Daddy Daughter Talk

This morning I wanted to have a heart to heart talk with Abbey. Dianna and I have been very concerned about how difficult it is here for Abbey to play with her friends. Unlike home, she can't just run out the door and go over to a friend's house. Anytime she wants to play with a friend we have to call parents and make arrangements then take what can be as long as a half hour trip through Doha traffic. It is important for little girls to have best friends.

Using my best caring-parent-voice I asked Abbey to come sit on the chair facing me so we could talk. I assumed that by inviting her this way she would know that I wanted to have a special and meaningful talk. She hopped up on the chair and said, "Yeah, bro?" This really set the tone for our little talk. I poured my heart out telling her how concerned I was about the friend situation. I told her how important I thought it was for little girls to have a best friend. I explained that if she was having difficulty with this that would be reason enough for us not return to Doha next year. I was very sincere and caring and half expected a very emotional response from her - maybe even some tears. She looked at me and said, "I want to come back next year."

Abbey's social development was one of the top considerations in our decision to come here. We felt very good about her ability to make friends and be socially well-adjusted. That has proven to be very true. She has made a lot of friends at school. She has a lot of fun playing with them there.

I'll try not to worry about her so much any more. It is a blessing to have children to worry about.

Jordan

We just spent an amazing seven days in Jordan. We saw some spectacular sites, ate some local cuisine, and experienced the culture first hand.

We were greeted at the airport in Amman by Ahmad (right) and Abed. Ahmed is the brother of one of my co-workers. He was a very gracious host. He speaks pretty good English, but we did have some difficult moments trying to communicate. Abed was our driver. He speaks only a few words in English. At one point Ahmed turned to us to translate what Abed had just said. He started speaking in Russian. After a few phrases you could see in his face the realization he was not speaking to us in English. That was a funny moment. This picture was taken overlooking the valley just outside of Jerash.

We spent the second morning in the Roman ruins of Jerash. I have to say that as an architect it was a thrilling experience. Honestly I was close to tears. In school we studied the masterful proportions of the Greeks and Romans. But to be in the actual spaces was spectacular.

Here we are standing at Hadrian's Arch (shown above). This is the gateway to the city.

It was a perfect day to be there. The temperature was perfect and the sun and the clouds were making a play of light across the city. Here Dianna and Abbey are standing at the entry of the Oval Plaza.

We listened to a Crazy Jordanian Scottish Pipe Band in the South Theatre. The acoustics were amazing.

Abbey standing in front of one of the largest columns gives some perspective of the size. Abbey had a lot of fun here.

This picture was taken in the outer perimeter of the North Theatre.

This is the same spot looking into the Theatre. The acoustics are incredible. Dianna sat near the entry here and Abbey stood on the stage near where the man in the picture is. She could hear us whisper from there.

For two of the six nights we stayed at the Movenpic Hotel and Resort at the Dead Sea. That is the most luxurious place we have ever stayed. This is one of the 4 pools at the resort. The gardens were very refreshing as well.

From our hotel balcony you could look across the Dead Sea and see Jerusalem on the top of the mountain on the other side. That was stunning.

Here we are at the River Jordan near the spot where they believe Jesus was baptized. Across the river is the Israeli visitors' center. They have an armed guard on the Jordanian side and the Israeli border patrol comes to the other side every few hours.

Our next stop was the lost city of Petra. You may recognize this from the Indiana Jones movie. We rode camels around the opening in front of the most famous building in Petra. That was definitely a highlight.

Even though the Bedouins don't live inside Petra anymore there was enough activity to sense a little bit of what it must have been like not too long ago.

This is a picture out of our hotel window in Amman. I thought of Amman as a rolling sea of white buildings. There are very few modern buildings. This kind of landscape goes on for miles and miles.

Even though there were some very unpleasant moments on our trip we had a fantastic time. We are so glad we were able to go.