The temperatures are steadily climbing, and so we are soaking in all of the outdoor activities here while we can. One of our favorites is Al Barsha Park. We have a lot of playdates here and the kids never get tired of the family bike. Connor also recently started taking basketball lessons here, so we are usually at the park twice per week after school.
We often find ourselves at one of the many malls around the city because that's where activities tend to be located. The Dubai Mall (largest mall in the world!) never disappoints and offers several fun things to do. After several visits, I'm actually becoming quite familiar with the mall and finding it easier to navigate now. Some of the frequently photographed spots in this mall tend to be The Waterfall, which is an indoor fountain with diving men sculptures, as well as the Apple Store's balcony overlooking the Burj Khalifa.
We were excited in February to see a familiar face from back home in Katy. Joe is a great friend of the family -- our former neighbor and Kaitlynn's former softball coach. He travels to Dubai frequently and invited us out for an incredible dinner at Russo's NY Pizza, which is owned by his company. We had the best night catching up over delicious food.
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| Dinner with Joe |
Later in February was my birthday and we made sure to celebrate as a family. We were planning to go to Olive Garden (who knew it was in Dubai?!) for my birthday dinner but the traffic was too bad by the time we were ready. So instead we went back to Russo's and enjoyed a super yummy dinner and birthday desserts. (Yes, that word was intentionally plural! haha)
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| Lauri birthday dessert |
Recently the kids had a couple of days off from school for various reasons. Connor had an entire week at home to work on a project while most of his classmates participated in the school's Week Without Walls program. It's a week each spring where students take trips to other countries to study various topics and experience learning outside the classroom. We weren't prepared to send him out of UAE just yet, and he was happy to stay at home and complete a personal project on his own. We took advantage of the time to enjoy some one-on-one activities including lunch and movie dates while Kaitlynn was in school. Then Kaitlynn had her own one-on-one time with me when the elementary kids had 2 days home from school for parent-teacher conferences.
Baseball is still keeping us busy this spring, as Connor has practice and games most weeks. Connor's Red Sox team ended up placing 3rd out of 4 teams for the regular season. Now he is playing for 2 other teams at Dubai Little League; one is a tournament team and the other is a recreational league with some older players. Kaitlynn tags along begrudgingly to baseball but loves it when a better offer comes along. Recently our church hosted the UAE Kids Games as a children's outreach ministry. Kaitlynn and her friends had a fun time playing at church while Connor played some baseball.
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