Grandma Terry Came!

posting now, will read through once more for content editing tomorrow.


What I happy two weeks we have had.  It's been like Christmas break without all the stress.  I have gone through and picked 200+ pictures and will primarily use them to tell the tale.

It started on the evening of 15 January.  The girls and I left for the airport about the time Grandma's plane was arriving, 25 minutes early.  It was a quick drive there, but we noticed traffic was practically stopped going the other way.  Maybe we would take the scenic route home?  Nope, as we got to the airport we saw traffic equally stopped going forward.  I missed the turn off for parking on my first try, so I dropped the girls off to wait and quickly drove the circle, parked, and ran in and they were right where they were supposed to be.  Less than 5 minutes later, grandma showed up looking far more chipper and alert than I expected to see after a 14+ hour flight.  We drove home and first things first, they did height comparisons.  Isaac is taller, but Makenna, not quite.

Makenna brought out a pile of drawings and showed grandma each one.  Grandma opened up her suitcases and handed out so much stuff, we were worried that she didn't have enough room for her own clothes!  The Cheetos and salt water taffy were the biggest hits and didn't last the week.  Jess has a nice stash of cream of chicken soup, Makenna has new sewing supplies.... With all the stuff she left with us, you would think she would have had more than enough room for all the sea shells she wanted, but.....  

She followed Brian and Hilary's example and took a Walmart sleep aid to help her sleep through the night, then it seemed like she was pretty well adjusted.  The only days she got sleepy were Fridays at church, but that's pretty normal.  

Thursday: Took the morning slow.  The girls helped Isaac finish his last Personal Fitness Test.  12 weeks of exercise charting done.  Check off another merit badge!  

 Makenna showed off her garden and grandma helped harvest some carrots and squash which we soon ate.

 We went to Spinney's to grab any cold food that we would need for the next couple of days.  We would go to Carrefour later, but wouldn't be able to get things to a fridge soon thereafter.  Grandma found a new treasure that somehow we have missed.  Probably because I tend to stay away from the canned peas as a rule.  It was fun to play the what's similar/what's different.

 The salad bar had some different things.  Green olives wrapped in fish skin and other seafood treasures.  I didn't bother taking a picture of the other side where there were more recognizable things like lettuce and cucumbers.

She liked the spice bins even more than I did on my first trip to Carrefour.

 There are lots of seeds, beans and lentils too.  Rainbows of stuff.  She got a few scoops of different things and it sounds like they got through customs in the US just fine.

 We went to the Carrefour in Mall of the Emirates and walked by ski Dubai, then left to see Dubai Mall.  It was a walking afternoon and everyone developed tired feet.  But we saw the world's biggest aquarium, we saw the ice rink, the butterfly room and hallway and two fountain shows!

This is our backs: grandma in grey, me in black, Makenna's shoulder in green, Jess in grey hoodie standing on a bench and Isaac in grey Armani polo shirt.  The sunset during the show and it was lovely.  The next show was in the dark.

Burj Kalifa.  Isaac is holding Jessica's feet. 

 By now everyone is hungry and it is after 6pm, so we went over to the "cafeteria" for dinner.  Grandma got to try their simple yummy food and delicious smoothies!

Friday: I don't have pictures.  Sleep in, breakfast, church, games.  This was the first time grandma commented, "Some people think you kids are perfect, but now I have proof that that isn't always true."  Oh, competitive child. Friday night Matt brought home Jessica's bike in a box.  That took a lot longer to come in the mail than most things.  

Saturday: So we spent the first part of the day putting together a bike. Thank goodness most of the little things were pre-assembled.  I started out as the head assembler, but ended up as Isaac's assistant.  He did a good job.   

Grandma checked out our newly printed blog books to see which Dubai activities look best.  

Makenna and Isaac doing final checks. 

Jessica and grandma making arabic bread pizzas for everyone.

It's finished and has a basket for George!

 Everyone took a turn riding the new bike. 

Then the girls and grandma took three bikes and some money and rode to the Arabian Ranches market to pick up a few groceries and bring them home in Jessica's new basket.  The rest of the day was spent with the garden and playing another game.  We got four new ones for Christmas: Farkel, Say Anything, Scattagories, and the Cities and Knights Expansion for Settlers of Catan(thanks Beccy and family!).  We tried them all out during Grandma's visit.  Settlers always stretched between an evening and the next morning.   

Sunday: We decided to go to the dunes behind our house, but I thought we could find a couple geocaches along the way.  The first one talked all about the Polo Club and home Polo is the Game of Kings and gave all this history, so I parked at the Polo Club thinking we could walk.  It ended up being about a mile each with a pokey fence to climb over at the far end, but we found and gathered a bunch of desert squash which turned out to be very useful.  

Discovering the desert squash.  Are the edible?  After smashing one open, and smelling and Isaac doing a tiny taste, we decided NO. But maybe good for slingshots?  

Climbing over the fence on the way out. 

We found it! 

The kids LIKED climbing over and went back and forth a few times on the way back to the car.

We found one more near the start of the bike course, but bombed on the third one.  Removed?  Grandma discovered a hated "bullhead" weed, so I took a picture for her.  Later at a museum, she discovered they are native to the region.

Now we are at the dunes and launching desert squash.  We are standing at the top of a nice steep slope. Those things can FLY.

Lots of fun playing around on the soft soft sand.

It is seriously hard work climbing up each time.  

They tried the boogie boards a few times, but had to take turns pulling each other.  They wouldn't slide on their own. And they always ended in a crash. 

Makenna's sand angel.

We shot a few squash at least 20 feet past those two bushes.  They didn't splat on impact, but all cracked open.

Sand close up on the edge of a ridge. 

Monday: We woke up a little earlier, to eat breakfast and head to the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.  I was worried that we wouldn't make the tour time because traffic was so bad getting out of Dubai, but once we got on 11, it was smooth sailing.  

We haven't been since Brian and Hilary came, and were a little surprised to find the dress rules had changed.  They don't hand out Abayas to all the women any more.  You are just supposed to wear long, loose clothes and your own head scarf.  Our clothes were fine, but we didn't have any scarves.  Luckily, Jess and I had hoodies, so I wore one and Grandma the other.  We looked a little goofy, but it worked.  The mosque had a lot more visitors today compared to last time.  Our guide gave us all head sets to listen to him talk.  We didn't take any pictures on the way in from the car as we were still running short on time, so the pictures start on the tour.  And there are a lot.  I am picking the best from 3 cameras and well, there's lots of pretty pictures! 

Our tour guide.  

Last time it was April and we were all HOT and thirsty.  This time we were chilly.  This is Jess trying to warm up.  

Makenna is wearing my favorite skirt my mom made for me. I have had it since high school.  Too tight now. sigh, but is still in great shape.  Makenna has now claimed it.  

We caught her dancing with it several times on the giant soft carpet.  

Love those pentagons.

We learned this time that the flowers on the floor in the 3 entrances are designed with flowers growing in the southern hemisphere (south entrance), the northern hemisphere(north) and the middle east (center).  

We went downstairs to check out the bathrooms.  

The above picture was taken as we were ending our time in Abu Dhabi and heading back home.  But there are some pictures in between.  After we left the Mosque, the first order of business was food.  We quickly ate the snacks I brought, then headed to a mall to have a real lunch.  We tried a Thai place and it was quite tasty.  I love that my kids are seriously not picky.  Then we tried to find a couple of geocaches.  I didn't know what else to do besides visit the Falcon Hospital, but that requires a reservation two days prior.  So we found a couple fun parks.  We succeeded in finding two and failed at two others.  

Found it!

This was weird. We almost didn't get a picture as we drove by.  It's a giant rubber duck on the water.  

Tuesday:  We finally went to the beach.  We waited because there were chances of rain the first couple days.  Unusually cool weather.  Didn't even hit 80 during the day!  So Tuesday morning, after we finished the Settlers game we started the night before, we packed up and went to Kite beach, taking Isaac's Christmas kite. There was shell collecting, castle building, kite flying, shell collecting, frisbee throwing, cartwheel turning, shell collecting, realizing we were going to be late and quickly packing up, but oh wait, I found more beautiful shells on the walk back to the car! 

 The kits flew really well.

Later they just anchored it to the chair and let it drift above us.

Close up of what's by grandma's feet. Fun to look carefully and find the cute tiny ones. 

Yep, it happened again.  Two guys this time posed by the kids castle and took pictures like they built it. 

We raced home, the kids showered and then we got back in the car to drive to the church for activity days and YM.  After that, I got to shower and then we all enjoyed a delicious fruit smoothie, the second of the day.

Wednesday:  Matt was off again.  We decided to go to the Souqs, but Isaac stayed home to do some school.  I have seen and heard good things about a little museum right by the old part of Dubai and thought it would be a good place to park too.  Turns out it was good intel.  The parking was easy and cheap.  The museum cost $.81 each to get in and was interesting.  Definitely worth the 81 cents.  Most of the museum pictures were taken by Makenna. Thanks!

Summer house

Folks looking up the wind tunnel, used to capture the cooling wind from any direction and force it down into the house. 

Couch

look up the wind tunnel

Downstairs felt like Pirates of the Caribbean, but without the boat ride.  Lots of displays set up showing different professions. 

Goldsmith

Date farmer/seller

Boat builder

Pearl diver 

This is where we learned the name of our launching fruit.

And proof that bullheads are middle eastern. 

Cool dhow outside the museum.

Then we walked to the creek and paid 1dirham each to ride across on the little boats. 

You can see one docking as we wait to go.

Busy creek.  We saw the piles of goods lined up on the shore to ship over to Iran, where people desperately want western products, but the government won't let them in, officially.

Jess, Makenna, g'ma Terry

New

Old

We walked through the spice souq first.  The souqs are narrow roads with lots of little shops specializing in a common thing are grouped together.  The gold souq was the hub of gold trade 200 years ago.  They bought gold from US mines, refined it, jacked up the price and sold it to India.  

Where can you even use such a big pot?

I took this so grandma can remember the decorated unique transport trucks.  This one was especially colorful. 

I took this to remind us what fabric to look for at the fabric stores a few days later.  Turns out we didn't need any more suggestions.  

By the end everyone was starving.  We drove home to grab Isaac, then went back out and hit the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  Funny how grandma hadn't ever tried this American classic in America either.  

Thursday:  I picked up a race number.  The girls and grandma went on another bike ride.  We dropped Isaac off for a two night campout where he would hopefully finish work for the cooking merit badge (now eagle required). 

I saw this fun car parked in the garage where I picked up my packet.

Friday: I ran a marathon.  The girls had piano and went to church with Kristie, their piano teacher.  I managed to get showered and dressed and back down the evil stairs in time to pick them up by 4.  We pretty much vegged out for the rest of the day. 

Jess was so embarrassed that she accidentally wore fish flops to church. 

Saturday:  Antique Museum and Bab al Shams.  We left Isaac home for the first part.  He would have gone stir crazy after the first 15 minutes and we stayed for 3 hours.  This is the store Brian thought mom would love and he was right.  Lots of interesting stuff from all over.  Scarves, tablecloths, pillows, camels, lamps, chopsticks, pickled snakes in jars, jars without snakes, bowls, boxes, bugs and seashells.  

Dressing up while others are looking at shirts and stuff.

This is where you pay and wipe off your hands. 

Time for dinner, an amazing dinner.  Come hungry.

We drove out into the desert, found Bab al Shams after a slight detour, parked, and then took a golf cart out to al Hadeerah.

This is us walking in. 

Jess liked the fire pit when it got a little chilly. 

Makenna standing in front of a few cooking stations. 

Grandma showing off some of the chopped veggies they will cook you for you.

Isaac is excited for the all you can eat prospect. 

Pastry chef.

The fresh hot bread was a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

I think soup and grilled shrimp were some of the first things tried. 

Plus there was grilled kabobs, fresh fruit, different rices, different traditional dishes with chicken, veggies, lamb, salads, grilled fish, steak and so many desserts. 

And crab.  My girls love crab.

And chicken tikka.

This is probably plate 3 or 4.  We stopped keeping track.  Somewhere in there, the show started.  Different acts would come on to preform, then some would walk through the audience and take pictures with guests.  All the while you can keep going back for more yummy food.  Any calorie deficiency I had from the marathon, was made up during this dinner. 

Their spinning guy was great.  He held the 5 tamborine things, spun in and out of 3 layers of skirt, lit himself up with electric lights and never got dizzy once while spinning for 15 solid minutes.  

Of course the spinning pictures are all so blurry.  This is the best one. There was live music for all the acts too.  

Grandma and Makenna are exclaiming in the foreground shadows. 

Next up was a singer.  She sounds just like whats usually on several radio stations. I really don't have an ear that can differentiate between different Arabic songs.  I thought her costume choice was interesting. 

Keep it coming.

During the singers next few songs, we went to the area where they have some village displays set up and a falcon, camels and little horses. 

Jess found some open space for cartwheels. 

The night setting made for some weird pictures.  

Trying to hold still for a group shot. 

They put some grass in the little feed muzzle and keep them busy chewing, mostly so people don't get scared of their teeth.  But he was a very nice camel. I think his name is Jazeer.  

Grandma, and Jess rode one, and Isaac and Makenna the other on the first round.  Then Jess happily went again so I wouldn't be alone.  

This is to show off the saddle.

me and Jess.

Ouch. Sore legs.  That was a hard move.

I still marvel at how their legs just fold right up under them.

Kind of crazy teeth.  They chew completely sideways.  His fur was so soft and he liked to get pats. 

As soon as the guy gave you control, the bird would always look at you.  Even though she couldn't see. 

Grandma likes the fabric.  Wondering where to buy some....

And back to the show. 

And get some more food too.  We hadn't tried many local treats.  Tonight we found out what we had been missing.  So good.  I wish they had been labeled so we knew what to look for.  So many little things made with pistachios that were amazing. 

The crab slide!

These were a little weird.  Giant wings of fabric.  Were they gulls?  

Variation on the spinning dance, with company.

Jess got to dance with a pick lady. 

Isaac was totally posing with a different family.  I didn't include them in my shot though.  

Sign on the men's bathroom room.  

View of the fruit and desserts.

This is where you order seafood. 

And he will give you meat.  Everything smelled so good. We all got stuffed, even Isaac, but wished we weren't so we could enjoy a few more bites. 

There was a horse and camel part too.  A little cheesy with the sound effects, but visually, rather neat still.  There was a caravan of about 12 camels that walked across a sand dune ridge above and behind the stage area.  They were joined by a couple dozen goats as a caboose.  Then 8 Arabian horse rode in, 4 white, 4 black, and they had a mock battle.  A little silly but the horses were beautiful and the riders were skilled with the horses in the sand.  There was a belly dancer too who must have been chilly, but seemed to make a game of trying to make people uneasy with uncomfortably long eye contact.  We didn't stay till the bitter end.  Apparently the show would go on until 11:30 and you could keep eating till then, but after 3+ hours, we were stuffed, a bit chilly and tuckered out.  

Sunday:  After the late night the night before, we all slept in a little late.  When we all were eventually up, I was struck with the desire for blueberry pancakes.  So after a debate of who would ride a bike or drive or a combination and which would be faster, Isaac won and rode off to buy berries.  He came home with blueberries AND raspberries.  I followed Jessica's advice and threw both containers into the batter so we had very berry pancakes.  After we realized the need to cook long and slow to avoid uncooked batter, we settled down to a seriously tasty feast.  We just were on a good food roll. 

We left after breakfast to try and hit the fabric stores in Satwa.  I had every intention of showing Grandma what's there and maybe just restocking some baby prints to make more blankets since my stock is completely depleted after the last wave of babies.  But...there were some great prints and ideas for future craft days with the girls. And so we brought home more than planned.  The best find for her was a place that sold the traditional Arabic cloth you see all over on cushions, tents, tablecloths, etc.  

We used up too much time on that trip to pop into Carrefour for a few food souvenirs, so we just headed towards gymnastics to have alate lunch/early dinner at Zaina--the girls' favorite schwarma place. We normally get some to go, but we had extra time, so we went in, got a "booth", and had a relaxing meal.

Then Grandma came along to gymnastics and saw the girls in action.  It wasn't the best day.  Jess didn't spend much time on bars or flips, and Makenna has a new teacher who is not as wonderful as her old one.  But they were still bending and balancing and enjoyed having an extra friendly face watching. 

Monday: We needed another beach day.  We went to Palace Beach first to try and find some starfish, or rather, sea stars. And we did find several dead ones, which was the goal.  We also found lots of the type of shell that Jess dubbed "Cheetos".  We meant to stay for an hour tops (we got there about an hour before low tide) and then go back to Kite beach for proper low tide searching there too.  It was hard to get everyone to stop walking and picking things up; there is always one more shell. 

There were a few washed up jellies.  Is this a moon jelly?  Can the 4 circles be purple?  

There is a MASSIVE yacht above grandma's head.  

Walking back to the car and they couldn't resist.  First the gymnasts, then the brother who didn't want to be outdone. 

Now we are at Kite Beach.  This is where we found lots of living creatures.  

The girls made a habitat for all the live stuff they found.  There were 4 or 5 sea stars, a few little crabs, a couple hermit crabs, and a few mussels.

We made sure to stay at the beach until almost 6 so we could go to the Cafeteria for dinner once more.  Yes, it was delicious.  Grandma tried Hilary's favorite, Avatar. 

Tuesday:  We started the day by calling Brian and wishing him a happy birthday.  He was asking what grandma had done and compared a few notes.  He asked if she had had a Poppa Rotti yet, and Isaac gasped in horror.  No!  She hasn't!  Let's go!

Oh but first, mom and I drove to Sharjah to check out a dryer--ours is dying.  But it turned out to be a bust.  When we were almost there, I snapped a picture of a delivery truck's phone number just in case it was a winner.  I am including it so grandma can remember our quick jaunt to another Emirate.  ha ha.

We got back, grabbed the kids and left for the Marina.  We parked at the Marina Mall and then took a water taxi across the creek and then walked down to The Walk.  On the way back later we learned that I turned a 10 minute walk into over an hour with a longer boat ride which dropped up off further away, but we saw some interesting stuff and, well, live and learn.  

One of my favorite buildings, still under construction.  It's so twisted! 

On the water bus.  Isaac already fell asleep. 

We walked past the hotel where we were hoping Kim would get an internship.  It's right next to the entrance for SkyDive Dubai.  It would be fun to see the parachutes float down all day. 

We ate lunch at Wagamama.

Saw this parked where no car should have been parked.  KSA on the license means Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  The low number I'm sure means royal, and well, probably the rules don't quite apply the same. 

Looking down the end of the Marina.

Gelatto break on the steps to a section of JBR. 

 Then we got in the car and went to Ibn Battuta Mall.  It is the history field trip mall.  It's named after a great Arab explorer and has big rooms decorated in the styles of some of the countries he visited.  There is China, India, Tunisia, Egypt, and of course Persia.  There are also loads of informational displays of which we read most.  The really amazing thing was that as we walked out of Tchibo! (a German store reminiscent of Aldi) we saw Matt!  He left work early and tracked us using Find My Friends.  So he joined us for the last evening of adventures.

Ceiling of Persia

A dress grandma liked.

In China.  It's actually a huge open room with a giant boat, but the view is being blocked by Dubai Shopping Festival banners.  

The back of the water clock in the India room.

Front of Water Clock

India ceiling.

Eating Pappa Rotti!

And then we had to go home and grandma had to pack and there were reluctant good-nights and good-byes.  I had to drive her to the airport and send her back early the next morning.  It was a fantastic two weeks!