Saturday, June 30, 2018

Our Busy June in Baku and Goodbyes

June was our last month in Baku and it wasn't busy at all - not a bit - huge eye roll of exaggeration. Between all the end-of-year activities, going aways, packing the house, Madi's birthday, a quick trip to Georgia, the girls' last day at Bumblebee, and some tough goodbyes at the end the month literally flew by and all that free time I thought I would have after we were packed and into temporary housing - well, it was basically non-existent. I always forget just how quickly the last few weeks go by before a big move!


  1. A fun high tea at the Four Seasons to say farewell to Suzanne.
  2. Escaping for a relaxing massage before the chaos of the month started.
  3. The most delicious homemade kolaches (Thanks Missy!)
  4. Liv and her panda - don't worry, he didn't get packed. 
  5. Practicing my braiding.
  6. Evy snuggles early one morning.
  7. Swimming with friends.
  8. These girls love the pool!
  9. A fun girl's night out with ladies.


Madi's first field day! She did great and was thrilled to earn her first medal. :-)



The girls were invited to the most fun Frozen party! The characters that came did all sorts of games and activities and my crew had a blast.





Madi had her final gymnastics class with Ms Lala. She's loved her teacher and Ms Lala made a point of coming over to tell me she was sad Madi was leaving and I really need to find a class for her because she is a natural and her body is made for it. Of course that evening Madi told me she only wants to do gymnastics with Ms Lala.


These girls have been amazing during our time in Baku - from our girl's trip to Georgia to movie nights and dinners and our prayer meetings. I am going to miss them and I was happy to have a final Azeri breakfast with them.


Later that month Madi got a final Sunset breakfast and full day of play with her bestie Clementine. These two have such a sweet friendship and will miss each other terribly.




  1. Observing the calm before the packing storm...
  2. And that's a wrap - all our stuff boxed and en route to our new home in Doha. 
  3. Cleaning out my neighbor's fridge - thank you Brooke for the sustenance. 
  4. And balancing it with a salad. :-)
  5. Madi giving her going away gift to C - a photo book of their adventures. We made one for a few of her closest friends to cherish their memories together. 
  6. View from the elevator in the temp apartment.
  7. Celebrating my friend Mellissa's birthday with brunch.
  8. Cute girls in their matching dresses.
  9. Another sad goodbye to Daddy as he headed back to Doha after the packing. 
We took a quick trip to Georgia right after the packing finished (thank you Anna!) and had a blast just relaxing and enjoying some much-needed time together. 


Madi's birthday was the following day and we promised her we'd celebrate in Doha with Daddy. She did have a fun celebration in school with cookies, singing, and making her favorite Azeri dessert shekerbura with Ms Meri. 





The birthday girl's cookies and smiles plus lots of fun in the playground later that week. 



Baku had a 100th anniversary of the Armed Forces and we got to witness it first-hand since our apartment is downtown. The girls loved seeing the army guys and the airshow. 





We spent one Saturday enjoying a final beach/water park day at Dalga. The girls loved playing in the water and I am amazed how good Madi is getting at swimming!





  1. The cats making themselves at home in the apartment. 
  2. A walk in Fountain Square one evening.
  3. Enjoying Nutellaland and some of our favorites - Joy and Ms Aubrey!
  4. A fun dinner with these families at Marivanna.
  5. These ladies threw me such a fun going away my last week in Baku. Delicious cocktails.
  6. Enjoying the balcony and dancing during the evening.
  7. Consuming as much pork as possible before Doha with bacon-wrapped tenderloin.
  8. Madi saying goodbye to her sweet friend Amelia.
  9. Madi saying goodbye to Cooper - her first friend in Baku!

We had a wonderful (and hard) final day in Baku. It began with breakfast with this amazing family. The first friends we made in Baku and one of my closest friends. Kathleen has always been there to listen to me and drink a glass of prosecco and we will miss them terribly!


Next we said goodbye to Ms Meri and in the chaos of everything we didn't get a picture with her and the girls. :-( She has been with us for the entire two years and we absolutely don't know what we would have done without her. The girls love her and we are all going to miss her.

This is the reality of the expat life - meeting people you love and make an impact on you and then having to say "see you later" with or without knowing when you might see them again. And it's only getting harder as Madi is making friends and starting to understand what it means to move.

That evening we went to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner with Jaxon, another of Madi's best friends and one of my closest friends. We drew out the evening as long as possible by walking around in the miserable humidity, getting candy, riding the carousel, and trying as hard as we could to avoid the goodbye that came at the end.





Thank you everyone who made time to see us in June before our move! We made some amazing friends in Baku and we will miss them. Hopefully our paths will cross again in Doha or somewhere else!

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