Good Bye Dubai

Our days in Dubai are coming to a close and we are returning home at the end of the month. Right now we are in the process of completing the 20 page document of steps that need to be taken to officially leave the country. The internet is turned off and we are selling the car tomorrow. I will have to turn in my work computer and so we will be out of touch for a couple weeks and this will probably be my last post until we get settled in at home.

We spent yesterday at one of our favourite places - the Green Mubazzarrah in Al Ain. Rick and I soaked our feet in the hot springs and relaxed while the kids ran up and down the mountain and slid down the falaj.

As we are busy wrapping things up, we have been reminiscing about our time here. We look back at the photos we had taken when we first arrived and it is very clear how much the kids have grown up in the last couple years...



Chase could barely write his name and he sometimes could recite the alphabet - now his favourite authors are Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman who write children's chapter books. The other day Zoe was quizzing him on multiplication tables. He rode his first 2 wheeler with no training wheels in our parking lot.



Zoe now attends middle school and talks about fashion and jewelry instead of horses and puppies. She has had her first crush and joked about how long (1 week) it lasted. Thankfully we are now in a reprieve from "boy-crazy" and she focuses on beating them in academics and athletics.

The kids had never been on an escalator until the airport in Vancouver when we were leaving. They had never been on an airplane and are now seasoned travelers. They can speak a little Arabic and Zoe can even read a little.

Hopefully, they are not too young to remember some of the amazing experiences that we have been fortunate enough to have here. Of course the big events like our vacations to exotic lands and Zoe's horseback riding lessons will stand out. And it was the little things like holding a falcon and riding a camel, bargaining at the souks, collecting shells at the beach, 4 wheeling in the sand dunes,our day trip to Oman... that have made this an unforgettable adventure. We have all made friends from around the globe and have developed a greater understanding about the cultures of the world.

We are all very happy to be returning home - even in January. Yes, we even miss winter - but not a Manitoba winter! We are looking forward to small town life again with grass and a garden. Zoe says that the first 3 things she wants to do when she gets home are 1. see Mia, 2. build a snowman, 3. go skating. Chase wants pepperoni sticks and toothpicks (??????).