The kids were playing with empty boxes in the kitchen

after our big pre-Ramadan trip to the grocery store.

Look carefully at the box Rana discovered!

She must have known it was meant for her! :)

Rana is very good with Aziz - and he is full of smiles!

Happy Birthday, Najeeb!

Although they don't usually do much to celebrate

birthdays around here, we had a little birthday party

for Najeeb yesterday, complete with brownies, fun
birthday hats, balloons, and crazy string!

Our First Trip to Saudi Arabia!

We are having a wonderful time visiting Najeeb's family in Saudi Arabia. Everyone is thrilled to meet Annie and Rana in person - and we're very happy to be here, too!

Najeeb with his brother Hamoodi, sisters Nedaa and Layal and niece Yara (3.5).

Nedaa, Najeeb, Layal and Wahib

Najeeb and Rana with Abdullah and his sons Faisal (2) and Abdul Aziz (7 mo).

Faisal and Abdul Aziz

Annie with Nedaa and Layal

Yara

Najeeb reading "Goodnight Moon" to Rana, Faisal and Yara.

They love it!

The Park

Rana is really starting to like the park.

She plays in the sandbox and on the swings,

but most of all, she loves being around the other kids!

Playing Around at Fourteen Months

Rana found this little crate, climbed

in and made herself comfortable.

She even managed to get in and out on her own.

Eating spinach is fun!

Talking on the phone, too!

Keeping a one-year-old entertained...

A few unusual delays and missed trains added several hours to our journey to the Rhine (in both directions!). Rana was a great sport, and I think she entertained us as much as we entertained her! ;)

Along the Rhine River

We took a trip yesterday with Uncle David

and Aunt Nancy to the beautiful Rhine region.

We rode the tourboat on the river,

wandered through the towns of Bacharach and St. Goar,

including the Rheinfels Castle, which was once the

biggest castle in the region and dates back to 1245.

It was fun to explore everything!