About letting go and holding very tight

When the kids grow up and are chosen to participate in an exchange project with school than,.... 

1. Firstly you grow by pride.

2. Secondly you shout from the rooftops how important it is to let them go and spread their wings.

3. Thirdly when they are all packed and ready to get in the airplane you just want to hold them tight and not let them go.

Dear Louka, enjoy this amazing experience and your time in the USA. The pictures we have received make us happy and show you are having a great time! The cooler temperatures and green environment seems a breath of fresh air after many hot school years out in the desert.

Dear Mrs K and dear Mrs A, thank you for embracing our girl as if she was your daughter and P thank you for being a great company and caring as a brother. Don't forget to send her back, we miss her!

Lebanon

Super excited we took the airplane to Lebanon. The clothes fitted perfectly and the atmosphere was excellent.

We initially doubted to register them to participate in the Lebanon gymnastics competition, but when Belgium was the victim of the terrorist attacks we realized you don't know your destiny.

The traffic in Beirout was a disaster, but once out of the car we really enjoyed the walks, the natural habitat, watching the beautiful old buildings and some stunning views.

We visited Byblos, cultural heritage unimaginable in the United Arab Emirates.

All the blue in the streets of Beirout draws the attention and the kids enjoy the hospitality of the Lebanese!

Lebanon, we will be back next year! You can be sure of that!

Destination 'Abroad'

The kids' first gymnastics competition abroad! So they really needed matching tracksuits to get the team spirit going.

Making the outfits was a race against time. Before departure there was no time left to take pictures of the tracksuit. So thinking we could do this at our destination we did not stress about the blogpost just yet. At our destination the weather seemed just to warm for jumpers so we didn't get the full outfit on pictured so we decided to take pictures back home. In our bathroom the light seemed to be the best.

The girls got a Julia sweater and the boys a Leather Sweater. Oh boy those two patterns are a delight.

Easy to cut and to assemble, and a really gorgeous result.

The girls got a pair of our favorite gym pants, Alasya, and the boys a Randy pants. Overall the boys outfit was more work because we added a small green detail in the seams. Blue, green and white are the colors of the club and the kids looked really cool.

What started of as a 'normal' photoshoot quickly degenerated in a bathtub gymnastics session!

Apparently the bath suits perfectly as parallel bar ...

As a balance beam ...

But also acrobatic gymnastics is an option in our bathtub ...

Hilarious our sporty -and also slightly crazy- kids.

Lebanon, here we come!

As we have already spammed you with the outfit pictures, we will post the pictures of the trip itself later.

Back to basics

Oma and cousin O visited us this Easter break.

Some undiscovered desert corner, some bushes, and mostly lots of sand.

They didn't really need a lot more then this during the past school break.

Also the wall around our house was very popular.

The only negative point was 'that difficult book' she had to finish reading for school. Nevertheless reading on top of the wall makes it two times less difficult and ten times cooler!

Fantastic break, we can't wait until the summer!

Julia - Compagnie M

Lots of sewing the last couple of months, but as my camera is currently on strike I have no real proof for all the work being done...

Rainy weather is a rather rare in the UAE, but this year it has rained more then we ever! So the 'cold' weather inspired us to make a jumper. Cold never stays cold here and when the jumper was finished the weather already turned around into the usual hot April temperatures. So she just put the jumper on for the pictures and it will remain in the cabinet till the summer when we go on holidays to Belgium.

We made a Julia sweater for Jade in a Bambiblauw fabric.

The pattern is very easy to assemble and the result is gorgeous. The size table is perfect for my rather small girl.

A picture jumper for our sporty girl.