''Twas the week before the first week of school.

Sunday we were up a little later for breakfast as our archery activity wasn't scheduled until 10:30 am. There were a few more people at breakfast, but not a lot. 

After breakfast we waited in the lobby for Ali, our archery instructor. While waiting, the large group that came out with us on the boat were checking out. So that only meant we would REALLY be the only people at the resort for our last day, which was totally fine with us. 

Ali arrived and we headed to the archery range. It was just the four of us, and I'm not going to lie, I was not totally thrilled about this activity. He set us each up with an arm guard, a finger protector (I'm sure there's a technical name for it), and the bow and arrows. He gave us a bit of instruction after he placed the targets on the boards, and then he let us have three practice rounds. Millie had the biggest challenge of all of us, being the littlest. However, she did rather well in the end. 

After three practice rounds we started the competition. It turns out that you get no points if the arrow flies over the target. Needless to say, I did not win the competition. Jack, who is super competitive, had difficulty understanding why Millie got to shoot from much closer than the rest of us. I secretly told him that we knew he won and could he just go along with us and encourage her efforts. He did and all was right with the world again. 

After a sweaty morning of archery, the pool was calling our names. Our initial plan was to swim for a bit, go back to the room for peanut butter sandwiches and then take the kids to the kids' club. But once we were at the pool everyone decided they were hungry, so we just ordered from the bar menu. After we finished at the pool the kids headed off to kids' club. We didn't let them stay as long as we had on Saturday. Jack got his face painted again, which made showers super fun. 

After they returned and were nice and clean, we played Uno. Our new Emoji Uno cards have proven to be quite entertaining. Especially the wild draw 4 card. Guess what Emoji is on that card?

We had dinner at the Italian restaurant that evening. The food was really good, but the service wasn't quite as brilliant as it had been the previous two evenings. We are spoiled for sure. After dinner it was back to the room and bedtime. 

Monday morning we were up early for breakfast in order to catch the 9 am ferry. We were about the only guests on the ferry. The other people were staff members who had the day off and were going into town. What town? I have no idea because when we were driving from Abu Dhabi to the ferry, I saw no 'town' to speak of.  

Our drive back to Al Ain was uneventful. We ran a few errands before picking Molly up from the Richardson's house. Then when we got home we just got organized for a lot of nothing on Tuesday. Cathy and Mandy came over and we ordered curry. Lara ended up coming over as well. She had to bring me a skirt I had ordered from her, so stayed and talked for a bit. Stuart went to rugby practice to give his new body a try. He ended up not being able to practice the entire time, but he felt pretty good about his efforts. 

Tuesday we waited for Clare to bring Henry and May over for a play date. Once they were at our house we didn't hear much from any of them for most of the day. Stuart went out to get a few bits from Spinneys and picked up lunch for them. After their spicy chicken bites they went upstairs to play some more. At about 3 pm I hear the girls scream bloody murder upstairs. When they finally calmed down we discovered they had seen a mouse upstairs. Holy crapoly!

So the four kids, two cats, one dog and two parents went upstairs on a mission. When we got upstairs Stuart started moving everything away from the wall. He then discovered the little fur ball behind a small IKEA plastic stool. I went to get a towel, as I'm so brace and want to help. He said, 'When I lift the stool, throw the towel down on the mouse.'  Easy! Except it wasn't. He lifted the stool. I threw the towel down. The mouse jumped over the towel. Fortunately I had enough forethought to close the bedroom doors upstairs which kept the little rodent contained to the hallway. But as soon as that little sucker started running, I started screaming bloody murder as I followed it down the hall. Millie had jumped on the futon and Jack was chasing it with his nerf Ninjago sword, hacking as he went. He kept saying, 'I got it!' as the mouse continued to hop over his weapon just as he brought it down to the ground. It was a circus act in the making. When poor Mickey came back my way, I finally got the towel over him. However, it was just a matter of time before he crawled out from under it. So Stuart, in hero fashion, took the plastic IKEA stool and turned it so the seat was facing downward. Need I explain anything else? When the creature had seemingly expired, Stuart threw it over our back wall. Then Jack got to where he could see it and pronounced, 'Dad, it's still breathing.'  But we knew it wouldn't be for long. 

What we assessed in this situation was that Oreo had brought this little guy into the house, had a bit of a play with it, and then got bored, leaving it for us to find. Thanks for that, Oreo! Outdoor cats are a pain!

A few hours after the excitement, Scott picked up Henry and May. So, as if our zoo isn't big enough already, we decided to go and see one of the rescue dogs we were considering adopting. This dog has no name, but Jack has decided if we do adopt him we must call him Comet. Molly was calm and mild mannered around him. He was such a sweet dog and so docile. He might be the one. 

We headed home after a McDonalds drive thru and the kids actually did have an early night. We have to get them back into their routines soon. This 'do as you like when you like' is not good for any of us. 

Once they were in bed, Cathy came over. We hadn't had a proper catch up the previous night because our get together had turned into a small party. She stayed for a while and while she was here the infuriating basketball bouncing sound continued to ring through the house, way after quiet hours. I'm wondering how many more times we will have to speak to these same boys before they actually respect our wishes and go inside at the posted times. I went, once again, and pleaded with them to just be considerate. We shall see if there are any results. Stuart doesn't get too upset about anything, but these kids are really starting to irritate him. He's likely to blow soon. 

Wednesday morning we got up and lounged around, forgetting that our house cleaner would be there around 8:30 am. When he did arrive we decided to leave early for Dubai and go to the outlet mall to look for some new trousers for Stuart for work. Before we headed out, Oreo came in the house with a mouse. We assumed it was the dead mouse from the previous day, but when I yelled at Oreo, he looked at me and dropped the mouse, who rushed up the stairs to get away from the cat. Unfortunately he didn't escape Stuart's shoe. I know this because I went to get a towel to grab him and as I was about to get him, I heard 'crunch'. Ick!When I went to throw him over the wall, I didn't throw hard enough and he landed on our back yard table. Dear me! 

When we actually got to leave, our journey was a bit of a success and we even got some new shirts for Stuart. When we left the mall we headed to the US Consulate. We were a bit late for our appointment, but like everything else around here, the appointment time is really more of suggestions than a requirement. 

We decided to eat lunch in Dubai and then took a much (not) needed trip to a shop called Safestway. It's very similar to the Park n Shop I have spoken about. They have more American brands, but they are quite pricey. 

When we returned from Dubai, Jack went with Stuart to rugby. Millie lost her cool as she wanted to go to, but she really needed sleep. Bless her tiny little body. Plus, she's afraid to go anywhere without one of us as she's scared a mouse will pop up. The cable was out at our house, which makes for a boring night for me. Fortunately I found things to occupy me. 

Thursday morning was the beginning of a holiday. I started my day by letting the dog out and seeing another mouse. At least this one was dead. 

I had to go to Etisalat, the cell phone company we use here. It seems they always have a crowd, especially on holidays. The good news is that usually a day like this you would be waiting a long time, unless you are right there when the doors open, and I was. It took me 6 minutes.

Cathy and Claire came to pick up Millie and Jack to go buy birthday presents for them. While they shopped, DeDe and I had tea and coffee in order to have a proper catch up. It was fun and we stayed out longer than I intended. Cathy actually beat me back to the house. Stuart had gone with Sean for a massage and mani/pedis. So it's a good thing Cathy has our extra house key. She just let herself in and the kids played with the things she had purchased for them. 

In the evening we went across the street to a 'welcome back to school' party. We saw several friends and some that were no so much friends. It happens! We didn't stay long, and Stuart actually stayed a shorter period of time than I did. He was not well because of something he ate. I do remember those days with the surgery. It's not nice. 

When I got up Friday morning , Oreo had dropped a 'friend' on the back sidewalk for us to see. This one was dead, thank goodness. Surely there can't be that many more mice in that particular nest or family, right? I'm hoping that's the case. 

We began sorting out the guest room for Sean. It seems he is moving in with us after all. Once we had done all we could do, we went to the grocery store and bought some needed items for the party WE were having that evening. It seems everyone wants a welcome party the first week or so of school. People started arriving around 3 pm and the last crew left just after 11 pm. Oh, what a party it was. It was hot, but we still sat outside. It's just what we do in the desert. The night seemed to be a success. 

Saturday we woke up and went to do some last minute shopping for school. We ended up having lunch at the food court and then bought some groceries. We headed home to chill for the remainder of the day. Jack and Millie kept bugging me to text Lara and Brian to see when they could come over for the sleepover. They finally went just after 6 pm, and Lara came to ours with her daughter Kayla, who is our new baby sitter. They stayed for a couple of hours and then I awaited the call to tell me Millie wasn't going to stay the night,  and I got it around 11:30 pm. Super. I took her upstairs and showered her, then put her to bed. 

School is on its way!