National Day celebrations continue!

A lot of schools had their celebrations last Thursday. Usually that is a non spoken cue for families to take Sunday and Monday off from school. My school stayed steadfast and had our boy's celebration on Sunday and our girl's celebration on Monday. As you would guess, only the students involved in the celebration were the ones at school. There were many performances, two of which involved guns. Yep!

The boy's performance was over just before 11 am and everyone was gone by half past 11. The staff was allowed to leave at noon on both days. 

The girls were all about the dresses, pretty hair and make-up. Whereas the boys were about the uniforms and guns. 

Aside from the celebrations, we had a full week at home. On Sunday before Jack had rugby practice, the kids and I went for a walk. The temperature is finally good enough for us to do things like this after school. The walk was cut short by the sprinkler fun we found in the grassy areas in our complex. We do this because we can. 

As you can see the kids were soaked, but they loved it. 

Home we went to get chNged and head to rugby practice. Before we left we were having difficulty finding Millie. Our little Polly pocket had tucked herself in our shelving unit in the entry way. She's a nut. 

Rugby practice was a bust. It turns out that every age group canceled except the under 7s. The kids who did show up just ran around the field and played for a while. 

Elfvis showed up at our house on Monday morning and did not disappoint. He brought two Lego advent calendars. The kids were so excited, especially Jack because his was a Star Wars Lego advent calendar. Each day they open a new door and put together another piece of the Lego scene. 

 

Millie must have missed all of the instructions because Monday afternoon she was caught up on a dining room chair and had opened about 6 of the 'doors' on her advent calendar. She had taken the Legos out of the little compatment, but fortunately not out of the baggie. Stinker!

Monday evening we went to the rugby club for practice. Since we didn't have school on Tuesday we decided to take the kids with us. Millie was inconsolable for the first ten minutes of practice. She would not let me participate. Finally after a bit, one of the other player's daughter came over and Millie latched on to her, like she always does. 

After practice we decided to eat at the club, even though the kids had eaten just before we left the house. The last few days both kids have been packing away the food. Must be growth spurt time. 

Tuesday we got up and I took Jack to rugby practice with me. I didn't really play, but was there as a team member and supportive of the team. Jack got to play with his buddies for about and hour while Stuart took Millie to the grocery store to buy food for our dune outing that evening. 

Stuart and Millie stopped for a donut, saw a camel, and bought a BBQ. Only in the Middle East. 

Once we all reconvened at home we had a bite of lunch and the kids napped. We knew it was sure to be a late night in the desert, so the last thing you want on those nights are cranky kids. 

We met at the Richardson's house about 3:30 pm. The O'Riellys, Turners and Telfords followed the Richardsons out to the dunes. We all had 4x4s so we felt sure we would make it through the blown sand on the trail that ran along the fenced area. We were correct and judged our vehicles well. Everyone made it over the sand. 

We set up our desert blankets and our chairs, as well as the food and beverage table. 

The kids ran off to play while the men got ready to start the fire as well as the cooking. 

There was a time for photos as well. But no kids wanted to sit long as to steal time away from their fun. 

The women sat and chatted. I have never been a part of a group where all the men were the hunters, gatherers, and cooks. I liked it!

The sunset was gorgeous and not much different than those in another desert I love. 

Once the food was ready we finally convinced the kids it was time to eat. There was plenty of grit on the food because the sand was constantly blowing about. A little abrasive food never killed anyone. 

After dinner the fire was established and the marshmallows came out for everyone to enjoy. The kids sat around the fire and roasted marshmallows. The only thing missing was scary stories, but our kids might be a bit young for that. 

After food and fun was had by all, Scott decided to take all of the kids dune bashing. You could hear the kids screaming with delight. His V8 Nissan Armada was rolling up and down the dunes.....and then....it wasn't. It seems his gigantic vehicle became 'beached' with two tires not even touching sand. Oops!

The men went out to try to rock the big SUV backwards, with no luck. Stuart went and got his car, thinking he could tie our tow rope onto Scott's vehicle and pull him out, but again no luck. About an hour and a half later, after digging and shoving, sand-filled pockets and faces, and finally letting air out of the tires in order for them to get traction, the Armada was back in driving condition. 

Scott aired up his tires once on solid ground and we headed back into town. What a night!

We woke up Wednesday morning to the knowledge that Gina's trip to Socotra had been canceled. So we decided to go to Abu Dhabi and make a trip to IKEA. We didn't really have anything we had to buy, but since IKEA is one of our favorite places to buy things we don't need, we decided we should go. 

We put the kids in the play area for an hour, a service provided for free by IKEA. This was the first time Millie was tall enough to go into the play area. 

Gina met up with us while we shopped for all the things we didn't need and then we had lunch. Jack loves the meatballs and mashed potatoes, Millie loves the mashed potatoes and Stuart and I love the chicken schwarmas. Yummy! It is really the reason we go to IKEA. 

After IKEA we went and looked at Ace Hardware, right next door, but made no purchase there. We headed home just after 2 pm and the kids slept most of the way. The rest of the day was spent watching movies as a family. 

Thursday morning we got up and headed to the Dubai 7s, a rugby tournament involving international and local, more amateur, teams. These tournaments take place all over the world. Stuart was hoping to play with the vets team, but was not selected on Monday. 

Some of the players from his team have been injured so we discussed the fact that he should take his rugby kit (uniform) along with his passport/visa and passport photo (all documents you must have to participate) just in case something happened and he was needed on his team. 

Once we got to the grounds he was told by another teammate that he could sign up in a pool of players to be a part of a team that might have come without enough players or some of their players were injured and they needed an extra player. He was so glad he had brought his kit. 

He was called just as we were making our purchases in the team shop. He was going to play on a team at noon on one of the international vet's teams. He was so excited. 

So proud of my Russian player. Can you stand it? He was the hero of the Al Ain players, and even of my team. Everyone was so tickled by the fact he was playing with the Russians. 

He was warming up before his first match, which consisted of just tossing the ball with his new teammates. And it was fumbly passing at best. They may have been better off warming up by downing some shots of Vodka! 

What was cracking me up, as I was taking pictures, was the fact that all of the other players were speaking Russian and my Englishman was just looking on and nodding. 

The first match he was literally the extra player they needed and he was not used to his full capacity. However, the second match he played with them they threw him the ball, he contributed to the forward movement of the ball as well as the stopping of the other team. He was so impressive that they asked him to come back on Friday to play with them. It was so cool! 

Stuart loves rugby so much, and today I really saw that. Although he was disappointed he was not selected to play for the Al Ain Amblers, he really just wanted to play. He was given that opportunity and he made the most of it. For such a genuinely shy person to put himself out there to another team, especially one he really can't  communicate with, shows someone who just LOVES the game of rugby. Being in the Middle East has brought something he loves back into his life. That makes me happy!

After his second match we went to get something to eat with the Turners and Richardsons, then we came back to the grounds with the Richardsons and watched my team play their first match of the tournament. They looked so awesome. The killed the team from Kuwait. I was so proud to be a part of that team although I didn't play. 

We headed home after that game. I wet wipes the kids' feet, put their jammies on and we were off. They were asleep when we got home so we just threw them in their beds, even though they were dirty. 

Because Stuart would be playing on Friday as well, as was Scott, Clare asked me if I wanted to go up to the tournament again Friday morning. I really needed to stay home on Friday to make my cookies for the cookie exchange I was invited to on Saturday. But once I got home I decided I could probably make my cookies in a couple of hours and still get up the following morning and go back to the Dubai 7s. And that is exactly what I did.

Friday morning Stuart was out the door at 6 am to catch the bus to Dubai. I got up and got ready for the day. The kids were up by 7 am, and at 8 am we were in Clare's car on our way to Dubai. 

We arrived at the grounds just before Stuart's game with the Russians. He played even better on Friday, carrying the ball a few times and getting in a few tackles. Unfortunately the Russians came up short, so were out of the tournament. However, as a gift they let Comrade Tank (his nickname from the Russian players) keep the jersey he wore. What an awesome experience he had! We all enjoyed it. 

We stayed most of the day at the tournament, watching different teams play. My favorite had to be the game between England and the US. England killed the US and my children were true traders, cheering for England. What is this world coming to?

We watched my team play their match for the day and they won on the last play of the game. It was incredible. Although they were in the Cup semi-finals on Saturday, they lost and didn't meet their goal of playing in the Cup final. I know they were disappointed, but considering the team is just now two years old, I think they should be very proud of their accomplishments. 

We drive back to Al Ain and arrived just in time to go to the rugby club to meet up with the group of people we came in with in August of 2013. It turns out this was not the best weekend for our 'reunion' since it coincided with Dubai 7s as well as the National Day holiday. Although 16 stated they would be there, only 6 of us showed up. The rugby club was dead. There were only about 20 people there. On most Friday's there are hundreds of people there, so only seeing 20 was a bit shocking.  We had a great time even though the numbers were low. The kids played and we had dinner. Q

Saturday morning Stuart got up and took my car to get services, picking his up and dropping mine off. When he returned we went to the grocery store for some provisions for the week. 

Then I was off to my cookie exchange. There were 15 people there. We were told to package 1/2 dozen for 15 people, bring 15 on a plate for a taste test that would result in voting for a winner of the top three cookies.  It was great. There were some great cookies. I simply dipped Oreos in chocolate and then sprinkled them with crushed candy canes. Trader Joe's sells something similar around this time of the year. It's a substitute I can live with. 

When I got home the kids had already bathed and were ready for bed. They ate supper and then started tasting cookies. Yummy!

The kids had an early night. They had a very full National Day holiday and needed an early evening for sure. 

In spite of the horrible news of the murder of the American teacher in Abu Dhabi, we still feel very safe here. When I hear of stabbing son a train in Michigan and murders in Phoenix weekly, the statistics are against us more in the US than they are here. 

It will be interesting to see the reaction from our Emirati staff members on Sunday. I know there will be apologies and condolences toward the Americans in our school, which will be unnecessary but appreciated. 

We still love what we are doing, and we are being very cautious to stay safe.