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To see the newest addition to the Parkinson family!!! Oh - and don't forget to interact with him :)

(THANK YOU to BUNNYHERO LABS for a night of INCREDIBLE ENTERTAINMENT!)

MAMA ABBOTT!!!!!

Just in case you're worried......Emily is JUST FINE :)

Anything for a Friend.

Really. Truly. ANYTHING. Including a much-too-tight ride home from the mall!

All That Matters.

These American's may not know:

- what buttertarts are
- what poutine is
- what "gongshow" means
- what our national anthem sounds like
- that we have a Canadian Thanksgiving
- that we celebrate Halloween
- that we celebrate Valentine's Day
- what the Hockey Night in Canada theme song is

OR

- what a "canuck" is



But........they do know HOW TO HAVE FUN!!! Today we had an extravagant outing at the mall. Em and I like that they're "YES PEOPLE"!

PIZZA PARTY!!!

Last night we hosted a "pizza party" to honour the 6 packages of Betty Crocker pizza crust we found at the Sultan Center this week. The dough is simple to make (just add water!) and when you load it up with yummy toppings the pizza is TO DIE FOR!!! I think that's all I can say about it.....I fear that others may drive to the store and purchase the remaining stock!!!

P.S. Real chefs wear aprons!

C-Totes Celebration!!!

What better way is there to celebrate a reunion than a trip to Kuwait's Scientific Center?! Yesterday we had the most fabulous day with C-Totes, Ian, and Alex. Ian has come to learn that I always have my camera with me and at any moment he may be asked to smile for it. Here is 2% (BAHA) of what we captured yesterday:

"Pretend that you're swimming!!!" (Thank you LEAH for the photo inspiration).

Those are some HAPPY FEET if you ask me!

Do you see the obscurely shaped coral? AMAZING.

Jellyfish are super cool until they sting you at your birthday party.

I heart sharks. NOT.

First turtle sighting at the aquarium!!! We didn't have the privilege of seeing this fella the last time we were there!!!

This one looks more believable than the last one. Agreed?!

It's HAMMER Time!

Or "Tea Time" as you may call it. At our iftar event the other night, we learned about a new delicious brew called "loomi tea". It's made by crushing dried limes (often marketed as "lemons", haha) and then steeping the pieces in boiling hot water. Mmmmm....add a wee bit of sugar and you'll be sipping your way to paradise.

I asked Emily to take this picture for my Daddy in particular. Hey DAD - it's a tea that requires some hammer work!!! Maybe you would like it??? I will bring some home for you to try!!!

EID MUBARAK!!!

Wishing all of our friends in Kuwait and Egypt a very happy holiday!!!

IF YOU WERE HERE FOR TEA.

We just finished dinner, the dishes are done and we are in the process of making tea!!! It only seems appropriate to follow up with this very post!

* Today we went into school to get some "serious" work done (Pat, Emily, Me and the new teachers). Phil was kind enough to come in with me and helped to arrange my computer, organize my stationary, and assist with bulletin board decor (THANK YOU, HUBS!!!). My room is looking good and I can't wait to have student work up soon!

* We are having lots of fun getting to know Ian and Alex. They usually stop by for an afternoon tea and then an evening chat. Tonight we decided that "Funniest Home Video's" should be called "Funny Movies from Your Country". It's also fun to ask them if they'd like to know what's up in "their country" whenever "Good Morning America" is on. Haha....they are super-cute Americans.

* Phil finally has ESPN!!! Today we watched 13 year old's play baseball and apparently it was a big deal.

* Last night we were invited to an iftar hosted by a fabulous family here in Kuwait. It was MARVELOUS. The food was TOO GOOD and the hosts were their usual AWESOME. The event made me quite excited for school to begin!!! (<---- because it means I will see one of the hosts EVERY DAY!)

* This afternoon we took Emily to the Sultan Centre for the first time. She was quite impressed to find that it was much like shopping in a grocery store at home. There are so many familiar products that make you say "I AM OKAY HERE IN KUWAIT"! Today's purchases include: betty crocker pizza mix, mott's applesauce, and mini-wheats. Stocking our cart with items like these is such a day-maker.

* Pat and Kelly got a new furniture set and it looks FANTASTIC! I can't wait to get cozy on their new couches when we go up for tea!!!

* The other day I went to a "Body Sculpt" class at the gym. It can be confirmed that this class does IN FACT work to SCULPT the ENTIRE BODY. Ah - pain that makes you say "wa-hooo"!

* Tomorrow we get to see Colleen (C-totes)!!! She is also in Kuwait this year, but has been busy with orientation at her new school. I can't wait to catch up with her and give her the world's greatest hug.

Mmm......I am being lured off the blog with some caffeine-free raspberry tea and another great episode of the Biggest Loser (Season 8).

Ciao for now!

XOXO

So Much Pride!

Last night, Phil wanted to take us for yet ANOTHER tour of the newly organized storage room. This time - the five hundredth time - we insisted on TEA!

BEE RICH!

Mama C started a blog!!! Find her words of wisdom and love HERE!

IF YOU WERE HERE FOR TEA.

* Emily is FINALLY here! I didn't like having to re-start my countdown the other night when I found out that she was stuck in Dubai. Ah well - over and done with. She is beside me now :)

* We have met some REALLY WONDERFUL new teachers!!! The couple that moved into our building (Ian and Alex) are especially lovely and we have had the pleasure of having many tea/internet parties with them this week :)

* I think I am the only teacher in the world who gets excited when unexpectedly called into work. YAHOO!!!! Let's get this year STARTED!!!

* Phil put together two big shelves to make our storage room more organized and accessible. They look fantastic and now we have room for even more STUFF! (haha, Phil - I'm kidding!)

* Emily toured the Avenues for the first time last evening! We best slow down on introducing her to the rest of our tourist attractions.....we don't want to run out of things to do before the school year actually begins!!!

* Big Brother. WOWEE. Danielle and Jeff gone in ONE WEEK?! MY OH MY! How can we fight jet lag with such quality television on the go?

* All water bottles should be referred to as hydration vessels. Don't you think?

* Golfing at 5 a.m.? Do people ACTUALLY do that?! PHIL DOES! Tomorrow he will play nine holes and most likely return to the apartment before Em and I are even awake!

* My left knee is still causing some trouble. Icing throughout the day helps, but I suppose there's still healing to be done only one week following the marathon.

* HOT, HOT, HOT. <---- just in case you were curious about our local forecast!

MISS YOU ALL.

BIG HUGS.

XOXO

VICTORY DINNER!!!

The night before we left Reykjavik, Team Diabetes hosted a BETTER-THAN-DELICIOUS meal for us at a local restaurant. Fred DeFina - the director of Team Diabetes - congratulated us on all of our achievements and thanked each person individually for all of their efforts. Together, we raised almost $400,000 for the Canadian Diabetes Association and with that we can send close to 400 kids to camp!!! These statistics, along with a WONDERFUL speech by another delightful person, brought tears to my eyes. We really did make a difference. And something about this dinner made it feel tangible.


On that sappy note......LOOK AT THE FOOD WE WERE SERVED!!!!! IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!! The lime risotto was my favourite part :)


Well - I think this concludes my Iceland posts! We'd like to thank EVERYONE who supported us during the past year. This journey wouldn't have been possible without every penny, smile, and word of encouragement that you gave to us :)

Speaking of pennies......SAVE THEM UP! We may be running with Team Diabetes again one day, haha.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The "Golden Circle" Tour

Post marathon was a wobbly affair. Here are some pictures of our day trip to the Gullfoss waterfall, the world-famous Geysir geothermal area, and the great Atlantic rift!

Mickey and I! You can see that I am his #1 MOUSE-KET-EER!!!!

My handsome hubby and his "ginger" beard :) He's certainly smiling through the leg pain in this one!

Best place for a science field trip? I THINK SO! I love when AWESOME things exist NATURALLY!

Waiting for the geyser to explode was especially exciting! I could have done that for a couple of hours....

Brrrr.....SCENIC SPOT! This is where the OLDEST parliament in the world was built!

Tayls and I at the North American tectonic plate!!! Geography is so much cooler in person :)

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES!!!!

(And sore times, haha).

Back to the Iceland trip recap -

The day of the marathon is what they refer to as "Culture Night" in Reykjavik. This is an annual event that attracts around 100,000 people to the city centre for an all-night affair. There are musicians, dancers, good food and fireworks! We were lucky to be in Iceland on this special day and even luckier to have a hotel located within walking distance to all of the fun! What a great way to celebrate our team's success!!!

Here we are:

The Michael Jordan and Brett Favre of Full Marathons. The thing is, we retired from this dreadful distance immediately following our finish in Reykjavik. That idea seemed like a smart one, especially since our bottom half was yelling "STOP IT RIGHT NOW" way too often during the race! Oddly, after a few days of intense and hilarious hobbling our stride is back to normal and we find ourselves looking up the next big event. DARN YOU 26.2!!! What is so appealing about pounding your body into the pavement and feeling TERRIBLE for days following?

Beats us.

This retirement is OFF.

HAPPY EMILY DAY TO ME!!!

Today is THE DAY - the day that EMILY arrives in Kuwait!!! I am so excited to see her and reunite in what we call "the perfect hug". This year will be EVEN MORE awesome with a BFF by my side :)

ONLY DURING A MARATHON.....

Lindsay: Isn't it impressive that Scott from THE RUN TO LIVE is doing one of these things EVERY SINGLE DAY for cancer research?!!!!

Phil: No. That's stupid.

(Scott - we don't mean it!!! Phil was in a 35 km SLUMP!!! YOU ROCK!!!!)

MARATHON DAY, STORYBOOK STYLE :)

Our pre-race group photo!!! Together, we raised $394,000 for the Canadian Diabetes Association!!!! And guess what else? EVERY SINGLE PARTICIPANT FINISHED THEIR EVENT!!! Way to go TEAM D!!!!!

Eeeee! I remember feeling so weird in this picture - super nervous, super happy, super emotional, super eager.........It was nice to have Tayls tucked in my running "fanny pack" (<---- LOVE THEM) and to have a good set of tunes to rely on. Oh ya, and PHILLIP!!!

The starting line!!! How exciting! It is amazing to think that we began this journey exactly one year ago today (August 20th). The moment the race begins is an unforgettable one: people are cheering, giving high fives, and singing along to the music that is blasting! From now on, I will always think of this moment when I hear U2's "Beautiful Day". A beautiful day it was! Ah - I am even tearing up as I write this....

This was what the first kilometer looked like: STUNNING! I loved hearing the crowds and watching the reflections of my fellow participants dance across the water. It was not too long after this that I had my first little cry session, as Reykjavik residents came out of their homes with pots and pans to cheer us on! I suppose listening to Mariah Carey's "Hero" was another factor in my meltdown :)

YAHOO! How lucky was I to run with Spiderman and strike a pose with Superman?! As for that gorilla in the background.....he's either a zoo animal on the loose or Superman's pet.....NOT SURE. Either way, their groovin' moves kept us strong!

Less than 700 people participated in the marathon, which left us feeling like we were the only participants for many parts of the race!!!

See!!! It appears that it is just us TWO competing today! Haha. Thank you to our trainer MICKEY who ran around with our camera to capture pictures of us!!!

Superheroes in action! We were delighted to run alongside our trainer for a couple of kilometers. His spunk and passion for running really motivated us to put one foot in front of the other!!! THANKS, MICKEY!!! (<---- best trainer name, ever. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed him as much if his name was more usual....)

Bah! We made it through those dreadful 20's - where you're over half way finished but still half way to go. Those are NOT the nicest kilometers to get through. Especially when a certain someone's knee (AHEM - MINE!) gave out at kilometer 18!!!! I was in so much pain but I refused to quit. Seeing this 32 km sign encouraged me to keep on going!!!

This helped too. Not only was Tayls in my running belt, she was also on my wrist! Every time I checked our time, I was reminded of why we were there and who we were running this race for. There was no way I was going to give up. NOT A CHANCE. I was willing to have NO KNEES for the rest of my life, haha.

Just before we got to this point (about 7 km remaining), Phil's spidey sense was put to the test. We came upon an old man, laying in the tall grass. He didn't speak any English, but his leg muscles were twitching and tears were running down his face. Phil started to massage his legs while I called for help and was eventually able to attract a medic in a bright coloured vest. Once he arrived, we wished the man well and continued to the finish line.

I may look happy in this picture, but I am posing in this manner simply to hold myself up! Ouchie! Let's get this thing OVER WITH!!! HILARIOUSLY (or not so), this final kilometer felt like the LONGEST kilometer in the whole race!!!

YIPPEE-YA-HOO!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!! Joint pain and all, we finished our first FULL MARATHON in 5:41:18!!! It felt SO GOOD to complete what we set out to do and to cross the finish line TOGETHER :)

These are the two ladies we saw continuously throughout the race - Megan and Janelle! As a group, we encouraged each other to stick with it and stay positive! Thanks, girls!!!

Showing off my oh-so-special medallion to the gal we dedicated this day to - MISS TAYLOR HOIT! WE LOVE YOU, TAYLS!!!

BEAT IT!

The evening before the marathon, Phil went out with other Team Diabetes members while I worked with Tayls on my marathon music. I was way too much of a nervous nancy to relax and have fun, so staying at the hotel and prepping my race gear seemed to be the more appropriate option. I bow down to Britney and the cast of Glee for singing me through the 26.2 :)

P.S. Being fully organized and ready to go in the morning didn't seem to erase any worry. I was WIDE AWAKE for most of the night with a bad case of pre-race jitters (and the side effects of extreme hydration)!

Thinking of our B-ROW!!!

This picture may seem random, but Graeme will find it extremely relevant.