New Park - November 6,2009

We didn't do much this weekend. But we did find a new park that looks like it will be a fun one to go to for a bike ride. This one was huge and had lots of wide paved paths, leading from one garden to the next. There were also play areas for the kids, a small aquarium, a museum (closed at the moment for maintence) and a train. We went in the afternoon and there was hardly anyone there. As we were leaving at around 4:30ish, everyone was arriving with their picnic baskets and blankets. Looks like we will need to go back for a supper picnic!

One of the off shoot gardens that we did explore and play around in was the fountain one. The entrance had this huge golden ball where the fountain came out of and there were several ways into and out of the garden. Within the garden there were several smaller pools with fountains in them.

Once finished there we headed out to try and find the aquarium. We found a dow boat that the kids clamered on, and the aquarium. It was a pretty neat one to see. Not as big as the Dubai one but big enough for the kids to wander around and see the fish. The train wasn't running yet because we were too early. So we will just have to go back with a picnic.

Here is our little model or is she the next class clown?

October 30, 2009 - Our third visa run!

Hopefully this is the last one. Wayne has his residence visa already and our paperwork is in the process. We headed to the Oman boarder at Al Ain, once again. This time we stayed at a different hotel. The crossing was a bit different from last time, but it seems things change here quite regularly and quickly.

We were able to get things done fairly quickly in the morning and we enjoyed the afternoon at the zoo. We saw a lot of cool animals. This time we even got to see the giraffes!! There is enough there that we will probably go back, as we didn't see everything. And the really cool part as a parent was it was CHEAP. For the four of us to go, it was 35 dirhams (about $10).

We saw some Arabian animals (Ibex, Oryx...), African animals (zebras, giraffes, rhinos..), an ostrich, flamingos, monkeys, peligans, some wierd bird with Samantha hair. It is a neat place to take a picnic, lots of green space and picnic areas, lots of animals to see and there is even a train. We didn't go on the train, so we will definitly have to go back. :)

Once finished we headed back to the hotel for a swim before supper. This hotel had a water slide that was super fast. They also had a water fountain that was strong. The kids (all three of them) had fun in the strong current it made.

October 29,2009 - Character Parade

It was our first Hallowe'en in Abu Dhabi. The school had a character parade. Samantha's class decorated their t-shirts and Patrick's class made costumes from fairy tales. Patrick took his from "Jack and the Beanstalk". Patrick was the beanstalk. It actually turned out really well.

We weren't sure if they did Hallowe'en here in Abu Dhabi. I found out the next day that they do in certain places. Our apartment buildings are two blocks (Block A and Block B), and in Block B they had put up a sign up sheet for the trick and treating. That is not our Block, so next year we now know to check the other block as well for a sign up sheet, and put one up in our building. Oh well, the kids were pretty zonked anyways from the week end. There is always next year. :)

October 24, 2009 - Patrick's trip to the Falcon Hospital

Patrick went on his first class trip, here in Abu Dhabi. They went to the falcon hospital. By the sounds of it, it was a really cool place to go. There was an information part, where they learned about the falcons. (Getting information from Patrick, is really painful :) ) The really awesome part was that they got to hold them. They wore this leather glove, and then held them. Patrick said he even got to feed one of them.

October 17, 2009 - The beach is open BUT only for Formula 1 :(

Sorry it has taken so long to post a new posting. I don't know where the time has gone!

They have finally finished all the work at the beach BUT it is now all set up with stuff for the Formula one race that is happening on Nov. 1st. This weekend we just kind of hung around. We checked out a new park and had a picnic; did some scootering, and rollerblading. We also went down to the beach to check out what was happening. We went Friday night but it was CRAZY, so we decided to head back Saturday as soon as it opened. There were some cool things to see. Patrick and Samantha got to do a drive test. We also watched 3 people from the audience take on one pit crew member to see who could change the tire faster. That was fun to watch. Man they move fast. In another part there were race tracks that the kids could compete against each other. It was a fun afternoon to wonder around. It was a bit of a tease though because we couldn't actually go on the beach yet.

For the next two weeks, there were all kinds of things going on to do with the big race.

We went to see a couple of movies that they were playing. We watched the new Herbie movie, where he gets to drive in a NASCAR race. The kids enjoyed that (we have since seen a Herbie car with a trailer, here in Abu Dhabi- Samantha spotted it and said "I want one of those"). We also got to watch CARS. Yes I know we have seen the movie how many hundred times BUT it was on the beach. It was really cool to watch the movies on the beach. They had bean bag chairs to sit in, and popcorn. The rumbling parts you could feel through your feet in the sand. It was late nights for the kids but what a neat thing to do.

Visa Run Again - October 2, 2009

We made our second visa run this past weekend. It wasn't as stressful as the first time. We went to a different crossing, one where you could see the Oman building from the UAE side. So we didn't have to drive 30-45 minutes in Oman to get our stamp. It was easier this time, but coming up to the crossing and seeing the barb wire fence with the roll of barb wire on the top is a bit daunting. The guards were so helpful, and friendly, one guy saw our kids playing the game boys and had to show us that he was playing a DS.

We went off the highway for a photo-op to get a family picture in front of a dune. The second photo is at a gas station just before the border. I thought it was kinda neat to see this mosque in the middle of no-where with the mountains in the background. The third is the other side of Jebel Hafeet. It was neat to see that some of the rocks were so sharp yet these were rounded and made you think you were on the moon or Mars.

Since the border was less stressful we had a wonderful afternoon at the water slides. They had all of them up and running this time. We were also able to squeeze in some mini-putt before supper. What a hoot! We got closer to some camels this time around. Oh speaking of camels- we didn't get a photo but we saw how they transport those poor beasts. In the back of a pick-up! They get them to kneel down and then they strap them in. We saw two different trucks- one had two in with them facing the back and the other had one in sideways. It was funny to see. The second photo is the view from our room. It was neat to see the ridge off in the distance. We also found a look out point at the hotel with binoculars, and were able to see the sand dunes, and many other neat things. The final picture is of the boys flaking out, waiting for the pool to open on Saturday morning before we had to leave.

Happy Birthday Patrick - September 30, 2009

Today our little boy turned the big "6". He had a fun day at school. They wear this birthday hat throughout the day that is a cake with candles on it. Patrick took in cup cakes and juice for snack time. They sang Happy Birthday to him in Arabic, in the Arabic class. He then came home to cake, presents and play time. Oh to be six again, and that is your day. :)

Here are a few shots of his birthday. The first is of him playing with some cool metallic silly putty tha Samantha found for him, the next is him opening police lego (which by the way he has some of it made already- and he says "I'm not going to mix this in with my other lego"), and finally the cake. Check out the candles I found. :)