Seen In Abu Dhabi 8

A Bedouin tent outside of a big, fancy home in Ghayathi, Abu Dhabi's desert region. Going to the desert is a way to connect with nature over the weekend for many families in this region. It was interesting to see the satellite dish and sink hooked up outside of the tent, though.

Kids Unscripted; Chapter 15

Talia: "Purple and grape rhyme when you look at them, just not when you say them."
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Talia: "My eyes are getting tired. They make me feel like there's a half-onion laying around somewhere."
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Talia: "I want to be a thing-maker when I get big."
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Talia: "Elias, you're my favorite brother!"
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Talia: "Is this vitamin good for if you accidentally eat a bug?"
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Talia: "Mommy, I don't think my brain is working right. I tried to turn on my dreams last night and they would baaarrrely work!"
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Me: "Talia, where is your plate?"
Talia: "Sitting patiently on the table waiting for something to fill it up!"
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 Talia: "Mama, you're my favorite thing to play with."
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 Me: "Talia, what do you think we should make for breakfast?"
Talia: "Scrambled egg and peanut butter sandwiches!"
Me: "All together? Ewwwwww!"
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Talia: "What if you had a voice like a tum-nimmy song?"
Me: "What is a 'tum-nimmy'?"
Talia: "It's a special kind of mouse song."
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Elias: "Waaaaaah"
Ben: "Why's Elias crying?"
Talia: "I put his shoes on his hands..."
Elias: "WAAAAAAHHH"
Ben: "Now why is he crying?"
Talia: "Because I took the shoes OFF of his hands... and that just doesn't make sense!"
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 {Note: Angry Bird stuffed animals are a big thing in the U.A.E. So I told Talia what they were and she said:}
Talia: "I want the play the 'birdy get out of the rubberband' game!"
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Talia: "Sometimes 'helpers' make things even harder, don't they?"
Me: "Haha, how did you figure that out!"
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 Elias' 16-month-old guide to understanding his talk:

"Balala" = "Banana"
"booboo" = "I have a dirty diaper..."
"Biaper" = "diaper"
"BITE" = "I think I'm going to die if I don't get food in my mouth right NOW!"
"tay-too" = "thank you"
"boom" = "broom"
"tee-koh" = "tickle"
"dedos" = Spanish for "fingers" or "toes"
"ish" = "shoes"
"down!" = this can mean "up" or "down" depending on where he is at the moment.
"uh!" = "up"
 "Dada" = "Papi" (and we've never called him anything else, so I'm not sure why he's saying 'Dada...')
"dis" = "this"
"Pahpah" = "Pawpaw"
"ow-sigh" = "outside"
"beh" = "bear"
"nai-nai" = "night-night"

Then there are words like: "bye bye, Mama, wow and Talia" that don't need any translation.
He understands exponentially more than he says at this point in time. I have a feeling it won't be long before he is talking my ears off just as much as his older sister.

Sandstorms, Lightning Shows and Earthquakes

This week has held quite a bit of crazy climate.

What started as a breeze, turned into a strong wind which then became a full-blown sandstorm.

The wind then blew in some rain apparently and a friend of ours caught this photo of an excellent lightning show:

Then, an earthquake in Iran caused many of the really tall buildings (65 stories etc.) get evacuated temporarily. Emirates247.com reported:

The UAE’s National Center Of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) spoke to Emirates 24|7 confirming the same, saying: “An earthquake has struck South of Iran measuring 6.2. The tremors were felt in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah because of its epicentre.”

Iran had several casualties from the earthquake.

Thankfully, no tsunami on the gulf is expected as a result.

Desert Taxi