Sunday morning we kind of staggered our breakfast time, but all met up at the beach just after 10 am. Louise and James decided to hire a cabana so we could have a central spot for all of us. That reminded me that I needed to book a cabana for later in the week when we went to Atlantis. So, while we sat enjoying the breeze off of the water, I did just that.
I traveled to the pool a few times with the kids, and then finally ordered them some food around 1 pm. We had arranged a late check out and had our change of clothes in the swim bag. So after the kids ate, I headed up to sort out our bill.
After having our things taken to the concierge desk and completing check-out, I went back to the cabana to see what everyone else was doing. The Telford men had rented a bumper tube for themselves and the kids. Millie was too small so she built a sand castle with Auntie Anna and Auntie Kate on the beach.
Stuart and I ordered some food around 3 pm. Because it was a dry day, the adults were going back and forth to the room for some adult beverages. Around 4 pm the ladies went for some tea in the executive lounge, while the men went to the room for a beer. Stuart and I stayed with the boys. Millie went to high tea.
Once everyone had returned to the outside we went to the pool for a swim. The kids crawled all over the dads, moms, aunties and uncles. I had a coffee and then sorted some towels for our crew.
Around 6 pm we decided we would get cleaned up and go to the restaurant on the beach. It had a feel of Greece. It was delicious. The kids sat at a separate table from us, were fed first, and all but Millie, laid down and fell asleep. So getting them up once we decided to go was quite fun.
We stayed at the restaurant over two hours, just chatting and enjoying our shared seafood dishes. It was wonderful.
The time came when we had to leave. We wouldn't see Murray, Kate, Barnes and Anna again as they were flying home on Monday afternoon. Our intention was to drive back to Dubai on Monday after school. However, once we got home, just after 11 pm, we decided the kids would not cope well with another late night, and quite frankly neither would we.
So once the kids were in bed, laundry was started, and we were cleaned and ready for bed, Stuart messaged his brothers saying we would not be coming back after all on Monday evening, but instead we would see them on Tuesday when they came to Al Ain.
Monday morning came WAY too early. The kids were not as difficult to get up as I had anticipated. Millie was out of bed before Jack, which is super rare, especially on a school day.
We all dragged a bit, but got off to work and school just fine. I knew I had very little to do at work so was just hoping the day would go by quickly.
I left work early because I got a bit dizzy just before lunch. I had the same dizzy feeling on Saturday and had to sit down for a bit. It passed, but it was a bit concerning.
Once I was home I took a little snooze and waited for Millie to come home. When she did arrive she was asleep in the car. It wasn't surprising considering the way she partied over the weekend.
She slept for over an hour and a half. I usually worry about her napping during the day because typically that messes up her bedtime, but that day it made no difference at all, thank goodness.
Stuart had gone to pick Jack up from his Performing Arts class. They arrived home and Jack looked exhausted. It would definitely be an early night for both kids. The plan was to have dinner around 5:30 pm and then bed would follow shortly after we ate.
Stuart made a delicious meal and we actually sat down together and ate. We had chicken wrapped in bacon, cauliflower mash, and broccoli. Millie ate everything. She's the picky eater who, once she turned 5, decided she would start eating what we put on her plate. As Jack would say, 'I'm not really sure what God has done to Millie, but she's changed.' Bahahahaha!
Millie had an earlier night, although she had a lengthy nap, and Jack followed about thirty minutes later. Both kids were beyond wiped out.
Tuesday work was a buzz because of a fight that took place in the parking lot after school. I called my principal to see what had happened, and I quote, 'It was off the chain!' Apparently there was a lady in a military uniform beating a lady in an abaya and shayla (local dress), and a man in a kandora (local dress). We think maybe there was an affair involved. Super haram! It was the talk of the school on Tuesday.
Once I left school I went to the grocery store to get some pickies for when the Telfords arrived. They got to the house just after 3 pm and the manic fun began. Drinks were flowing and kids were upstairs playing.
We shuttled to the rugby club around 4:30 pm, just as it started to blow and rain! Really? It rains four days out of the year and this is one of them? Jack was so excited to show his cousins and uncles his rugby skills, so I was glad when the weather calmed down and actually cooled off a bit.
After training, the kids jumped in the pool for about an hour. They had so much fun together. When they got out of the pool, Stuart paid the bar tab and we headed to the golf club to have dinner. Stuart, his brothers and I had the stone-grill steaks, while Louise and the kids ate from the bistro buffet. The kids then had a run around outside before we headed home just after 9 pm. I knew the kids would be hyped and it would be difficult to get them to bed, but their cousins only came to town for a week so we can suck it up and rest once they've gone.
The boys slept in the loft while Millie complained and cried about sleeping in her room. She finally relented and went to her room, yet wandered downstairs around 10:30 pm and fell asleep in Uncle Matt's arms. The boys, on the other hand fought it until the bitter end. Joshua was the last one awake and the first one up on Wednesday morning. Billy and Jack had found their way into their parents' bed before the morning and I didn't have the energy to make him go back to the loft.
We had stayed up and played Trivial Pursuit. Stuart and Matt won and were super smug about it. Stuart knows so much useless trivia, but it really pays off when playing games. We had a great time just talking, ribbing each other and laughing until midnight.
I still got up to walk, although it was difficult. I was late to school because Jack wasn't feeling so hot and needed his mama. The kids were not super impressed that they had to go to school while their cousins got to stay home, but they knew we were heading to Dubai after school to another resort, so they dealt with it.
Once I was home from school, last minute packing and organizing occurred. I sat and had a cup of coffee and waited for the kids to come home.
The kids arrived home around 2:30 pm. Matt, Josh, James, Louise, and Billy had already headed to Anantara in Dubai. We brought Zoe with us because her car seat wouldn't go into the cab. The base had anchors and the cab didn't have the proper seat belts to accommodate.
She was an angel in the car, but needed a bottle on the way. I do not miss baby days, and she's an easy one.
We arrived at our next resort destination, Anantara. We had visited last October when James was visiting for the first time. He was determined we would stay at Anantara at some stage and Wednesday was the day. What a phenomenal resort we landed in. We were greeted with Arabic coffee and dates. Once we were checked in a tuk tuk took us to our room.
The grounds are gorgeous and the views like no other. Jack and Millie have truly lived he spoiled life with this in the mix. I'm not sure a Super 8 will ever pass any kind of inspection with my children. We could walk down steps from our back patio, straight into the pool.
Once we were settled in our rooms we headed to the main pool for a swim. It was virtually empty. We stayed there for a little over an hour. The kids got an ice cream and the adults had a beverage or two.
We then decided we had better feed the kids. So we returned to our rooms to get a shower and get dressed. We decided to go to the Thai restaurant and had some lovely food. Millie even ate a lot of her Pad Thai. She has really surprised me with he eating habits in this week. I think she's trying to impress family, which works for me.
We returned to Louise and James' room and sat on the deck for a while. Stuart scooted off to our room, got his swimmers on and swam over to their patio. Unbelievably spoiled!
We headed back to our room around 9:30 pm and everyone got into bed. We were all asleep shortly after that. This could have been a dream.
Nope, it wasn't a dream! I woke up to the same spectacular view and decided to go to the gym on the grounds. I rode the exercise bike for an hour and there were only two other people in there at 7 am. I can only assume that the week/weekend we chose for this holiday is very quiet. Everyone is in school, or at least they are supposed to be (like us). Stuart and I took an emergency day on Thursday so we could spend more time with the Telfords.
Andrew and Lyn came to our hotel around 11 am, but Louise and I had booked a massage and didn't arrive back to the room until almost 1 pm. When we got back everyone was sitting on Louise and James' veranda.
At the pool bar happy hour started at 3 pm. We didn't arrive until almost 4 pm. At that time, Andrew and Lyn went back to their hotel. They were flying out of Friday so that would be the last time we would see this on this trip. Everyone said goodbye and we proceeded to the pool bar. We then decided to move our party to the gulf. It was beautiful!
We had made dinner reservations at the Australian restaurant, but in the end we decided we would rather eat at the Beach Club because we could sit on the beach, eat and smoke sheesha. I have only smoked sheesha one time before this night. It's a fruity tobacco that doesn't taste like tobacco until the following morning when your voice is raspy and you have a headache that could disable a small child. I also might have had one too many Bloody Mary's, which I did swear off on Friday morning.
Once we were back in our room I showered the kids, again, because they had been in the sand, and then they went to bed. Stuart and I went for a late night swim but that ended shortly after it started. It was a bit chilly and we were the only ones out there, plus I was tired and not feeling so hot.
I forced myself to get up and go to the gym at 6:30. My head was pounding but I pushed through. After breakfast we headed to Atlantis for our third resort of the week. We checked in and were able to go straight to our rooms. We had paid for an upgrade so we could have breakfast included as well as access to the Imperial Lounge during happy hour, which included drinks and food.
Once we were settled in our rooms, we headed to claim our cabana at the water park. We spent the entire day at Aquaventure, and all of us had a great time. We managed to keep Zoe out of the sun, but it was quite hot for her.
After our day of water fun. We ventured back to the hotel to clean up and go to the Imperial Club Lounge for free drinks and food for the kids. We had made dinner reservations for 8 pm at Saffron, one of the buffets, but decided the kids might be sleepy by then and they should eat ahead of time.
We came back to our room before dinner to Skype the boys' mum. The kids got all wired and everyone ended up in a bed, under the covers, and it was the bed I was going to sleep in. Not all of us had taken showers after the day at the water park (Matt) so there might have been some sand or dirt in the bed when Jack and I got in later that night.
After our chaotic Skype session we headed to dinner. The kids sat at a different table and played their electronic devices, while the adults ate. I had some sushi and everyone else indulged in sushi as well as some of the other delightful items on the buffet tables. We did sneak some sushi to Jack and Billy, and some beef to Josh. After we finished eating, we returned to our rooms for the kids to have ice cream that we had stolen from the buffet. Oops!
We were all in bed before 10 for a good night's sleep. Stuart got up Saturday morning and met his brothers for a coffee. Time with his brothers is so precious. I love seeing them all together.
Once Stuart was back in the room we waited for everyone to go to breakfast. Once in the Imperial Lounge for some food, we made a plan for the day. Millie and I went to the shops with Louise and Zoe. I ended up buying the kids some new flip flops. The boys and their dads went to the water park for a couple of hours of fun. We all met up at the pool around noon and swam for about an hour. We then went to the pool bar so the dad's could have a beverage and the kids got ice cream.
Just before 1 pm I decided to go to take the kids to the room to shower. We had to check out by 1 pm so we needed to get clean. In the time I was gone, which was about 30 minutes, Matt and James had talked Stuart into going with them to the Maldives for the next 4 days. Actually, it wasn't quite that easy. When he got to the room he shyly said to me 'James and Matt said I should come with them to the Maldives'. I told him he could go if he wanted to. Does this mean there are more holidays at school? Nope, just making his own holidays and missing school. Oh well!
Matt and James had it all figured out and the flight booked as soon as Stuart gave the go ahead. He was so excited. Initially he was worried about going and leaving me. But when I told him this would mean I could do a girls' trip, it was all better and he started making a list of things he needed to do when we got home.
We visited the aquarium at Atlantis, then ate a very late lunch at Gordon Ramsey's restaurant in Atlantis. Once lunch was complete, the kids and I said our goodbyes, while Stuart said 'see you all soon'. He would come home with us, do laundry, repack, get his passport, some more sun screen, his snorkeling gear, and get a cab back to the airport for 2 am. What a whirlwind of a day it became. We stopped at the outlet mall to try to find Stuart some swim trunks, but had no luck.
When we did arrive home just before 8 pm, we moved into action. Stuart unpacked all the dirty clothes, separated his stuff out, and got it in the washer. The kids had fallen asleep in the car on the way home, which helped us to get everything else organized a lot faster for Stuart's return to Dubai.
I was totally unpacked and showered before 10 pm, then watched television while Stuart repacked and waited for his clothes to dry. Fortunately they were dry about 30 minutes before his taxi arrived. He felt inclined to iron his shirts for the trip, although everything I have ever read says the Maldives are all about shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. He is sure to be a way overdressed, excited man. All I know is he had better bring us some sweet souvenirs.
Life continues to throw excitement our way.
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