A man and his (mini) van

Yesterday we took possession of our new 2002, burgundy Chevy Venture. Yes, we joined the minivan cult. Those of you without kids may be chuckling at us, but Alex and Ellie think it is the coolest car around and constantly want to go drive in the bus! ( They like it much better than our rental SUV) Alex even told me the bus was cool! The magic doors that open and close all on their own bring a look of wonder to Alex's face. The other day I also got my Cayman driver license to add to my US one and my Omani one. (I never did get a UK license when we lived in London even though I should have, according to the authorities). The Cayman license was the easiest, as all you have to do is show your US one and they take your picture and money and you are set. In Oman you had to do an eye test, which of course I failed since they test both eyes, not just your choice of one, like in the States. It took a lot of talking to the policeman, who didn't understand what I was saying, and eventually after talking to his superior they just let me have it.

The kids are settling in well at nursery and enjoyed all their Easter activities and especially their Easter baskets when they left on Thursday. The entire drive home they wanted "chocolate, chocolate", which then continued after they woke up from their naps. Friday and Monday are holidays here so we have a long weekend. Most of which I have already spent at the airport park. I am doing ok in my role of Mr Dad and learning quickly. I have most of my tasks mastered and running smoothly, taking kids to school, shopping, laundry, dishes, packing the kids lunch and bags for school each day, etc. The area I struggle in is getting them dressed each morning. I have never had a flair for fashion and cannot match colours. At least if I was colour blind I would have an excuse I could use. The fashion side is a bit easier as all Alex has is shorts and t-shirts and Ellie has some dresses to go with her shorts and shirts selection. The other morning I had a nice pink shirt from with a pretty picture of Holland on it to match her shorts. Ellie was not interested but Alex saw it and wanted to wear it. That sounded good to me so he had a shirt, but of course it did not go with the shorts I had for him. Ellie was happy to wear his tie-dye shirt which of course did not match the shorts I had for her. (They are almost the same size which is handy for nappies and clothes.) I think it is great they want to pick their own clothes, but of course Emma was horrified when she saw the kiddies all ready to go to school looking like fashion school dropouts. I am proud of their dress sense and they were off to school happy and content.

We have a couple of Easter egg hunts for Sunday that we are looking forward to. I also guess we will be spending a lot more time this Easter weekend at the airport park. Enjoy your Easter and may all your eggs be chocolate!