Q1 update - March

Kevin left for his 7th Annual March Madness boys’ trip in mid-March, this year in Pittsburgh. He made a quick detour to Houston to get his braces off (FINALLY – after 2.5 years!) and then back to DC for a friend’s wedding. Around the same time, I attended three baby showers for four of the five pregnant women in our compound due in April (as of press, one baby has made his entrance thus far!). While Kev was out I also caught up on most of the three seasons of Breaking Bad that he watched while I was in DC. Needless to say, I was very happy to have him home.
 
I took a brief girl’s weekend to Dubai and spent two busy days walking, shopping and eating. We rode the Metro most of the weekend and I was only offered a seat once. Clearly I was not pregnant-looking enough or I must have look like a super woman who likes to stand for 20+ minutes. We ate at two great restaurants (not counting PF Chang’s, which I crave in Dubai)… Social House and Jamie’s Italian. I also learned that Bloomingdale's at Dubai Mall has a Magnolia Bakery (of Sex & The City fame)... on the list for my May trip!

Upon return to Doha I was invited to a reception about the USS Pearl Harbor which was at Doha Port as part of a maritime defense conference. 14 warships from 11 navies were docked at the Port and it was a very cool experience to be on a ship that was actively in duty. This ship primarily carries Marines and supplies. On this tour the crew had traveled to Guam, Cambodia, Singapore, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE. According to their website, the “Pearl Harbor and embarked Marines assigned to the 11th MEU are deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.”

This last weekend we caught the 5th World Cup of Artistic Gymnastics at Aspire (pommel horse!) and then Kev participated in the Torch Tower Run where he climbed 51 floors (900+ steps) in 13:09!

We’re looking forward to a fun April with Easter activities and a birthday weekend in Oman. I promise to post an Oman recap soon!