The MUCH Demanded For Blog Update

(I AM Four-Year-Old; Hear me ROAR!)

Ok, Ok...so I'm not the best blog-keeper. I admit my faults. SO I'll save you the effort of having to read all of my writing and share with you August through December of '08 with minimal commentary...(all of you can express resounding sighs of relief since I won't be able to hear you anyway...):

August
A hidden beach full of sea turtle nests (camped on a ridge above the beach and saw dozens of turtles nesting at night!)


















September

Camping on one of our favorite beaches (about to be full of resort hotels--we're getting it while the gettin' is good)















TINA(Turtle In Need of Assistance--Shawna coined the name!) the turtle Shawna was an integral part of rehabbing (160 kilo green sea turtle found sick and with gas in her shell, not allowing her to submerge. She was successfully released at the end of November!! Good Luck TINA!!)





October (NOW we start to get busy!)
Kai starts little league soccer:



Note the goalie gloves on Kai--he loves "tackling the ball"!!
















Halloween:

The Ghost and the Mermaid!


November:

A morning hike just up the road (Wadi Sa'al):



This is a shepherd's hovel we found tucked away in an overhang in the wall of the wadi.























National Day (Oman throws a party for my Birthday--actually the Sultan's b-day is Nov. 18)
Camping in on a hidden Tiwi beach: (note the red tinge to the water--we had red tide from the beginning of October all the way into January! The worst case I have ever seen; the water looked like fresh brewed ice tea and smelled like the death it was)



We also had an incredible experience swimming up Wadi Shab through a keyhole into a cave; alas, our camera is NOT waterproof, so no shots. It was a 300 yard or so swim walk. I include this to say that Kai made the whole swim with minimal assistance!!


December

Dubai, we finally made the border-cross to the UAE. Malls and skyscrapers and more malls and superfluity and gross excess. But Ski Dubai was fun--keep pumpin' fuel into those good ol' gas-guzzlers!! It pays for the world's largest deep freeze--it was a constant -6 C (21 F).

(Ski Dubai is that big tube-thingy shooting up through the middle of the picture, in front of the new tallest building in the world...)

Inside the "Big Fridge":


It was very weird to see shoppers in shorts and sleeveless shirts gawking at us!!
















We also took a trip to Masirah Island, which I want to include in a separate blog--it was amazing!!

One last note, as I compose this, a MAGNIFICIENT rainstorm is filling streets and flushing wadis! It's the first time in a year that we have had rain here. Funny how everything looks brighter when all of the dust is washed away!!!

Stay tuned! The camera is filling up again and I will try to be more consistent with this blog.