Life.

Our first Bahrain friends, the DeJoy's threw their first (and last) rug flop on the 22nd of March! We kept our eyes open for something Stella might like and found this beauty... and like it she did! She sat with us and pulled a few to the side and then settled on this Kashmiri that has lots of pink and purple in it! It is so pretty! We wanted her to have something she could take with her when she was older from our time here and a rug was the perfect thing! 

And in case you were wondering, rug flops are exhausting, apparently. I went to check on her and turn her lamp off and found her sleeping with her legs thrown over the bed (and yes those are Christmas sheets...lol)!

On the 24th of March we had a field trip to a chocolate shop called Maya La Chocolaterie. They have a factory we could have visited but the response and number of people who wanted to visit the chocolate shop was just too great to host us in the factory. So we met up at the shop and learned all about chocolate!

They had these massive vats of chocolate with piping that went up and through the whole restaurant- the kids loved this!

We learned about the discovery of chocolate by the Mayans thousands of years ago and what constitutes milk, dark, and white chocolate. 

And then everyones favorite part happened... the kids were treated to milk chocolate fondue and chocolate milkshakes! 

And they got these bars of chocolate to take home! It was definitely the kids favorite field trip to date! 

We started a meditation practice up in the Koenig household. Its something I've done on and off for the past few years, but I spent most of the month of March dipped down in a fairly low episode of depression (thanks Brain for not braining and Mercury for being in retrograde-- and I know how hippie that sounds but whatever... it seems to affect my stupid mood and brain so Mercury gets to take some blame) and I've been doing everything in my power to try and drag myself out. So a daily meditation practice has been added to my already daily yoga practice. Well, Christopher and Stella have joined in and are meditating as well... and Lumee has decided its not so bad either! Besides being a regular on my mat while I practice, she likes to cuddle up while I meditate now too! 

Teeth seem to just be falling out constantly over here... number 7 fell out on the 27th

Paint and sip night with Lindsey and Donna! 

During my girls night Christopher and Stella went on a date... she asked for a trip to the indoor waterpark assuming he'd say no and he surprised her and took her! They had a blast and even shut down the park as the only ones there! 

I ended March dyeing my hair rose-gold/coral/pink.  I've been blonde for almost a year now and I've never been able to get the exact tone I wanted and I'm bored so I said "fuck it" (sorry Mymom) and did it and I absolutely love it! I've shied away from doing any crazy colors while we've lived here but I realize that a) I will always stand out in the Middle East and b) maybe if they're staring at my pink hair the creepy Arabic dudes will stop staring at my boobs (doubtful, but one can certainly hope). 

The weather has been absolutely awful this "winter/spring". We've had terrible dust and sand storms...

And thunder storms and rain the very next day. I feel like the three of us are in a constant state of runny nose or headache right now with this crazy weather. I long for the clean air and green of the UK. Speaking of UK- we received our official orders so we are actually, for real (unless something happens... *knock on wood*) going to London! We are to report no later than the end of November so hopefully we can get out of here sometime in October, but I doubt it. Either way... London, we're coming home! 

And another tooth bit the dust. Number 8 on the 31st

Now in the beginning of April we are gearing up for our next trip with a quick jaunt to Istanbul! My friend, Courtney, and I were talking at the rug flop in March and she really wanted to visit Turkey and so do I. We decided to just go for it while her kids are on spring break and then I invited another one of my friends to come along as well. Its only for a few days but it'll be a good taste of the city and I am really excited! Turkey has been on my list for a really long time and I can't wait to see (and taste) all Istanbul has to offer! 

The really cool thing about homeschooling is that we are taking the later part of this week to skip ahead on our history and learn all about Constantine, the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, and the history of Istanbul. I love that we can be flexible and tailor her learning to suit our needs and our schedules.