Back from Al Ain

Well I've guess you have been wondering how it all went!

To quote a popular phrase heard around things with engines more than once "shit happens" just about everything that could go wrong did!

Things learnt this weekend - just because it's new doesn't mean it works

- drivers should stick to driving and not try to fix things

- starting at the back of the grid is very bad

- when a kart spins in front of you and you hit it hard expensive

stuff will get broken

- when you think nothing more could possible go wrong, something

will for sure!

It was a week of extremes and pressure. Luckily Scott and Grant are still talking to each other and planning the next seasons racing. Jake has discovered he is quite good with a spanner!

My pergola is slipping further into the distance, due to some expensive repair bills.

What a week! The racing was amazing but that evil first corner claimed many casualties. Luck played a huge part unless you were in the top ten.

You will get more details at some stage, for now I will leave a few photos. I have been at the computer all day doing my course work and my back is real painful.

That is Scott, number 146 wearing the UAE team colours


This is when things were manic - Grant had to buy a new chassis (old one bent) everyone is helping to get the engine etc moved to the new chassis.

Back soon

PS can't wait to get back to NZ for Xmas!

Jake Turned 12!

This month is moving too fast, time to give you all an update.



Jake had a very unusual birthday. Two days before the date we all went out for a family dinner to celebrate, the next night he had his yummy birthday cake and presents, finally his actual birthday arrived and off he went to camp at 7.00am! I managed to smuggle some treats onto the bus with his teacher so he didn't miss out totally! He got all the goodies he wished for, top of the list was an MP3 player.

Kit is Zesty by Lasa Whitney at ScrapArtist

The week that Jake went to camp (he had a fantastic time) Scott and I both got sick, just the usual cold thing but it sure didn't help having a birthday plus all the organisation for camp at the same time. We got through it OK but last week I was just really tired. I feel so much more on top of things this week thankfully.

We had cat troubles last week, Daisy disappeared for 24hrs, I was expecting the worst but she finally came home very much the worse for wear. She was exhausted, covered in dirt and oil, had some minor injuries and was terrified. She wouldn't eat or drink for another day and Grant ended up taking her to the vet. After some painkillers and a big bill she finally decided to drink and is now slowly coming right, almost back to her usual cat aloofness.


I have been constantly busy with my course, I got the first unit sent in last week and now I'm into the second one which is even more work. I had a good day at school today and managed to squeeze in some study (a happy combination of students on trips and Christmas carol practice). So I'm devoting this evening to this update. I was late home because I went to the hairdresser straight after work (Jake sat in the cafe next door, ginger beer and pizza did the trick!). I aim to get the next unit done before we head to NZ for Christmas but its a real struggle.



We went to the motor racing last weekend, they had a big meeting at the Autodrome. It was fun, plenty of noise and action! There was a new class called 'Speed Cars' kinda like Nascars and of course Scott was keen on the single seaters! Grant and Scott managed to snag some media passes and could roam all over but Jake and I got stuck in the stands. Still, the weather was nice and it was something different to do. Unfortunately half way through the day my camera died, I've tried all the easy fixes to no avail so I'm thinking its the shutter. It has had a hard life and done a huge number of shots so I can't complain too much (they don't make 'em like they used to, that's for sure!). Anyhow, with the Rotax Grand Finals coming up this weekend Grant took pity on my and said OK to a new camera! It would have been too painful to just have the little point & shoot. Ended up paying more by getting it in Dubai but no time to wait for someone to be going to the States. I got a Canon 40D, been too busy to even play with it yet, sooo not fair! But at least I will be in business for the weekend.

And speaking of the Karting - WOW it's all happening! Scott and Grant have been away in Al Ain for 3 days now, Scott is all registered and ready to go. Jake and I will go over on Thursday after work and then stay for all the racing over the weekend. At the moment its all the official stuff and they should finally get onto the track tomorrow for practicing. The qualifying heats are on Thursday. I will try to add a link to the official web site, hope it works. I noticed there are a lot of 'coming soon' pages but hopefully they will keep it updated when everything gets going. Scott is very excited, he will do his best but knows that it's going to be super tough. We will all be back on Sunday and I will have some photos for you all then.

http://www.maxchallenge-rotax.com/events/2007_united-arab-emirates/united-arab-emirates.html

OK time to get to bed, I'm trying hard not to get too tired, it makes life miserable!

Hi Everyone!

Jake relaxing at Al Ain on Friday

Scott in action!

R&R Dubai style at the 24hr race

24hr race, driver change

It's about time I know! My life has been so busy over the last two weeks, I've had every kind of meeting and after school activity you can imagine. It's been a totally exhausting whirlwind.

Anyhow, this week kinda looks better (fingers crossed).

Work has been interesting for me, we are in the process of going through some changes. The result will make me very busy, not sure how the timetable will work out but it will definitely be a challenge!

I have begun my course, wow it's a lotta work! I have been plodding through it whenever I get the chance, hoping not to fall behind. I like the learning side of things but finding the time is very difficult. All my books have arrived from England and the course seems well set up. Unfortunately we have yet to have a tutor assigned so I'm not sure if my work so far is up to standard.

Jake is still liking college. He has had a couple of games of rugby, no photo's yet (left camera behind once and Grant took Jake the other time) Hopefully I will get some this weekend when he has another match. Jake is away on camp in two weeks, he actually leaves on his birthday - very worried about when he will get his pressies. He is going back to Oman, same trip a last year.

Scott has done really well karting. Last weekend was the final of the Rotax Max series and he came 2nd. This has given him 1st place overall so now he can go to the Rotax Worlds as part of the UAE team!!!!! He is very very happy about that! I will get some links up when I get a chance and you will be able to follow the action. The weekend before last saw Scott get a spot in the Nivea for Men 24hr Endurance Race. He was a very last minute call-up, got a place with the Emirates Today newspaper team and really shone through for them. He was exhausted at the end of it all but had a great experience. It seemed strange to leave him at the track all night but the team made him welcome and he did a great job for them. They came 12th out of 28 so it was a very respectable effort for a last minute thing against many professional teams.

Seems not a lot of news really but between sports, meetings, work and my course there is not time left for a life!

Time to get on and do the dinner dishes, I'm trying to get an early night, if I don't then the rest of the week will be miserable!

PS - Thanks for stopping by :)

Al Ain Photos

Some quick photos at last, I ran out of steam last night but am feeling more refreshed now. Been a busy day with a meeting a Jake's school thrown in so we didn't get home till 6pm. A quick dinner tonight of chicken and salad and I'm also trying to catch up on the weekends laundry. Now that my course has started I have plenty of 'homework' as well! Anyway hope you like these, the racing was very close between the top racers and it was exciting stuff!

Excellent Results!

This will be super quick. Just had to let you all know that Scott showed what he has always said he can do. Two meetings over two days and Scott got a second place overall and the yesterday first place overall. Grant and Scott made a great team, both are relieved and happy that everything went well. The new track is very good. Jake and I had a nice break away also. Hope your birthday was good Joanne! Will post photos tonight.

No Photo Today!

Not much of a title I know! It's just gone 6.30am and I decided to do a little post before the week gets too busy. This weekend is a big one for us, Scott has a double kart meeting at the new Al Ain track. We are staying at a hotel overnight and will be back late tomorrow evening. Next week school is back on the normal timetable now that Ramadan is over so it will be a 5.45am start everyday. Got to have the boys dropped at school so I can start work at 7.30am Ouch!
My course starts officially on the 22nd but the introduction started this week to allow the participants to get used to the VLE "virtual learning environment", not sure how it all goes exactly but it looks straight forward and most people have checked in and said hello. There are 5 people from Dubai, a lot from England and a smattering from around the world.

The last week has been a holiday, it has been lovely but really flew past. I had a lot of projects that I needed to get done and was only partly successful. Scott has been constantly doing his school work, done a bit of karting practice but that has been all. Jake and I finally got to the movies yesterday, been promising him all week! We saw the Bourne Ultimatum and it was really good.
Jake had his first rugby tournament a couple of weeks ago. It was against the Sharjah Wanderers Club team. The have a lovely pitch at the club with a very nice little covered stand. It was nice to have all the supporters together rather than spread out and it was a nice atmosphere. It was still pretty hot even though kick off was at 9am (about 30oC). The exiles team was double the size of the wanderers and so everyone got time to rest. The score was 80ish to nil so it wasn't exactly a fair contest but it was such a nice venue I hope we get invited back and I'm sure their new team will get better.

It was nice to have a chat to Mum and Joanne this week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY for tomorrow Joanne! Great to hear all the news. The boys and I have decided to go back to NZ (ChCh only) at Xmas. Grant's leave was cancelled due to a shortage of staff and he will be working right through Xmas, including day shift on Xmas day. We have our tickets booked but I have yet to confirm taking some days off work so I will pass on the exact dated when I'm sure. I am really excited about it now that a decision has been made, I do feel sorry for Grant, he is always so busy.
Nice to see you pop in Dorene - your artwork is lovely and you are very talented. I love creating but need my computer to put it together. I looked at the Coastal Classic web site, brought back memories I tell ya! some best forgotten! Good luck the Brent and the crew, hope you have a lovely sail back too.

Speaking of Grant being busy, he has managed to squeeze in time to decorate Jake's bedroom. He wanted to get it done before the karting got too busy and it looks fantastic! We had a big change around as Jake had grown out of the old colours, wanted a desk, didn't want the TV and didn't want the bunk bed any longer. Well the painting. lighting and soft furnishing is all done but when we went to get the furniture from Ikea nothing was in stock! Apparently they only get two shipments a year and the next one is due in a couple of weeks! So it gives me a bit more time to sell the old stuff and you have to wait a bit longer for any photos but I can tell you it looks fantastic. Jake has a strong grass green on the walls, black and white duvet, white curtains, black desk, chair, bookcase and shelves.

OK It's time for me to get moving! Have a shower, get Jake up and pack the car. Scott and Grant left over an hour ago and they were running late. It's about a 2 hour drive along a very boring road! (straight most of the way). I made all the food last night so we have muffins, a banana cake, a bacon and egg pie, corned beef rolls and sandwiches. Forgot to get any fruit so might pick something along the way. Will pack plenty of cold drinks as it will be hot for sure. The temps have been dropping but it's still mid 30's. I'm glad we are staying the night, the Al Ain Hilton is not too expensive, the rooms are a bit dated but it has a nice restful atmosphere.

Gotta run now or I will be late! will do a quick update tomorrow evening.

A Birthday in Heaven - We Love You Guy Happy 14th

We miss this little fellow so much, even after all these years. It seems like only yesterday that this photo was taken. This is the first photo of Guy that I have scrapped, I used bits of two kits both made in memory of a little boy called Miles. I will do some more as I have many lovely photos hidden away in albums. However, I really wanted to post this here today.

A Fab Week

Credits: Back to Reality and Notebook Notations (peace sign) Little Dreamer Designs

Well it's been a very busy week or so but it's all good!

I've spent ages getting our computers sorted out, still ongoing but the main stuff is done. Scott has needed a computer for ages, with all his ICT course work he uses it for hours. Then we decided to get the wireless internet so that Jake could use his laptop upstairs. And I got a nice big external hard drive to back up to. It took me a while to get the security working for the router, not really knowing what I was doing so it's like learning another language. Well it's mostly fine, just got to work out how to share the printer but will leave that one till the weekend.

We had good friends visiting from Saudi Arabia (Hi y'all) It made for a busy weekend but it was great to have some fun for a change. Jake had his best buddy around for a sleep over and he had a great time.

Jake has had some hiccups at school, nothing too bad but it looks like he may drop French in favour of extra support time. I'm fine with it and he is over the moon,it's his least favourite subject. He will just have Spanish, which he loves, one language is plenty for him.

Scott is busy with his GCSE, he is going to resit a couple of papers. He is very close to going from an A to an A*. Not really sure how this resitting system works but he is keen, his science subjects are excellent.

My job is going really well, it's getting very busy now. Many of the issues from last year are getting sorted out and I'm looking forward to being able to make a difference at last.

My Hornsby Dyslexia course starts very soon, it's going to be tough fitting in the study time but I am so glad that I am doing it.

Other good news, My new washing machine arrives tomorrow (we are going to be soooo broke!)

I actually hate spending money on something like this but the old one was ancient, 2nd hand when we got it! I put some brand new pants in for a little wash before I wore them for the first time and they came out with marks all over so I had to hand wash them to clean them after the washing machine had done it's thing. Grant has tried to sort it out, cleaned it and serviced it but it's just busted! And on top of that it only fills half way, grrrrr!!

Time to go cook dinner, easy chicken satay. Grant and Scott are at the track doing whatever it is that they do there. No kart racing for a couple of more weeks but when it starts up again it will be hectic leading up to the Rotax Worlds.

OK......dinner.....

Everyone Back to Work/School

It's been a crazy couple of weeks! Finally the boys are both at school and I'm back to work (Grant didn't really get much of a break).

Jake loves college! He has had a great couple of days, he loves his Spanish teacher, not at all happy with the French teacher and the rest are all somewhere in between!

He should get plenty of help when he needs it, it will be interesting to see how he manages.

Scott has just gone back, year 11 for him. Scott has a big year with his GCSE exams later.

Last weekend Scott had a night race with the TAG class, bit of a disaster, a new clutch failed and effectively stuffed the whole meeting. He's eagerly awaiting the next race and an incident free meeting!!!!

Nice to see your comments!! I was having trouble making a reply, finally cleared and restarted my computer tonight and now it's working. Not sure what that was all about!

Dorene, I'm super busy now so have to make time for scrapbooking however it's relaxing and fun so I will always try to do something new. The two here were a bit rushed, almost forgot to take any photos at the race meeting. Scott and Jake would have loved to get up to Mt Hutt for some skiing, maybe next time. Nik was so proud of his skiing when he showed me his dvd. Great that the boys are enjoying themselves.

Andy and Raewyn, yes anything over 40c is too hot, the last couple of days have been great, high 30's with very strong dry winds. We have had to put up with a lot of blowing sand but the wind has been a nice change from the oppressive heat.

OK folks - -this is a bit of a short post, time to get to bed. It's been a busy evening because the boys both had a heap of school books to be covered and I wanted to get them all done. Time to get them doing their own I think! These 6am starts are a bit hard too!!

Back after a Long Summer Holiday

Hi everyone,

It's been a very long summer break, we have had a fantastic time and now are settling back into "normal life".

Arriving back in Dubai was a bit of a shock, it's so hot (43c most days), so bright and sandy. Everything seems sun bleached and neglected after the heat of summer. New Zealand is just so darn green!

I couldn't shake the inevitable jet lag, waking up at 2.30am every morning makes for a very long day and after a week of it I was feeling very weary. Still, I did get out in the garden before sunrise a few times and got that tidied up so it wasn't a total waste.



We really loved our holiday, it was a perfect combination of fun and relaxation. Our only regret was not having more time in Auckland. We missed out on catching up with lots of you who we would love to have seen. Grant really needed a quiet break so we had our two weeks of bliss in a couple of lovely holiday homes and then he had to be back here. The rest of the holiday was spent in the South Island with just the boys and I.



I will slip in some photos over the next few posts just in case you missed us.



The highlight for Scott was all the driving he got to do. He had several sessions at the Canterbury Race School, driving the Formula Ford and the RX7. He also got to do a Kart race meeting in Christchurch. All great experience and he loved every minute of it.



Jake was in shopping heaven, he has been reading heaps and managed to add books to his collection all around NZ.



Grants time was spent relaxing but he also get out with the boys for a bit of male fun with some quad biking and jet boating.



I have had such a perfect time, a bit of illness but that doesn't put a dent in my memories.

Family time with a heap of laughter over a table of delicious food.

Now we are all back into the swing of things here. Poor Grant not only had to go straight back to work he also has been sick with a nasty cough and has been feeling miserable. He has kept going on at work even though he should have been at home in bed. He has karting coming up and didn't want to take too much time off as he had already put in for a couple of days extra leave. Then his leave was declined! he was feeling so shitty he just about resigned on the spot!

The karting scene here is so disorganised, Scott and Grant are very disappointed. After experiencing how things should be done in NZ they are really not happy to be here. Time will tell how it pans out but it's not looking good at the moment.

I'm starting back at work tomorrow, I'm all ready and keen to get back into it. I have a big year ahead with doing my course but am looking forward to everything.

Jake is all set for college, he has his new uniform and everything else he needs. Scott has been busy with his course work that needs to be completed over the break, so he should be all set for next week.

It was lovely to hear that you all are enjoying this blog, I will do my best to update it frequently. If you want to comment easily just use the anonymous button (leave your name in the text). Its fine if you want to be a silent lurker, i do that too sometimes, at least I know that you like coming here and getting the latest!

Have a great week!

Off to New Zealand

Just a quick hello and goodbye!
We are leaving for NZ tomorrow morning, can't wait, it will be so good to see everyone.
Probably wont be much happening on the blog for a little while but I will try.
Dorene, I hope you have a good trip to Japan and we will grab that boating mag for sure.
And Nichola you have a great time in Cyprus (have a nice big OJ for me!)

Bye for now

I'm Here - I am....Really....

Sorry folks! - I have been around, keeping an eye on things but just have not been able to get computer time. Thanks for all your comments, I love it when I see some visitors have stopped by.

Things have changed a lot with me working during the day. We leave home at 7am and get back a 4pm. Over the last 3 weeks the boys have been sitting their end of year exams and the study and in particular the computer have been constantly in use. (we desperately need another computer for Scott!).

Anyway, I have taken some photos recently, even scrapped a couple of layouts (completed this morning), and now I've told Scott this is my spot until I'm finished. He is milling around so I'm under pressure already!

Going back to the 24th May Scott was racing the Tag class again, he had a great evening and came 4th. It was very tough racing, not for the fainthearted! (or mothers really).

Today his old kart gets sold, great to get that money back into the bank. It was nice having the two karts but not good for the budget.

Credits: Doodled paper alpha by Kate Hadfield, Painted art swirl by Michelle Coleman Frames by Traci Sims Designs, Date tab by Amber Cleg, Font is Painty Paint


I like the photo with Scott and Jake helping Grant. Jake was holding a torch and assisting Grant and Scott was all ready to fuel up, they were just about ready to line up on the grid and it was great team work under pressure. I have my jobs of course! I make yummy food, keep things tidy and look for lost little bolts and stuff on the ground (that last job is very challenging because there is usually a lot of swearing and cursing going on!!!).





EXAMS - almost over thankfully! Scott has a big science exam for his GCSE on the last week, it's 3 separate papers, biology, chemistry and physics. Then that will be it. Jake has had his Year Six SATs and Scott has done all the rest of his subjects. The boys have been great with their revision and Scott has already had some excellent results. Jake's exams get sent to the UK for marking but his teacher feels that he has made a huge improvement this year. He is all set to move onto college, we are a lot more optimistic than this time last year.



My job is going well, I love it! I do have a few challenges to cope with and it can be a bit up and down at times. Overall, though, it's fine and next year should be even better. I going to do the Hornsby Dyslexia Distance Learning course next year, that is going to very challenging but it will be so good to get some high quality training behind me.

Grant is real busy, he has been doing a lot of extra hours. Now that the karting has ended for the summer he is trying to earn a few extra dollars to pay for the next season! He will be joining us in Auckland in August and is looking forward to a nice wee holiday.





HOLIDAYS - Not long now, just two weeks and we are off to Christchurch. It's getting to flippin' hot and we are all ready for a break! Can't wait to catch up with everyone. We don't have any particular plans for our time yet. The boys want to snowboard, Scott would like to do some racing but that's it for ideas.



Lastly, here are some photos from my garden, I'm often watering it first thing in the morning and it looks so nice, last weekend I finally took some photos to share with you. As I was walking back inside I glanced at the pool and that looked so cool and inviting, I snapped that too.

Credits: Heart by Amanda Roberts, White frame cluster by Welli Designs, Font is Painty Paint and Pea Stacy's Doodles

OK You're almost all up to date, not really that much happening but enough to keep us all running around! We have some end of year stuff coming up. Jake has a busy time being his last year of primary school. He had a disco this weekend, next week the year six group is performing Macbeth over two evenings for parents and friends. He has a big "leavers" party day that includes snowboarding at Ski Dubai, a tribal drumming session with over 150 drummers and a pool party. Not sure what Scott has got planned, probably just studying for that exam (the last week of school, how bad is that!).

Time now to put Scott out of his misery and let him get back to his school work. I've got laundry piling up that needs attention, Grant is at the kart track and Jake is playing with his Warhammer stuff (a normal weekend). I will update you all again before we head to NZ.

Grant's 50th Birthday!

Hi all

The time has just flown by again, we are enjoying a little break just now - Jake has mid-term break (that means so do I!).

It was Grant's birthday on Thursday, the BIG 50. He had decided against a big party so we did some other stuff. The boys and I had organised a surprise trip to the Autodrome for the "single seater race car experience". Later we had dinner out, also a wee surprise.

I think Grant really enjoyed his race car driving, he was a tiny bit nervous but got into the swing of things fast. Scott begged a ride in the pace car, he was soon squealing around the track with smoke coming off the wheels! Grant said he had to back off at times to keep behind the pace car! The next level up is when they use one of the single seaters as a pace car. Anyway, he had a lot of fun, pity motor racing is so expensive. After that we went back home for a cool down and coffee and birthday cake. I got him a yummy cake made from profiteroles filled with creamy custard, it was a hit!
Later that evening we all went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant in town. The food was very nice, Jake and Grant love Thai food but even Scott managed to try some different things and the tropical fruit for desert was lovely. Unfortunately we encountered a huge traffic jam getting there and were an hour late. How does a truck travelling in a straight line (no overtaking) at 80k's manage to dump a 20ft container in the middle of the motorway? We were all a bunch of tired puppies by the time we got home.

Earlier in the day Jake had an audition so didn't go to school, I was working so Grant took him. It was at the Dubai Community Theater and was held by a UK company called Popular Productions. Jake had been practicing his lines and an introduction for a couple few weeks now and I had made him a CV. He did a passage from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". The auditions were open, just a way for the theatre group to get a database of talent to draw on for upcoming productions. It was all very exciting and the feed back from Jake's drama teacher was that all her students were very promising.

This weekend Scott has finally got his chance to learn to drive, he has been out over two days and has had no trouble in picking it up. You can't drive in the UAE until 18 years so they were strictly in zero traffic areas (unused newly constructed roads). So now he will be all set for some race car training in NZ. There was some 24hr karting here over the weekend but Scott was not in the right place at the right time and didn't get on a team, hopefully next time! Next weekend there is the last race before the summer break. Scott will be racing in TAG for this one. Grant has been doing the results for the Rotax Max series and Scott is currently first but with some tough competition not really expecting to hold on to that spot. One guy is just miles faster than Scott (Grants job is to get the kart flying for the races later in the year).

My job is going great, I really like it. Just got to get a bit more organised around home!

We are all getting excited about getting back to NZ, not long now and this time of year things go so fast. The weather here is getting quite hot 39-40 most days but we had a 44C last week! The swimming pool is getting plenty of use and the garden is looking very nice, the summer heat has not started to kill things yet. A while back I planted 3 dozen white periwinkles around the place and they are all starting to look nice too.

Now this place is starting to get noisy, Jake is having a tidy up for me in the study - he thinks my organisation is very slack, anything that has no home is going in the "cable box" works for me!!! Time to go make lunch!

News, Photos and Thanks!

Thanks for the b-day wishes, I will give a more detailed update on the blog after next race meeting coming up this weak. Hopefully with a better result. From Scott
Scott had a nice birthday, even though it was really quiet! He is still waiting for his driving lessons but was very happy to get money (thanks Sue & Mike), he also got some racing magazines and a playstation racing game.

On Scott's Birthday Jake had a rugby match at Abu Dhabi, it was in the evening but was still darn hot! Here is a photo taken at that match....

As you can see I have been making an effort to get some scrapbooking pages done - I wish that was all I had to do because it's so much fun creating them.

THE WEEKEND BEFORE LAST

Jake was away on camp (photos when I get them developed). He had a great time with no injuries or illness. His favourite activity was snorkeling. The kids also went kayaking, wall climbing, had a talent quest and went on a dhow trip. It was an action packed few days for him and he came back exhausted but happy.

Over that weekend Scott took part in a fun day at the Jebel Ali Kart track. It was a laugh and great training at the same time. They did normal track, reversed track and oval races. Position on the grid for the first race was decided by whoever got their helmet on first (or whoever got to the line first)! Scott came second and got a nice wee voucher for his effort.

LAST WEEKEND

Jake was away in Bahrain for a rugby tournament. Everything went smoothly except it was such a long day. Up at 4.30am, meeting at airport at 5.45am then they finally get back at midnight. Jake came back sunburnt, no shade and most of the day spent in the pool (and no mum making sure he was using plenty of sunblock). They only had one match and again it was far to hot, no more rugby with the exception of a fun day for the season wind down.

Scott was again kart racing, no Rotax Max series as it was postponed because of the heat. It is to bloody hot but the organisers mucked around and argued all through the cold months then set the dates for the series over the hot months then cancel races because it's too hot - REALLY!!

Anyway, Scott raced in the TAG class and had another shitty day. It all started after a collision that he was not involved it sent another kart airborn and it landed on a back wheel of Scott. This resulted in a flat tyre with the little screw things that hold the air in being shorn off. I will not go into all the details, Scott tells me he will but after heroic repairs and awsome driving Scott only came sixth (4th fastest lap time overall).

NEWS
I'm starting work tomorrow. Full time school hours in the learning support department at Jake's school. I'm really excited - been waiting on the go ahead for a couple of weeks and just this morning was phoned up to say I start tomorrow!

It's going to be a bit of a shock for me - I'm always busy but now I will be running to my bosses schedule!

Anyway, it's all good and I'm sure it will be fine once I'm settled into a pattern.

Camel Jam

I've got to run now - I will leave you with this photo of the camels. We were getting sick of traffic jams on Al Khail Road so Jake convinced me to take a slightly longer but infinitely less stressful way to school. Now we count camels not cars!

I really have to go now - will add credits for the scrap pages later today. Cheers for now and thanks for all your comments.

That's Racing!

I'm a bit late with this - too much other stuff going on!
Anyway, Scott's last weekend racing ended up on a rather miserable note.
After a day of great racing on his part, he gets to the final. He is in third place and has second in his sights when the kart ceases. He was so very disappointed, as usual the amount of work and preparation was huge. Grant is never satisfied and is always making sure everything is fine. This was their first meeting with the new kart. What a bummer!
Now a few days have passed and the engine has been inspected at the workshop. It seems that it wasn't actually a cease but the con rod snapped, resulting in a written off bottom end. Now the engine will be sent back to Austria for further inspection and hopefully a "no charge" repair as it seems to be a manufacturing problem. Luckily Grant's got a spare engine (you can see why I have no PERGOLA!!). Scott is bouncing back from his utter frustration and Grant is already planning the next meeting! Like they say "that's racing"!

It's Scott's birthday tomorrow - it's going to be very quiet for him unfortunately.

We've all decided no parties this year (even Grant's 50th). Scott's main birthday present is driving lessons in a manual car, he is hanging out for proper race car training but needs to be able to handle the gears first. Jake has an early evening rugby tournament in Abu Dhabi tomorrow so we will be picking up a DVD and something yummy for dinner on the way home and having a night in.

The following day (Saturday) Jake is off on his school camp, he is really looking forward to it. It's only a short camp and he will be back on the 1st then on the 4th he is off to Bahrain for another rugby tournament. That will be the last for the year as it's starting to get very hot (high 30's).

The rugby club are chartering a plane, I think it's only about an hours flight. This will be Jake's first trip to another country without us so I do hope there are no hiccups.

I have been busy but have to keep a secret a bit longer! Wait till next week....

OK I'm going to finish sorting out stuff for Jake's camping bag and by then dinner should be ready, NZ lamb flavoured with rosemary picked out of my very own garden!

Scott is making himself a special desert "Crumble Pie" he loves it!

Here is the recipe if you are desperate enough to try a real teenage boy type dessert;

Drain 1 big tin of fruit (Scott likes fruit salad) and put it into an ovenproof bowl.

In a separate bowl empty 1 packet of cake mix (Scott likes vanilla) and combine it with about 1/2 cup of melted butter.

Mix these till it's all crumbly then sprinkle it over the fruit.

Bake it in a medium oven till it looks ready.

Serve with ice cream and cream.

I don't like it but the boys do - Scott says it's great cold the next day too!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone is having a nice Easter. We have been relaxing and lovin' it!

Our BBQ in the desert was a lot of fun, one of those "why don't we do this more often?" occasions.
The kids had a blast - leaping off dunes, patting some friendly camels and toasting marshmallows. It's like being in a different world and it's less than an hours drive from the city.

Scott has his new kart, Grant has been busy making adjustments and generally fiddling around. Scott has had a few drives and is really happy with it. They are still getting some things sorted out like the seat position but it's all coming along nicely. The man selling it also gave Scott his old racesuit so Scott looks a bit different now.

(arrow doodles by Studio Sausan at Scrapbookgraphics)

I took Jake to the theater last night. We saw "The Flying Superkids" They are a gymnastic group from Denmark, the show is a mix of dance, comedy, acrobatics and singing. Jake loved it, those kids are great role models. Jake got some of their signatures after the performance so he was very happy.

Today Grant took the boys to the latest Mr. Bean movie, they thought it was good but not the funniest they have seen. It gave me a few nice quiet hours around here and a chance for a wee afternoon nap.

Last weekend we went to Abu Dhabi to see the Red Bull Air Race. The racing was great to see, there was an excellent commentary and huge screens showing live "pilot cam". The whole event was put together in a very professional manner.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi nice and early and set up our chairs and a couple of small golf umbrellas in what looked like a good spot. Well, the crowds poured in, we kept our spot and even kept the umbrellas up because there was no shade and parents were sharing ours to keep their little ones out of the sun. The news paper reported the spectators at 250,000 and the temperature was 39C. It was weird, so many of the people watching are from crowded countries and live in crowded flats and they don't share our concept of personal space. After hours of having strangers pressing in all around us I could not wait to get away from it all. Even now the thought of being in a crowd upsets me. Some people were nice, one even said "excuse me please" as he tried to move past but everyone else just pushed, shoved, leaned or pressed themselves right up to you. It was horrible! I would go again but next time would pay for a V.I.P. seat! The people standing in the foreground of this photo have climbed the fence and are standing on the breakwater, the big crowd is actually behind me. The large building in the background is the Emirates Palace Hotel, to say it's grand is a huge understatement, perhaps I will get to visit it sometime?

That's it for news at the moment. Happy Birthday to Sue, hope you had a nice day!
And a special HI to Mum!! thanks for the email, it is great to hear from you.

Holidays at Last!

Sanity is about to descend upon our house, the holidays are here! Two weeks of bliss.
I have had such a lot happening and it's been hard to find the time for updating you all so this will be a big post. The last 3 weeks have just flown by! Its been great fun, lots of good stuff.
Firstly - four announcements

: Happy Birthday Aunty Fluff.......80 yrs is a great milestone, and you really know how to celebrate in style! We are a lucky family to have such a zany, stylish and inspiring aunt and great aunt.
: Congrats on the launching of Dorene's new yacht, the family will be enjoying many fantastic adventures upon this luxurious floating beauty.
: Goodbye to our lovely friends, Rory and family, we will miss you all, Dubai is losing some great down to earth "normal" people.
: Lastly, tomorrow Scott is buying a new ( slightly used) kart. More details to follow later in the post.

OK, so now I will back-track 3 weeks

Jake's best friend from school is leaving Dubai with his family. We have all been friends for seven years, a long time is such a transitory place as Dubai. I spent all of my spare time last week putting together an album of Rory's school days, his class mates added their own thoughts and pictures and it was presented to him yesterday (his last day).
To mark his leaving Rory had a desert bash, sand boarding, camel riding and dune bashing. It was great fun, all the kids went on the bus into the desert (4WD for the last bit). Rory's mum and I followed along, much more peaceful that way. That poor bus driver must have been wearing earplugs! how he manage to keep smiling I don't know!

Anyway, it was a great morning. I took a ton of photos for them and everyone ended up having lunch at pizza hut. The sand boarding was excellent, dune bashing a great hit but the boys recommend never, ever take a long camel ride!!!!

Scott has now completed a week of work experience. It was really difficult getting it all sorted out. At the last minute his place was confirmed at the Dubai Autodrome. Then the boss there went overseas and the organising teacher at the college left to deliver her baby. It looked like Scott was going to end up spending the week with the mechanics fixing the hire karts (not what he wanted at all).
After a few words from Grant it all worked out just fine and Scott had a fantastic week at the Autodrome. The staff there realised that they were supposed to give Scott a proper week of purposeful experience. Scott also had to be flexible with his hours but luckily for us we live nice and handy. So Scott ended up getting a great introduction to the many areas of a large race complex.
He spent two days at the kart track. First he had a day on the computers, doing race control and timing for the arrive and drive karts. The next day he was on reception taking bookings etc for the karts.
Then he spent two days learning all about the race school over at the big track. He learnt about the financial side of things there.
His last day was great fun, he was posted at race management, and learnt all about running a big race event. He was impressed by the safety, CCTV monitoring and the general hierarchy (who controls what). Later in the evening he was out on the track as a marshall for some bike racing. It was a very busy week for us all, a lot of driving and juggling times but it worked out very well for Scott.

Scott had another race meeting last weekend. He is very pleased that he made the change into seniors. The racing is much more competitive! It was a great meeting and Scott ended up with a third place. This is just great for him, it was well earned. He spun in the first heat and was well back, then had two second places and was in second for almost all of the final but lost that with two laps to go. Still, the two guys of front are both pretty good and Scott was delighted to be on the podium for his third senior meeting.
An offer has come his way for a really nice kart, the owner is moving away from Dubai. It seems like a very good deal and so Grant has been to visit the bank (Again!!!). It's a Tony Kart so Scott will be moving away from the Arrows. Scott has not actually driven a Tony so it's a bit of a leap but they have done a lot of research and feel pretty comfortable with it all.

Here is a photo of Jake in the morning before heading off to National Day at school. The children spend the day learning about the local culture, sampling local food and they get the chance to do camel riding (no chance of that for Jake!!). As you can probably tell he was not feeling very comfortable and really didn't want his photo taken.

We have been full on with all the boys activities, some things will end now that it's the end of the term. New things will start up of course. Jake had enrolled in the Warhammer Club at school. Jake has just discovered this stuff and has started a collection by purchasing a second hand collection from an older boy who is moving on to other things. Warhammer reminds me of the more traditional mini model sets of armies and battles (like Waterloo). There are models to be painted, scenery to be made and it all gets set up like a battle. The difference is that the characters are fantasy or space alien type creatures. The models are quite expensive so I was pleased when he wanted to use all his pocket money and get some second hand stuff.

Scott was all set up to do his physical challenge part of the Duke of Edinborough Award two weeks ago. The students were doing a desert camp but it was cancelled because we had a rather severe sand storm, it would have been unpleasant and dangerous! Unfortunately for some reason the whole thing has been left very late in the year and now the temperatures have started to shoot up. It looks like the trip may get postponed till much later in the year now when the weather cools down. It is a shame because he was all prepared. We are getting into the low to mid 30's so summer is on it's way!

As I said at the beginning of this post we are so pleased to have a break in the busy schedule. Grant has three weeks off, we would like to go away for a short break but have to save our $$$ for our NZ holiday. Early starts, busy weeks and full weekends are wearing us all out. We are planning a few days of quiet but also have a couple of fun things lined up. I'm taking Jake to the theatre, we are going to see the "Flying Superkids" not sure what its about but it involves an international group of gymnastic acrobatic kids and Jake was soooo keen to go. Then next week we are going the Abu Dhabi to see the Red Bull air racing event. Grant is going to take the boys to Wild Wadi, the water park, I will pass on that one! The boys have exams next term and their teachers have them both loaded up with homework as well! Tonight we plan to head into the desert for a sunset BBQ dinner with some friends. It has been planned for the last two days but we have had another sand storm and then yesterday we has rain storms. Today it's nice, sunny and not too hot.

OK I had better go and get myself organised for tonight, it's been a while since we have done this sort of thing. I will be trying very very hard to stop by with updates more often, I can see that things will be settling down a bit now, despite being so busy I actually feel reasonably well organised (did I just say that - watch things turn to custard now!!!!)

Gidday All and Happy Birthday Mum!

OK, How is everyone?
I've been told off about being MIA, sorry about that, life getting in the way again!
Time to give you a very quick wee update.
I will add some scrapbook pages here, I have been doing these over the last few weeks as time allows and thought I had better get them off my hard drive and post them here today.
I seem to be more busy than usual. I cope, but only just and I'm really needing a nice quiet holiday, can't wait for Easter!
The boys are doing a lot, it keeps them active and they are both very happy. Jake has just started a Speech and Drama course at the new Dubai Community Arts Center. It's a proper program that ends formal LAMDA examinations. He is just doing the last part of the term so he doesn't have to worry about that just yet. Jake has been begging for drama classes for ages, he likes it but will be better when he moves into the 12+ age group next term.
Scott has a huge workload with school, he has been playing cricket, karting and helping out at Cubs (as part of his Duke of Edinborough award).
Grant is fine and I'm feeling a lot better.
Today I'm organising stuff to go in the school Trash & Treasure sale that's happening tomorrow. This place has very little storage space so it will be good to clear out a couple of cupboards. Hamster cage, old fish tanks etc etc... I really need to get on to that, just 1 1/2 hrs before I have to go back into school again. I'm always just about to go somewhere - it drives me nuts!!!!
Here are the latest layouts from me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM XXXX

Credits:Mum's page uses Structure by Lie Fhung at Scrapbook-bytes

Joe's page Background paper and photo mat by Ronna Penner from Vintage Snap Shots

Old paper adds from Grandpas Cabin by Rina

Ripped note paper from Altered Artistry by Sausan Designs at Scrapbookgraphics

Tea stained overlay from The Good Life by Nancie Rowe Janitz *

Cup stain, pin and scribble from Stationeries kit by Linda GB *

Remaining elements from Ophelia Kit also by Linda GB *

Font is Digs My Heart

Smile Page uses Background paper RAD Starry Eyed kit by Kim Christensen *

Cardboard overlays Linda GB *

Alpha from Flip kit Tracy Ann Designs at Scrapbook-bytes

Frame from Peppermint Creative free kit called Craft Jar

Calendar brush by Eva Rek

Font is Doodolonomy Fred

* items all from ScrapArtist

I'm Back Blogging!

First up.....Sorry that I haven't been around for a bit. I was quite sick for a while, all better now but it threw me out of wack and I'm just now getting back to normal. Also poor Mum has been sick also so we all need to send some prayers her way for a speedy recovery!

And Hi there to Dorene!! Nice that you have popped in, I will be in touch with an email but just wanted to you to know you have not been forgotten.

I've had heaps of photos from Raewyn and Andy, thanks guys!

And I have had some big long chats to Joanne and Mum in NZ, can't wait to see you both!

After a bad week I really needed to get out of the house and I had promised to take the boys to the drag racing at Umm Al Quain. Off we went, I was still feeling sick but was looking forward to an antidote of noise and action (mad I know...). I was a bit nervous because it's a real male sport here and I was expecting the local men to be out in force. We went because they advertised a family stand and it turned out to be really good. The evening was commentated in Arabic, the guy was kinda funny even though we had no idea what was happening. There were some very nice cars, a nasty smash and some ultra noisy 'Top Fuel' cars. The top fuel cars were from Sweden I think. Scott thinks I'm nuts because when the first of these went I had my camera ready (we were sitting right on the start line), when it accelerated I got such a fright with the noise that I screamed and dropped my camera, luckily it was around my neck - not that I thought about it!

After that I plugged one ear with my finger,shot with one hand and the camera squished against my face and crouched down and used Scott's elbow to block the other ear. Talk about laugh!!! next time I'll remember the ear plugs!

Last weekend was super busy. Jake had his big rugby tournament and on the same day Scott was kart racing. Jake's team lost all their games, very unusual for them. I was still really happy with how Jake played, he was getting into the action and really enjoying himself. It's nice to see him get the ball and run with it. His confidence has increased a lot lately. And...he had no injuries at all......yeeee haaaa!!!

Scott's karting went really well, another day of missing out on the podium but it was a great days racing for him and no crashes or injuries. Scott said to me on the phone after the first heat that "it was the first race of my life" meaning that up till now he has just been learning and has had it easy with small fleets and now he is in seniors, fighting it out, and it's "for real".

Scott is doing amazingly well, he finished seventh on the line with some of the DD2's and a couple of hotshots behind him despite having serious under-steer for the final. He is getting great at overtaking but still has to work on getting better starts.

Grant has had a bit of time off, mainly spent working on the kart and doing a few odd jobs around here. Now that I'm feeling better I've been trying to get the house back into shape. Things really deteriorate when nobody is cleaning....ah - that would be me I guess! Anyway I'm still happy just to be feeling better, hopefully Mum will be on the mend soon too.

Next weekend will see us going to a couple of birthday parties (an 11th for Jake and a 60th for Grant & I). Perhaps I will get to join the photography club for a field trip somewhere. Other than that it will be nice and quiet for a change.

P.S. I have cut down on the number of posts showing, just look in the archives for the older stuff. Hopefully this will make it a bit quicker to load for you lot on dail-up.I may reduce it from three to two, let me know if it makes a difference. All my posts are heavy with photos so it will still be a bit slow.

Christmas Parcel has Arrived!

Thanks Mum and Dad, it's finally here, thanks for all the goodies!


How is this for a history Posted on 4th December
Left NZ on the 6th December

Arrived Dubai 29th January
Collected 30th January

Where was it in between, no idea, but it was probably interesting!

Grant decided to check with the central Post Office in person today as we were beginning to think that the parcel really was missing for ever. What a coincidence when he found that it had only just arrived the day before and the notification had just been sent out.
Everything was in fine shape and it was so nice to have a mini Xmas all over again.
Jake was just bursting with excitement as you can imagine, he was upstairs all evening immersed in Star Wars fun. Scott was his usual cool self but soon had his head buried in the Karting book. Grant finally had to remind him that there was homework waiting - that way Grant got to check it out too.
I was really spoilt, I've got that lovely paua bracelet on right now. A million thanks to you Mum and Dad, what a special boxful of treasures for us all.

Thanks also for the message Dad, you are very good!
Wish we had some of those spuds here, have to make do with some all the way from Australia.
I planted a tomato plant, what a sad wee thing it is. Everything I planted late last year has struggled because it's been so cold. We had 6deg the other night. Over the last few days its warmed up quite a bit and at last I can see things begin to take off.

Here is a quick run down of the karting last weekend. It was a big disappointment. Scott and Grant had done a heap of preparation and on the day everything was looking good. For some strange reason the race day only consisted of two heats and the final.
Race 1 - Scott got taken out (run over) by another kart on the first corner. He eventually managed to get unstuck and finished the race last.
Race 2 - great competition, Scott finished 3rd behind two very fast karts, a great race.
Final - Scott got hit by another kart that spun out near to him, first corner yet again! Kart damaged and parked up for the rest of the race.

It was very disappointing after all the anticipation, still, I guess that's racing. The kart was pretty bashed up, Grant says he can get it all straightened out without to much cost. They had a big rear bumper installed as per the new regulations but are reconsidering the style. The plastic one is a bit large and seems to be more of a target for pushing and barging so I think that a different one will be appearing for the next race. Scott also has a new number "54" the old one was taken in the senior class.
Other than that everything's fine!


OK I'm off to bed now, just gone midnight and I've got to be up at 6am. Not sure where the time goes and the place looks like a bombs gone off. Guess I'll be busy tomorrow!
Love and Hugs to you all!!

Credits:
Xmas Parcel - Paper is from Happy Christmas by Robyn England at ScrapArtist
Hearts from Dragonfly Dreams by Helen Parkinson
Font is Kwekel
Kart Race - Built Tough kit by Amber Clegg
Journal Stamp from RAD Refresh by Kim Christensen (both ScrapArtist)
Quote by Kate Teague
Font is Milk & Cereal

Mid-week Mutterings

This is my second attempt at writing a post, hopefully no more interruptions! The boys are at school, Grant is down at the kart track getting ready for the practice session this afternoon. He will pick Scott up at 12.30 and Jake's off to visit a friend straight after school. This means I have the day rest of the day free from my taxi duties. Actually, I should go into School for a short session with Jake, I've told him to stay in Arabic and read quietly (hopefully no one will notice....shhhh).

Jake enjoyed rugby over the weekend, he has been working on his fitness and its making a difference at last. Scott and Grant have the kart all sorted for the weekend (first race of the 2007 season).
The weather has been really cold and unpredictable lately, however, very little rain. Yesterday a sandstorm was blowing up around here making a mess of everything. Today it's nice and fine again.


I have made a bit of time to sit and do some scrapbooking pages, It's fun but the time really runs away, I love putting things together slowly and fiddling with all the elements till I'm happy. I will have to go back into the old albums and do some pages based on old photos but I seem to only just keep up with the recent stuff. In this set there is one of Jake taken on Boxing day. He had been soooo looking forward to getting a big box of leggo for Christmas. Grant picked it up on his trip to Seattle, I was very impressed that he remembered and got the right one. Well, for Jake to wait even one day before tackling it was hard, he was up first thing in the morning as the sun streamed through the window. I don't think he even noticed that I was taking this photo, his concentration was complete.

This next photo was taken up in the stands while we were watching some of the 24hr race. It was quite chilly so I was giving Jake a cuddle. It would have been nice if Scott had smiled but this is his normal face (very serious).

Lastly, Jake playing rugby last weekend. He did well and enjoyed the day. His club has three teams playing in the Under 11's. They are all improving and are lucky to have the most excellent coaches. Now I must get back to my chores, washing to hang out, bathrooms to clean etc. This weekend will be a busy one and it will be good if I'm on top of things. We have a party tonight for some good friends who are leaving Dubai, and then racing all day tomorrow. Grant has work over the weekend also so I'm not sure how it will all pan out. I think I'm officially a mechanic tomorrow, that should be fun. I do polishing and fetching and that's about it!

Credits:Leggo: Unamused Boys Kit by Jessica Bolton at Scrapbookgraphics . Ribbon and Treasure Word, Its a Guy Thing kit by Doris Castle. Inked Edge by Kim Hill. Paper Arrow, staple and photo corner by Linda GB, Star Bazar Kit from ScrapArtist.

Family: Swirly Q kit by Tracy Rivera at ScrapArtist (Apprentice). Date Stamp by Amber Clegg SA

Rugby: Background from Ophelia kit by Linda BG and Elements from the RAD collections by Kim Christensen both at ScrapArtist