Getting Stronger

"Well, I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
But I'm on my way
I'm takin my time but I don't know where" - Paul Simon

The kids are growing.  Abigail and Saylor will start school the beginning of September.  Talon thinks he's ready too.

Independence Day at Dreamland

"Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter" - Don McLean

We asked the kids what they wanted to do to celebrate the 4th of July. Fortunately, they are still young enough that they aren't expecting fireworks. Those are pretty hard to come by over here. The kids unanimously declared that they wanted to go to a "water playground." You can probably guess what that means... a water slide park. 

Now, in the US, a water park may be one of the last places you want to be on the 4th.  Everyone and the dog will be there and you will likely spend more time waiting in line for the slides than actually in the water. We hoped the crowds wouldn't be quite so big. So, we called up some friends and headed to Dreamland Water Adventure Park with a carload of kids excited for some wet and wild times.

On the way, we got to share the road with something you won't see much in the US on the 4th:

We arrived at the park about the time that they opened.  I think we were the third car in the parking lot. We went in, changed clothes, and made our way to the kid pool area.  There may have been 2 other kids.  Lets just say, we did NOT have to worry about crowds.  In fact, we never had to wait in a single line all day long.  We had just about every slide, ride, and pool pretty much to ourselves. We did have to wait a couple times at the top of a slide (notice I didn't say in a line), but just for the workers to start the water running down the slide. Nice.

What wasn't quite as nice, and may have contributed a little to the low numbers in the park was the heat. When we first arrived, it wasn't too bad.... probably around 100 degrees.  The water felt nice. It only took about 1/2 hour before things started heating up. The walkways, sidewalks, stairs... anything that wasn't in the water was too HOT to walk on. We had to wear slippers (flip flops for you non Hawaiians ;) everywhere. Even a couple steps and your feet were literally getting burnt. The rides were great, but a little different because you were holding shoes in your hands the entire way down (apparently it is against safety policy to wear them on your feet in the slides).  By mid-day, the temps were around 115 degrees and the water was probably close to 90. The kids were having fun, but that kind of heat takes a lot out of you. Luckily, we found some cave pools where the water was significantly cooler and made that our home base.

In the end, we made it until sometime between 4-5 o'clock.... pretty much the entire day with the park mostly to ourselves. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast.  They even went on some of the 'grown-up' slides. A few tears were shed that we couldn't stay longer, but those same eyes were closed and fast asleep practically before we got out of the parking lot.

Abigail

Saylor

Talon Learns to Swim

"Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise" - Zac Brown Band

Talon thinks he's pretty much just as old as the girls are.  He thinks he can do anything that they can.  So, when they learned how to swim without arm floats, he figured he could do it too.  At first I was a little skeptical because when he tried, he would sink like a rock.  He is smaller, less coordinated, and a lot denser (less buoyant).  Apparently, he didn't realize any of this and about a month ago proved it can be done.  He still doesn't have to the come-up-and-take-a-breath thing figured out, but he has the swimming part down pretty well and can make it as far as one huge breath (and lots of gasping when he surfaces) can take him.  Luckily, our pool isn't that big so he can swim about anywhere he wants.

Here is the photo and video evidence.  Not bad for a kid who is just a little more than 2 1/2 years old.

Got Milk?

"I love you
I am the milkman of human kindness
I will leave an extra pint" - Billy Bragg

Sooner or later I had to write about the milk here in the UAE.  Here are a few observations:

• It is sold by the liter instead of the gallon
• There is long-life milk in a box and fresh milk in a plastic bottle/carton
• Milk prices are somehow subsidized or regulated because fresh milk costs the same everywhere regardless of brand, fat level, or store.  The equivalent of a gallon is 17.50 dirhams everywhere.  That is just a little less than $5/gallon in US dollars
• Milk never goes on 'sale'
• You may have noticed above that I said Fat Level.  They don't categorize the milk here as whole, 2%, 1%, etc.  Instead, it is Full-Fat (or cream), Half Fat/Cream, and Low Cream.  
• There are a lot of dairy companies... although I haven't really noticed a difference and, as mentioned above, they all cost the same.

The long-life boxed milk costs about 25% less than the fresh milk and you can store it for weeks.  Our kids will drink it, but although at one point on my mission I could guzzle it from the box, I strongly prefer 'real' milk.  

Here's a few photos of the milk sections at the local supermarket and the milk we bought last week.  Yvonne's not really a milk drinker, so we go for the full-fat variety.  It sounds unhealthy, but tastes great. 

Inspiring or CRAZY?

"Time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going" - Tom Petty

I think it is interesting to try and interpret the responses of people we know when we tell them that we moved our family of young children from the US to the Middle East.  It is also fun to gauge their reaction when we share that Yvonne had reconstructive surgery on her achilles tendon, a pregnancy and a new baby all on the other side of the world.

Many say they think it sounds adventurous, but you can almost hear the muttering under their breath as they walk away.... "those guys are nuts!"  Others sincerely do seem partially envious, or at least respectfully fascinated by our experience.  In reality, I don't really know if we know what we think about the last two years.  It is fun trying to figure it out.

That being said, you gotta respect this family.  They sold everything and are now driving cross-country with their FIVE kids from Alaska to Argentina.

Is that inspiring, or are they just crazy?

Quiz Time

"I'm an Alien, I'm a legal Alien" - Sting

It has been almost two years since we moved from Hawaii and ended up over here in the UAE.  Yvonne and I were just discussing how when we first arrived, almost everything seemed very foreign... and it was.  Now, although there are plenty of things that are strange, different, or we haven't experienced yet, we no longer notice all of the things that were so foreign when we first got here.  The strangeness has become part of our daily lives and is no longer strange.

For example, we used to get a kick out of signs like this one. It is on every entrance to the mall near where we live.  Now, we don't even notice it anymore.

Quiz time:  What on this sign is strange compared to what you might see on a sign outside a mall in the US?

You Spin Me

"All I know is that to me
You look like you're lots of fun" - Dead or Alive

There ain't no denying, this girl has some moves