Spring Break (part 3)

Next we did some snorkeling ...

 

 Max fed the fishies some bread

 tons of fish gathered around our dhow/boat

  yep, that is a jellyfish .. scared all of us and almost detoured me from snorkeling .. ALMOST.  :)

 Paige hitchin' a ride on Daddy to get closer to the island to do more snorkeling

(Brooke said "no thanks" after seeing the jellyfish)

  they made it to the island and up the stairs!

 

headed back to the boat 

After our boat cruise, we were dropped off on a remote beach to camp for the night.  It was "cheater camping" because we didn't have to do ANY of the hard work .. everything was set up for us, prepared for us, and later cleaned up for us.  All we had to do was eat, play and sleep .. and believe it or not, we all SLEPT!  (minus a  12:30 a.m. goat interruption!)  Here are pictures:

 one worn out little munchkin

 

our campsite

 Brooke immediately found a way to color

 

Paige started gathering rocks for the firepit

 

  Max checked out the "showers" (the black bags are bathwater .. warmed by the sun)

our campsite

 I slept in the small tent with Max while Mark and the girls slept in the big tent

kinda like a kitchen counter, and yes, that's a speaker for music .. we could hook up the iPod'n everything!  I told you .. CHEATER CAMPING.  

 

 I was up before everyone else .. saw this beautiful scenery.

  The girls collected shells

 One of the goats that ransacked our camp at midnight .. who'd have thought??  

 

 I love this picture .. I wish Paige was in it. 

 

 another pesky goat

 

  we thought this was a cat for a while .. finally got a good look at it. 

 exploring a cave .. chanting "Goin' on a Bear Hunt" .. one of our favorite bedtime stories

I had no part of the cave.  No thank you. 

the only downer of our camping trip .. trash EVERYWHERE. 


We were picked up by speed boat and taken back to our car, where we then drove 2 hours to Ras Al Khaimah, where we checked into the Hilton Ras al Khaimah Resort & Spa.  Our room wasn't quite ready when we arrived, and we were all still NASTY from the camping trip, so we gladly put on our swimsuits and played in the kid pool area with a water slide and playground.  We ended up playing for about 3 hours, Max did the slide all by himself (he makes me so nervous!) and then we finally went to our room and SHOWERED and CRASHED .. I was OUT by 8:30 .. exhausted!

continued on "Spring Break (part 4)" <--click :)

SPRING BREAK (part 2)

The next morning we went to THE CAMEL MARKET!  Yes, a market where you buy camels!!  Hysterical!!  Here's pictures:

I just get the biggest kick out of the fact that we went to a Camel Market .. once again, WHO DOES THIS???

So .. that was Al Ain .. it was a treat, but JUST the beginning!

We left early Monday morning for a 4-hour drive up to the tip of the UAE where we boarded an Omani Dhow for a half day cruise and dolphin watching .. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves .. it was RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING AND SO SO FUN!!!!

 yup those are dolphins .. that was our first look ..

 Max got to drive.  :) 

 not cropped, not zoomed .. 

 pointing to the dolphins .. 

this is not our dhow, but what we looked like ..

We all SCREAMED and WHISTLED and got so excited when we saw the dolphins so close ..I could have added about 45 more pictures .. once again, SPECTACULAR.


to be continued .. see next post: ''SPRING BREAK (part 3)" <--click it

Spring Break!

Oh man, did we have an incredible week!!!  Mark planned everything .. it was our first time to really do a family vacation like this and it really couldn't have been better!!

We left Dubai on Friday morning and headed to Al Ain to see Michael Cusick, a friend from Colorado that we know through Wes Roberts (<--the guy that married Mark & I and baptized all 3 of our babies :))  speak at a Christian church out there .. GREAT CHURCH called Al Ain Evangelical Church .. It was so refreshing to be there.  We then went to the lead pastor's home with Michael and his son for lunch.  They were amazing hosts ..they had toys for the kids, etc.  We all had a great time.  Honestly, it's just so surreal .. I just sit back sometimes and wonder how we end up where we are .. I mean seriously!! It's no doubt that none of this is randomly happening, but really .. who does this??

 Pastor Brad, his wife Jeanette, Michael Cusick and our family

 
The next stop was at our hotel in Al Ain.  Mark picked Al Ain because it's really close (about 90 min drive to get there) and it has a fantastic zoo.  Here's a link:  Al Ain Zoo.

We spent the first night at the hotel pool, playing and going down the slide over and over and over again, ate dinner and then headed to bed.

The next day we got up, ate breakfast and headed straight to the zoo.  Here's what we saw/did:

 It was HOT for us, so the girls were happy to find some sprinklers to run through.  :) 

 What catches your eye the most in this picture?  The cheetah or Paige's cute hat? 

  In this picture, the girls are looking over a HUGE area that had giraffes, rhinos, zebras, etc.  It was so cool to see them all hanging out together in a huge safari-like location.  I wish I was able to get a picture to really show what it was like.

  "thhhhp!"

  I have never seen this before in my life .. we laughed and laughed!!

 Max is opening his mouth and telling the giraffe to "say AAAAAH" so he can feed it a carrot

We left the zoo at about 1:30 .. it was HOT for us Colorado folks and the kids just plain-ol' pooped out!  We grabbed ice cream on our way to the car and then drove up Mount Jebel Hafeet to have lunch at a resort/hotel up there.  Apparently, the road up has been described as "the greatest driving road in the world."  Here was our view as we got started:

Mark drove cautiously, being that we might have some passengers that are prone to motion sickness.

(wink, wink) :)

Here's a picture of the hotel where we had lunch:

 The Grand Mecure Jebel Hafeet Hotel

After lunch, we headed down the mountain and drove through the green mountain area, the Green Mubazarrah, that lies in the foothills.

From there it was more pool fun until we heard the kids say, "I'M TIRED" .. it was fun to let them decide when we "call it a day." 

..continuted on "Spring Break (part 2)" <--you can click that to get there