Dubai Vacation

Alright, so we didn't stay in Kuwait ALL Summer. We managed to take a quick weekend trip to Dubai at the beginning of July. It was a long weekend and we decided to make it happen. It was a short flight, about 1.5 hours. 

Finley was so cute and asked, "Do I wear my pajamas on the plane?" 

"No. No pajamas," we responded.

Her face twisted in confusion. "But when will I sleep?"

Comprehension dawning on the parents. "You won't sleep on the plane. It's a short flight."

Our kids are such world travelers a short flight is anything under 6 hours! And this was probably the shortest flight any of them had ever taken.

We arrived in Dubai later afternoon. We got our bag and then loaded on to the Metro (yes! Dubai has a metro. Kuwait does not) for our hour ride to the Airbnb. The kids all fell asleep on the train. We also learned that Dubai still had pretty strict COVID mask restrictions. Masks were still required in all public places or you'd pay a heavy fine.

The Airbnb was a short walk from the Metro. And it was humid! Once we settled in Scott grabbed dinner for us at a restaurant close by and that concluded our first day.

Day Two: was the real money maker. We got up and made our way to the Mall of Dubai which is next to Burj Khalifa: the tallest building in the world. It was a Saturday so we wanted to get there as soon as possible to beat the crowds. It was a truly spectacular thing. Definitely our favorite part of the trip. We paid to go up to the main viewing floor, 124 and 125. You can pay extra to go all the way to the top but we figured that was enough with kids.

If you want a good laugh, zoom in on Finley's face!

"We're so high up!!"

In the afternoon we went to the butterfly garden a little ways outside the city. The girls were initially so excited to go but once we got there were a little scared of the butterflies. They were flying everywhere without a care to people so they came swooping in without warning which was a little startling. Finley wanted to leave almost immediately but soldiered on. It was a very big venue with 6 or 7 domes housing the various butterflies.

We got dinner at Cheesecake Factory at the Mall of the Emirates but it was cut short when Mackenzie desperately needed to go home for ... specific reasons. Kiersten was left with Bennett, Finley, diaper bag and food to bring back. She managed to haul all this cargo back through a crowded mall and metro without anyone crying or losing anything. Major win.

Day Three: Mackenzie wasn't feeling well so when the time came to leave Kiersten decided to stay home with her and Bennett so she could rest. Scott and Finley meanwhile ventured to Green Planet. It was essentially a big indoor jungle with animals that would come right up to you. No cages. Finley said she touched a snake. And after 40 minutes she declared she was done there too.

We managed to get Mackenzie out of the house in the late afternoon for dinner but she complained of a sore throat the whole time. After the restaurant deemed our pizza too burnt they made us another one free of charge that we took home with us for meals for the next day. We tracked down a pharmacy for Mackenzie and went back to the apartment.

Day Four: In the morning we went back to the Mall of the Emirates to visit Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort. We'd originally planned to split time with the kids in the snow park while one parent skied then swap but this plan was foiled by one silly rule: No babies allowed. So Kiersten took the girls into the snow park while Scott stayed out with Bennett in the mall. After a little over an hour in our 2 hour time limit the girls were ready to go. Kiersten took over kid duty so Scott could do a few runs in an indoor, completely manmade ski resort.

After nap time we took the metro then Monorail out to the Palms which is a manmade island that resembles a palm tree. The idea is every property has beach front access. Cool in theory but not very practical. But we went out there to see it and see it we did. At the end of the Monorail was the Atlantis resort with Aquarium. We were going to do that but noticed there were large viewing windows of the fish for free and decided to save a buck. We were also going to get dinner out there but there weren't many kid friendly options so we hoped in an Uber and went back to the apartment for sandwiches and bed.

Day Five: We took an Uber back to the airport and flew home to Kuwait. It was a shock to return because Dubai is noticeably cleaner than Kuwait and so much more invested in tourism. It took a few days/weeks to settle down from our mini vacation but we got back in the groove and had an amazing rest of our summer (see Summer 2022 post).

See you later!

April, gone in a flash!

April has ended and with it Ramadan. Yes this year the holy month of Ramadan lasted all of April and we are now celebrating Eid, the end of Ramadan. It is now safe to eat and drink outdoors again and go to restaurants during the day! Yay. 

Because of Ramadan the schools here start an hour later so the kids who were awake in the middle of the night to eat could sleep in. It was great for us because we didn't have to wake Mackenzie up for the bus. Now it's back to 6am wake up time but just for one more month.

April was a jam packed month of fun. 

• General Conference. We got the girls interested by encouraging them to listen for 5 special words (like Jesus, Family, Love, etc.) and every time they heard it they marked it down. Then after the session each word was linked with a treat and they made their own General Conference trail mix. They loved it. And it was so easy and no extra prep or items needed for purchase. Win.
  
  
  
• Ward Cookout out in the desert. We saw camels! And until that point, it was the most exciting Kuwait thing we'd done in our 18 months of living here.

  

  The camels are tiny in the background.

  
  
• Primary Easter activity. They rotated around to 4 different areas and did activities like make palms for Palm Sunday, hunt for meaningful eggs that had items representing the Holy Week and making resurrection rolls. Then there was an egg hunt. They had a great time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Spring break! And right before there was a Ramadan holiday in which Mackenzie came home with so much candy!
  
  
  
• On days when the air wasn't terrible (which wasn't very many days sadly) we went to the Blu to swim. When Daddy could come, the girls love to do "belly bonks" with him which is just them swimming underwater attempting to ram into his stomach with their heads.
  
  
  
• And when we did go outside the weather was still pretty nice. Cool in the shade and in the mid 80s. I remember last April it was really hot, mostly 90 degree days so this was wonderful.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We painted Bennett's room and we LOVE it!
  
  

  
  
  
• Easter! Kiersten gave a talk in church that Friday and then on Saturday we invited two families over for brunch and an egg hunt. It was really fun.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Kids' Sports Day at the Embassy. Lots of fun, easy games for the 4 and under crowd and one giant obstacle course by the Marines for the older kids. Mackenzie was the first kid to do it and she did amazing. Even ran the second half of the course holding two 10 pound weights. Her arms were sore for days!
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We got what we think is the last rain storm until November on April 29. It poured here and we of course went out in it. The girls were so happy to wear rain coats and jump in the puddles.

  

  Rainbow activity curtesy of Grandma Jackson

  
  
• Lastly, we finalized our R&R plans for this year. Originally we assumed we'd head back to the States for the summer and Kiersten and kids would remain while Scott made the journey back and forth. Well plans changed when Scott's youngest brother announced his engagement and wedding to take place in Boston in October. So we're sticking around this summer and heading back for a few weeks in the Fall. Wish us luck with... everything.

The Mackenzie Update:

• They had their 100th day of school at the end of March and she needed to make a project. We went to the craft section and found some shiny plastic shells and we glued them down on poster board. She then added a few extra things to her beach scene all on her own. 
  
  
  
• She started doing math quizzes in school. She gets 3 minutes to complete as many as she can and she averages about 1/3 on the page.
• One of our neighbors has a daughter who rides the bus with Mackenzie and they've been able to have a few play dates this month which has been really fun for her.

  

  She made a store for us one day complete with price tags and money!

  
  
• Her helper skills continue to amaze. She loves getting on the floor and entertaining Bennett and creating new worlds in play with Finley.
  
  
  

The Finley Report:

• New expression: "I'll be back in a flash!" or as she says it "fash". No idea where she learned it from but it's funny.
  
  
  
• Daddy took her floaties off at the pool last time and she's been thrilled. Summer goal: swimming lessons without floaties.
  
  
  
• Learning to recognize and spell with the letters in her name. Her favorite game has been hunting for Easter eggs with magnetic letters in them.

  

  Hunting for eggs.

  
  
  
  
  
• Also learning some important life skills like laundry and chopping.
  
  
  
• She started to ask if she can hold Bennett more which only lasts about a minute maximum but it's nice to know she likes him.
  
  
  

The Bennett Review:

• 4 months old! He's rolled over a few times but nothing consistent. He is a chatty, happy, smiley, cooey, giggly boy.
  
  
  
• We've switched to outward facing in the baby carrier and he really likes it.
  
  
  
• In the last month he has discovered his fists which he has been aggressively trying to eat, his feet and toes which he grabs at happily and his tongue which he sticks out in fascination.
  
  
  
• He went swimming one time and it was a 50/50 experience. Sort of liked it, sort of didn't.
  
  
  

Quirks of Kuwait:

• Why pull the weeds in the medians when you can just mow them?
  
  
  

Now for Eid Scott has had several days off. Today we decided to go to the Kuwait Towers and it was so cool. It was a somewhat clear day and we could see a good deal of the city. Then McDonald's for lunch. Also our new nanny started this week, just two days this week because of the holiday but it's been a wonderful transition so far. Catch you next time!