Kaitlynn Meets her Teacher

As the end of summer was upon us, it was time for our usual back-to-school activities like Meet the Teacher for Kaitlynn's last year of elementary school. (That is still so difficult to type or even say out loud?!) It wasn't ideal but our new house is zoned to a different elementary campus than what the kids attended before, so Kaitlynn was starting yet another new school for her 5th grade year. We had driven by the campus and she was getting so excited to see it in person. When the day for Meet the Teacher arrived, she was ready with fresh nails, a cute outfit, and a great attitude.

When it was time to enter the 5th grade hall, Kaitlynn was excited but definitely nervous. She found out that her homeroom teacher would be a "Mr" this year, which was also something new for her. She would have a total of 3 teachers for rotations between her subjects. As ready as she was to meet her teacher, Mr. Harris, she was even more excited to see her pre-ordered school supplies. She was dying to open up the supplies box and get her hands on everything, but she would have to wait until school actually started.

After we met her 3 5th grade teachers, we took a few more minutes to explore her new school and take a look around. We had learned prior to our visit that her new elementary school was the first campus in Katy ISD to install one of their new book vending machines for students. She was super excited to learn how to earn that privilege in the new school year.

At the end of the evening, Kaitlynn was feeling a bit more comfortable but still having many mixed emotions about starting the new school year at a new school. I felt such admiration for my girl, because she walked into that campus without knowing a single other soul besides one brand new friend (our next door neighbor). As nervous and anxious as she was feeling, I had high hopes that she would overcome her fears and have a wonderful 5th grade year. Only time would tell!

End of Summer

Amidst all of the boxes and packing material, we found a way to fit in some last fun activities of the summer.

One of Kaitlynn's favorite summer activities was her new Pen Pal relationship with her sweet friend from Dubai, Mia. Mia's family relocated from Dubai back to their home town in Missouri around the same time that we moved back to Texas. These girls have the sweetest friendship and kept it going strong with precious photos and letters via snail mail.

Kaitlynn and Connor also spent many fun hours at our local water park, Typhoon Texas, with new and old friends alike. And of course, what better way to top off a day at the water park than with Kaitlynn's favorite Freddy's Frozen Custard!

Also this summer, Connor joined a new select baseball team in Katy and began ramping up his skills for fall ball. Admittedly it was tough to be starting over with a new team after leaving our beloved Dubai Little League.

One of my goals from the summer was to get the kids involved with our new church with various youth group activities. Connor invited several of his buddies to attend one of the summer events. They arrived nice and fresh but when I picked them up, it was a completely different story!

We're so thankful for friends that are willing to attend church with us followed by a quick stop at Bucees for lunch and some hang time together!

For these last photos, I honestly cannot remember where they were taken. We must've been out for dinner when I saw an opportunity to snap some pics of the kids loving on their Dad. Perhaps it was foreshadowing a time in the not-so-distant future when one of these kiddos might not want to have anything to do with us. Teens are so fun. A-hem. Thank goodness for Kaitlynn's never-ending love for her Sweet Daddy.

Things I Miss from Dubai

Moving from Dubai back to Texas has brought so many mixed emotions. As I type this, our entire family is still processing those emotions and attempting to settle into our new normal. Based on our past experiences with moves, I expect this process to take about a year, so we still have a way to go.

Every time I run into someone here in Texas that I haven't seen in a while, one of the first things they will say to me is, "Aren't you SO happy to be back in Texas?" Well, yes, of course we're happy to be back. To be honest, it felt like our time in Dubai was one giant countdown to return home to Texas. That being said, there are things from Dubai that we certainly miss and will likely miss for months/years to come. Perhaps even a lifetime. Dubai had a big impact on our lives in so many ways. We grew so much as individuals and as a family, and we will carry these life lessons with us forever.

Before we moved, I started making a list of the things I knew I would miss from Dubai. Some of these are silly, petty things. Others are hard to articulate because of the profound lessons we learned. In either case, I like documenting them because no doubt I would otherwise forget.

• Our School -- American School of Dubai. The kids only attended this school for 1 year, but what an amazing year it was! I don't think I can put into words the positive impact that ASD had on all of us. Because I was a teacher substitute as well as a parent, I had a unique insight into what made the school so special, and it really changed my perspective about how schools can serve students as well as some of the gaps we have in public education back in the US. Things like promoting student independence and responsibility, cultural learning in foreign countries for "Week Without Walls" service trips, grading students on their overall growth and development instead of just right/wrong answers, and a strong focus on fine arts and technology. These core beliefs were embedded in every aspect of the kids' classes and went far beyond simple academia like we do here in US public schools. We are still adjusting back to our schools here in Texas and I admit, I wish every day that we could return to an environment like ASD. 

• Our Friends. Between our church family, the ASD community, and our extensive baseball network at Dubai Little League, we managed to build an incredible "family" of wonderful friends in Dubai from near and far. In the expat life, everyone is away from home and completely out of their comfort zone, and therefore the relationships are so much more important to survive daily life. We made the most incredible network of friends, and it wasn't easy to say goodbye. We miss them every day! 

• Global Experiences. One of the things I noticed right away with our Dubai expat friends was the frequency of travel to foreign countries. In my experience, it seems like other nationalities dedicate a much higher percentage of their income to travel budgets and experiences. During our relatively short stay in Dubai, we traveled to Singapore twice, Thailand twice (Bangkok and Phuket), Kuwait, and most of the UAE Emirates like Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain. We visited all of those locations in the span of about 12-18 months. I definitely regret not having more time to visit even more exotic and far away countries/destinations in the East.

• School Uniforms. The kids won't agree to this one, but man oh man do I miss the requirements for school uniforms in a private school setting. The only clothing decision we had to make each morning was whether or not to bring a jacket for the air conditioned classrooms (the answer was usually YES!). Back at public school here in Texas, there is a constant discussion about what to wear or why something is inappropriate for school. And I suspect it only gets worse from here (hello middle school aged daughter)!

• Safety. When we first announced to our friends and family that we were moving to Dubai, many of the responses we received initially were strong concerns about our well-being and safety in the Middle East. Ironically, Dubai and the UAE in general are FAR safer places to live than anywhere in the US. In fact, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are listed in the "Safest Cities in the World" reports year after year. An example of this is that mall-goers can leave their purse/phone on a table in the food court and walk away to order food or visit the restroom without worrying about someone picking them up. I admit, since being back in the US, I have missed the security and peace of mind of being able to send my 10-year-old daughter to the public restroom on her own or leaving our electronics uncovered in the backseat of a parked vehicle. Not to mention sending my kids to school everyday without having to worry about intruders or gun violence. It continues to be an adjustment.

• Mixed nationalities and cultures. We live in the Houston suburb of Katy which is definitely a more diverse city than some areas of Texas. But I'll never get over the awe I felt in Dubai from meeting people from literally all over the world and learning more about their nationalities and cultures. In addition to our countless American friends in Dubai, we had next door neighbors from Egypt, Venezuela, and the UK; Jeff's co-workers from France, Pakistan, the Philippines (and many more); the kids' school friends from New Zealand, Greece, and India; buddies at Dubai Little League from Canada, Australia, and Spain; and many church friends from South Africa and Nigeria. I even met a Mom friend from Uzbekistan which I was embarrassed to admit I'd never heard of (it's in the former Soviet Union). I really miss that kind of diversity in my everyday encounters. 

• Elimination of paperwork. The way Dubai uses technology for various city functions was so fascinating. The electricity bill for our villa came to Jeff's phone as a text message with a link to pay electronically, as did our mobile/internet bill on my phone. When I had the car accident, the other driver and I used the Dubai Police app to submit the accident report and I received the official police report for the insurance company about 10 hours later via email. Our many visits to doctors and hospitals were all accompanied by text message reminders and email follow-ups. There were red light and speeding cameras all over the city, and when we were fined, we automatically received notifications on our mobile phones and in the Dubai Municipality app about the amount we owed. All of these processes and services were so automated in Dubai, and the management of notifications and bills were handled completely paperless. It has been a bit of an adjustment now that we're back in the US receiving most of our communications via snail mail again.

• Laundry service. This seems a little silly, but I really miss our Dubai cleaning service since we've returned to Texas. Not only did they pick up and drop off free of charge, their rates for dry cleaning and laundry service were so cheap. But the best perk of all was that all items were returned with a lovely, fresh scent. We had to send most of our bedding off for cleaning/disinfecting after our incident with bed bugs, and I was so thrilled when everything was returned pressed, neatly folded, and with a pleasant smell. The dry cleaners we've always used here in Texas return everything with a harsh, chemical type of smell. Yuck! Maybe I'm just using the wrong cleaning service here but I sure miss our amazing White Star Laundry in Dubai.

• Microwaves at school. Yet another random thing, but Connor and Kaitlynn both had access to multiple microwave ovens in their school cafeteria. I can't even tell you how much easier this was for them when they pack their lunches. I don't see why we couldn't offer that in public schools, although perhaps the high number of kids here makes that too difficult. 

• Week Without Walls. This relates back to our beloved school in Dubai, ASD. Each year they offer the middle and high school kids the chance to take the classroom beyond school walls with service trips to various foreign countries. Teachers accompany the kids to their chosen destination and they carry out their curriculum "without walls" around the world. It's an amazing growth opportunity for the students and a chance to further build independence and learn about the world hands-on.

• Food and Food Delivery. Jeff and I really discovered a love of Middle Eastern and Indian food while we lived in Dubai. Since we've been back in Texas, we've tried a handful of places but are finding that they just don't live up to our expectations. It's difficult for me to try new places, too, because I usually end up disappointed. On top of that, we got really spoiled by the super cheap and fast food delivery in Dubai. For example, one of the kids' absolute favorite things was getting McDonald's delivered to our villa. In Dubai, they had this "Share Meal" deal that included your choice of 4 sandwiches with 4 fries and 4 drinks along with chicken nuggets, all for around $19. The kids still miss that dinner option, and we haven't quite found the same ease in food delivery since we've moved back to Texas. 

The Big Delivery

In early August, the day finally arrived that we had been awaiting all summer: the big delivery of our household belongings all the way from Dubai!

I've said before that it's so interesting how seeing this shipping container conjures up all kinds of unexpected emotions. In Dubai when our container arrived, I immediately burst into tears because it reminded me of the last time I had seen the truck in front of our former home in Katy. This time around, I didn't experience the same emotional response. After living in a mostly empty house all summer, I was ready for our stuff and for the project of putting our home together. Finally.

Bright and early on a hot summer day in August, the container was opened and a crew of 8 guys arrived to help unload. They prepped the house with red carpets and the long, busy day of work was underway. I should note that Jeff was in Dubai at the time, so it was definitely a stressful and chaotic day for me as I juggled the unpacking with shuffling kids to their summer activities.

I had to apologize to our new neighbors for the container and multiple trucks parked outside most of the day, on top of the insane amount of packing materials that littered our yard and driveway. It's amazing how much plastic and paper is used in the moving process.

After many hours, the container was finally empty. But the work was LONG from over. The 8-man crew worked most of the day to reassemble furniture, unpack kitchen and bathroom items, and clean up the mess.

By the time the crew left, it was late afternoon and I was pooped. I was a little surprised at the state of things, because in Dubai the crew had unpacked and worked for 2 solid days. I guess that's not how it works here in the US. There were unpacked boxes and packing materials in every room and blocking most doorways, and despite how hard I worked, that's the way things remained for quite some time. I underestimated how much work it would be for me to get the unpacking finished while Jeff was away for another 2 weeks. We started out with around 300 boxes of stuff and it took me a full week simply to open them all and figure out where things were.

I had to take so many deep breaths to get through the next few weeks as we tried to find the right spot for everything. Things just don't work or fit the same as you transition from one home to another (to another), so I had a hard time figuring out where everything should go. It was the beginning of a long process as we worked to make our new house feel like home.

Glamping

While we waited for our belongings to arrive from Dubai -- an 8-10 week transit time -- our new house was pretty bare for most of the summer. We added a few pieces of furniture here and there, but mostly we borrowed air mattresses, linens, a small TV, and some other little things. Jeff liked to say that we were "glamping" in our own house, which seemed fitting. As we were soon anticipating the arrival of our belongings in early August, I took a few photos to remember our glamping days in the summer of 2019.