Fun With Friends

We've had a lot of fun guests in our home over the past week, and have been able to enjoy some parts of both of the places we call "home."

First, last weekend, my friend and her two daughters came over for dinner. I asked her to help me make some local dishes, and we had fun preparing the feast you see below. The kids on the right are a little more excited about the local dishes than the kids on the left, but they all enjoyed the rice!After dinner, we found a game that crossed the language barrier--Memory! Jason and the kids taught the other girls how to play, and they all had lots of fun finding matches and naming the pictures in English and Arabic.
On Monday, it was time for some all-American entertainment--the Super Bowl!

(By the way, after we'd been talking about it for several days, I realized that Lee Anna was calling it the "Super Goal." I can see why. She knew that "goal" was a sports word, but didn't know what a "bowl" would have to do with a football game!)
We were interested in seeing the game, but not interested enough to stay up all night, so we did what we've done in years past and watched the recorded game on Monday evening. We had to avoid our computers all day Monday in order to not find out who won ahead of time, but we managed to do it.

We had a fun group of Americans here to watch the game with us. In honor of Jason's New Orleans roots, we made red beans and rice.

Some girls even made a King Cake! They had a little trouble finding a baby to put it in, though, so they substituted the closest thing they could find--a baby rubber ducky! I'm guessing that's a first.
Sawyer and his friend Chase decided to get in on the football action themselves.
And Sarah Claire entertained the crowd by smiling with her tongue out and climbing all over her Daddy. It seems like lately her tongue has spent more time out of her mouth than inside it. I'm not really sure why, although it might have something to do with the two new teeth that have poked through this week. (On second thought, judging from this picture, it might just be genetic!)
This last picture isn't from the party, but she wanted to show off her newest trick. She's figured out how to pull up to standing, and is practicing every chance she gets!
It won't be long before she's wobbling her way around the house. Can this really be my baby?