A few more random pictures

Here are a few more random pictures from our trip to Utah.

The whole clan on the 4th of July. "This is the last time we will ever be together..."

I am sure Kristi and Ron were thrilled that I taught Jenna and Kathryn a new game. :)

Jon and Matt Coss--a friend from his mission. We met him for lunch at Sarah and Eric's Quiznos in SLC.

This is my parent's house in Utah. I had to take this picture because we never get clouds like this in Doha.

Red, White and Blue Games

Another great tradition on Independence Day is games at my grandparents. We usually play relay type games with the kids and then have a major water fight. The men get into it more than the kids do (see picture with Jon and Eric.) We also have a huge breakfast together, take naps (after the balloons), and play card games. The weather was beautiful. I was so use to Doha heat and humidity that I kept a jacket on all day!

Grandfather playing the ever popular "bonk heads" game with Micah

I am not sure who is winning here, but my money is on Kathryn.

Kathryn was so cute--she always had to lift her leg to steady the bottle so she could get a better shot.

TAKE NO PRISONERS!

Of course both Jon and Eric had to buy a bigger better water gun this year.

Luke was less thrilled about the water fight.

Luke "Babe Ruth" Barlow

You can see Jenna is taking this very seriously and Kathryn can't stop laughing.

This was the funniest game--more water definately got on your face than in the cup.

Boys Team!

Kathryn and I were vertically challenged.

Matthew loved all the water sports...as long as he was winning.

Next year Luke and Micah will make a great team.

Independence Day—Balloons

Next to Christmas, I think that the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. One of my favorite Independence Day traditions is the balloon launch in Provo. I hate mornings—but it is worth getting up early to see a field full of hot air balloons launched as the sun rises over Y Mountain. I am really glad I didn’t have to miss it this year. Jon is less enthusiastic about getting up that early on a day off—but luckily he loves me enough to go. I took 80 pictures that morning--here are some.

Happy Birthday Grandmother Rosenberg!

One of the reasons we decided to make our summer vacation trip a little earlier was to be able to celebrate Grandmother Rosenberg’s 80th birthday with her. Happy Birthday also to Aunt Jan. It was great that Aunt Jan was able to come up from Houston, Texas to celebrate. These pictures are from a party at Grandmother's house. (In the pictures: Gmother, Hampton kids, mom, Jeremy and Leslie.)

Denver, Colorado--Home Away from Home

On our way home for summer vacation, we were able to connect through Denver, Colorado. Our flight plan was Doha—Frankfurt—Denver—Salt Lake City. We connected through Denver so that we could stop and visit Great Aunt Jan and Barbara for a couple of days. It was really nice to see them and to be able to get off the plane coming from Frankfurt (instead of having to make another connection.)

I love Denver, it is one of my favorite places on earth—but this probably has something to do with the fact that some of my favorite people have lived there. Jon and I were excited to spend some more time with Aunt Jan and Barbara. Because Jon and I have missed the mountains so much, we took a long drive up the canyon. It was really great. We saw a lot of wildlife and a few houses we dreamed about buying.

Call to Prayer

This video is part of the call to prayer that is broadcast in every neighborhood five times a day. It reminds Muslims when to pray. Each mosque broadcasts its own call to prayer from a speaker in a tower, so you can sometimes hear more than one call to prayer playing at the same time. I like hearing it and will actually miss it when we move. The text of the prayer varies slightly from Shia to Sunni sects and from region to region, but this is the basic translation of the prayer:

God is Greater
God is Greater
God is Greater
God is Greater
I bear witness that there is no god except God
I bear witness that there is no god except God
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
Make haste towards prayer
Make haste towards prayer
Make haste towards welfare
Make haste towards welfare
Prayer is better than sleep (said for the morning prayer only)
Prayer is better than sleep (said for the morning prayer only)
God is greater
God is greater
There is no god except God

Shopping at the Souqs

Souqs are traditional marketplaces in Arab cities. Before malls and shopping centers, it was where all textiles, jewelry, spices, woodwork, furniture and other goods were sold. Doha has preserved the original architecture and traditional feel of their old souqs. In a souq, you should never pay the sticker price—many things are not even labeled with a price. It is expected that you bargain and (if you are good) you end up paying 30 to 50% less than the original price. Prices in the souqs are generally cheaper than in a mall or other modern store. Many of the shopkeepers do not speak English very well, but they know enough to convert to U.S. dollars and their favorite phrase is, “For you—Best Price!” We took a trip before we came home to buy some candy, nuts and a few gifts to bring home to Utah and California.

Young Women Last Friday

During the summer, half of our young women go home with their families to the United States and Canada. This is a picture we took the last Friday we were all together.

The Singing Sand Dunes

There is a rare natural phenomenon at some sand dunes about 40 KM from Doha. When the desert is quiet, you can hear a low pitched hum. Most people refer to this area as the “Singing Sand Dunes.” The sound is a result of friction from a thin layer of sand flowing down the leeward side of a sand dune, blown from the top by the wind. The crescent shape of the dunes amplifies the sound, and can be heard up to 10 km away. Climbing up the side of the dunes or running across the top edge triggers the humming. We went out one night with Marya and David. I was surprised that it actually worked! The pitch is so low you can feel the vibration as well. Here are some pictures from our drive out there and us climbing the dunes.

Babysitting the Biggs

From May 20th to 29th, Jon and I became the adoptive parents to three kids. A family in our ward (the Biggs family) was moving back to the U.S. and the parents needed to go there first for work and to find a house. We had three kids: Josh (16), Nikki (14) and Joe (9). We lived with them at their house. It was a lot of fun and a good wake up call to us for what reality will be like one day. It made us appreciate the simplicity of life with just two of us. This was our usual schedule:

4:45 AM Wake up Josh for Seminary

5:25 AM One “parent” takes Josh to Seminary at the church

6:10 AM Wake up Nikki and Joe for school

6:30 AM Drive Josh from Seminary to school

6:45 AM Put Nikki and Joe on the bus for school

WORK

2:00 PM One “parent” pick up Josh from school

3:15 PM Nikki and Joe get home from school

5:00ish Make dinner—after dinner make sure homework is done and bags are packed for the next day.

8:15 PM Joe goes to bed

9:00 PM Nikki and Josh go to bed

9:05 Jon and Emily pass out

We also had to schedule in swimming lessons, music lessons, school concerts, Primary activities, and a project on Ellis Island. The kids were good and easy to take care of, but Jon and I realized that we are not quite ready to be the parents of older kids. It will be good to start with babies and learn as we go.

The pictures are of Jon and the boys making an apple pie and Nikki dressed up for her Ellis Island report.

Young Women’s Broadcast

For mutual tonight we watched the Young Women’s broadcast that was recorded at the end of March. Since we can’t get a live broadcast in our church building (and even if we did it would be the middle of the night), we get the tapes later and watch them at the church villa. We invited the young women and their moms.