Moving day #1

Let me start off by saying this process has been quite comical. One tip is to never believe your real estate agent. Let me explain why, when we signed the lease we got one key. There was a locked closet in the kitchen area that he said was laundry. So Steve and I went out and bought the w/d combo, dishwasher, cooktop, and fridge. Now once we got all the keys, and I mean all because every door has a lock, we opened the door....In my state of shock and panic there was a water heater in there. So I frantically start looking around for a place to put a washer and dryer. Now I really liked Laura Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, but I am not into handwashing clothes. Well apparently, the slot in the kitchen can be for a dishwasher OR w/d combo. Thank goodness!!!! This is our living room.

Here are the views of
the kitchen and eating area. The slot
next to the sink is where the w/d combo will go.






This is the master bedroom, we have a large picture window and that is the only closet space. Quirk #2: I went into the masterbath and find absolutly NO outlets!!! I run to the boys bathroom and half bath...NONE! Ok, I can deal, will just have to do hair in front of dresser mirror.




We had Ikea bring the boys' bunkbeds and dresser along with a few other pieces. One man came to assemble it all and it took about 5 hours...

We were flattening out the rug with light covers. That is sliding doors to the balcony that will stay locked. We have another door from the living area.

This is a view out our balcony, out in the distance are The palm Islands.



This is the marina view from our bedroom. It is really pretty at night with all the lights.
This is a night view looking towards The Palms. It was a little humid so my camera was fogging up.

We are having more stuff delivered Sunday and Monday...will keep you posted and let you know of any more quirks I might find!!!

Ibn Bututta

The other day while Steve was at work, the boys and I got adventurous and took a cab to the Ibn Bututta Mall. It is much tamer than Mall of the Emirates. This is very close to our flat also.

It is themed around the travels of renowned 14th century Arabian explorer, Ibn Battuta. ... Above is the China Court. The boat in the background was huge.

This is the India court, the elephant is carrying a large clock.

Here is the central food area in the Persia Court. This was beautiful!

This was the egyptian court with a large astrological scope.

They have a ton of stores and a hypermarket (this is what they call grocery stores here). I will probably be going here more often because they also have several nail places :)

Getting ready to move!

The last few days we have been picking out furniture and appliances for the new apartment! We should be in by the first of next week. Buying furniture was fun, appliances not! The appliances here are extremely small. The washer and dryer are one machine, and the oven is about the size of a lunchbox. Oh well... We did most of our shopping at Ikea and Home Centre. Ikea is a massive place where you walk through looking at furniture and then you go pick it up in the warehouse next door. It is one-stop shopping, everything from live plants and pictures to kitchen cabinets and furniture. It has a supervised playroom for kids and a swedish restaurant. We are having it delivered and assembled today or friday.

The warehouse...Jacob is pushing a cart with our take now buys. The furniture is sorted by aisle and then section.

We had three flat trolleys and our cart...we looked like the bad news bears trying to get all of it to customer service for delivery.

We have just about survived the hottest month of the year. Yesterday it was a mere 115 degrees with 80% humidity...at 9pm!!! Now we start the Muslim holiday, Ramadan, on Sept 2. This will be interesting...no eating and drinking in public (kids dont do this) but when fasting is broken in the evening, there are celebrations. A lot of stores have sales and stay open later.
I will post progress of the move as soon as deliveries start!
Thanks for all the comments and if you want our mailing address, just email me.

Suite life

Not much going on really...still waiting for Steve's visa. This will allow us to get our UAE driver's license and cars. The boys are mimicking "Suite Life of Zach and Cody" (disney show). We swim on the rooftop, play board games, puzzles and wii. Just an fyi, if anybody wants a "wii fit" they are in abundance over here and it is a fun workout. Steve has been going to the office to learn the ropes. He is treated very well there. In the afternoons, we have been looking at furniture and appliances for the new place.
If the US had near the need for real estate, the economy would have a serious boost. The real estate business here is downright cut throat. We almost lost our JBR apartment because the landlord put a few illegal clauses in it. He has since taken them out and we pick up the key today. Since we thought this had fallen through we were looking at several others. At one villa, we were there with the landord and agent. Another lady walked in and announced she had rented it already. I looked at the landlord and he said, " I havent received a deposit yet so its still up for rent!" We have been in apartments long and they have rented within the hour. Thank goodness the property manager at Steve's work knows what to do.
I hope all is well with everyone and school is going great! We miss everybody! If you have a mic and speakers on your computers sign up for "windows live messenger" or "google talk" and we can talk for free! tasted great too! Nancy mailed us some kettle corn and it took about 9 days, not too bad! The kc still tasted great too! I am ready to live normally and get in a routine; especially cook! Although it has been nice to have someone washing dishes, clothes, and cleaning! Reality will set in soon enough...;)

Jumeirah

Today we lounged in and then drove around looking at cars, etc. We attempted to attend the Hop Fest at The Irish Village, but the kids werent allowed (too bad, 150 ales left untasted). So we went to Madinat Jumeirah, a souk mall, with 75 stores. Jumeirah is a neighborhood in Dubai.

A souk is a small shop and it is literally a maze of them. Even with Steve's excellent sense of direction we still got turned around.


Drew at a camel trinket booth.

Ther are places to relax like this all over the outside of the "maze".
Jacob and Drew posing in front of an antiques booth.

This is one of the great views from the promenade, with the Burj al Arab in the backdrop.

For fun and to do the touristy thing, we took an "abra" cruise. This is a small boat that they use as transport in venecian style.

Winding down the canals, it is surrounded by a hotel, villas, spa, and restaurants.


This is a great view of the famous Burj al Arab. It is patterned to look like the sail of an abra.

After this we went to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. This is not far from where we will live. It is a great resort with many restaurants and also connects to Wild Wadi (Dubai's version of Wild River Country).
Here is a champagne cocktail toast to the Conway girls :)!

We were early for dinner, so while we were waiting we introduced the boys to "High Tea". Besides the great tea, we had scones with clotted cream and jam; tea sandwiches of cheese, cucumber, beef, and salmon; as well as, fruit tarts and dessert breads. The boys tasted it all. Drew decided he liked the salmon sandwiches because they "tasted like tuna."
The view from our tea room at sunset.

We ate at the Beachcomber. It was Malaysian night. A huge buffet containing every thing Malaysian, some of which was extremely spicy!


The boys awaiting water. They were very family friendly.

They even had a child size buffet.

This was my plate...Steve and I were unsure of a lot of food, but overall very tasty. The banana leaf roll on the left was my favorite. It was stuffed with a roasted fish in coconut milk.

Here is Steve's...he who likes spicy food drank alot of water during this!
For dessert, we tried a small cup of assorted fruit in coconut milk. This was excellent until at the bottom of the cup there was red kidney beans...not sure what that was about. The boys had dragonfruit with a passionfruit sorbet!

The restaurant had a kids area where they could play video games, color, or watch a movie. This allowed Steve and I to leisurely enjoy our wine :)
Jacob and Drew at the rickshaw outside the restaurant with the Burj in the backdrop.

This is the light show that goes on every night at the Burj. It is really hard to portray how awesome the views were and how huge this thing is.

Fillin' up...and the tallest building in the world!

To get gas here, first, you wait in a long "queue". And dont be surprised if you get honked at or cut off! There is an attendant for each pump!








Once you get up there, they fill you up with "special" and clean your windows. DONT even think about getting out of your car here to run in to get something. You have to pull up to a parking spot!!

I had to include at least one picture of the Burj Dubai. As Drew will tell you EVERY time we see it, "It's the tallest building in the world!" To date it is over 160 storeys high, but the finishing number has yet to be revealed!

DAD....see they even have an ACE Hardware :)!

Top ten things I have learned the first week.....

1. Going to seriously have to learn the metric system.
2. Rolls Royce, Lamborghinis, and Bentleys really do exist ( I have seen so many, I lost count).
3. 108 degrees is comfortable (with 18% humidity)
4. Blondes do exist in the UAE.
5. A "queue" is a waiting line.
6. Mocktails are your friend.
7. Customer service in the States have a lot to learn from Dubai-a waiter for every part of your meal: one to pour water, one to serve bread, one to bring food etc...with so many people working I have to think there unemployment rate is way down!
8. Deoderant is my friend!
9. Speed limits, lane markers, and turn signals are optional.
10. AND THE FINAL ONE is DONT DRIVE IN THE LEFT LANE....you might get taken out by someone driving 100mph in cars from #2.
    

Abu Dhabi

Today we ventured to Abu Dhabi. This is the capitol of UAE. It is about an hour and twenty minute drive. There is much less construction, but the buildings aren't as tall either. There is alot more green space, too. We drove around and went to the mall. Let me just say the malls here are ridiculously huge and they are open until midnight or one am on the weekends. They all have stores like Gap, H&M, Limited Too as well as local shops. BUT then you have everything from Dior, Tiffany, Calvin Klein, etc. So all you serious shoppers (Traci?) feel free to come visit.

Abu Dhabi's skyline, the water is very blue.

This is a hotel called Emirate's Palace. It is where Prez Bush stays as well as the extremely wealthy.

The boys on the walk with the palace behind them. Notice the green grass...

This is a waterfall at the marina mall In Abu Dhabi. It had different timings set to music.

Some local fashion :)

AND of course, I have to show you the food we had for lunch there. It was at a cafe called La Brioche...french cuisine.

If anybody knows me, I have to start with the desserts....so many I couldnt get them all in the pic!!

Drew enjoyed the french version of a club sandwich...egg, ham, cucumbers, tomatoes, and something we couldnt identify like maybe chicken salad. Whatever it was both kids loved it!

I had the tradional quiche lorraine and salad.

I had the raspberry crumble for dessert ( I have limited us to one dessert a day...and I am doing the treadmill :)

Steve had grilled fish served over "ratatooty" as Drew calls it. He said it was delicious and both kids liked it too.