Sunday Stuart didn't go to school. He spent time with his dad and then they went to pick the kids up after school. Grandad is apparently really good at playing 'babies', which was thrilling to Millie since it is her favorite past time.
Rochelle and her kids came by for tea on Sunday afternoon, which is always fun. It seems there is a great deal more of 'popping by' that takes place here primarily because there is more time for it. My friend Ken calls it 'visitation'. It's his Baptist roots.
We took Grandad to the golf club for our last meal with him. Stuart and Andrew had a meat fest. Their steaks were served on hot stones and they had to cook it themselves. The kids played on the playground for a bit, dinner was enjoyed by all, and then it was time for us to head back for a good sleep before school, work, and Grandad's return to Abu Dhabi.
Monday morning we were all up early to say goodbye to Grandad. He went with Stuart to work and then they headed to Abu Dhabi. They went to the Grand Mosque for a tour. They had a lovely day, and then Stuart delivered Grandad to his hotel and returned to Al Ain. What a great visit we had. Grandad taught on Tuesday and then caught a red eye back home. We will see him shortly in the UK, which will be great.
Stuart had rugby training on Monday and Tuesday evening in preparation for his rugby tour in Thailand. He was supposed to have training on Wednesday as well but instead he decided we would go out to dinner as a family before he left on his trip. We ate at Chilis and then bought a few bits at the grocery store.
Thursday Stuart got up at 2 am and headed to the rugby club. Their plane was leaving Abu Dhabi at 8 am, so they took a bus from the club.
Fortunately for me, the kids were up and ready by just after 6 am. It made my job much easier because they were up and I didn't have to wake them. Usually Stuart wakes them up while I fix their lunches. We all got off okay which made for a pleasant start to the day.
At school we had a competition between the girls and boys. We never mix our girls' and boys' sides so this was a rare occasion. The competition took the majority of the day. Our students also started to disappear. We still have 4 weeks of school yet the kids are starting to not come to school. We suspect by the middle of next week we will no longer have students. I can't really explain it, but it seems to be a cultural thing.
When Jack got home from school on Thursday he handed me this letter. At school he has a class called 'Mind Up'. Basically, it's a character education class they have once a week. This week's lesson was about being grateful or thankful for someone. They were instructed to, with no other prompting than exactly what I write here, write a letter to that person thanking them for what they have done for you.
Dear God,
I love you I no you will alwas be with me but just for a ruminder I love you no mader wat I will love you bedar then anything els. I love you. Love from Jack
Needless to say, I cried. When he produces something like this I just thank God for the blessing He gave me in Jack.
Gina showed up on Thursday after the kids were asleep. She came for the weekend for two reasons; 1) Rania (a mutual friend) and I wanted to take her to brunch, and 2) I kind of begged her to come stay with me while Stuart was gone. She obliged and when she arrived we started on our House of Cards marathon. Gina had watched the first season on her plane ride from Arizona back to Any Dhabi last August. She doesn't have a television (don't get me started) so she had mentioned wanting to watch the other two seasons. Stuart and I had attempted to watch it months ago, but just couldn't get into it. However, I forced myself to catch up to the end of he first season and by episode 4 I was hooked. We watched a few episodes on Thursday evening and finally retired around midnight.
We got up Friday morning and while the kids played upstairs we watched some more episodes of House of Cards. Around noon we left for brunch at the Rotana, one of the nicer hotels in Al Ain. We ate for about 3 hours and just sat and talked for another three hours. Our butts hardly moved from this chairs for 6 hours. I couldn't believe how fast the time went. It was crazy.
When we returned from brunch I went to pick the kids up from Dom's house. He is my friend Claire's son. He is such a great kid. The kids had fun with him. It was hard to get Jack to leave, but he finally relented.
Baths, dinner and bed were in order for the remainder of the evening. Gina and I had no interest in dinner because we had eaten so much at brunch. So we sat down to continue our marathon of House of Cards on Netflix. What a show!
We got up Saturday morning and Skyped Grammie and Pop. Gina and I lazed around and watched more of House of Cards while the kids played upstairs and with friends, again. I know it seems I may have been an absent mother this weekend, but I did still feed, bathe and put them to bed, so I wasn't a total loser.
Stuart had been messaging me all day giving me updates from Thailand. Much to my dismay he had played in every game. I hope his mother is reading this and gives him an ear full! At any rate, they won all of their matches on Saturday and would have several more games on Sunday. They seemed to be pleased with their accomplishments.
Gina left around 3 pm and we went to meet the Richardsons at the pool. We swam for a couple of hours then went to the Richardson's for dinner. She made chicken, veggies, roasted potatoes, and gravy. It was a delicious Sunday roast, as the English would call it.
Millie and Jack took showers there, and after a filling meal and a little bit of playtime and a movie, it was way past time to go home. As you can assume, the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. I nearly died carrying Jack upstairs. He's a heavy load these days. However, I know I won't always be able to carry them so I guess I will enjoy it while I can, or as log as my back doesn't give out.
Another fantastic week in the UAE!
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