The Easter Bunny came to see us! Before Joel left for work Sunday (remember our weekends are Thurs/Fri) we put the kids Easter baskets together. {There is not a selection of Easter candy here in Salalah, but a friend, Jeanette Barnett, just returned from the states bringing the kids lots of chocolate and jelly beans. Thanks Jeanette!!!!} Then we hid some candy around the villa. I had left a trail of Easter basket grass from the door to their baskets. When the girls woke up, I told them that the Easter bunny left them a surprise. When Katheryn saw the grass on the floor, she was a little upset that the Easter Bunny had left a mess for us to clean up! They enjoyed searching for and eating their candy! This was the first time we had ever really had the Easter Bunny in our house. We have never really made it a big deal. I have always felt like I would be lying (which it technically is) if I told her that the Easter Bunny (or Santa Clause for that matter) snuck into our house and left stuff for them. I have never told them these characters were not real either. We see them in the malls, at Christmas parties and on TV. We have always just allowed them to use their own imagination when these holidays roll around.

Until this year. I admit! I had fun playing along that the Easter Bunny was real and had left candy in hiding places and that mess on our floor!Seeing their excitement was almost priceless. But as the day went on, and the girls kept asking more questions, and the lies kept pouring out of my mouth, I started feeling bad! Then at the dinner table, Katheryn said something that made me feel better. She said, "Mommy, the Easter Bunny is just pretend right?" I didn't say yes, and I didn't say no. All I could do is smile and wink!

Then I felt bad again. We told her we had to put away the candy for two days because she wasn't eating her table food. She burst into tears and said, "But how am I going to celebrate Jesus?" Talk about manipulation. She didn't win though. The candy is still in the cabinet. Still close enough for my reach though!

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The girls with their baskets and a mouth full of candy!

Luke could only drewl over his basket. Poor thing! He is working on getting some teeth in!

Later in the morning we had some friends come over for an Easter picnic (in the house as it is too hot to stay outside too long). Pam came with Alec and Jacob, and Myah came with Youssef. Youssef didn't want his picture made this time.

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Joel and I had our first date night Saturday night. That means we got a babysitter for the first time here in Oman. Her name is Rose and she is from the Philippines. We met her at church and the girls love her.

Joel and I went with some friends to the resort's Easter buffet. Luke tagged along for the first hour then Joel took him home to go to bed. The buffet was great and we had a wonderful time. The entertainment consisted of a Lebanese singing couple, a Moroccan belly dancer, and a Russian band.

The girls did great for Rose and Joel and I had a wonderful time!

The buffet

Me and my date. Oh wait!That's not my date! That's Russ.

OH! Here are my two dates! Joel and Luke!

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Last night, some officials came in to Salalah from the American Embassy in Muscat. Joel's Omani commander and some of his fellow pilots also were in town. They came over for appetizers before heading to the hotel buffet for dinner. It was the first time we had met Joel's Omani friends. All of them were extremely nice and spoke very highly of Joel.

By the time we left for the buffet, it was already the kids bedtime. Luke had been quite fussy already (which is unusual for him), but the kids and I still tagged along for the meal. Luke had spit-up on my skirt twice before we left. Once we sat down, he puked all over my shoulder! He was still fussy when Joel tried to calm him. There are two waitresses that always play with the kids and offered to take Luke so I could eat and Joel could chat. The food looked good, but between the smell of barf on my shoulder and seafood (buffet theme last night) I didn't eat that much. The girls finished and we said goodbye to the men and we headed back home. Maybe we should have gotten Rose to keep the kids last night too.

From left to right: Khalid (pilot), Khamis (commander and pilot),
Haley Donoho (US Embassy), Bader (pilot), Colonel Milton (US Embassy),
Joel, and Katheryn's baby doll.