PHOTOS ARE HERE!

Brian's already in bed with a headache, so I thought I'd take this moment to add some photos from the last few months. It's nice these actually look like we do something...



This is the "Corniche" which is our beach. The water is warm and green. No waves but you can rent jet-skis and such if you want. There are also restaurants and cafes all along the boardwalk, and you can rent a bike and follow it for a few miles... I mean kilometers (got to say kilometers here). There is a free beach where we go, or you can pay a little bit and go to the family beach. The sand isn't as nice as Oregon's, but I have yet to find anywhere that is.




No need to search the beach for seashells- just look under your feet. Most of the countries over here have ruined their coral reef by creating "re-claimed land" where they literally reclaim the land from the sea- though I'm not sure it was ever not the seas to begin with... by bringing it to the shore and then building skyscrapers on it. Lots of dead coral in the sea, not much snorkeling to do.
Another Free Activity they had on the Corniche was a fair in honor of the Circuit race they had here in Abu Dhabi. They had lots of things to do and see. This was a sand sculpture they had of a race car and then they had tables with sand on them for the kids to try to sculpt their own. We then watched some professional kite flyers from France so synchronized kite flying.



This is the Ibn Batutta Mall in Dubai. It is the worlds largest themed mall. Ibn Batutta was the Marco Pollo of the Middle East. The mall has different sections dedicated to the places he visited. Beautiful design and creativity.

This was the entrance we came into- can't remember the country, I was just stricken with the details of everything- and the boys were fascinated by the huge fountain with the lions on it!

I want to say this was Greece...

China...

This was India.

Abu Dhabi had a Science Festival that was free to go to. They had lots of different "labs" set up for the kids to do experiments in. We wish we'd planned our visit better because we only go to go to two labs, but we had fun! This one the boys made slime.

Brian took a quick trip back to the US to go to his grandmother's funeral in November. When he got back he showed me with gifts from the promised land! This is most but not all of what he brought.

For National Day- which was a huge celebration here for the UAE's 40th anniversary- Ashton's school had some cultural things for the kids to explore. This is the camel and the Arabian Horse the kids got to sit on.

I decided that I would take the boys fishing- a bit impromptu and I had/have no idea where to go or what fish there are and what bait to use. But the boys liked trying! (and getting sandy, too.) The beach we are standing on you can see from the bridge in the picture. Mostly I just think this spot is beautiful and I admire it every time I go by. There is a little fort that sits out in the water that the boys call the castle (you can see it a little in the background).

One day I forgot I was filling up the tub for Ashton's bath... All the boys decided they didn't want to be left out of the biggest tub of bubbles they'd ever seen. And what mom can resist taking pictures of her three sea monsters all covered in it?

Decorating the fake tree- at least we had our ornaments!

Gingerbread Houses!!

I always get the boys to help me decorate the sugar cookies. It's an art project for us. Every year it gets more interesting with the older they get :) They do a great job!

Happy Holidays From ABU DHABI

Its been one year since we moved from the United States and began our adventure in the Middle East. The year has flown by and our perspectives of self, family, and the world have grown. Most of our experiences have been ones to laugh about and added to another chapter in the book of life. My New Year's resolution this year? To be a better blogger. When ever I have a new experience I think "I should write about this in my blog!" but does it happen? Like, I never wrote about the car accident that I was in (not my fault), or wrote to brag about how instead of freezing our tails off, we went swimming outside, in 87 degree weather the Sunday after Thanksgiving! Oh, well. That's why, like I said, it's my New Year's resolution to blog about life in Abu Dhabi.
This was our second Christmas outside the U.S. We left last year to Bahrain two weeks before Christmas and survived it, but this year was much better. I did most of my shopping in Idaho this summer. The toy selection here is pretty pathetic. We do have a Toys R Us here, which is actually attached to an ACE hardware, which is where we got our tree. We chose to buy a fake one instead of paying the $300 for a real one shipped in from Canada. Brian took a trip back to Utah and Idaho in November so he was able to buy some fun decorations- window cling pictures, spray on snow, ice cycle lights, and a wonderful tree-scented candle (which was the number one thing that helped it feel like Christmas). We had our tree up before it was even December. Our tree skirt is a ghutra which is the red and white checked fabric the arab men wear on there heads. Which reminds me of a story that I just can't help tellling...
There is a store we call the "Japanese Dollar Store." They had quite a lot of Christmas stuff there which was really nice to see (most stores have some, but not much). We needed a tree skirt and I thought as I was looking around, they might have one. I saw something that looked like it could be one, but it didn't say on the package. I asked the clerk, a Filipino woman, if it was a tree skirt (remember, most people not only speak English as a second language, but also only know as much about Christmas as they have been exposed to through the media). She said no, it was to wear, and gestured putting it around her shoulders. I guess I didn't look convinced, so she took it out of the package for me. At this time, the manager noticed us and came over to see if he could help. When she took it out and held it up, he said, "For little girls..." and began to demonstrate putting it around his waist. At this point I'm 100% convinced it IS a tree skirt, and you can imagine how hard it was for me not to bust up laughing. I tried not to make my smile too big so as not to seem as though I was laughing at them, and said shook my head and said, "No,no. Let me show you..." and took it and placed it around the tree they had on display. Both their faces just looked like "oooohhh" and laughed and smiled. I just smiled and handed it back and asked how much. It was more than I wanted to pay, but now I think it would have been fun to have it just to remind me of that story!

More later... I've run out of time. Got to feed my family sometime!

More Than Just a Sticker

This is what the sticker looks like that I got after I voted in the 2008 United States Presidential Election. Everybody who votes gets them. Usually I put mine on my shirt and then it's in the garbage by the end of the day (or the dryer...), but back in 2008 I put mine on my bag, on the front clasp that sits on the strap that goes across my chest when I wear it. Like I said, it's been on there since 2008 and once in a while I would get someone who would say, "Oh, was there an election today?" Or the smart comment, "So, you voted?" I had completely forgotten about it until I started wearing the bag again this summer. My mom noticed the sticker and I said, "Yeah, I guess it's about time I took it off..." but she told me I should leave it on. I really didn't think much about it until I started wearing my bag here in Abu Dhabi.

Now I have been getting comments about it left and right. One woman I met in IKEA said, "Your American, right? I noticed your sticker." And today one woman three checkout lanes next to me made and effort to tell me she liked my sticker. I'm realizing that it's more than a fashion statement- it's a political statement. I'm starting to wonder how many people notice it and what they are thinking when they do. Here I am in a country run by a monarchy and I'm flaunting that I voted. Am I showing off a little more when you add the fact that I'm a WOMAN that voted? One little sticker proclaims who I am and where I come from. But more so it proclaims my RIGHT TO VOTE. It makes me think about those that have given their lives to make our country free and those that stood up for equal rights for women. This little sticker certifies the right I have being part of a democracy, which is what so many countries in the Middle East are fighting for. Though I wear it with pride, I hope I don't seem like I'm bragging...
Now I'm a bit sad it's getting worn out.

So next time you vote and they shout "So-and-so has voted" and hand you your sticker- remember your privileged to wear it. I wonder if they give them to you if you vote absentee?...

Just When You Were Sure it Would NEVER Happen...

Okay, I was going to say that I must be the worst blogger out there, but it turns out after looking through so many other blogs a few moment ago... lets just say there wasn't much reading to do... BUT that makes me feel much better. Let me be your inspiration! Haha! Cause seriously, this is not going to be all that long cause I could either stay up for another couple of hours going into detail about the last 5 months or I can write a short summary and then go read my book- Mockingjay- the last book in the hunger games series. NOT that I am choosing a book over writing in my blog- I mean, I AM doing it now, right? But we must balance our lives...
So with out further adu-
Life is Abu Dhabi is good. I don't like big city traffic. I DO like our home in "Sas Al Nakheel". It is a three bedroom villa in a big compound- over 500 other people live here. There is a community swimming pool, a little grocery store so that I don't have to drive 15 minutes to buy milk, and even a dry cleaners, a spa, a coffee shop, a pharmacy, and a barber. Our place is a three bedroom and we had a good time furnishing it entirely- from large to small appliances, to furniture and beds, to the light fixtures. This week we changed our sand dunes, weeds and garbage in our back yard into some grass- yet with it still being hot I haven't done much more than look at it. But we have gotten our shipment from the states, so it is starting to feel like home. Just need to put up our projector and we can stay.
The summer was awesome for me and sucked for Brian. I went back to the States in June and stayed until the end of August. Brian didn't come until the second week of August, so if you ask him how his summer was he will start the long, sad story of how I abandon him and had fun without him and how miserable he was. I know, I should feel guilty, but I wont be leaving him again for another 10 months.
So in June I flew 22 hours to Wisconsin with just me and the three boys. All the praying that was going on paid off and the kids did AMAZING. Then we spent a week with my sister in the cheese state and had a great time. They live in this little neighborhood in Shell Lake and the lake is a block away. We went on their boat, ate bratwursts, ate the best fudge I've ever tasted, froze at Lake Superior, and spend a little time in Duluth. The best part was spending time with my sister and her family that I only get to see once or twice a year.
My next stop was Caldwell to stay with my mom and dad through the summer. The boys loved seeing their grandparents, cousins and friends again (as did I) and we had a great summer. I feel like I spent a great deal of my time getting ready to go back to Abu Dhabi. I kept worrying that I would leave the States and think, "Darn, I should have brought *such and such* with me! Dang!" I also downsized our storage unit and had my fifth yard sale in a little over a year. Now all of our belongings left in the states fits in an 5 x 8 storage unit. I figured the stuff we had wasn't worth spending $850 a year for three or more years!
We did, however, get to go to the Oregon coast with my entire family (minus Brian). It was a great reunion and the weather was amazing. The kids all got along and camped in the tents well. Good times and good memories!
When Brian got in started our tour of Idaho by visiting his parents in Idaho Falls. Poor Brian, though, he spent most of the time sick in their basement. Brian's dad has cancer, so we were glad we got to see him. But with Brian being sick, and his dad in pain and just starting radiation, their wasn't too much action. We did get to see a lot of cousins though! The week before I also made my first trip by myself (with the boys) to Idaho Falls- I'd never driven that far before. We were able to see ALL of Brian's family except his younger sister. Now that I am writing this summary I'm starting to feel a little more bad for poor Brain...
After IF we went through Montana and camped two nights just south of Butte. We just started traveling and hoped we'd find a spot. We did and it turned out great. We then went to Coeur D'alene and dropped in unannounced on some old friends. We weren't going to stay over night, but we just enjoyed seeing them so much that we gave in. I was able to go with my friend to the Spokane Washington Temple and then we just enjoyed chattting. We then made it to Moscow and again, had a great time seeing so many of our friends. We miss all of them! We went to church with the ward we used to belong to, and then went to the Hills afterward. We ended up having dinner at the park with the Radels, and we were going to go on, but again, enjoyed the company so much, we stayed at their place that night. Okay, this is getting long- so we camped outside New Meadows the next night then got back to Caldwell and spent the last few days packing up our freight shipping, and then our 8 50lb boxes to take on the plane.
Now back in Abu Dhabi, Ashton has started school! He loves it, but I think he is exhausted. The school is supposed to be only 10 minutes away, but it's not done yet, so they are having school at the old campus for another few weeks. So he has to catch the bus at 6:35 in the morning because it takes an hour for the bus to get to school. Then kindergarden here is all day, so class gets out at 2:45 and he gets home and hour later. I was taking him for the first few days, but with the other boys having to get up to come with me, then having all of us spend a total of two hours in the car everyday, in traffic. We will just be VERY HAPPY when the new school is done.

Okay, I could probably write more, but like I said- this is getting long. Maybe, just maybe, I will write again in less than 5 months. I would like to, and put pictures! I'll put in more effort... I promise!!!.... Now, time for that book...

SERIOUSLY- This Moving Stuff is Getting OLD!!

Well, here I am again- so far behind in my update that I don't know where to start and probably don't have the hour that it would take to give all the details- but I will try to fill you in on the basics. The reason for the update at this time is because we have MOVED TO ABU DHABI, UAE. Go ahead and get your google map page open. It's not too far away from Bahrain- to the east of it. We are about an hour from Dubai.

Right now we are staying in a five star hotel called the Park Rotana. It is a little too upscale for me and a feel a bit out of place with three kids and "living" in the place. Usually when I think of hotels that people live in a think of a completely different scale. But the workers seem to really love seeing the kids and have helped me with anything I need. We have been here since the 14th and will probably be here until this weekend and then we should be able to move into our new place. The hotel has a kids pool and a playground so that has been nice and Brian's parents were here until last Saturday which was a huge help. I wish we could have spent there visit playing and sight seeing, but mostly they helped us move and then took care of the kids while Brian and I searched for housing. We were happy to have them in any circumstance.

We colored some Easter eggs in the hotel bathroom the other day, and Brian's mom brought some things from the US for Easter baskets. Sunday night the Easter bunny left the baskets on the boys beds when we were eating down stairs (at the five star restaurant), and also hid the eggs around the room. I was feeling guilty about spending Easter in the hotel room in the evening instead of having Easter morning in a home, but we were able to have a lesson about Jesus and the boys seemed to be excited, so I guess it was okay. We need to stop moving during holidays (or just stop moving).

While Brian's parents were here we did get the chance to visit the Grand Mosque, and also the Emirates Palace which is a fancy hotel on the beach. So I will post the pictures of that. I don't know when I will be able to post next with all the chaos, but know that I haven't forgotten my family and friends!

We were required to use an abia and keep our hair covered- it was hard to keep it from slipping off my head but Diane, after living in Saudi for 26 years had it down.

Inside each dome hangs a chandelier, and each one had a verse from the Karan written inside.

They call this one the "baby" chandelier. All the chandeliers are from Germany.

Walking across this open white tile was supper hot and bright!

Beautiful art and architecture all over of coarse.

At first I thought they were painted but these pillars have semi-precious stone imbedded in them from Greece, as well as the floors and walls.

Everything was incredibly gorgeous!
The boys made it impossible for me to really listen to the tour guide, but it was still neat to see everything. The boys loved laying on the carpet inside since it has been months since they have seen that much carpet!


This is just the main part of the Emirates Palace Hotel- it looks bigger in real, and has huge gates at the bottom of the drive.

Anyone know what this is?...
It's a gold vending machine- just in case you have the erg to invest in gold while your staying at the hotel... I don't think this is something I would see in Idaho!


Camel ride anyone? Again, I haven't seen this on the beaches in Oregon!

Gone and Back Again

So I did end up being evacuated from Bahrain last week (March 17th) by Brian's work. At first I was relieved to get out of my house after being stuck in it for almost a week, and also glad to be brought to a safer country. I was dreaming of going home to my parents place in Idaho, but things got to be more complicated then I'd hopped. We ended up going to Dubai and then Abu Dhabi instead because Brian's work didn't want to send Brian back to the States, and I didn't want to fly alone with three kids. Also, there was a potential that Brian would be changing jobs and if I had to be flown from the U.S. when he started then his pay would be reduced by the amount of the cost to fly us back to Abu Dhabi. So instead we just stayed together. It was quite the site to see our family- the biggest of the crowd of all the workers- and all our luggage. We were aloud one bag and one carry-on per person, and I didn't know if we'd come back to Bahrain so that's what I brought- one large suit case, three boxes, and three carry-ons. So we had a lot of luggage and attracted a lot of attention.

We drove our car to a hotel a mile from Brain's work and Brian dropped us and half our luggage off, and then went back to our place to get the rest. It was interesting on our way to see the remains of what had been going on the previous few days. We saw the car that caused the crash I mentioned before on the side of the road. A few miles down there were some civilians doing a "check point" on the road. They were wearing ski masks and holding rather big guns. We glanced down a road at another intersection and saw men standing around with clubs and bats. As we continued down the road we saw another car on the side of the road that was upside down and looked as though it had some fire taken to it. Signs were ripped down in other areas, and trash everywhere. There were some cement blockades that were pushed over and broken in the road.

We got to Dubai about 1:00 in the morning and the kids were pooped. None of us woke up until noon the next day. So we didn't do much on Friday, but Saturday we visited the big mall in Dubai which is home of "Ski Dubai" which is an indoor ski hill that is 400 meters long. You can also just sled and play in the snow, so we paid the big $$ to bring the boys in (Syler had to wait with our friend because you have to be older than 3 ). Ashton keeps talking about "when it snows..." and since he doesn't quite understand that it doesn't snow in the middle east, it was nice that they had the opportunity to have some fun. It's not as fun as the real thing, but it has its benefits since it wasn't even cold enough for Brian and I to need gloves and when you do get cold, you can go back to the 70 degree mall.

Then on Sunday Brian's work moved him to Abu Dhabi which was just an hour car ride away, so that he could work in their office there. So Monday he went to work while I stayed at the hotel with the kids. Luckily there was a couple of play grounds near by so we had somewhere to go to get out of the hotel. We didn't have a car so we had to walk where we wanted to go. We did take a taxi to the mall on Tuesday (with Brian with me). But that mall really wasn't all that exciting- not the most interesting place to bring your kids anyway. So- yeah our "vacation" wasn't all that exciting- but at least I can say that now I've been in three different countries- if you count Canada.

Since things started to calm down in Bahrain, Brian's work wanted to bring the employees back to Bahrain. However, they didn't want to bring families back yet. So our choices were for Brian to go back and I stay in Abu Dhabi in a hotel in the middle of the city with three kids, or we could all fly back together if we were to sign a waiver saying that it was our own choice to come back so if things turned "ugly" again we would be on our own and the company wouldn't pay for us to be evacuated again. We also hadn't received the job offer that we were waiting for so we couldn't take that direction. Brian tried to continue to do his work over the phone and email, but they started having issues with getting visas and getting their employees back into Bahrain. So he felt it was best to return. We ended up just buying our own tickets and coming home. It was funny because it was cheaper to buy round trip tickets then for one way, so I actually have a return ticket if I want it!

The day we were flying back then I was getting text messages from my neighbor saying she was home and putting her kids in school, and from another person saying there was church on Friday. However as we were sitting down on the plane, Brian got an email saying that the government recommend staying away if you were gone and if you were still there to think about leaving. Ha! Oh, well. There are protests going on this weekend so we will see how things are. I have food in the fridge so I feel safe and secure in my home. I just hope I can resume normal life soon before I go stir crazy. There were some protests on Friday, but there wasn't much news about it and I've been going out more each day.

Here are some pics of the Ski Dubai:

When I Titled my Blog "Adventures of the Shurtliff Family" I Didn't Expect THIS!!!

Hello from the craziness in the Middle East. My last report in February wasn't too exciting because the protesting in Bahrain was quite localized and being in my home in Riffa Views I wasn't very close to any excitement, but now things are getting... interesting.
Brian took the following videos on his ipod. The first was on his way home from work on a Thursay afternoon. He called me to say he was on his way at about 4:40 and it usually takes him 20mintues to get home, but this time it took him an 40- as you can see why from the video. the second was from the window of his work place. The crowd was walking down the street to one of the palaces for their protest.




So things kept


So those protests where the extent of things until Sunday. Sunday, as many of you might know from the news the protesters blocked the financial district in the capital. That didn't make people too happy since it disrupted banking and such, so the police took action to break it up. Unfortunately this made people angry and things have gone down hill since. I have some stories to tell...
I had a friend try to pick her son up from school but couldn't get off the highway at her normal exit because there were cars parked there blocking it all. Right when she showed up the police had thrown some fresh tear gas and the people outside her car where coughing and covering there faces. She couldn't go forward or back until someone moved the cement road blocks. She was then able to turn around and go home. She sent her husband who works down the street from her sons school go to pick him up. The school is also in the same compound I live in and about a quarter of a mile away from my house. Right outside the compound there is a round about that they were stopped on and a car pulled out going the wrong way and smashed into an oncoming car. So they high-tailed it out to there soon as they could. They all got home safely. I was already staying home because Brian phoned from work telling me that it was heating up in the financial district, but after she told me about that I was getting a bit concerned. That same day, Brian happened to have to go to Saudi Arabia for some training. I started wondering if he would get back to Bahrain or if they would shut the causeway down. Luckily his boss saw what was coming and told him to come back and he was able to get across to Bahrain (and buy me some milk and eggs before he left), but by this time I had heard from several people that it was becoming increasingly harder for people to get around the island. He tried to take the road that had the clearest path, but about three miles from our home there were people with clubs and bats at the intersections and any way he tried to go he couldn't get through. We had already heard that someone had their car smashed up when they stopped- so he was a bit nervous. He had no choice but to turn around and stay the night at a friends house.
The next morning he was able to get to work and then took the same route home (about 12:30) that he had before and was able to make it with little interference. We hear some more stories from time to time about people walking around with swords (pro-government), and tanks coming, and a soldier was just killed.
Right now the country is under Marshal law and we are all staying home. I have a friend that is being sent back to the states because her husband works for the embassy and they are evacuated all non-essential personnel. A few moments ago I got a text that says that Bahrain is in state of emergency and to stay indoors. I'm going to end this post now and go pack a few bags. I don't know if I will be leaving my home here in Bahrain and if I do if I'll be coming back. But I guess I should go prepare. I don't feel a threat of danger as much as what will happen in the next few days in unknown and how long will I have to live on the food in my house...? I'll post more later if I get a chance. Oh this is interesting!