Catch Up Via Photos

October

In October my baby boy became a legal adult. YIKES! Some days I still see him as the little baby you see to the left.

Below is a picture of Andrew (in blue) with some new friends he and his friend met in the desert between Khalifa A and B one night. An Emirati gentleman invited them to join him and his family for a bonfire and tea. Andrew traded numbers with the group, and he's been to several outings with them since. His favorite was a barbecue in the desert where they roasted a lamb

November

In November, we held our annual Expat Thanksgiving at our house. This year we shared the holiday with about 50 of our friends who all brought along food to share.

December

December was awesome for the following reasons:

#1) My son, Andrew, was accepted to the school he has been dreaming of attending since he was a toddler. Yes, I said a toddler. We start warping minds early in the Williams family. He is following in his Dad's Hokie footsteps, and words can not describe how over the top excited we were when he received his early acceptance. We actually stayed up till 2am to get the news, because the decisions were posted at 5pm EST.

#2) Andrew made the UAE National team for American football. He represented what he refers to as his "second home" against the American University of Beirut.

#3) We returned to Garmisch, Germany for Christmas. This time around we were able to conquer the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany, unlike last time when the conditions were a total white out.

#4) We also returned to Milan, Italy for a few days during our vacation. I got to revisit one of my favorite Christmas markets outside of the Duomo where they sell a huge selection of goods including meats and cheeses. Yes, I brought home a bag full of cheese, so we've had some impressive cheese boards lately.

#5) We spent a day in the romantic town of Verona, Italy during our trip. Luck would have it, there was a large Monet exhibit in Verona during our visit. Ok, it wasn't luck....totally planned that one. If there's a Monet in a town I visit, I will find it.

#6) New Year's Eve was spent here on our 5th floor balcony with a couple of great friends. They were also just returning from Europe, and the thought of going out to the local celebrations required way too much effort for us weary travelers. Instead of fighting the crowds, we enjoyed relaxing on the balcony exchanging vacation stories beneath the stars.