delightful pastries we strolled around Hillcrest taking in the sites and enjoying some quiet time together. Now as it turns out my cousin's wife, Lena, works for the Hyatt and reserved us the most amazing corner suite.

Here's the view from our room. In the distance you can see an aircraft carrier that has been converted into a museum. Also note the beautiful clear blue skies. It felt like Summer in the day time.

Another stunning view from our room.

At sunset we walked around Seaport Village which was directly behind the hotel we were staying in.



Now here's the fun part. Nader made reservations at Aqua Al 2 for what I thought was a romantic evening for two. But to my surprise, the hostess led us to a table full of friends. No wonder Nader was not hip to my suggestion to have dinner earlier that evening. Nader...you sneaky devil. We sat and had a proper Italian dinner that lasted for nearly four hours. The food was great and the company was even better. From left to right: Matt and Alyssa, Sayola and Scott, John and Mille, and lastly Nader and Rima.

Afterwards we went for a nightcap at the hotel bar on top of the Hyatt. Here's a great shot of Sayola and I. Believe it or not folks Nader and I stayed up until nearly 1 a.m. that night. I know, I know...we're a bunch of party animals.

I almost forgot to mention that my cousin hooked up a room for our friends too ! Another great surprise. So the next morning we all had breakfast together then took a walk in the warm sun around Seaport Village. Here's another group shot.

All in all we had a marvelous time and afterwards hurried home to see our little monkeys who were missed.

Lights, Camera, Action !!!!

A good friend of mine from Hawaii, Natalia, is a talented photographer and she has been capturing our girls images as they have been growing. I decided to share some of her recent photos with you.