Coming Home

Coming Home

Qatar will always have a special place in our hearts.  Hayat spent much of her first year of life here.  She helped us see life here with much more focused and appreciative eyes.  Her first giggles, words and steps were taken here. This makes my heart swell with an abundance of rainfall-like emotions.  Gratitude.  Humility.  Thankfulness.  And a mission.  To continuously look at life through her innocent, curious, unbiased eyes.  Full of wonder.  Reckless abandon.  Millions of possibilities.  Always with a smile and a laugh ready to be bellowed out by any joke.  

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We Went to Purple Island

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We Went to Purple Island

It’s official.  We are moving back to Canada.  As much as we loved this international lifestyle, we feel the urge to settle down close to family.  It's a bitter sweet feeling, but my heart is calling for home in another place.  So, we are trying to enjoy these last few months in Qatar, visiting all the sites and sounds that this country has to offer before we head back to the north pole, I mean, Ottawa.

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Hiking the Mountains of Oman

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Hiking the Mountains of Oman

Rugged. Barren. Desolate. Canyons. Converse sneakers.

Which of these is not like the other? Fortunately, Oman’s rugged mountains and our awesome guide, Hameed, made it all work.

We took a long weekend out to Jabal al-Akhdar (The Green Mountain) and Jabal al-Shams (The Sun Mountain), the highest peaks in the Middle East located in Oman’s interior province.

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Sealine Beach in Qatar

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Sealine Beach in Qatar

For more than 6 months a year, Qatar is pretty much uninhabitable.  The heat and humidity is so intense that Ali’s glasses fog up within 2 seconds of walking outdoors.  And don’t get me started on the sweat stains.  The city empties out of the species called human to escape the heat and those poor souls left to stay brave through the treachery until October comes rolling in.  When the summer merges into winter (there is no autumn here - my favourite season!), the air cools down to a pleasant 24-28 degree celsius and humanity emerges from hibernation, wide awake and spinning with excitement.  All this to say, a few weeks ago , we drove out to explore the Sealine beach, an hour south of the big city, to enjoy a BBQ in the wild with new and old friends.  Except the ‘wild’ was humankind.

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Babymama Takeover at Pink Lake in Gatineau Park

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Babymama Takeover at Pink Lake in Gatineau Park

Fall in this region is simply breathtaking, so we took an hour or so hiking around Pink Lake, chatting about life, babies, careers, inspiration and everything in between.  Sometimes, you just need these moments to unwind, breath in nature’s glory and give your spirit a jolt of adrenaline to help your creative juices flow.