He was a big fella.
Jack rang for a buggy to collect us at the buggy stop so that we could get a lift to breakfast.
Once at breakfast, this was the scene. And just the day before he was commenting on how he had stopped eating so much. Who is he fooling?
We were supposed to go out on jet skis after breakfast, but the water was rough so the guy at the jet ski hire said that tomorrow would be a better day for it. So we opted to go back out to the water blob. Because the water was a bit choppy, it was much more difficult to get up on the blob. After the blob, we made our daily trip to the milk bar for a milk shake.
Then we decided to go to the pool, walking along the beach. Jack and Millie were being a bit foolish and he was irritating her. We heard a scream and she let in like she was drowning. Jack has gone under water and was pulling her feet. He was being an absolute pest. It was so obnoxious that another guest at the resort jumped into the water to ‘save’ Jack. Talk about embarrassing! Dang kids! They both got out and I walked them around to the gentleman to have them apologize for disturbing his holiday. He was very nice and said there was no need to apologize.
They then sat out and were a bit solemn for a while. Then they decided to go to the games room upstairs. They played up there for a while and then came down to ask if they could come swimming again. We let them in the pool for about 15 minutes and then headed off to our lunch at the Crab Shack, which was about a 20 minute walk. As we walked down the beach, the kids dove in and out of the water. It was another adventure in and of itself.
We decided we wanted a picture of our foot print in the Maldives. Jack’s looks as if we cut a few toes off. Don’t worry, he still has his toes.
Lunch was just as yummy as the previous day at the Crab Shack. We did all try something new, even Millie.
Jack never met a mussel he didn’t like.
The back drop to this place is unreal.
After a nice lunch, doesn’t everyone have a nap on the sand?
The kids were supposed to go kayaking after lunch, but because the water was rough, it was canceled. They ended up going to the kids’ club for about an hour and then we’re delivered back to the villa. Stuart and I had about an hour of alone time. We seldom find this time with absolutely nothing to do and no distractions. It was nice.
Both kids jumped off the back of our villa and swam for a bit. Stuart and I had a bit of a nap and the kids had a snack. When we were awake, we took the kids back to the blob and water park.
While they blobbed, I went to the milk bar to get Stuart and myself a juice and a muffin for the kids. We then walked the beach on the opposite side of our bungalow. After looking around there for a bit and seeing more fish and tiger sharks, we decided we would snorkel there on Monday.
We headed back to the bungalow and started our showers. We were booked in for a meal at Kanusen, an Asian fusion restaurant. We decided to go to the pool side for a drink before hand while the kids played in the Man Cave upstairs. We then walked to the restaurant.
This was essentially outside. We were on a balcony and you could hear the waves hitting the shore.
Our all-inclusive premium package allows us to eat at any restaurant, as many times as we like. Kanusen was a place we decided we would return to the following evening. The food was the best I have had on the island, and that’s saying a lot! I started with a crispy rice tuna.
I then had sweet and sour chicken as my main dish. Millie has edamame, her favorite, as her starter, and then teriyaki chicken and broccoli. Both these dishes pleased her for sure. Stuart had crispy pork belly and roasted lamb. I can’t remember.
Jack started with a sushi roll and then ordered salmon, but didn’t feel so well so ended up not eating it. It looked amazing, but I couldn’t even have a taste because I was so full.
We did our best to tackle this dessert for two. The chocolate fingers at the back of the bowl were Millie’s favorites, of course.
After dinner we were going to go back to the pool and have sheesha, but the kids were tired and there wasn’t any entertainment on for Sunday evening. So we got a buggy back to the bungalow and went to bed.
I woke up early on Monday morning and sat on the porch, with this as my view. Millie slept until between Stuart and myself after the first night. On Sunday night all she did was budge up against me all night. In fact, one time when I moved her over she sat up and said, ‘stop touching me!’ And then she swung her arm at me and hit me. I’m hoping she was doing that in her sleep, but I’m not so sure.
Monday morning the water was choppy again, but we hoped it would clear up in the afternoon. We went to breakfast and called Grammie and Pop. It was so fun to talk to them. Breakfast was amazing, as always, and the view wasn’t bad either.
You can’t really see us, but you can see the view.
We went to speak to the guys who rent the jet skis and they were sure the waves would be more calm in the late afternoon so we were going to be prepared to go out at 5 pm, after the kids had their Little Chef cooking class.
In the meantime, before Jack went off to play basketball for an hour, we decided to snorkel in the cove across from our place. Oh what a wonderful idea that was. We saw parrot fish, a slew of other fish that I couldn’t even begin to name, rainbow fish, and even heard the parrot fish munching on the algae. It was amazing. The only other time I’ve seen fish so beautiful was snorkeling in Hawaii.
She’s a regular little fish.
Preparation for snorkeling.
Once we had finished snorkeling, Jack went to play basketball, while Millie, Stuart and myself went to the pool. Once Jack had sweat his tail off, he came back to the pool for a swim.
Millie had an encounter with a mermaid, and then we had lunch around 1:30 pm and went back to the pool for a hula hoop lesson and juggling lessons. Then Stuart and the kids went to the blob for another go. I went back to the bungalow and jumped off the deck. The waves and wind overwhelmed me, so I didn’t last long.
When they returned from the blob, Millie put on an acrobatic show while Jack juggled fruit from our mini-bar. Thank goodness that’s all free because it certainly wasn’t edible after he was finished with it. They entertained us until it was time for their Little Chef cooking class, where they made margherita pizzas.
After their cooking class we headed back to the bungalow for showers and to get ready for dinner at Kanusan again.
This was my starter on Monday evening. Shrimp! And then my main was pork fried rice, which I ate very little of, sadly.
Once dinner was over, we went to the pool bar for a limbo competition. Millie was really good, but they had to do it with a partner, and her partner was a bit bigger than Millie, which made it difficult for Millie to help hold her up. She had fun and that was the important thing. Millie’s new friend was named Madison, but Millie thought her name was Medicine. Ha!
How low can you go?
We took some very exhausted children back to the room for much needed sleep. It was a good day even though the wind didn’t allow us to jet ski. There was still plenty for us to do.
Tuesday morning we got up to an even windier day. The wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour, which cools you a bit, but again, doesn’t allow for boat excursions or jet skiing.
After breakfast we had a game of pool, which Millie and Stuart won. Then the kids decided they wanted to go to the kids’ club for Pirate Day activities. So Stuart and I lounged at the pool for a while.
Somebody has to do it!
We actually went to the Crab Shack for our last lunch. We had to walk as the boat wasn’t able to be on the water.
When we returned we took the kids to the kids’ club for the afternoon. We had a nap on our deck, then returned to the kids’ club to see that Millie had lost her silver tooth in the taffy. I’m not sure the entire tooth came out, but I suppose it will eventually. We had taken Jack’ trainers so he could play basketball at 6 pm. We then returned to the pool and left them at the kids’ club to continue their fun.
When we returned to pick Millie up, we went to the basketball court to watch Jack play basketball. I’m thinking he was the only child who knew what he was doing.
Tuesday evening at the Baa Baa Grill it was Maldivian night. There was entertainment of music and a fantastic fire show. We carried our fun back to the pool bar where the band was playing. It was a great last evening.
Wednesday morning it was windier than it had been before. We had our last photo on the walkway in front of our villa. This paradise holiday was drawing to an end. We were, however, granted a late check out for 3 pm, which was so appreciated.
We had breakfast and then decided we needed to play a game of pool and take one more dip into the ocean. Oh, we did hit the Milk Bar one last time as well.
The water was a bit chillier, but still delightful. After about a half hour, we went back to the pool and had lunch. Our all inclusive package was no longer valid at noon on Wednesday, and the pool bar food wasn’t a part of our package anyway. So we bit the bullet and paid for our lunch.
The sushi was yummy.
After eating lunch, the kids had one more session of circus training. Millie mastered some hula hoop skills, which Jack improved his juggling. The staff was really good with children, and the kids loved it. The time finally came when we had to go back to the room for showers and to finish packing. This had really been a trip of a lifetime.
After we had checked out, we waited at the boat dock for the sea plane to arrive. When it did, the plane had difficulty getting tied up. It seems a piece had broken off the plane, which made it difficult to tie the plane down. When they did finally stop the plane and some people disembarked, it was clear that one of the ladies had been sick on landing. Yuck! The thought of getting on that plane, with as much as it was bouncing around, made me a bit ill. The sad part was, we had no choice.
One last photo for my very spoiled children.
Oh, did they have fun!
Once we were back at the main airport in Male, our wait wasn’t terribly long. We boarded the plane and not one of us slept. We watched movies and enjoyed a nice meal. Our flight landed a bit early which meant we got home a bit sooner than planned, which was nice considering we had to go to school on Thursday. I put some laundry in the wash once we were home. We had put the kids straight to bed when we got home. Stuart and I were in bed by midnight.
School on Thursday was a real struggle. Why we were made to come back for one day is beyond me. I only had 8 children at school on that day, which made things easier. My student teacher started on Thursday. She’s an Emirati and in her last semester of school. She definitely sees the vision of the nation. Unfortunately there are not enough people who do see the vision. She jumped right in and started helping me with the work I had to do. My teaching assistant wasn’t back from her holiday so Shayma’s help was appreciated. The only thing about having a student teacher that I don’t like is the pressure of having things over prepared.
We had an assembly and Millie was awarded her 1st place certificates from the sports day we had a few weeks back. She was very pleased with herself.
After school the kids had tri club, then we went to collect the Jaguar from the shop. The kids and I went to the grocery store. When we got home, Cathy was there and we ordered curry for dinner. The kids went to bed and Cathy left around 9 pm. I stayed up and watched The Bachelor, while Stuart went to bed.
Friday we were up relatively early. The kids played and we all lazed around for the entire day. Millie’s friend, Islay, came over just after noon to play and Jack’s friend, Alex came around 3 pm. Alex was coming for a sleepover. I was fixing dinner when I realized that all four of the kids were in the guest room playing Uno. It was so sweet. They were all getting along and the fact that they chose to play a game together, rather than be on electronic devises, warmed my heart.
The even enjoyed dinner together.
Islay went home around 6 pm. The boys went upstairs and spent the rest of the evening watching a movie in Jack’s room. Stuart, Cathy and I ordered sushi from a new place in town and it was wonderful. We didn’t tell Jack we ordered sushi because he would have wanted some. We are so selfish.
Saturday morning everyone was awake and ready to walk out the door by 9:15, with a bit of prodding. Jack, Alex, Millie and I went to Motion Gate, one of the amusement parks in Dubai. We had an amazing time, as you can see from the pictures.
The Penguins of Madagascar.
The infamous 3D ride.
The potentially wet ride.
And no amusement park is complete without a trip to the play park.
We didn’t get home until around 8:30 pm. The kids went straight to bed. It was an exhausting day.
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