More Balloon Photos

These were all taken from our upstairs balcony at around 7am on Wednesday. I was still in my nightie and it was freezing. I was so pleased to get such great views, the breeze on last two mornings has taken the balloons in different directions (over the city and into the desert). Today is the last day, they will do a "night glow" but I'm not sure that we will want to join the crowds to see it. It will be very crowded because it's Eid Al Adha (major Muslim occasion and holiday weekend). I hope you are all having a nice restful holiday.

Christmas Fun

We have had a lovely Christmas, very quiet and restful. The boys were so happy with their gifts. It was great to chat on the phone although it did make us all rather homesick!
Christmas lunch was great, the food was excellent, lovely seafood again for me.
Grant is busy doing some D.I.Y. enclosing the pool box and making a little area to keep the BBQ. He is using trellis and I will get some climbing plants to grow over it.
Jake and Scott have been busy catching up with their friends and I have finished reading a good book. So we are having a nice little break.
I have some more photos of the hot air balloons, taken from our balcony as they passed over our area this morning. Unfortunately I'm having trouble loading them so will try again in the morning after I get back from the vet.
Daisy is doing a lot better, she is up and about at last.
Hope everyone is having a great time, How will you be spending New Years Eve?

Credits: Sweet Evangeline Kit by Michelle Coleman at ScrapArtist

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Happy Christmas wishes from me to you. I hope your day is wonderful and that you are surrounded by love and happiness.

I have just been having fun making the cake from HELL. I usually trust the Edmonds Cookbook and I guess I'm guilty of not reading the Christmas cake recipe properly but they should have added a few description to help us brainless bakers......
How about a warning like - this recipe makes enough to feed the NZ Army
and - no, you wont have a mixing bowl big enough, use the bath tub
and - even though it says use one cake tin there is no way on earth that you will have one
big enough and it's going to take two
and - warning! the batter will have the consistency of clay sticking to gumboots
and - wash up immediately because the clay will turn to concrete as soon as that oven door
closes

Well it's cooking away now, it will be a long night 4 1/2 hr cooking time, good thing I've got plenty to keep me busy, don't ask why I choose to cook a cake the size of a small continent on Christmas Eve when I've had all week to do it.

Daisy is still ill, poor wee thing. Today the vet put her back on antibiotics, anti-inflamatory and pain killers. She has a very high temp and is sleeping all the time. It seem she has a cold as well as the leg problems. The bucket is gone but she is still limping badly.

The boys are so excited and have taken themselves off to bed early, not sure if they are asleep yet so I will wait a bit before I do my Mrs Santa jobs.

I'm looking forward to some yummy food for lunch tomorrow, my favourite thing is salmon and the restaurant prepare it several ways so I will be having a small course of each one. Throw in a few prawns and a glass of wine and I will be very happy!

Its cold here at the moment, a real chill in the air at night, still it makes it nice and cosy inside with the tree all lit up.

Can't wait to talk to our family tomorrow and I'm thinking of my friends and family that we wont be able to reach and are hoping that everything is going well for you.
Steve and Joanne, Renee (lost your email so send me a message please) Andy and Raewyn - you are away for a few days I hear, Dorene (nice to chat the other day), Judy (thanks for the Silent night email).

OK, time for me to get moving again, I might even make bed before midnight (a record for sure)
a quick shower, get the prezzies out of hiding and do something with those darn cakes!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Credits: Kit by Arlene Santo, Scrapbook Element,s Newsletter Gift

Getting Ready for Xmas

I know it's two sleeps now but this was from yesterday, the boys were happy to help but later declared that they hate housework more than anything else in the world!

Tomorrow Daisy goes back to the vet and I will nip into the supermarket if I'm brave enough.

Jake and I went to the Mall of the Emirates today (to get my gift, Grant passed that one on to me at the last minute!!!) The mall is huge and it was mad, packed and not fun at all.

Credit: In The Spirit by Sheila Nelson at digitalscrapbookfx (free)

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Good Morning
Firstly, Thanks for those emails. I will reply to all emails later today.

We were up well before dawn today (murder to the boys who are on the first day of their holidays). Just down the road a huge hot air balloon festival is taking place. In the paper they said the biggest outside of North America. Around 75 balloons, it was so spectacular!
We arrived at 6.30am not really knowing what to expect and pretty soon balloons were being inflated all around us. I have so many photos but can only give you a wee sample here.
I will go back with Grant when he isn't at work for another look, it was our first look close up at these balloons (only ever seen from a distance) and it's quite a sight.
Yesterday Grant got some photos of them flying right over the house, I was taking Scott to school so missed that but I guess we will be seeing them again if the wind blows the right way.

Daisy is slowly getting better. She had 3 days staying at the vet, and will have her plastic collar on for a couple more days. She is not at all happy, manages to bump into absolutely everything and spends a lot of time licking the inside of it as she can't get at anything else.

We seem to have seen the end of the rain for a while, but it really mucked up the school Christmas carol performances. Jake's evening ended up being postponed and was finally held over two sessions in the school hall. I only got one photo of it before my camera died (flat battery!) but I will post that later today.

Today is my "clean up the house day" its not had a lot of attention for a while and I want to get it nice for Xmas (better be quick!). We stopped getting a cleaning lady months ago, didn't fit in with the karting budget - oh, the sacrifices!!!!! anyway, cleaning and e-mails that's it for me today, some baking if I can squeeze that in as well.
Enjoy the photo's

Hello......I'm back!

I thought I'd give myself a little time off and get away from the computer and it turned out to be a bit longer than planned. Sorry folks...
Hey - I had a great birthday! Thanks for all your wishes, got your card yesterday Joanne (I love it). Andy and Raewyn thank you for all those nice words, the boys really appreciate hearing from you, it's nice for them to know they have family wishing them the best - it can seem a very long way from you all at times. Dad, thanks for your advice too.
We are all looking forward to a big catchup with everyone on Xmas day.
I got loads of neat stuff for my birthday, heaven only knows what Santa will bring because it's all been covered now!

We had some bad news today, our cat Daisy is staying at the vets for a few days. She was in a fight last night (sweet Daisy attacked by a vicious trespasser!) One back leg has some nasty bites and needs drains inserting and antibiotics etc. Poor thing was in a bad way this morning, I think she was really terrified last night.

Last week was not so busy but I was trying to get Xmas shopping done and it takes such a lot of time. Why do I always end up looking for stuff for me??? Must be a major character flaw!......hey, I did need some new clothes, promise.

On the good side my shopping is pretty well sorted and I have been wrapping as soon as I get gifts so for the first time in forever I wont have a big wrapping marathon just before the big day. Some Xmas cards will probably be late.... I'm not that good!

It's been really COLD and WET here, wettest winter in 10 years and we are only at the beginning of the season. All the winter woollies reserved for winter in NZ have been coming out of the closets. Jake has his Christmas Carol performance tomorrow night at the Madinat Amphitheater, it's a lovely venue but I'm not sure about the outside bit! I will try to get a nice photo and post it here.

Grant has been working hard as usual and is now getting the kart fixed after the big accident. (bent steering column, tie rod, stub axle and a few miscellaneous bent brackets) - Note, reporting with improved technical quality!

Jake is fine, he is doing a school project on gems and crystals using all the treasures he collected in NZ last winter. We just found out he missed out on getting into the English College, he did the entrance exam the weekend before last but his results are such that the college says he needs more help than they can offer (heard that a few times before) His other choice will indeed give him a higher level of support so I'm fine with it but he was disappointed because Scott's school has a nice friendly atmosphere. So I will have the boys at different colleges but that's OK.

We are going to have a very quiet Christmas and New Year. Grant is working through. We will get to have a nice lunch out, booked at our favourite Xmas place The Jumeirah Beach Hotel. I do miss our family Xmas in NZ, total chaos and food overload but they are the best!

The photo page is from a couple of weeks ago. I could not get it to load at the time.

Credits: Kit is Crimson Christmas by Susan Long ScrapArtist "Apprentice"

Glitter frame from Sweet Evangeline by Michelle Coleman at ScrapArtist

Finally some Photos

Well blogger is driving me crazy, been trying to do this post all day. Anyway, time to give you an idea of how the weekend went.
The rain mucked things up considerably, Scott just got the one practice in on Saturday before it got too wet. That meant further practicing and the qualifying had to be done before racing on Sunday. Everything was going well on Sunday, after two rounds Scott qualified 9th (in the middle). Not as good as he wanted but it was a learning curve working out how to do some very fast laps with slower karts around.
The first race, everyone was in the collecting area for the grid and the rain came down in buckets. Everyone got the chance to change tyres (luckily, otherwise it would have been a real mess). Scott got Grant to slip a cover over the spark plugs just before he went out and that really helped as a lot of the others had problems with the water. Scott started well back but easily passed everyone he came to. We lost track of his position and thought he was just passing back markers but he ended up with the chequered flag!
His next races went well, he was consistent and didn't get caught up in any collisions.
For the final everything went smoothly again, the winner pulled out a good lead but it was close racing between the others. The flag marshall accidentally let the race go an extra lap and Scott got up to 4th but unfortunately that move didn't count.
Scott has a nice smooth style of racing, very clean and controlled. He has a few things to work on and we have some training lined up for him. He won some decent prize money so that went towards the costs and it didn't end up hugely expensive. It was nice to be able to hand the kart back in excellent condition at the end. Grant and Scott make a really good team, Scott is getting more involved with the mechanical side and is beginning to help Grant out. They enjoyed the Biland, found it a bit finicky to start at times but very quick. Scott did his fastest ever lap times. No more racing planned, probably till after Christmas.

Grant had a day off today and we both did a bit of work in the garden. He oiled the outdoor furniture and got some bougainvilleas planted in my big pots and I did all the smaller pots (planted 4 doz annuals) and trimmed back the big grasses - and cut my thumb on the new pruning shears (very very sharp!) So our little garden is looking rather neat now and with all the rain it should be nice for Christmas.

I'm feeling a bit better, Jake is still sneezing and coughing and Scott recons he is next in line. Hopefully we will get these bugs over and done with soon!

Credits: Above - Background, Chaos by Maya and elements, It's a Guy Thing by Doris Castle both at Scrapbook Graphics
Top of post Background and brads as above. Alpha - Art Trash Alpha Dumster Diving also by Maya. Font, Swissmade.

Photo and Update Tomorrow

For some reason I can't get any photos to load here so I will try again tomorrow.
We are all a bit tired and Jake is getting a cold and feels a bit miserable. He stayed home from school today and most likely will tomorrow too.
Sorry about the quick post but when I can get some photos on I will do the update. Back tomorrow....

Scott 5th Place

What a great day Scott had, I will go into the details tomorrow but just wanted to pass on how well Scott did before I go to bed.
Scott got 5th place in the juniors, a fantastic effort. He was the fastest UAE junior, which was his wish, and we are very proud of his overall performance.
And no accidents!!

Track Closed Early

Just a quick post - events today were stopped early as the track could not be properly cleared of water. There were areas that had dangerous pools of water. This should be improved by tomorrow and also the weather is expected to clear. The timetable tomorrow will now be very busy, starting at 8AM and most likely not ending until 8PM. Scott only got one practice in today, however, his times were reasonable. I will be back tomorrow evening with the results.

It's RAINING!

Typical, it's a wet, windy and cold day here today. Scott and Grant have just left for the track.
Yesterday they had a long day getting the kart sorted. It's brand new (they all are), all the junior karts had the wrong sprocket thingy (no technical stuff here) and changing them over made the program very late. The track is well set out, all the countries have their own area's in the Parc Ferme (closed pit area) I made some stickers for Scott with the U.A.E. flag and his name. He has kart #84, they were allocated in a lottery yesterday.
Today is free practice all morning, then the main briefing followed by more free practice. They get their race tyres at 4pm and have qualifying between 5-6pm.
Tomorrow is a full day, races in the morning and the pre-finals and finals after lunch.
What about this rain!!!! Scott is in the biggest fleet of his life, in a new kart (4 stroke, so it's not like the rotax) and then it rains..... no, he's never driven in the wet before! It only rains 2-3 times a year here in the desert and it sure is nice but the timing is a bit rough.
Anyway, later today Jake and I will go to the track for the qualifying so we will have another update tonight. bye for now!

Still Buzzing Around!

It's been a weird week or two, I've been in a scratchy mood and so of course nothing seems to go right when you feel like that!
Jake's big rugby tournament turned out to be a bit of a flop for us (his club did really well)
Did you know that when you get a blister, if you keep wearing the same boots and keep running around in them it WILL get worse - a plaster will NOT help (I'm sure you do and we do too now)
So Jake missed out playing with his team for a draw in the final, we all arrived home hot, tired and glum.

It's been constantly busy, still more meetings... school trips, parent/teacher interview for Scott.
We have had open days at the two colleges that Jake would like to go to. It looks like he will go straight through to his primary schools sister college. Jake's teacher is happy that he will cope even though his exam results don't show it. The other college that Jake is keen on is to one that Scott attends. After talking to them they encouraged me to apply for Jake, he has two things in his favour (a sibling at the school and a fairly high IQ), so despite his poor last exam results they will look at him, he will however have to do an entrance exam. My main criteria is good support for Jake's needs. I will let you know how it all works out.
Speaking of support I have been assisting Jake in class for one of his literacy lessons, this is in addition to the 5 dyslexia support lessons that I do. Its certainly interesting being in class with Jake, I'm not sure that I help him that much but it's been quite a learning curve for me. I can see now that one of Jake's biggest problems is his processing and working speed. He needs a lot of time to get things done. However, he still understands everything and it's a sign that he has good teachers because he is so happy and positive about school. Jake is also getting after school help privately (not sure if I mentioned that before) it's working out really well, its just a bit of a scramble getting there on time.

The last week has not been to good for me health wise. I think it's been brewing for a while and that's why I have not been feeling myself. I had a lot of pain in my back and side a few nights ago and fearing that it was kidney stones again went to the hospital. (10pm at night - luckily Grant was around). I have had lots of tests and they suspect some sort of infection, still waiting on the results but the antibiotics they gave me seem to be working (like domestos the doctor said - kills everything).





Here is a photo of Jake from last weekend.

Now onto this weekend. Christmas tree time!!!! Jake and I will put the tree up and make the house all Christmassy.

Scott and Grant have their big event - The Biland Worlds!!! It is a very big international race meeting, I haven't been down to the track yet but its been transformed according to Grant. Scott will be competing against 25 Juniors and there are about 50 Seniors. It's huge for Dubai and will be a great experience for Scott. Scott is paying to race here rather than most competitors who have won their way here by being the best in their countries. Scott has only had and hour or so in this type of kart which is quite different from his own. He is hoping to do well but will be happy to be at the front of the local guys. He is mainly looking forward to the race experience of big fleets and racing to international standards and rules.

I am just about too nervous to watch after that big crash at the last meeting. I want Scott to be careful but I know he has to be aggressive out there. I just have to keep quiet and trust that he knows what he is doing.

I really will be back with updates over the weekend. Today they are being allocated their karts, are getting the seats fitted and making sure the paperwork is all up to date. I will let you know how everything went at the end of the day.

OK off to the shops now, got a new school uniform made for Jake and it's ready to collect. And I have to get some Euros to pay for this weekend, seems funny not to be able to use our local money but everything is in Euros only!

Keep checking back over the weekend - love to hear your comments too!

Photos of Jake

Jake the birthday boy last evening.

Jake in action earlier in the month.

Credits Rugby - RAD series by Kim Christensen

Make a Wish - Beautiful Mess by Lisa Whitney both from Scrap Artist

Birthday Boy

Back so soon - a first for me!
Actually last week I did a nice long post about Jake, telling you all about his rugby games the weekend before last, along with a nice scrapbooking page. When I went to publish it the whole thing disapeared - never to be seen again. I was really brassed off as I was so busy and didn't have the time to re-do it. Anyhow, now I will just say that it was a good weekend but very hot. I was just sitting around and taking a few photos and I was in a sweat, I felt sorry for the players as it was 39C and there was no shade at all. This week I will purchase an umbrella so we will have a bit of shade for next time.
Jake's birthday was yesterday and he had a nice day, not much time for enjoying his prezzies but everyone was so nice to him. His two dyslexia teachers both gave him vouchers (one is for books and one is for a game of 10 pin bowling),
he got some money (thanks Sue & Mike) and his really big gift from us was a PSP and a game for it from Scott. He is delighted with it, it was a toss up between that and an Ipod but he really only likes a handfull of tunes so I think the PSP is better and he can still have his MP3's and even photos on it. I can't wait to give it a try! We got home late from his after school dyslexia help so just had a simple dinner but with a special desert birthday cheesecake. This Thursday he will go to the movies with three friends, then bowling and burgers, he is really looking foward to that now.

This weekend is shaping up to be really busy again. Jake has a big rugby tournament at Abu Dhabi over both days. Teams from all around the Middle East, so it will be crowded. Sounds like we have to park our cars then get a shuttle bus to the fields. I will post some more photos as soon as I get a chance. Scott is back a school but finds all the stairs a struggle with crutches.

Grant took the boys to school this morning so I have and extra hour before I have to go in, I've done a few chores then this wee update here and soon I will be off again.

Thanks for the birthday wishes Mum and Dad, Jake is eagerly waiting for the mail to come through!

Here is the photo I did last week of Jake.
OK I've tried 4 times and the photo wont load so I will get back to it later today and it will go to the top of the blog. I have to dash now or I will be late.

Scott is OK

Back again, This weeks post is rather dramatic so I must say first that Scott is OK, a bit battered and bruised but nothing major!
Scott had a nasty and spectacular crash this weekend. It was very fortunate that there was no one close behind him otherwise the result may well have been different.
It was the last lap of the final race and all day there had been hard close racing. Scott and the other junior were racing from the back of the senior Rotax fleet because there were just the two of them. It was shaping up to a photo finish between the two juniors and one of the seniors. They were spread across the finish line going for the flag (junior flag) Scott was on the wall side and pushed his luck perhaps by going for a gap there. The other junior moved across, not realising that Scott was right there and their wheels touched. Scott's cart hit the wall and he was flung out, became air born, then landed, rolled and finally slid at speed down the track. It was right on the finish line, Grant was right there and jumped the barrier, I was way across the other side of the track and came running back with the worst thoughts running through my head.
The medics were on the scene in seconds and Scott was well taken care of. He was very, very fortunate to have good quality safety gear on. His helmet lost a few layers of its surface, his neck brace saved a serious neck injury, his rib protector saved that area and his race suit is looking much the worse from sliding down the track. He has nasty bruising around his shoulder blade area on one side, lots of bruises on his arms and a twisted ankle that is in a short term plaster. Xrays were fine, nothing broken...just a bit of pride and one kart!
I was getting some photos and had my eye on Scott, next thing I see this blue suit and white helmet face down flying across the finish! Jake and I ran back, Jake took the camera from me and took a couple of shots, It was all very confusing because I no sooner got to Scott after running 1/2 a mile that they told me to get off the track, I never want this to happen again! Grant thought that it was his young body that helped him, and if he had been racing he would have broken every bone in his body.
OK here are some photos - just remember Scott really is alright now.

Al Ain Racing

Back with you again! We're all feeling much better after a good nights sleep.
As I was putting together these photos I found myself thinking about what a great time we all had and it made me miss my family and friends so much. How I wish you were here to experience the tension, the heat, the wind that blew sand everywhere just as the sun was setting. I want you here to see the relief on my face when that last race was over, Grant's mile wide smile and Scott's grin that said a million words!

I have to take Jake to rugby practice soon so will give you a run down of the weekends events. Firstly the track is new and still being finished off. Some things will be changed like the pit area location, track edging, landscaping etc. However, it is a really great track, very fast (so I'm told) and we are looking forward to many more events there. No ladies toilets though!!!!! 6 women and about 200 men yikes! not good!

Anyhow, the first heat went well, one lad from Bahrain took off with a commanding lead while the others were very even, there was some overtaking and Scott came 3rd.

Next heat same lad way out front, Scott came 2nd

Next heat, OMG Scott was in a spectacular smash. Two karts in front of Scott collided and one spun right into Scotts path. It couldn't be avoided and Scott's wheel went up over the other karts wheel and Scott was launched up into the air, spun and hit the ground hard. This was just a few feet from the finish line and the two that caused it all managed to finish but Scott injured his ribs again! He made a trip to the ambulance where they checked him over, luckily nothing was broken just real sore.

Semi-final disaster strikes again. During the break Grant replaced the chain but forgot to do a bolt up, so during the race it came off. Frustration!!

Final - Scott starting near the back of the grid because of the last two incidents. He gets a good start but oh the pressure! (for me that is) it was intense. His competitors suffered some incidents themselves and Scott manage to hold it together to take the win. It was a long race 25 laps and the track is just over 1km long and it seemed like it went on forever!

He so deserved his place and we all got a very rare big smile as he stood on the podium.

1st Place at Al Ain

Scott did it!!!!!!
After a series of mishaps, when all looked lost, Scott's single minded determination saw him through to a win in the Rotax RMC Middle East Finals Juniors). On the completely new and very excellent track at Al Ain Scott battled it out with some great competitors. It was a wonderful weekend, large classes and lots of V.I.P's. We are all very tired but I could not go to sleep tonight without posting this!
I think I will let you know all the details with a few more photos tomorrow, I'm not exactly sharp at the moment. We didn't get back to our hotel till 3AM, it was bliss to have a hot shower then slip into bed. Grant and Scott slept in until 11.30AM - luckily we didn't have to be out of our room till 12.00! Poor Grant has to work night shift tonight and the boys and I are off to bed in a couple of minutes.
So I will be back tomorrow - I promise

Jake gets Player of the Week

Gidday again - just a quick little post, Jake was so proud to get this trophy for Player of the Week. Not sure if you can read the journaling but he was suffering with a nosebleed and finally managed to get out on the pitch for some very important scrum practice. He got the trophy for his perseverance. No more nosebleeds so it was just a one off, thank heavens.

I've been so busy - lots of stuff happening around here, my head is spinning. Scott had his dyslexia assessment and has been given the OK for extra time in his GCSE exams. We are very relieved as he really needs it. The assessment was interesting, it has been several years since his last one. Basically he is the same which surprised me because he does so much better at school now. Both Scott and Jake are busy with their sports, Grant is working hard and I'm always on the go!
Scott is racing over the next two weekends and it looks like he will be racing in the Biland Worlds held here in Dubai. More on this later!

Credits for Scrapbook page : String, I Close my Eyes, Beth Nixon

Background, Joyful Heart, Agnes Lahur

Wordart, Khirsty Scmitt

Staples, Boys Wish, Jessica Bolton

Font, Eraser Dust

Homework Time

To make up for a week of no posts here is a photo taken two minutes ago.
We are all in the study working away, the boys both have a load of homework this weekend. I like to stay handy because Jake asks a lot of questions and it's easier if I'm not at the other end of the house! It's proved to be one of our best decisions putting three desks and plenty of storage into this area. It's not big but it works and is always in use.
The last week has flown by again, I have been trying to put household stuff ahead of computer stuff......yes - trying. I could easily spend most of the day here doing scrapbooking, surfing etc. Very sad I know, most of the time its not even remotely productive.
Anyway, it was a pretty good week. Jake's teacher is pleased with his marked improvement. I have got some extra support for him after school. It's at the other end of the city and rather expensive but I'm hoping it will help him a lot.
Jake is happy that he has been accepted into golf as an after school activity, he has wanted to do it for ages but has missed out in the past as it's a very popular choice.
Scott has had his highs and lows. He had an interesting race meeting last weekend. His first qualifying "hot lap" was a disaster, on the first corner he clipped the barrier tires at speed and broke the front wheel assembly (sorry I don't know the right name for it) anyway, something was bent at a right angle that should have been straight. Luckily Grant had a spare and managed to fix it. Unfortunately they missed the first heat while Grant was doing the repair but the rest of the evening went fine. Scott was amazing in the end and the whole night was a lot of fun. We didn't leave the track till 1am! Scott came second again but he is getting faster all the time.
The next meeting is on the 27th in Al Ain (a their brand new track). Its the Rotax Max regional finals and will have racers from all over the Gulf.
Unfortunately Scott injured his ribs, the track at Jebel Ali is rough on the body I'm told. So we were back at the doctors, more time off school and more rest. At least there is now a decent gap between events so he can get back to normal.

The weather here is cooling down, the days are now high 30's and we have had lovely breezes this weekend. I still have not got into the garden for its Autumn clean up but it's on the agenda for this week.

OK time to get these lads some lunch - lots of moaning about hunger in the background!

Finally some scrapbook pages!

Kit used:Noni, D.Tope,Scrapartist
Kit used: Vibrant Fall,Lisa Howell, Scrapartist. Fonts, Pea Carrie and I'm Bored
Kit Used: Summer Whimsy, Scrapartist, Fonts Amazing Rules,Wendy Medium, Teachers Pet
(plus a couple of elements from other sources)
Kit used: Family, Laura Bavin.

Broke Down House

I didn't intend to be away for so long, Scott keeps asking if I have posted the latest news from his last race meeting.
Time to get you all up to date -
Well, the last kart meeting was a real corker! Scott was flying, the kart was great, competition was mixed but Scott had some great battles, getting amazing starts but ending up finishing second (that's a mighty fine effort for a newbie!)
Grant and Scott are settling into a great team and are both having a blast.

Jake has been to two rugby practice sessions, fitness is a problem but he's getting there! He had a great time practicing tackling and was flying through the air. Jake has made a great start to the year at school. He is getting used to taking to laptop to the Dyslexia Unit and will gradually be using it in class. He loves his teacher and is so full of enthusiasm. I just hope he gets the results that he needs and progresses on to college here. We are keeping a very close eye on his work and his teachers are very supportive.

I have been getting used to my new schedule and this year it's actually pretty good - excellent in fact! I do have a fair bit of waiting around but at least I'm not having to make any extra trips back to the school in the middle of the day. Saves on petrol and my stress levels.

Grant is super busy but that's how he likes it. He is either at work, working on the kart or fixing up this place! A beer and BBQ at the end of the day is the height of relaxation for him.

We have had more than our fair share of breakdowns over the last week. It's been one thing after another. I was putting together a scrapbook page of everything just for fun and Scott call's out that there is water everywhere from the top balcony, what a sight, I had to get under it all to try and turn the irrigation system off, I was fully dressed and got soaked to the skin!

The really bad thing though was Scott spraining his ankle. It is quite bad. I took him the the hospital on Friday night because he went into shock and we were afraid that it may have been broken. Luckily the Xrays were clear, the doctor says no sport for three weeks. Scott tells me that kart racing is a passion not a sport and he will be out on the track for the racing this weekend. He has had two days off school because he can't walk on it so we will have to see how it heals. Grant may be in the kart yet!

I will now try to post some scrapbook photo pages. I will do a separate post just in case I have problems with blogger.

I will be back after the weekend racing.

What do you think?

OK I had a little problem there, it didn't want to post a bigger size at first.
Anyway - the kart and Scott look great don't you think!
Scott starts back at school on the 11th, somehow he got a bit of extra time off. Jake started back last Wednesday, he is sooo happy with his teacher and with life in general. Rugby starts up next week and he is supposed to be able to jog the field twice and do 20 press ups and 20 crunches for the first practice. He has been exercising - a bit - so he will find it quite hard I think. He got puffed today just playing with the cat!
I have been busy trying to get myself more organised for this new school year. Man, its hard work being organised! And, of course, it's still to damn hot (low 40's)
I will be in touch later this week to let you know how everything is going.

One more photo

That worked - more photos

Racing Photos

Scott's 3rd Race Meeting

The last couple of weeks have been a real challenge for Scott, plenty of problems getting the kart ready and almost no time to practice. Very frustrating!
Grant has been doing his best and loads of people involved in karting here have been helping out with great advise and help. Its so nice that the atmosphere here is really supportive and so encouraging to the newbees.
The end result is what it's all about and Scott did just great. 2nd out of 3 juniors and as the numbers were again low the class was combined with the seniors. Scott and the first place getter were even overtaking a couple of the seniors. Despite the low turnout Scott's times were very fast! The kart was totally reliable and he had no incidents.
Next week is a different meeting at the new Autodrome track and there will be two new Rotax Junior karts present so the class will rise to 5. Still low really but its just starting up here and hopefully it won't take to long to get the numbers up.
I will post a couple of pictures if I can, as you can see this blog looks a little different and I have upgraded to the Blogger Beta which is unfortunately having problems with photo uploading.
I have also taken down the last few photos posted. The size was a bit to big and it was mucking things up a bit.
Let me know if you have any problems with comments etc.
BTW you will notice how different the kart looks now. The new graphics are excellent and Grant added new pods of the latest design.

Getting back to Normal

What a great holiday we had, it was so good to catch up with everyone. We enjoyed every moment of our time in NZ. We have so many great memories and this trip was extra special because we did a lot of traveling around our own great country and, well, its just beautiful.

Our trip back was pretty good, we were lucky to get all the way back considering how full the flights were and that we only had standby tickets!

My body was on NZ time for a few days and I was getting up way to early, I was outside gardening at sunrise (6am) for a few mornings. The neighbours must have thought I was crazy. At least I did something constructive and now the garden looks a lot better. It looks like our favorite palm is going to die, it looks very sick and I'm sure its just the heat getting to it. We were warned it was not the best choice by one gardener but went with the recommendation of the bloke that sold it to us - buyer beware I guess! Still, it that's all we have to worry about then lifes not to bad.

Today we are off to the Mall of the Emirates. Got to get school shoes for the boys, haircuts and a new school bag for Scott. Time to get ourselves organised for the new school year.

I will post some more photos so check back again, thanks for stopping by!

Back from Holiday

On Holiday

Gidday
I've not been around for a while. Big computer crash involving the need of a new motherboard followed by my departure to NZ for our holiday.

Right now I'm in Picton and will be back at mum & dad's in chch on Monday.

You will get a big update in a coule of weeks,

Cheers for now

Kart Racing and School Stuff

Hello Again,
Not much happening over the last week or so. School is winding down for the summer break. Jake had his end of year prize giving last week and a Year 5 disco last evening. All the sports and after school activities have ended. We have received Jake's end of year report and SAT's results and .... well .... cause for concern. He is trying really hard but not making the progress he needs to. We are looking at making some big changes next year, we'll do things differently. I will get a new dyslexia report done when I'm back in NZ. The prospect of him going to a special boarding school in England is looking like a possibility but we will do everything to keep him here with us first. I'm just amazed that with all the modern resources and facilities here in Dubai that many dyslexic kids and others with learning difficulties can't get an education here. The shameful stock answer when turning these kids away is that the school does not have "the resources" to cater for kids needing sustained extra help. Its not as if us parents aren't prepared to pay for this. We have already paid and will continue to pay a small fortune, whatever it takes to get our children educated.
Anyway, enough of that for now. We are looking forward to a great Year 6 for Jake, his new teacher is a Kiwi, he had a great sense of humour and the kids love him, I'm told he really gets his students excited about all their subjects and Jake is soooo looking forward to being in his class.

As you can see from the photos Scott had his second race meeting last night. We were expecting it to be at the end of the month. The organiser got the dates mixed up and then we were not on the email list that updated everyone on the correct date so it was lucky that they found out in time. The night was hot and humid (they all are at this time of year!). Its very hard on the competitors, hopefully next year there will be no racing during these hot summer months. The numbers were down so the juniors and seniors were combined again, Scott came 3rd out of 3 in the juniors, he got a nice trophy and Dhs500.00 in prize money. Don't even think that it was not much of a place. It was very tough and he certainly deserved to be on the podium. The clutch caused problems all evening and despite being repaired it was completely stuffed by the last race. Scott was racing well but his speed was a little slow. After a spin in the first race he settled down and had an incident free night. This is a huge improvement on his first race meeting, his times practicing during the week were very good so when the clutch is sorted we're hoping he will be back on the pace. Scott enjoyed himself, he is really cool and focused. Grant was working his butt off all night!

This is the last week of school, we are soooo ready for our holiday. Its to hot to do anything much and just getting in and out of the car is exhausting, most days are mid 40C now. I'm looking forward to taking it easy, the traffic is crazy here and it will be nice to be out of it for a while. Still not sure of our holiday dates, the flights were looking OK for mid July so that's still the plan.

I will post a scrapbook layout this week, plenty in the "in progress" folder, nothing finished yet.

Cheers for now!

Excellent Evening Kart Racing

Max, Junior and RM-1 winners in the Rotax Mojo Max Challenge

Third round event.

Weekend Update

It's been a very busy few days, at last I have a little time to update you on Scott's racing. As you can see by the pictures he looks great in his new kart, he had an exhausting time but also learnt a lot (he came 4th out of 4 juniors). Because of the high temps. the number of participants was low so the race management decided to combine the junior and senior classes. This in itself was rather nerve wracking (for me!!!), those seniors are really fast!
Scott was at the back of the grid for all his races, on the first race he got off to a ripping start but at the first corner some contact occurred and as a result Scott spun out - not the start he was hoping for :( Well, my heart was pounding, to his credit he got sorted out and finished the race.The next 3 races were much the same, he had some good moments but also spun out a few times. After each race Grant was busy making adjustments to the kart to give it more grip and better handling.
At the end of the day on the final 25 lap race Scott was much more consistent and the kart was going well. No more spin outs and Scott did much better!
On the positive side Grant and Scott learned so much, they were pleased that the kart was performing well and now they have made the first step onto that learning curve.
On the negative side - it was just to flipping hot!!! It was 40C in the shade, just crazy. It really was a test of endurance and not at all pleasant. All the competitors deserve medals for making it through the day. The next race is on the 30th of June and it will be even hotter then.

Other news - Jake is feeling much better, the medicine seemed to help and the original shingles patch did not get any bigger and is now quite well healed up. He is happy with his exams so far, I hope the rest are ok for him too.

I have included a couple of scrapbook pages, not everything in this house revolves around karts! I will try to post these quite often. I like to check out other bloggs with scrapbook stuff and will add some of my favorite links soon (got to figure that one out as well) Hope you like these, I love the pink rose that I photographed in mums garden last Christmas time. I probably should be including credits for the elements used in these pages. I'm not that organised and didn't note down where all the lovely items came from. I will work on that, for now it will have to be ok that I acknowledge that only the photographs are my own and all the other stuff is designed by other very talented people.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments, I wish I could make you a cuppa while you were here!
See Ya....

Scrapbook Pages and Scott in Action

Scott's first race meeting, He started at the back of the grid because he is a newbee.

Getting ready to run the engine in

And the problem is?? fuel pipe.....spark plug....BOTH!!

Poor Jake

This has not been a good week for Jake, he is at home sick with Shingles. I have become an instant internet expert on the subject now. Luckily being a child the symptoms have not been to bad and so far he has only one patch on his back and its been really itchy rather than painful. However, because he could possibly spread chicken pox he has had to stay home. His exams start next week so I have had him doing a bit of revision. The doctor has him on some medication that seems to be working so I'm hoping that things will not get worse.

Grant and Scott have been busy with the kart. The engine has been modified and fitted back in, after a few hiccups it seems to be fine. Scott's first race is on Friday and he has been practicing till late at night trying to improve his track times. Grant has been busy at work so now the next time Scott gets in the kart it will be race day. The heat is getting pretty extreme and these karts are operating at the top of their range so I hope the engine hangs in there. The day time temps have been up to 45C and at night its down to 30C but with very high humidity (this makes the track real slippery).

I will take my camera and hopefully get some nice shots to post here. When I figure out how to do that ;)

Scott has had most of his exam results and did super well, I'm so proud of him because he works very hard and takes it all seriously. Most marks were in the 80's except Arabic which was about 30%.

OK folks - thanks for taking the time to read this, I'm going to spend the rest of the day doing the usual housework, sorting out the photos for here and then I will do some scrapbooking.

Gidday to Family and Friends

Hi Everyone,
So much seems to be happening in our lives lately and I am such a useless emailer that i thought this Blog might be a fun way of keeping in contact with you all.

It's a bit of a leaning curve so we will have to see how it works out. I should be able to post photos and scrapbook pages and you all will be able to leave comments. Sounds like a good idea to me and I will try to check in every day or two (thats if I think anyone is looking!!!)

So for now I will keep this short and just send an email with this site info.