After school I went to the motor vehicle department to get my car sale finalized. It was an easy process once I found where the guy was I was supposed to meet. I then got home and the kids showered. Stuart went to the doctor as he thought he had kidney stones. In the end he had some blood work done, but the ultra sound showed no evidence of kidney stones. I had a committee meeting, as did Stuart but he didn’t go because of the doctor appointment. I took the kids and had them stay in the reception area of the rugby club because they had misbehaved at home before we left. I can’t wait until we get back to Arizona and Grammie and Pop can sort them out. Surprise Grammie and Pop!
When we got back from the club both kids went to bed. Stuart had been home for a bit and helped sort them out. We stayed up for a while, watching television but then hit the hay as well.
Monday was a normal day and all was well. Millie had swim squad after school, but somehow I had failed to sign her up for it. Working at the same school does have its advantages for sure. We had a quick bite when the kids got home and then headed to the club. The kids practiced and I normally sit outside, but it was too cold. Because the pitches get watered, it is always colder on the pitch than in any other part of Al Ain. We ordered take away and then went home for our nightly routines.
Tuesday I ran into a table in my classroom during my English class. I think I broke my pinkie toe. I also nearly taught my class some new English words. I’m telling you I think pinkie toes were made to be broken. After school we had our staff briefing. I’m pretty sure from here on out I will find these meetings a bore. Jack had basketball practice while we were in our meeting. He said the Year 11 boys were asking why he was so good. I told him he should have said, ‘I just work what my mama gave me!’ He didn’t think that was as funny as I did.
We got home and I took a hoodie to Lara to repair. One of the staff kids at school grabbed Jack’s hoodie and ripped he pocket. This kid is 5 years old and a bit feral, to be honest. When I asked the boy about it he just cried and lied. It’s my team leader’s son so I had to just suck it up and see if Lara could fix the hoodie. Fortunately she’s a genius. While I was getting clothes repaired, the kids took their basketballs down to the court. They used to never be able to use the court, but now all of a sudden they can. They played outside until nearly 6 pm, which they never get to do during the week. I made dinner and the kids took showers. It was a very uneventful evening. Stuart called his mum to tell her we were moving back to the states. The good thing is there is still just one plane ride away. It’s a bit longer of a flight, but we will still visit the UK as we always have. It’s important for all of us.
Wednesday school was a whole lot of no fun. I’m already ready for another holiday. It’s so sad. Once school was over I went to help coach football (soccer). I know nothing about soccer but I like the other coach so we have a good laugh at practice. Millie came out to play soccer while Jack was playing basketball and Stuart was coaching him. I feel Stuart and I would be better off if we switched coaching positions, but the year 6 girls can’t be coached by male coaches, so that wouldn’t work.
After sports we headed home to quickly change and head to the rugby club. The kids had practice, I collected forms from Jack’s team for the Dubai tournament and Stuart coached. After rugby we got our take away food and then came home. The kids showered and ate, then were off to bed. Our Mondays and Wednesdays are so packed right now. However, after spring break it will all slow down and we will find ourselves quite bored.
Thursday Stuart went to a fire safety training in Abu Dhabi which caused me to have to cover for his second lesson, which was math. Fortunately he left me an exam and it took the kids the entire hour to complete. Easy! After school we headed home and packed our stuff to go meet Louise, James, Billy and Zoe at a desert retreat in Ras Al Khaimah.
We arrived to the most amazing desert retreat I have ever seen. It is by far the nicest place we’ve ever stayed.....so far.
This is the bedroom, or at least half of it.
This is part of the bathroom.
And here is the view from the tub!
This is not the clearest picture because this belly dancer was moving around, as they do.
Dinner with the family.
The boys were back together, if only for the weekend.
Zoe loves Jack, and vice versa!
While we were eating dinner Jack developed one of his famous headaches. We are convinced he doesn’t drink enough water and by the time the headache comes on, it’s too late. He didn’t even eat his dinner. We ended up coming back to our villa and he had to go to bed in our bed. We had been told they were going to make up the sofa bed, but it hadn’t been done. After three calls and thirty minutes later, someone finally came. If this were a Premier Inn or a Motel 6 and I had to wait for a towel for that long, that would be one thing, but when you pay the money we paid for this, you expect everything to be done for you ahead of time. My plan was to speak to a manager the following morning.
We woke up Friday morning and Stuart and Jack went out to our private pool.
Swimming with the desert just behind you. Who gets to do this? Oh, we do! Jack continued to be mesmerized by the room and the view.
Although it was a heated pool, the night air had cooled it offf a bit.
This is our sun deck, covered in dew.
Another pool view.
After the boys came in from the pool, they headed out on the bikes provided for our villa. Millie wasn’t able to go because her bike hadn’t been delivered. This is another thing I will be speaking to them about. I normally don’t complain about these issues and am totally understanding. However, in this instance I’m not satisfied with our stay to this point. Millie wasn’t able to do something with the family because someone didn’t do their job. Hmmmm.
Once the boys were back from their bike ride, we headed to breakfast and I went to speak with the manager. I expressed my need for some kind of compensation, which he said he would look into. We enjoyed a buffet breakfast and had pictures with owls and a camel afterwards.
We were just hoping there wasn’t a gift left by the owls.
Doesn’t every resort have a camp outside the restaurant?
We returned to our room to find it had been made up for us. It seems maybe my barking would be worth it in the end.
So pretty!
We then decided we would head to the Ritz Carlton sister resort near the beach, about 25 minutes away, but not before dune bashing a bit. We hit the sand and bashed up and down the dunes. Everyone screamed with delight, except maybe Zoe. Once James got in the driver’s seat, Lou got a bit tense. We didn’t get stuck one time and stopped to see some local camels.
At the top of the dunes we get a lovely photo.
We all enjoyed watching the camels roam around the desert. It’s how we imagine it should be.
We arrived at the sister property just after 11 am. We took a boat ride to the restaurant where we were able to walk out to the beach.
The boat ride.
The pool that looked out to the empty beach.
The beach.
Billie and Zoe were buried in the sand.
And, so was Jack.
When we returned to our resort, we went to our villa and swam in the pool for about an hour. Then Louise and I went to a Rainforest experience at the day spa. It was included in Louie’s package at the resort so we decided to book it, not having a clue what it was. We discovered that is was a journey through a vitality water experience, with fragrances and different showers, steam rooms and saunas, and we would be alternating hot and cold therapy, which is said to be good for you. It was definitely a new experience for both of us. At first we weren’t exactly sure what to do. In our haste we just kind of started without waiting for one of the therapists to explain things to us. I felt like a Clampet, way out of my class system. When it was explained to us that we would go through the stations at our leisure, we understood what we needed to do. I will say that the ice rubbing was not my favorite, but I read that it should take away cellulite. I’ll keep you updated.
We went to a place called the Farmhouse for dinner. It turns out it was free to us because of the trouble we had the evening before. The food was amazing. I had the most delicious tenderloin. We had an amazing time. The kids were wiped out so we all returned to our own villa for an evening of relaxation.
Saturday morning we were up at breakfast by 8:30 am. We then were allowed to have a 2 pm check out. So we came back to our villa and swam until we had to get ready to check out. It was a sad goodbye this time, as we didn’t plan our next holiday with the family since we didn’t know our future as far as traveling was concerned. I cried as did Louise. We know things will change when we return to the states, but are still very confident in our decision to come home for good in July.
We drove home and started the things that just be done once you are home from a weekend away. Jack had a horrible cold and was complaining of a headache most of the day. We tried to spend the rest of the evening relaxing and getting prepared for a new week.
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