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I'm writing this post from the Marriott in Qatar! Chris had to attend a conference so Charlotte and I thought we'd tag along and enjoy the awesome hotel and amenities! We are having a great time and Chris is trying to sneak away as much as possible to enjoy the warm weather, pool, and beach along with us!

And funny enough, on our way to breakfast this morning, a black man in front of the lounge said "You are welcome". The accent and phrase was so familiar and I immediately asked, "Are you Nigerian?" He looked surprised and said, "Yes, I am." I told him we lived there for two years. We ended up talking for awhile and I found out his name was Jubilee (a very Nigerian name) and he was telling me about how he ended up in Qatar (a work visa for 3 years). He asked if Charlotte was born in Nigeria and I told him she was conceived there and then continued to say "The land is green", which was a phrase we heard every time someone found out they were pregnant or had a baby. Haha...as much as I hate Nigeria, I can honestly say that it was fun to chat with Jubilee.

Here's some pictures from our day:

The Great Indiana State Fair

So today my parents, sister, brother-in-law, two nieces, myself, and Charlotte went to the Indiana State Fair. I love going to the fair every year that I can and always have a great time. This was Charlotte's first fair, or second if you want to be technical since I went last year when I was pregnant. From pony and elephant rides to corn dogs and honey ice cream, we had a fun filled day even if it was ridiculously hot and humid (really, it was ridiculous). Nothing says Indiana like our state fair. I'm always so proud to be a Hoosier when I go, and no matter where I live, Indiana will always be home. Here's some pictures from the day:

I'm proud of my mom because she got 2nd place on her key lime cake recipe! She also won 4th on a smocked dress she made for Charlotte. Go Mom! Maybe now she'll believe us when we say her cakes and sewing are amazing!

Charlotte being pushed by my niece, Savannah.

A picture of my beautiful niece.

Ice cream...er, formula...on her chin. Yeah, that's what it is....formula....

Savannah on a pony ride.

Savannah taking a elephant ride.

Sifting through rocks and dirt looking for semi-precious stones.

Charlotte playing with a John Deere toy tractor. That's my girl!

Dad in front of the elephant ears stand. Mmmmm!!

The theme of this year's state fair was "year of the pigs". This was made entirely out of canned food and will be given to a food bank after the fair ends.

This was the winning gourd/pumpkin at the state fair. It was judged by weight.

Eating some lovely Indiana corn. I will fight you if you say that your state has better corn than mine.

Vacation Pictures, Part 3 and 9 Month Photo Shoot

Vacation is going great. Charlotte and I are currently in Michigan and Chris has made his way back to Bahrain and into a normal routine at work. Charlotte and I will be staying in the states for at least 2 1/2 more weeks. The original plan was to leave in the middle of September, but since we're already missing Chris terribly, we may be leaving a little sooner. I'm still thinking it through and trying to decide what to do. If we leave early, I'll miss a good friend's wedding, I won't get to see my brother-in-law's family who lives in Utah, and I'll have to put up with Ramadan and the hot weather in Bahrain. But on the plus side, we'd be reunited with Chris sooner.

Since we've been on vacation, I didn't get time to "formally" sit down and get Charlotte's 9-month pictures like I normally do. Please consider the following pictures her "9 month pictures". Hopefully I'll do better next month.

You may also have noticed that the blog looks a little different! When I signed on the other day, there was a notice saying that my blog background would disappear because the website I took it from was removing it from their free blog backgrounds. So I was forced to change it. We'll see if the new design warms up on me. Otherwise I'll be changing it again!

At my in-laws lake cabin in Michigan

At my in-laws lake cabin in Michigan

Eating sand...she'll put anything in her mouth these days

Aunt Jenniy trying to give Charlotte a bath. She wasn't exactly cooperating!

A punk hairstyle Aunt Jenniy gave Charlotte after her bath. Too cute!

Charlotte's first boat ride.

At the Premier Designs 2010 rally. This was on patriotic day, so everyone wore red, white, and/or blue

My mother-in-law and I went shopping and took Charlotte and Macie (Charlotte's cousin) with us. We proved you can run errands and go shopping with little ones! They did pretty good and completely crashed on the way home!

Macie and Charlotte love to climb stairs. Here they are at the top of the stairs in matching t-shirts that say, "No rules at Grandma's".

Charlotte loves these stuffed animals. She smashes them in her face and it's so cute.

Cousins Charlotte and Macie in matching outfits before a day at the zoo.

Charlotte and Macie in the double stroller. I'm sure people thought they were twins!

It ended up pouring down rain and we all got drenched! The babies were good sports and I think really enjoyed being wet. It made for a short day at the zoo, though!

More Vacation Pictures

Monument Rock near Alma, Kansas

Monument Rock near Alma, Kansas

The Sunnyland Bed and Breakfast we stayed at in Garden City, Kansas

We stayed in the I Corinthians 13 room.

Charlotte inside our guest room.

Dodge City, KS

We stayed at the Scenic Valley Inn in Manhattan, KS

We stayed in the Americana room.

Charlotte in the grass at the Scenic Valley Inn.

President Eisenhower's presidential home.

On our way to General Custer's home at Fort Riley

General Custer's home at Fort Riley in Kansas.

Waiting to take a tour of General Custer's home.

Waiting to tour General Custer's home.

A family picture while we're waiting to tour General Custer's home.

Grandpa Wolfe and Charlotte before the Cardinals game.

Charlotte and I before the Cardinals game.

Charlotte and I before the Cardinals game.

Cardinals game - they lost. :-(

Waiting to leave the hotel room to start the day in St. Louis.

Grandma and Charlotte in St. Louis

Standing next to the Arch in St. Louis.

A picture of the Arch in St. Louis.