Our Easter in Dubai

We were so thankful to be invited to celebrate Easter with some of our closest Dubai friends this year at the home of Chelsea and Matt. This group had truly become our "family" in Dubai for which we felt so blessed. Matt grilled some meat and we all brought side dishes and desserts to make up a massive spread. The kids are all great friends from church and sports, so it was a joyful day of food and fun for all of us.

After our amazing Easter meal, the kids went outside for an Easter egg hunt. It was starting to get quite warm in Dubai so we had to make sure to avoid chocolate candy and not leave the candy outside too long. We took some photos of the kids and then they lined up to start the hunt.

There was a countdown for the kids to run and grab their eggs. But leave it to MY clumsy, fumbling kid to bump into his buddy, causing a massive chain reaction with multiple kids tripping, falling, and crying out in pain. The entire Easter egg hunt had to be paused for several minutes and then restarted when the tears finally died down. Way to go, Connor! (Ha!)

Kaitlynn's First Season of Basketball

Kaitlynn was excited to resume school after the 2 weeks of spring break because she was starting a brand new sport. She signed up to play basketball for the ASD Mini Falcons and was placed on a team with 4th and 5th grade girls. This was Kaitlynn's very first time to play basketball and she was super excited to try it out.

The Mini Falcons spring basketball season was squeezed between spring break and Ramadan, so the teams were only able to hold one practice before they played in a midweek tournament on campus. Each team played 3 games and for Kaitlynn, it was her very first taste of competitive basketball. She was so excited to be on the same team with her sweet friend, Emily.

The girls got off to a shaky start but were soon kicking some butt on the court! Kaitlynn did SO great on defense, making sure to block and cover her opponent at all times. She even managed to score a basket on her final game. I was SO proud of her effort and she was all smiles after the tournament.

Back to Normal

We had the most amazing 2 weeks of spring break with our travels and the visit from Collin and Kevin, but soon it was time to return to the grind. For some of us, it meant the usual dreaded chores like taking out the trash. (Ha!)

For Jeff, it meant returning to the grind at his job. One of the highlights of his job in Dubai was his hard-working team in financial reporting. I always enjoyed seeing photos of his group when they enjoyed an occasional lunch outing.

For me, back to normal meant I was back to working as a substitute teacher at the kids' school, American School of Dubai. I worked many days in the spring and really enjoyed subbing in the high school classes. On one day, I looked down and caught myself with my laptop open for notes, my teacher's badge, and a diet coke. I snapped a selfie because I thought I truly looked the role of teacher that day!

As a completely random side note... on one of the many days that I was subbing, the high school students were gathered in the theater for a large assembly. As I walked toward the theater, I was struck by the sight in the theater hallways - backpack after backpack lined up neatly against the wall. My kids later told me that anytime they were in the theater, the students just drop their backpacks outside and then pick them up when the assembly is over. I guess I was surprised by this, because at schools in the States this would most certainly be frowned upon due to the risk of backpacks or personal belongings being stolen when they're left unattended. I loved the fact that kids at ASD could safely leave their stuff behind without any worries.

Returning to normal also meant that Jeff was continuing to follow up on some recent medical concerns with his local specialists in Dubai. After coming down with an illness last fall, his doctors began prescribing extensive medical tests to determine what might be going on. Over the past year, Jeff had been through numerous tests and ongoing lab work to make sure nothing was amiss. This meant that we became very familiar with local doctors' offices and hospitals in Dubai. Some visits even required hospital stays, which we found to be a bit overkill but of course we appreciated the caution.

We continue to be so thankful for the top notch healthcare insurance from Jeff's company, because we were able to conduct all of the necessary tests and procedures to confirm that Jeff is in good shape. He will require some ongoing monitoring and lab work over time, but overall his health is great with no major concerns.

Wrapping up our Family Visit in Dubai

While Collin was gearing up for his Skydive Dubai experience, the rest of us enjoyed one final visit to our favorite beach spot in Dubai, Black Palace Beach. The weather in April was getting warmer but it was simply gorgeous at the beach. The water was surprisingly cool and the kids even spotted several blue jellyfish in the water.

For the second year in a row, we were able to celebrate Jeff's birthday together as a family in Dubai. Jeff chose Texas Roadhouse for his birthday dinner and the staff there made him pay, ha!

After dinner, we walked over to the Dubai fountains and caught the last few moments of the popular daily fountain show near the Burj Khalifa. Beautiful!

Our family vacation in the spring of 2019 - visiting Singapore, Thailand, and Dubai - was definitely one we'll cherish forever. I'm so thankful for these incredible family memories and the experiences of a lifetime.

Skydive Dubai

With one more day left to enjoy some fun in Dubai, Collin decided to try the ultimate extreme sport: skydiving! Skydive Dubai is a huge tourist attraction and activity in Dubai, located in the busy Dubai Marina and taking hundreds of skydivers everyday. Collin begged Kevin to join him but they learned at the last minute that Kevin exceeded the weight limit by a few pounds. He was actually bummed that he couldn't skydive with Collin, but he joined the kids and I as spectators to cheer Collin on in his flight.

As Collin and his flight buddy concluded their flight preparations, I was feeling SO nervous for Collin. He was a bit quiet and likely freaking out on the inside, but he was mostly calm on the outside. There was a photographer accompanying him for the experience, so they snapped a few photos and then Collin was off to the plane.

Collin later told us he was freaking out on the plane prior to his jump. This was evident when we saw the photos from the plane ride. I can not imagine!!

Collin told us he didn't remember much from his actual jump out of the airplane, but the photos gave us the entire story. I was FASCINATED by the pictures and Collin's experience in general. He later told us that he wasn't able to fully enjoy the actual skydive because of being so terrified, and that he might've blacked out for a few moments, ha!

We laughed and laughed at his face in those photos!!! Thank goodness for the photographer who captured so many amazing shots that Collin will no doubt enjoy forever. My favorite pictures are the ones showing the famous Palm Islands as well as the World Islands in the background. There was even one photo where you could zoom in and see Jeff's office as well as our villa where we were living. SO cool!

The kids and I were on the ground below watching skydiver after skydiver make their landing. We kept wondering which one was Collin, and then we finally spotted him.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen Collin smile SO BIG?! He was SO relieved to be back on solid ground, ha! He came back with some funny stories about how scared he was, and he told us that the photographer was going to have to do some big-time editing of his skydive video. Apparently it is quite the American thing (and definitely a Collin thing, ha!) to "flip the bird" which the company isn't allowed to release on video due to being in the UAE.

We were all so excited for Collin's incredible experience and to hear his firsthand account. We laughed and laughed at the photos and video, and Collin gave me permission to share on the blog. What an amazing way to close out his time in Dubai!