Our Summer at Home

It's hard to believe that our summer vacation is over.  More unbelievable still is how much we crammed into those action-packed weeks spent state-side.  Here's a run-down of some of our vacation highlights:

1. Las Vegas Trip

Mommy and Daddy finally got some much-needed alone time when we were able to leave Dalila with her grandma and grandpa the first weekend we spent back in the states.  What better way to celebrate our daughter's reunion with her grandparents than with an adults only trip to Vegas!?!  The original guest list for this shindig was huge, but, as time progressed, steadily started to shrink, and shrink, and shrink.  Ironically, the only friends who ended up joining us in Las Vegas were the ones who lived the farthest away!

Regardless of the attendance issue, we had an incredible time in Sin City.  I had never gone to Vegas with the sole intention of experiencing the night life alone, and it was EXHAUSTING!!  Night one included a show and blackjack - just Jeremy and I.  On the second night, our friends joined us and we were able to snag a table plus bottle service at Chateau night club (for the bargain basement price of $800!!!).  We ended the night playing the tables in the casino at the Paris, where we stayed.  The last night was spent at Marquee night club where we had to forego the table (which would have set us back another $3,000!) and just wander the club.  This was the most difficult night, as Allegiant Air does not understand what Vegas is for and scheduled the ONLY flight back to Idaho Falls that day for 6 a.m.  No worries, that's what Vegas all-nighters are for.  This actually ended up working in our favor, as Jeremy was able to walk away from the blackjack table with a HUGE win right before we had to leave.  Success!!

The Vegas Gang at Chateau Nightclub

2. Heisel-fam Reunion

Camping trips are kind of the thing in Idaho, especially where the Heiselmann family - my mother's branch of relatives - is concerned.  Why?  Well, many reasons: we love nature, fresh air, etc. But mostly just because it allows us to congregate in a large group, light a huge fire, be as noisy as we want (we don't DO campgrounds - we camp out, OUT of the way), and once the night is through, everyone can just walk back to their various lodgings, be it a tent, a camper or, hell, even a picnic bench if need be.

It's been a long time since we've been able to get a large chunk of the Heisel-fam together to pull off one of these infamous camping trips, so we were ecstatic to be able to plan this one.  We chose the Heise Hot Springs area for our location; it's beautiful, close to home, AND now features a zip line course!!  Enter the highlight of the trip.  This zip line trip was AMAZING!!  There are seven lines that crisscross the foothills and allow for a different perspective on an already beautiful and beloved area.  And, while the required gear is less than flattering, the whole experience was completely unforgettable, from the courage shown by my cousin's 6 and 8 year-olds who chose to take the zip line trip with us, to the masterfully executed leg-sweep performed by a member of our group on one of the instructors at the bottom of zip line number four (whoops).  We finished this trip off with a night of star-gazing in the midst of a stunning meteor shower and the whole trip left me with the warm-fuzzies and oodles of love for my Heisel-fam.

On our way to our campsite - Dalila and Skooter sharing a treat 

The view from the highest zip line

Jeremy's video of the first zip line.  It's pretty good considering how much we spun while zooming through the air.

3. Yellowstone with the Allens

We're not done with the camping stories yet, because the following weekend brought the Allen family camping trip!  The destination this time around was Yellowstone National Park - a must-see on my and Jeremy's list of destinations for our summer at home.  This trip featured just a few more bumps than we would have liked (including a literal bump when Dalila fell and bumped her head, prompting a ranger escort to the closest clinic and instructions to watch our little munchkin for the remainder of the trip for signs of a head injury).

Aside from the head bonk, we had forest fires and mixed-up schedules to contend with, but nothing took the Allens down!  Our campground was right on Lake Yellowstone, so we were able to take a short walk down to the marina and enjoy fantastic views of the beautiful lake.  The last day brought a leisurely drive through the park where we found ourselves in the middle of a bison migration of some sort.  The best view here was of a mother and baby buffalo swimming across a wide river as we sat with Jeremy's sister and brother-in-law watching the whole thing. We even dragged Jeremy's dad on a hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, complete with a warning sign about the dangerous trek and 328 scary, steep, metal steps down to an incredible view!  The Allen family Yellowstone trip, bumps and all, ended up providing the perfect opportunity to connect more closely with Jeremy's amazing and loving family.

Dalila, being adorable on Fishing Bridge.

One shot of the Great Buffalo Migration

The informative warning sign at the trail head.

Jeremy's dad - plugging along!

A view of the falls from the bottom of the trail.

To describe every part of the summer that I loved would take FAR too long.  Each moment was meaningful and we were deeply grateful to have the time home with our family and friends.  A massive thank you goes out to everyone who took the time to make us feel loved and welcomed back home.  We can't wait to see what next summer's trip to the states will bring!

The Allens Invade Europe

Our first stop on our summer holiday this year was London - just before the Olympics hysteria hit.  Jeremy and I have always wanted to travel in Europe, but never really thought it would be possible until we took the overseas job.  At that point, it wasn't just possible, but almost necessary.  When we were researching flights home, almost every flight we found stopped in London.  We took advantage and took an extended stay in the capital of the U.K.  An air of excitement descended upon our household weeks before the big travel day finally arrived.  It was so intense on the day before our flight left (at 2 a.m.) that poor little Lila could sense something was up and refused to nap.  At all.  Thus, we arrived at Dubai International Airport with two over-sized suitcases and a toddler who hadn't slept for 18 hours straight.  Needless to say, we were a little nervous about how the rest of the trip would go down.

Lucky for us, Dalila loves to fly.  She HATED waiting in the airport, dressed in her cute little jammies and wheeled around in her stroller from gate to gate as we waited for take-off.  But once we found our seats, she was settled and ready for the trip.

Our first thoughts when our plane touched down at Heathrow at 6:00 a.m. went something like "brrrrrrrrr!!!"  Mind you, we came from a high of 120* F and rolled into London at barely 50* - that's a HUGE change!  Most of the trip was much the same as our arrival day as far as weather goes.  Lots of rain, wind and cold, sprinkled with a little sunshine. After finally finding some adorable Wellies for Lila and a jacket for me - we were set to go!

Lila, strutting her stuff in her new Wellies

 Here is the rest of our amazing vacation in picture book style, just how we like it!

THE FAMILY AT PICCADILLY CIRCUS:

WE FOUND A CLASSIC RED PHONE BOOTH!!

RIDING ON THE TOURISTY DOUBLE-DECKER BUS:

CHASING THE TRAFALGAR SQUARE PIGEONS:

DADDY AND LILA AT TRAFALGAR SQUARE:

THE FAM AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE:

GREAT SHOT OF A FEW OF LONDON'S FAMOUS LANDMARKS ALL IN ONE PIC:

AT THE LONDON EYE ON A RAINY, COLD DAY:

THE CLOCK TOWER (AKA. BIG BEN):

HOTDOGS ON A RIVER CRUISE:

THE TOWER OF LONDON:

TOWER BRIDGE AND THE OLYMPIC RINGS:

AT OLYMPIC PARK:

ON THE WAY TO HISTORIC AND BEAUTIFUL BRICK LANE:

LIVERPOOL STATION, ONE OF THE LAST STOPS ON OUR FUN-FILLED LONDON VISIT:

Despite a few hiccups (including the loss of Jeremy's new Rolex over the side of the tour bus, a crew of very concerned Japanese tourists behind us, a few challenges before attaining mastery status of the London Underground - WITH a stroller in tow, and the normally blah weather) we thoroughly enjoyed our little trip to London.  We're already planning our European trip next summer....but hoping for a little sun on our next jaunt to Europe =)

Dalila and Friends: Meet the Gang

How about a short little post about all of the friends Dalila has made so far?  Jeremy and I marvel frequently at how exciting her list of friends' nationalities is - something she certainly couldn't count on back home in Idaho, where diversity is, shall we say, limited.  We love that she sees all races, clothing styles, and nationalities here with no reaction either way.  She is totally color-blind when looking at people of the many varied nationalities who live in the U.A.E. and we're deeply grateful to have the means to provide her with the opportunity to be this way.

One of our favorite standing play dates happens most Fridays at a place called Fun City (like an indoor amusement park, only extra crazy thanks to the echo that comes with being smack dab in the middle of a toddler- and big kid-filled warehouse-o-fun).  Luckily, Fridays are much more calm, being the holy day and all.  So we often met in the mornings for Dalila to practice her social skills.  We also love that a toddlers-only room exists with padded floors, TONS of little kid toys, and pretend play opportunities galore.  Here is where we would set up camp, the grown ups plunking down on the various bean bag chairs and cushion seats scattered throughout the area to watch our toddlers try not to turn a dispute over a lego into Toddler Death Match 3000.  Some days were more successful than others, but Dalila always lit up when we announced that she would get to go and see her friends.

I bragged on and on about the various nationalities of her group of friends and then promptly halted that explanation, so here's the rest of that bit =)  Arguably Dalila's best buddy, Dara (lovingly pronounced "Dora" by our little one who adores some little-known television program of the same name...) comes from parents who are Irish and Romanian.  She is adorable, very close to the same age as Dalila, and makes a perfect partner in crime for the various toddler shenanigans their hard-working little brains dream up.  Jemma is a little friend Dalila met when we first arrived and then happened to run into through a mutual friend months later.  She is from South Africa.  Another little friend who is very, very tall for his age - almost as tall as all the girls - but the youngest of the bunch is called Harrison and comes from Scotland.  These kiddos comprise our usual play-date gang and are an absolute blast to watch together.  Here are some photos of them sitting on a banana (btw, getting four two-year-olds to sit for a picture at the same time AND look at the camera was an incredible feat!):

From left to right: Dalila, Harrison, Dara, and Jemma

Our Fun City gang is only one small portion of Dalila's growing list of pals.  We are members at a local hotel where we can use the facilities, including pool, gym, squash courts, etc.  She has made quite a few little friends here from around the globe as well.  Her favorite pal at the pool is an adorable little girl from Russia called Dasha.  The two walk around like they own the place and, indeed, are treated like royalty by most of the staff, who are no doubt awed by the girls' bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and winning personalities.  Two of Dalila's buddies here are from Middle Eastern countries - Leen is from Syria (I think) and Sara - Dalila's oldest friend is a native Emirati girl.  Here are a few photos of Dalila and Leen - sharing exactly how one would expect two-year-olds to share pool toys....noisily and with a pinch of hostility =)

Of course - this entry wouldn't be complete without including Dalila's buddies from her home country.  She loves to play with friends Ellison, Eden and Edward who traveled here from Utah.  Her favorite boys are Colt and Bayne, originally from Omaha.  She asks for these two constantly and loves to go wild with her boys =)

Making grass angels with friends Ellison, Edward, and Eden

Bouncing on the crib with her favorite boys, Colt and Bayne

We're so glad Dalila has endless opportunities to find friends and are constantly surprised to find how similar kids are even when they come from places all over the world!  Now we can't wait for Dalila to get to know her cousins back home and test out some of the social skills she's learned (translation:  Watch out cousins!!  Dalila's on her way!).

Where Did June Go?

Once again, I'm rushing to get a post done for the last month. I don't know where this deadline comes from, or why I feel so compelled to enforce it, but a post a month should be a pretty realistic goal, yes? Not if you're me, but oh well. And I'd love to say that some selfless reason exists for my lack of posts, like I'm out changing the world, one non-native English speaking student at a time, but I've barely seen my students this whole month. Anyway, the end result is a rush to post by my self-imposed deadline. Here you go!

In my last post, I was about to attend my third wedding in the U.A.E. and shared my experience with weddings here thus far. Now I can summarize the specifics of the latest wedding I had the pleasure of attending - and I can promise that it didn't disappoint!

I felt brave this time and decided to drag Dalila along with me - partly to show her off, partly so I would have a reason to leave early. Yes, yes, I know this is completely selfish, but aren't these just two of the natural perks that come with motherhood? Really, I'd be wrong NOT to take her along for these reasons! I really am glad I brought her, though. She was a huge hit, and provided endless entertainment for the wedding guests. See? I KNEW there was a selfless reason for dragging my little munchkin along to a 9:00 pm wedding!

I'll tell the rest of the story in pictures, because, let's be honest, that's what we all skip to in blogs anyway.


1. What did we wear?

Turns out, even with my fancy dress and Lila's adorable tutu - we were STILL under-dressed!! But we felt pretty and were able to party-down, none the less. And, just because it seems to be a requirement for blogs featuring fashion of any kind, check out my awesome hair pic! Yep - that's a waterfall braid. Hot, right? I couldn't figure out how to end it, so I just threw a flower in and, voila! Done.

2. What did we eat?

BAM!! How about a ginormous plate of goat! This may not look like much, but, I promise you, this plate was the size of your average hubcap and piled about a foot off the table with meat and rice. Delectable meat and rice, I might add. And before this beauty arrived, I was too busy to snap any photos of the other dishes as I was stuffing my face with the other goodies that served as appetizers, including precious little mini desserts (really? mini - who are we fooling!?!), hummous, fruit, yogurt, grilled meats, yummy little fried thingies, etc., etc., etc.. Emirati weddings are NOT to be outdone when it comes to food!



3. What did the wedding look like?

Ok - I have to be kind of careful here. Muslim women here in the U.A.E. frequently choose not to have their pictures taken. So, as I was snapping photos on my hot pink phone that seemed to glow in the low light and send signals clear to the other side of the room, I tried to be discrete about my forbidden photography. Sadly, nonchalance is really not something I'm known for, or, frankly, very good at. So the result is blurry photos that are few and far between. Here are the ones I managed to snap that didn't have too many ladies that seemed to want to avoid the camera.

Here, Lila enjoys standing in her chair.  This is the calmest and most well-behaved she was all night.

Lila and Mommy - in another pose where she is somewhat calm. The wedding hall was beautiful, but, I was a little afraid to snap very many photos.



4. Just how wild did Dalila get?


In short, she got VERY wild. Here is one of my favorite pictures of her with this adorable little boy in the full kandora and fancy sandals get-up. (Sidenote - I LOVE to see the little tiny boys dressed just like their daddies in their finest white robes - kandoras - and fancy sandals. Seriously, these men can wear a pair a sandals like nobody's business. I frequently catch myself accidentally admiring a hot pair of what I think are some lovely, bedazzled wedge-heeled sandals, only to learn I've wandered into the men's section!). Anyway, these two were enamored with each other from the moment their devious little toddler eyes locked from across the room. Here, they investigate a hole in the floor and discuss just what things could be thrown into said hole.

5. Is there video evidence of these shenanigans?

Why yes, yes there is. Though, once Dalila became comfortable in her surroundings, she was unstoppable. Literally. One fellow wedding guest mentioned to me the next day that she had almost forgotten I was even at the wedding as I was busy chasing my little one all over the room, making sure she didn't try to perform the table cloth trick and take out a bunch of unsuspecting guests with a tumbling display of food. It was exhausting! Hence, the shaky amateurish display of cinematography that follows:

In the charming video above, Dalila hopes to perform the dance of her people by teaching her little partner how to do-si-do. Little does she know, square dancing (and partner dances in general) are not a significant part of culture in the Middle East. In fact, they are "haram" - or "really, really naughty." Thus, she was left to chase her partner down, as the following clip shows. We need to show her how to play hard-to-get, I think.... (But, to be fair - that little boy was chasing Lila back most of the time - and he even threw in a hug or two that I wasn't able to catch on video!).

So ends our first wedding season here in the United Arab Emirates.  We learned a lot, ate even more, and generally, felt awestruck at every turn.  But what an amazing experience each wedding has been for me.  Now I can look at that "Platinum Weddings" show and say, "Meh.  I've seen better."