Goodbye Bahrain

Well, after sleeping until one this afternoon. . .I really do love jet lag without five children. . .I slept until one today. . .and the only reason I got up was because we had a car to catch!  Seriously.  If the kids would have been here with me, I'd be up at six still no matter what jet lag was telling my body.  This has been the best!  Tomorrow, though, I have to be back in "reality" and get up and a normal hour as we are moving on in our adventure.  We left Bahrain today and have arrived where Andy has many fun friends.  I am excited to meet them and to be able to call them my friends, too!  We are with the Remkus family and I love Wendi, our hostess.  I think we're going to have a great week together!

No real adventures to post about today since I slept most of it away.  I just wanted to "update" so that my kids and family know I'm alive and well.  Andy and I are having an absolute blast together and I am so thankful for this time with him!  Greetings from the Sandbox!

This is Andy and I in Bahrain leaving the Ritz.  I am only partially "covered" here. . .I'm actually a big fan of the covering!  I'm sure I wouldn't be if I was forced to wear it all of the time, but it was so nice for a bit!

The very first thing I saw after we crossed the border.  McDonald's:  home sweet home!  Unfortunately, we couldn't eat there because it was prayer time, but I'll take in some Middle Eastern Micky D's before I leave!

Bahrain Today

Today was a good day in Bahrain.  We slept until noon (I've never done that before. . .even with jet lag) and it took me a couple more hours to get out of my Ambian induced haze.  Andy had some work to do, so I went walking on the beach and then read by the pool.  At four we headed to see the city and the shops!  It was so much fun just being with Andy!  I forgot what a great time just he and I can have together!  Tomorrow we will leave Bahrain for the next part of our adventure!

I Can't Believe Where I Am!!!

Wow!  Yesterday morning, I left Durango for an adventure of a lifetime!  I was so excited for my trip with Andy, but it didn't really hit me until I was here where I actually am!  I'm in Bahrain.  I'm on the Persian Gulf.  Really.  I was in Kuwait earlier today.  It is so crazy!

The craziest part is that I am actually staying on the "club" level of the Ritz Carlton, Bahrain.  UNBELIEVABLE!  I feel like a princess.  A very generous and thoughtful camp family are treating Andy and I to two days in the lap of luxury here at the Ritz.  I'm so glad and thankful they are.  I am being treated like a princess and I actually think I sort of deserve to be treated this way.  (Is that bad that I just admitted that "out loud"?)

And I do miss my children, but right at this moment with jet lag setting in, after eating at a super nice Indian restaurant with Andy and no spills and sitting in my amazing suite at the Ritz overlooking Bahrain. . .I really don't wish they were here!  I'll miss them later!

So, to friends and family back home:  we made it!  We are here and the trip was great.  The flights were easy.  A little hiccup in immigration (we were detained-ish for two hours) and Andy's suitcase didn't make it, but we did!  We're loving just being Party of 2 for a little while!

I'm excited to see the city and the beach tomorrow in daylight, but for now I am off to deep jet lag slumber!  (The shades close with the push of a button--total blackout!!!)

Les & GoGo, hug my kids for me--I really do miss them!

Who knew that Kuwait was the land of friendship?!?

I don't have any pics from Bahrain yet. . .stay tuned!

Thing 1 & Thing 2

Yesterday was Dr. Seuss's birthday and kids all over America dressed up like Dr. Seuss characters for school.  Well, my elementary kids were no exception.  Maggie was Daisy Head Maizy, but did not want to be photographed (she didn't really go "all" out because in the fifth grade one never knows who is going all out this year and who won't...the pressure).  The twins were Thing 1 and Thing 2.  Tiki was all for it, but Dax had to be bribed!  They were so super cute!

And this picture has nothing to do with Dr. Seuss, but this was Gabby being adorable in the tub while the kids were at school!

Random Pictures

Lesley just emailed me a bunch of fun and random pictures of my kids from her phone.  Enjoy.

It looks like Gabby is posing for maternity pictures. . .she's probably about 30 weeks along in this picture!

Hays being a great sport with Gabby and Nell taking him to jail!

What Gabby painted in art class yesterday.

Santa Monica Pier

 Today we headed up to Santa Monica.  I had no idea how disgusting LA is.  (At least the part of LA--the actual city limits--we saw, which consist of I-5.)  We woke up this morning to smog smog smog. . .we could not breathe.  Then we drove up through LA in the smog and it was terrible.  Gross!  (It may have just been a bad day.)  But Santa Monica was pretty.  It was cold and very foggy/smoggy, but we had a blast!

The Pier was so much fun!  We had passes for all of the rides and the kids loved it!  The cold weather mixed with the time of year made it perfect for riding as many times as you want to!  The kids were laughing and running and squealing with joy!  Great day!

I just had to get a picture with the pier in the background. . .I had planned on having "real" pictures taken, but it was so cold, we just snapped a couple and headed back!  They turned out fine.  Nothing to blow up and frame, but we did it!

And then the trip from Santa Monica to Anaheim (33 miles) took four hours.  Yes.  Four hours.  Oh my!

All in all, today was another super day!  Great vacation and we're headed home tomorrow!  We're ready.  We'll be leaving Andy in LA for work and we will head East at sun up!

Legoland

Today was the much anticipated Legoland day.  Big disappointment.  Oh well.  I've wanted to bring the kids out here to go to Legoland for so long and I would have taken them no matter what anyone said, so I'm glad we finally went. . . but. . . we won't be making a return trip anytime soon.  The great thing is that Legoland looks much better in pictures!  The kids had fun.  So it wasn't a total bust.

Andy, super thrilled to be at a crowded theme park!  :)

The kids in front of Washington D.C. in MiniLand

Dax was so fired up to see all of the Star Wars scenes in MiniLand.  That was for sure his highlight of the day!

San Francisco

More of San Francisco

China Town in San Fran

NYC

More NYC

Maggie has always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. . .I'm not sure this one will suffice, though!

I love their faces in this picture. . .playing the X-Box. . .Lego Batman!

More X-Box

Gabby was NOT happy to be on this roller coaster.  She screamed and cried and yelled, "I want to go home!" the entire ride!

3D (4D) glasses.

Another Great Day

Today was another great day on vacation!  The weather here is just perfect and we are having so much fun together!

We started at the Birch Aquarium which was a HUGE disappointment.  In the big scheme of things, it was a fine aquarium, but somewhere I had read that it was the largest in North America and it for sure was not. . .it was maybe one of the smallest.  However, it was very interactive and the kids loved it, so it wasn't a total bust.  We also met another Rwandan adoptive family there (on purpose) and that was super fun!  They have two littles from the orphanage where Tiki was from.  So. . .aquarium. . .check.

Then we came home for a quick (too quick in hind site) FOB (rest time).  And we were off to the beach.  It was perfect.  The weather was great and the water was great (cold, but after the kids got numb they loved it).  It made me really want to live at the beach. . .the laid back-ed-ness of being at the beach in your jeans and just hanging out.  Not really laying out and "vacationing" at the beach (does that even make sense?).  Beach. . .check.

Today was a good day.  I'm so glad we took this road trip.  One more night in San Diego before we head North!