Another day at Raha, a day at the beach, Dreamland and a whole lot more for Eid Al Adha

The Raha Beach Hotel pool was our mid-morning destination, after a wonderful buffet breakfast. We had the kids at one table and the adults at another. It was a relatively quiet breakfast, for the adults at least. 

After breakfast we headed to the pool for a few hours. The kids went off and played while the adults just bobbed in the water or sat on the loungers. 

Rochelle and I attempted to stay out of the sun. 

The dads tried to relax, but were rudely interrupted by these monkeys. 

We got out of the pool just before noon. We got dressed and went to the food court at the attached mall. We had lunch and then bid the Rouvis farewell. They were heading back to Al Ain. So for the rest of the day we were on our own. 

We went to the room for a while and then decided to have more pool time. We got into the water and the kids actually stayed around us for a while. When they did decide to go off on their own, Stuart and I decided to get a coffee and a milk shake at the pool bar. Jack must have sniffed out the milkshake, so we let them share a shake. 

We got out of the pool around 6 pm and decided to go to the hotel barber to get Jack's hair cut. It was quick and painless. 

The guy who cut his hair also spiked it. But we had to wash it because he had been at the pool all day and he had little bits of hair all over his neck. 

After we were all showered we went to eat. We had dinner at McGettigans, again, and the bar was open! I decided tonight was the night I would try an adult beverage. Since I can't have sugar or carbonation, a Bloody Mary was my drink of choice. I only drank about half of it and it had no effect on me. It's just pointless to have another because I'm really not supposed to eat and drink at the same time. So the experiment, nearly 4 months early, was a waste of time. Oh well. I suppose we will continue to save money with me not drinking. 

Millie fell asleep at the table so had to be carried back to the hotel. Once we were back, both kids were tucked in for the night. Stuart and I watched a bit of television and then dozed off for the night. 

We were awake and down for breakfast around 8 am. We then went back upstairs to pack and make our beach lunch. We had purchased our supplies at the supermarket in the mall the night before. We left around 9:30 am and headed to the Corniche to meet the Richardsons, Turners and one other family.

The beach was beyond hot, and as you can see, there were no people sitting close to the beach or in the water. It was too hot. It was very humid and possibly an experience that wasn't so pleasant for this time of year. We forced ourselves to stay for nearly 4 hours just because we had made the effort to get there, but it wasn't nice. In fact, on the way back to the car Stuart nearly passed out. I think he may have been dehydrated. It was nothing that a bottle of water and some ice cream at the local gas station couldn't take care of. 

We got home around 5 pm and I started the laundry. Oh of course, I also had the rug in the kitchen to deal with. It seems when Kayleigh came to check on the cats on Monday afternoon, one of them had gotten on the sink and turned out tap on, which went into our basin bucket and overflowed, running into the kitchen floor and flooding the kitchen. Fortunately, all rooms on the main floor have drains in them and raised thresholds at the entrance from one room to the next. So the flooding was contained to the kitchen. 

After that was sorted out, I could start our laundry from the weekend, which ended up being 4 loads. Stuart went to buy some ant spray because Jack and Millie's bathroom was still infested with flying ants, and the kids showered. 

Once the flood mess was mopped up, the ants were destroyed, the kids were clean, fed and in bed, I took a shower and settled in for the night. Stuart scooted off to rugby training and I ate a bite and watched some television, folding a load of laundry every hour or so. Stuart came home with some take out and then went to bed. I did my usual, falling asleep on the sofa, and when I went to bed I heard water running in the kitchen. Those silly cats had done it again. I had a hair tie on the faucet that I attached to the handle, hopefully making it more difficult for them to turn it on. Time will tell if it has worked. If not, I suspect we will have to change the tap all together.    

Our plan on Tuesday was to get up and go to Dreamland, a water park in Ras al Khaimah. But since we had been in the sun for the past three days we decided to do something different. We opted for ice skating. 

We spent an hour and a half at the rink, and Millie could actually skate without the 'walker' after about an hour. She was very pleased with herself. 

We went to the food court after skating and had a bit to eat. Then it was on to the rugby club pool for a dip. Once we left the pool, the kids took a bath and were essentially ready for bed at 5 pm. They are and hen Jack and I headed off to play practice for The Land of Lost Stories. He still wasn't totally sure of doing the whole thing, but I told him we had committed to it and we had to be people of our word. The rehearsal was 'closed' which just meant I had an hour and a half to sit at Starbucks and chat with Leanne. Xavier got a part in the play as well. 

Millie stayed home and was in bed by the time Jack and I returned home. Jack had a bowl of cereal, watched an episode of Richie Rich and hit the hay. Stuart had made dinner for us and all was quiet by about 8:30 pm. 

We woke up Wednesday morning with the realization that our cleaner would be there sometime soon. When we have days off it's something we have to think about so we are not in his way. The kids and I were headed to see Pete's Dragon at the cinema, leaving Stuart on his own for a few hours. 

We decided against Pete's Dragon. There were too many children who were unsupervised and it would have been unbearable. Instead we decided to go upstairs in the mall and let the kids do the tubes. It didn't last as long as a film, but they had fun so that was all that mattered. 

Millie flew down the slide. 

Jack has been a fan of these tunes since we first moved to Al Ain. 

We did some shopping for swim trunks, the tight ones for . Ate lunch. Headed home and then to the supermarket

Jack and Millie went to play at some friends' house. 

Had play practice. Jack was more excited when he came out on Wednesday night. Apparently Humpty Dumpty is a rock star at the end of the play. 

While Jack was at practice, Millie and I explored the mall close by. There are malls that are built but are not filled with stores for 2 to 3 years after they are finished. This was one of those malls. 

We were home just after 7 and the kids were in bed by 8. Both kids have been fighting a cold, so guess who else's throat was starting to tickle? Lovely! Jack woke in the middle of the night sounding like a bullfrog. I gave him some Tylenol and sent him back to bed. I woke up with a sore throat on Thursday morning and sounded like a bullfrog. Stuart admitted that he wasn't 100% either and then also pointed out that if he got full on sick it would be a debilitating 'man flu'. At least he recognizes he's pitiful when he has a cold. I'm sure we will all live and press on through. 

We really just laid around the house on Thursday. The only time I went out of the house was to go to the bank to pay off my car loan because we sold the red Kia Soul. I thought I'd be sad, but actually I'm not into clutter and having three cars proved to be a bit over the top for us. So now we are back to a two-car family as God intended. 

Cathy had come over for breakfast Thursday morning, but aside from that it was a lazy day. I knew Jack didn't feel well, but he still begged to go to a friend's house to play. I refused to let him go because I knew he was sick. He finally gave up the fight and at 1 pm asked if he could go take a shower and put his jammies on. Poor boy! Of course, since that was his request, it was also Millie's request. So both kids were ready for bed at 2 pm. 

As you can see, they both rebounded a bit by the end of the day. 

In spite of the fact they were ready for bed in the early afternoon, they still didn't go to bed until after 7 pm. After dinner they watched a new movie and then we read books. I decided to put Vick's on Jack's chest, thinking that would help him to not wake up with that 'smoked a pack too many' sound. Sure enough, once he was awake Friday morning he announced to me that he was better. 

Friday was spent at the movies seeing Pete's Dragon, a birthday party for Jack, nails for Millie and me, left over sausages for dinner and another early night for the kids. I didn't actually see the movie because Scott decided he would let Clare and me shop while he took all of the kids to the cinema. Stuart was off to Dubai for his season opener on the rugby pitch, so shopping and coffee was a treat for sure. 

Millie is always up for pampering. 

Saturday we were up early. Jack and I headed to the tailor to get him measured for his Humpty Dumpty costume.

While we were there he started to complain of his head hurting and started to sound stuffy again. Unfortunately, we didn't go straight home from the tailor's. He had to go with me to get my hair cut. His head got worse and he ended up laying down on the sofa in the hair salon and having a little nap. Poor boy!

This was what I wanted my hair to look like over two years ago when the evil hairdresser chopped it off. I like this much better. 

Our plan when we got home was to go swimming, but because Jack was poorly, we decided going to the pool was foolish. Instead, both kids were clean and in their jammies, as was I, by 3 pm. I fixed Jack some chicken noodle soup, and clearly the Tylenol had kicked in because he suddenly had his appetite back. After the chicken noodle soup, he ate some fruit and spaghetti hoops and meatballs. 

The kids were in bed by 6:30 pm, as they had school on Sunday. Stuart and I stayed up for a bit and watched television, and were in bed just before 11 pm. A new week awaits us and we are ready for it.