Louise and I took Millie and went to the grocery store to get some bits for the day and week. Louise's family was coming over for an early Christmas celebration.
The boys went out tubing again on the boat while I helped get things ready for the party. Really I just vacuumed once everything was set.
Louise's parents, brother and his family, and many friends of the family who are like relatives, came over and brought so much food. It was all very wonderful. There was a lady named Myrna who is Ev's (Louise's mother) best friend. She was lovely and so interested in our lives in the UAE. Her family was from Lebenon so she was asking a lot of questions. She nearly cried when Jack counted to ten in Arabic. She was so sweet and really interested in the conversation we were having.
Being with Louise's family made me a little lonesome for my own family, especially at this time of the year. However, the party was great and a huge success.
The rest of the evening the kids played soccer in the yard as we all cleaned up. We order pizza around 8 pm. Millie fell asleep on the sofa after she ate some cereal and Jack fell asleep after he ate his spaghetti. In fact he fell asleep on the table, poor boy. He actually ate a big bowl of spaghetti, which thrilled me. He hadn't eaten much since we arrived. We chalked it up to being jet lagged. Maybe that has now passed.
Monday was a day of Christmas shopping. We had a continental breakfast at the house, the boys went to have the oil in the boat changed and let the kids play at the park by the marina, while Louise and I got ready for shopping. We had a fair bit on our list because the kids need so much, not! Gifts had to be purchased from grandparents, aunties and great grandma. Plus Stuart and I needed to buy for Billy and Josh. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to be finished with my shopping before Thanksgiving. Needless to say I was a little stressed with the whole process.
The boys returned with the boat and then went out to go bumper tubing. It's funny to watch the boys bump all over the place. They absolutely love it, as can be heard from miles around by their screams of delight. What awesome memories these boys will have of time with each other as they get older. I'm so thankful for that.
Louise and I finally got going and went to a mall in Miranda. It was huge. We started at Target, which sadly is not as much like our Target as I had hoped it would be. I found a few things there for the kids, but then we had to have lunch, of course. We had to have nourishment to carry on.
After we shared some sumptuous appetizers at the Italian kitchen, we forged on with our shopping. We hit Toys R Us and were very successful. We had valet parked. So each time we had packages we took them to have the valets put them in the car. What a fantastic service!
When we finished at Toys R Us we decided to separate to get the last bits finished. I still had to get something for Stuart from the kids and something for Jack from Grandma and Grandpa in the UK. During all the hustle and bustle, Santa might have bought a few things for me in the shopping trip as well.
At any rate, I finished with plenty of time to spare in order to meet Louise at the valet. Sadly, I got lost, like I always do, and was a few minutes late getting back to the car. Oops! But I am proud to report that I got it all completed.
We met the kids and men at a park where they dropped off the kids and headed to the pub. They were quite ready to hand off the kids. We then let the kids play at the park for about 45 minutes, then rounded them up in order to go eat.
We had a lovely dinner, just pub grub type of food, and then I drove home since the men had drank some beverages. I drove on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the street (or should I say other side?) when I lived in England, but that was almost 9 years ago. I have not done it since. Well wouldn't you know, Australia drives on the left and the steering wheel is on the right, just as it is in England.
I was nervous because Stuart rode with Louise and I drove Louise's car with James and all of the kids. What were they thinking? It turned out fine, except for the fact that I kept turning on the wind screen wipers instead of the indicators and I hit a curb, pretty hard. But I did a phenomenal job when coming down their death trap of a driveway. There are two places where you can't even see the driveway because it is so steep. But the view and access to the water they have is worth the fear as you descend down the driveway.
At the restaurant the kids were nearly asleep. However, they caught their second wind and were a little rowdy once we got home. Millie ended up stripping in Billy's room. That move bought her a ticket to bedtime. She was none too happy with me. The boys stayed up for a bit and watched a movie while Louise and I wrapped presents. Now just waiting for Santa to show up.
Tuesday we went into the city to spend the night. We stayed right next to the cafe where the guy took those people hostage last week. The scene is so surreal. Australia has never had an incident like this occur so the outpouring of care and concern has been a bit overwhelming. There were flowers all over the plaza by the cafe that had just been cleaned up before we got there. But a small memorial just across the street had been set up for those who lost their lives.
We were waiting for the train to arrive.
They also had a Lego tree in the city. Jack was amazed.
Naturally no day of Chrostmas shopping is complete without a visit with Santa. This was an awesome display. We came to a little area behind a curtain that had two rooms. We knocked on the second one and there was Santa. The kids loved it.
After walking around and shopping for a bit, we headed to lunch. We had taken the train into the city with the kids and the men met up with us after lunch. We checked into a 5 start Westin and went to our rooms. We did the ceremonial 'jumping on the beds' that we always do when we go into a hotel room, a tradition started by Uncle Mitch. Josh, Jack and Millie loved it!
After taking the kids to get some dinner and walking out on the town listening to music and seeing the lights, the adults headed out to dinner. Louise's mother had come with us and was 'babysitting' the kids. It was a nice treat for sure.
The city was very festive.
We went to a place called Sake. It is Louise's favorite restaurant in Sydney. As you can see, it is a Japanese place. We had excellent food, all presented so beautifully.
This was a dessert. The blue is jello and the fish are made of chocolate, caramel, and some other delicious sweet creamy thingy (the technical name). It was called Koi Pond and it was yummy.
Here are the six of us. Sitting by Stuart is Matt and his girlfriend, Jo. And then Louise and James are sitting beside me.
These brothers are having such fun together.
After dinner we walked down to the jar our. In the background you can see the Sydney Opera House. Beautiful!
Wednesday morning we got up and had breakfast at Jones the Grocer, which happens to be a place we eat in Abu Dhabi. We then went back to the room and checked out. Louise and James needed to do some shopping for food. So we decided since most likely we would not back it back into the heart of the city on this trip, we would head down to the Harbour and do some walking around.
The Harbour Bridge is in the background. What a phenomenal view we had.
We hopped on a Harbour cruise that took us all around the Harbour and gave a little commentary of the area and its history. It was great and the weather was really nice.
Jack almost didn't get in this picture. Lovely background, eh?
We finally caught the train back to James and Lou's around 3 pm. Once we were back Stuart prepared lasagna for dinner and I showered the kids. James, Matt and Stuart went golfing while Louise and I took the kids to Christmas Eve mass. It was hot, we were sitting in the infant's room, a glasses in room behind the pews where you can still see and hear the sermon but they are not to see or hear you. However there were so many people there, it would have been impossible for them to not hear us. We ended up leaving after communion. I was very dissatisfied with the Christmas Eve event. So when the boys and Millie went to bed, I googled 'the story of Christmas' and read them the story, explaining to them that the reason we celebrate Christmas is because Jesus came to be the Savior of the world. It was so good and they really were listening. It made me feel better about the evening. After the story I sang them a few Christmas carols. It turned out to be a satisfying evening.
Christmas morning had the kids up early. Of course everyone wanted to see what Santa had brought. Jack and Millie received an email from Santa that had pictures attached. He said he left most of their gifts in Al Ain and they could unwrap them when they got home. They were very excited.
Once the kids were awake and the adults had coffee in hand, the opening commenced. As usual the kids got more than they needed. Everyone was terribly generous to the kids. Jack and Millie bought me a ring from Pandora and Stuart bought me earrings from the same store.
Once presents were opened and the house was clean we had a bit of breakfast and began preparation for the Christmas dinner.
The kids played with their new toys right up until dinner time. Louise's parents came and then the air conditioner had to come on. It was just too hot.
The kids played in the ocean and we also got out in the boat. We had great fun all day long. It was unlike any other Christmas I have ever experienced, and just as enjoyable as any other Christmas.
The little paddle canoes were the favorite for the kids. They could stay out there for hours. What an amazing holiday this has been so far.
We had dinner around 3 pm. There was plenty for everyone, as there always is. We had Christmas crackers, and plenty of conversation around the table.
No aires put on here. All the boys stank like the ocean for Christmas festivities.
The kids had their own table.
After dinner there were more presents to be opened. Jack and Millie got a present from Nana And Papa Bates (Louise's parents) and Josh opened all of his presents. Another round of fun for sure.
One gift Josh and Billy received were racing boats. So on Friday morning, before we headed to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the kids had some boat fun.
You can see the yellow boat just off to the right. Once the boats had a near crash. I suppose that's what happens with a 9 year old and a 4 year old are driving.
We left the house for the airport to fly to Brisbane. Louise booked us 4 nights on the Gold Coast; one night in the middle of Brisbane and the other three nights at a resort called Soul Surfers Paradise.
Once at the airport we went to the Qantas lounge for free food and drinks. When your sister in law travels all over the world there are some perks for sure. We had some lunch, then Lou and I went down to shop the sales for a bit before boarding the plane.
The ride to Brisbane was just a little over an hour. Once we arrived, naturally Millie was asleep, we headed to get our bags and head to the hotel. We checked into the hotel and then took a walk down to the Southbank area of Brisbane, which was about a 3 minute walk.
There we found a sandy, secluded beach where people were swimming. We didn't get Jack and Millie dressed for the occasion so we're a bit bummed. But when Uncle James sees a problem, he sets into motion and fixes the problem. He went to a little souvenir shop and bought Jack and Millie some swimmers and towels. We really could have walked back to the hotel, but in the end we didn't have to. So nice and generous!
All four kids were loving the water. Jack may have just been splashes in the eyes.
Sand castles were attempted, but not too successful because there were no sand toys.
Try as she may, the castle would not stand.
Here might be the real reason James went to but the swimmers and towels. This was where we found them once we finished with the swim. Hmmm.....
After the kids had been showered we headed out for dinner. This was the scene when the kids saw their dads. I love that my kids love their dad so much, because so do I.
Saturday morning I got up early to go to the hotel gym and work out. My biggest loser group in Al Ain is going to be ashamed of me if I gain back one ounce of what I've lost. So I'm going to try to combat it as much as possible this next week we are here. I know there is a gym at the resort as well, so that will help. Christmas goodies can kill a person.
All nine of us were up early because we went to bed so early the night before. So we met for breakfast just before 7 am. After breakfast, because it was raining, we decided to take the kids to see a movie. We ended up watching Paddington, which was adorable. It was the first full movie Millie has sat through in the cinema. There was a bit of a sad part at the beginning and when I looked over, her lip was turned down and her eyes a bit weapy. I think she might have been crying. It made me feel so badly for her. But then the movie turned funny again so she was fine.
After the movie we checked out of the hotel, and it was still raining, then we ate lunch at the cafe in the hotel.
At 2 pm, our Gold Coast cab picked us up and shuttled us about an hour south of Brisbane to the Gold Coast. Again, we had a terrible view from our room as you can see below.
The men took the boys to the beach, while Millie napped and Louise and I sat in the great room with the sliding glass doors open, listening to the waves of the ocean, and starting to watch Sex in the City 2. The setting is in Abu Dhabi although they were not allowed to film there. Although it was still overcast, it was no longer raining.
We couldn't get the movie streamed so had to put off watching it until after the kids went to bed and the men went out for a beverage.
Prior to the kids going to bed, we went down to the shopping center below the resort and had dinner at a Greek restaurant.
We headed back to the resort to have a much needed rest.
A successful week if you ask me. I can't believe we have already been here a week. Time really does fly when you're having fun.
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