Meet the Royal Family

The Princess holding the new baby Princess- we don't have queens here in Morocco.
The King and his son- the next King of Morocco Lord willing.

The King, his family, and his brother and sisters.

Our Arabic Teachers at School

YUM!!

We were excited when a box arrived from friends in the States with all kinds of goodies in!!

I really enjoy riding bike with the children

Nice flashy yellow chair for Kelly
Today we were headed to the bike shop to get yet another bike tire repaired. Tori was the designated tire hauler.

"BURPY WATER!!!!!"

The boys were thrilled this week when one of their friends introduced them to carbonated water. It is now affectionately reffered to as "burpy water"

Security Alert

"Morocco has asserted that Al Qaida infiltrated the disputed Western Sahara region.
A Moroccan intelligence report said Al Qaida has sent operatives into Western Sahara over the last few months. The report said Al Qaida has established a presence in the mineral-rich territory where a low-intensity war has been waged by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.
"The report has been relayed to the United States and other Western allies of Morocco," an Arab diplomatic source said. "The report says Al Qaida has exploited the lack of rule in Western Sahara for training and other operations."
On Tuesday, Moroccan newspapers said a suicide bomber who blew himself up in an Internet cafe in Casablanca was part of a network of attackers that planned to detonate their explosive belts throughout the city. The newspapers said the network was comprised of five Moroccan suicide bombers ordered to target Casablanca's police and paramilitary headquarters, restaurants and hotels. "
This news clip is from this news site- http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2007/march/03_15_2.html
Another interesting place to keep tabs on what is happening here is
http://news.google.com/news?q=Morocco+News&hl=en&um=1&sa=X&oi=news&ct=title

We have noticed a difference here in Fes. There are alot more Army and Police Men around. Makes life interesting.
Brian

Hassan is precious in His sight.....

This little guy totally stole my heart ......he loves hugs and cuddles...

Holly and Hassan......
"What did you say daddy?"

Making New Friends

Group Hug.....
What looks good to you in this cookbook??
Grandma shows little Hassan how to clap his hands.

My Birthday Gift

I love animals. I love to hear birds singing. Where we live here in Fes there are hardly any birds. I have been belly aching for awhile that I would love to own song birds. My dear wife really surprised me and got me two for my birthday on the 7th.
I don't just want two birds that sit in a cage for the next 10 years so we picked them out together and decided to have some fun trying to get baby birds.......but not just any baby birds.

These two pics are of the more colorful male. He is in only three countries(Morocco being one of them.) We were told what kind of bird he is in Arabic so as of now I can't tell you what his English name is.
The female(below) is a Canary. Here is the deal for those of you who care:) Their offspring will be like a "mule". Mule's can't reproduce-they are from a horse and a donkey. The offspring of these two birds will be in the same boat. The result will be a song bird that sings many many different songs(kind of like a Mocking Bird BUT NOT NEARLY AS ANNOYING!!!!!).

What new things do you want to see or hear about?!!

This blog isn't for us as much as it is for you! The purpose of this blog is so that you may discover new worlds, new cultures, new ways of life, and so that you can keep in touch with us and what we do.
We have been here for almost 10 months doing most of the same things day after day. Needless to say the new has worn off. So I got to thinking that maybe there are things that you the viewer would like to see or hear about!! Some of you folks really enjoy learning about other countries and I'm sure there are plenty of things we haven't covered. So please let us know and we will see what we can do. Any suggestions are welcome!! You can contact us at brianhosler@gmail.com
Brian

RED FLAG CULTURAL ALERT

What do you do when your lips are chapped and you are walking down the street? You apply chap stick....right? WRONG!!!! Not in Morocco you don't!! I just found out today that when someone applies chap stick or lip stick in public it is the equivelent of undressing in public!!! Oh horrors of horrors !!!! I have been doing that ever since we arrived 10 months ago..... oh the things that keep us humble...I am sure that this isn't the only cultural blunder we have been making. Think of us when you apply your next layer of chap stick in public!!

Our dear Emma

It has occured to me that we hardly have any pictures of Emma on our blog. She doesn't like to have her picture taken and she likes even less when I put pictures of her on our blog, HOWEVER, she is a huge part of our lives and she is the biggest blessing!!!! Emma will be greatly missed when she leaves us in May. Her year will be up with us and she has decided to go back home. Emma we love you very very much and we will be forever grateful for your loving and dedicated service to us!!

Emma is a great help in the kitchen

Emma and her sister

Dinosaur Party

The other Saturday Brent was invited to a dinosaur birthday party. When you live in Fes you don't exactly go out and buy your son a dinosaur costume. We have something better. Donna and Emma went on the Internet and looked at dinosaur costumes then went out and bought material. Emma then proceeded to sew one for Brent in an evening. She did a GREAT job!! He LOVED it!!