Showtime

This weekend Piper had 'showtime' at gymnastics and her class performed for all the parents.
It was a chaotic, crazy mess. Imagine 20 excited kids, too many parents and younger siblings and at least 10 different nationalities, all multiplied by our cultural differences. It was never going to be anything but a crazy, awkward hour.
Piper loved it - in her element of course with an audience to perform for.

This.

Please slow down baby Frankie.

Hot Nights and Hotter Days

I couldn't think of another title on the fly, but given the weird and unusual google searches that somehow send people to my blog, I am a little concerned what sort of traffic will wind up at this post, disappointed.

We are now just over a week out from the official beginning of summer and it is hot, hot, hot!
Today marks the official beginning for me. When I walked out of the office and my sunglasses fogged over from the humidity for the first time this year - I knew summer was here. But hey, at least I am not pregnant this year!

Naz has entered the Dubai International Half Ironman in November. So ironically as the weather heats up his training schedule is ramping up also. The crazy man has started cycling at night, and as it gets hotter intends to get up and train between 3am and 5am.
Luckily there is an 85km cycling track out in the desert, not too far from home (pictured above on the morning after a sandstorm), but it's really far out into the desert so I am not that keen on his training plans. He has already stopped running outdoors and moved onto the treadmill, and there is probably 3 more weeks before the sea is too hot for swimming and he will be stuck doing laps in our pool. He is a crazy man I tell you, all of the above is his idea of fun.

Last weekend I joined a girls only stand up paddleboard group for a combined paddle and fitness class on the boards..... which I completely underestimated. I could barely walk the next day - there were muscles hurting I forgot existed. The class is out on the Palm, how freaking cool is that, to paddle around the Palm in Dubai - one day I am going to miss some really awesome things about living here.

Piper's school year is coming to a close, only 5 weeks left before summer holidays. She has bounced back from her operation and you wouldn't know it was less than a month ago. She is back to her usual crazy self - tonight our conversation in the car went a little like this:
"Mum I really, really want to go to school more days a week, I want to go to school on Thursdays too"
To which Naz and I proceeded to tell her 'no way' and explain that this was the last chance she got to hang out at home and have Daddy days, sleep in, go to the beach and just be a kid etc. We told her that in September when big girl school starts she has to go to school 5 days a week forever - until she is all grown-up.
Her response '"umm I only want to go to school on Thursdays because they have spaghetti for lunch".

Frankie is continuing to grow and entertain us. She finally nailed the rolling thing again after giving us the false start weeks ago and then stopping. She is sitting with a little help and is growing so strong - both physically and mentally. She is a fierce and determined little one. At 6 months old she is eating 3 meals a day and snacks in-between, she definitely inherited Naz's appetite. She almost eats more than Piper already!
The one thing Frankie doesn't like.... babies. Hates them. Screams her lungs out if she is put near them. Potentially a by product of spending a lot of time with her Dad and not out and about with other babies, but at least she will be able to name every NBA team and player by the time she is 1.

Then there is the story about the crazy Aussie in purple pineapple shorts who put out a substantial house fire before the fire brigade arrived and then promptly disappeared...... but I will keep that one for another day!

Frozen v Riverdance

Somewhere in the past few months Piper saw a group of people performing 'river dance' style. It obviously struck a chord with her.
Yesterday she decided to combine her version of river dancing/tap dancing with her current obsession, Frozen, and put on a performance for Naz.
The result is hilarious - with an unexpected twist to finish!
One day teenage Piper is going to kill me for all of these stories, pics and videos - she will be sending me her therapy bill in her 20s.
Oh well, for now while we are far away from friends and family I choose to keep sharing!

(for reasons beyond my technical prowess I don't believe you can view this video on an iPad or iPhone or other tablet device, you will need to use a PC)

Half birthdays, hospitals and craziness

What a crazy week! Frankie had a half birthday.... 6 months old, can you believe that! Piper was the bravest. girl. ever. (much braver than her Mum and Dad to be honest) and had her tonsils and adenoids removed, and tubes put in her ears.
She took it all in her stride and bounced back amazingly, but the past 48 hours have been toughest. She is completely and utterly over the pain, a bit down in the dumps, and not sleeping so well. I am sure she will be back to normal Piper in a few days, this is kind of that final hump.
Sure we have our amazing nanny Rose, but this was one of those weeks where being away from family is hard. I could certainly have done with a hug from my Mum.

Otherwise life has been kicking along as per normal. Frankie is still proving to be an early riser, hello 4:30am starts to the day. Naz competed in a duathlon on Saturday and came 7th in his category, although he ran in relatively new shoes and now has the most horrendous blisters on his feet.
The heat has really kicked in even though we are still a month from summer, days are averaging 38 - 40 degrees and nighttime lows of 27 - 28. Any form of cool breeze is now a distant memory for the next 6 months.
As it heats up our plan of sticking out the summer in Dubai this year is fading. I have found myself looking up flights and accommodation for July or August a lot lately. Right now we are thinking Turkey or maybe Greece.

My favourite thing at the moment is watching the girls play together - Frankie can not get enough of Piper, and is becoming more active and responsive to Piper by the day. Almost the perfect marriage - Piper loves to put on a performance and Frankie is the best captive audience.

And like a fish to water...

Cheeky

"It's not what you think Mum, Lily is sitting here because she loves me - not because I have pinned her down by the tail...again"

Naz in Lycra

Two weeks ago Naz competed in an Olympic distance triathlon held at the Atlantis Hotel, on The Palm, Dubai.

Fortunately, this coincided with Grandpa’s holiday in Dubai, so he was lucky enough to have 4 family members out there cheering for him.

I have been chasing Naz around crazy sport events for long enough now that I can read an event map like a pro, calculate what his times should be and when he will transition, and then get myself around the event to at least catch him 3 or 4 times throughout the race, and give him a bit of encouragement.
It’s a lot more fun these days too with Piper running around with me. Her excitement to cheer for her Dadda is pretty infectious.

On this particular day I was pretty impressed that I had managed to get two kids up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7am on my own, (I felt like I had completed a triathlon myself just getting us all into the car). Naz had left at about 4:30am to get his bike and gear checked in.

Naz kicked some butt on the day and came in 21st in Olympic Male Open. He also got to race against, and meet his boy crush, fellow Australian and two time World Champion Chris McCormack.

Not one to slow down, yesterday ,Naz competed in the world first Desert Triathlon. A combination of run, cycle, and endurance horse ride. 
Before you go picturing Naz in lycra on horseback, he competed as part of a team - he completed the cycle leg only. Unfortunately his horse was disqualified and did not race so they received no team result, but Naz’s cycle leg was an impressive 31 out of 127 competitors.

Unfortunately, I did not take my camera - I knew I would have my hands full with the girls. The event was incredible and dominated by local Arabs and royal family members. His Highness Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa was the winner – completing the run, cycle and 40km horse ride on his own – faster individually than the teams could do it!! He was pretty impressive, I guess if you are the son of the King of Bahrain and married to the Head Sheikh of Dubai’s daughter you probably have a bit of time on your hands to train, I am thinking employment is not really an issue.

If you want some more eye candy of Naz in lycra, below are some of the official photographs taken at the Atlantis Triathlon. Piper received the best cheer for her run down to the finish line with Naz, and they gave her a medal of her own.