Easter Sunrise

Last Sunday morning, we packed up really early and drove to the beach to watch the sunrise with our friends.

Norah and Aliza had a great time in the sand:

And so did everybody else:

The sunrise was beautiful!

Even the Burj Khalifa thought so...

Fireworks in the Desert

On December 31, 2010 (such a long time ago) I went to see some fireworks.  Some friends and I found a spot in a vacant sandy field.... wait, would I refer to it as a field?  I don't know if that's the term one would use after vacant and sandy...  Anyway, pressing onward.  We brought our own plastic chairs and sat waiting for the fireworks to bring in the new year.  In the distance we could see Festival City Centre, one of the many malls here, and the Burj Khalifa.  Both had firework displays.

Oh, and I wore a jacket and all my knitwear (including the slippers I made).

That was probably the most exciting part of the night: actually being cold.

It was awesome!

Some of us were more camerafied than others, as you can see.

It's easier to sneak up on fireworks if you have a tripod and you're wearing a lot of green.

The Festival City Centre show.

The Burj Khalifa show.

I wish I could have really captured it because the fireworks were coming off of the building...

I've never seen anything like it.

Our view of both displays at the same time.

The remains of 2010....

Smoke.

New Year's "Resolutions"

Kate and I enjoyed our last meal of 2010 together at MORE cafe, one of my favorite restaurants.

I had a really good MORE Rooibos tea latte, pictured here:

And after Gloria gave us the idea, we went over some of our New Year's resolutions...

taken from:

Don Whitney's “Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year or On Your Birthday”

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With...

I got some amazing things this year for Christmas from my parents.

We Swansons are very serious about Christmas stockings:

And mine held some real goodies inside:

1. A Hello Kitty 2011 Calendar

2. Toy Story 3!

3. A Little Beaver Finger Puppet (currently coveted by Aliza)

4. 2 Books

5. A Harry Potter House Patch

6. Bertie Botts Flavor Beans

And as it is tradition, my mum made me some things for Christmas:

A Zebra Pillowcase 

and

 a Stuffed Animal

(which reminds me of my Ugly Doll, Ox,

 who is currently coveted and held hostage by Jam Town)

I have to say my favorite present is the stuffed animal.  Those long arms are meant to hug me, according to my mother.  And every time Norah comes into my room she starts laughing and cooing about how much she loves it.  She has the best taste.

A Christmas Concert

When we visited Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago, Kate, Cindy and I attended a Christmas concert at Emirates Palace.  Emirates Palace is the hotel where all heads-of-state stay when they visit the UAE. Needless to say, it was beautiful inside.

You may have heard about the $11 Million Christmas Tree that resides in Emirates Palace this Christmas.  It has at least 180 sapphires, emeralds, pearls, diamonds and other valuable stones.  Don't worry, I took a picture of it: (at the time I didn't realize how extravagant it was...)

The ceiling..... wow.  

The Queen of England strolled underneath this ceiling just a few weeks ago.

The Concert Hall

And the Christmas Concert

AUS stands for the American University of Sharjah.

It was wonderful getting to hear Christmas carols!

No Christmas concert is complete without bringing all of the children up on stage to sing Jingle Bells!

The world famous Gold Bar vending machine.  You just put a couple hundred durhams in there and out comes gold...  wow.

Stepping into Christmas

Get it?  Stepping into Christmas.... stockings.... get it?
Anyway, Kate and I have Christmas stockings!  And here they are....

Gloria crocheted me a beautiful stocking with a tree on it.

I love it and may snuggle with it every night!

And I crocheted a stocking with a snowman on it for Kate!

It was so fun!

I wish I could make one everyday!

Christmas Away from Home

This year there hasn't been as much gearing up for Christmas as I'm used to.  In the States, people prepare for the holiday in different ways, but general society transforms into one of holiday cheer.

If you go to the mall here you'll see store keepers wearing "Santa's Helpers" t-shirts, but general society doesn't transform the way it does at home.  Really this isn't a horrible thing.  There is enough Christmas cheer in the villa to prepare my heart for Christmas, but it wasn't until today when I got this email that I really felt like Christmas was approaching.

Hi, Kate,

I went to the post office and followed Santa's instructions to the letter (get it?).  He thanks you for

promptly supplying your address.  Fortunately, the one you supplied and the one Santa has on

file match.  How about that?

According to Santa, a number of fathers are helping out this year in the same manner I have.  He says

this builds character and is generally good for us.  I told him that I am already a character--what

kind of foundation is that to build on?  He said I should stop smarting off and get on with the program.

I suppose he's right--after all, he is Santa.

Love, Dad