Grandma is Great!

It didn't really feel like the holidays until Grandma got to town! We were all so excited to see her, and had fun showing her some of the things we have found here in the UAE. Here are a few of the things we did during her visit.

We spent a great day in Dubai. While Ken went to work meetings, we watched a dolphin show, and ate lunch and played at a super nice, HUGE park. Here are the kids in front of the dolphinarium, waiting for the show.

We had VIP seats, since those were the only tickets left, but it meant we had a great view. Owen sat still the entire time, transfixed by all the things that kept popping out of the water!

 Waiting for lunch.

Hailey loves her Grandma. She keeps wondering when we are going to leave and go visit her in Utah.

I asked Will to tell Hailey a joke so she would smile - it must have been one of his really good ones :)

My little ham.

Tackle Grandma!

There was actual grass here, which is hard to find, so I let Owen crawl around. Of course, he then spent the whole time trying to eat pieces of park junk off the ground. A candy wrapper? Wonderful. A cigarette butt? Delicious!

While we were hanging out playing near the water, this crazy fish kept jumping out of the water! It was fun to watch, and happened quite a few times.

After Ken's meetings, we hit the Dubai mall. This candy store had a pretty sweet set up (ha ha:)

Outside of the mall, they did a fountain show here with lights and music that was spectacular. Definitely worth the waiting we did for it.

One day, I'm going to take pictures of the stores inside this mall. Its just crazy. Any store you want, and a bunch of good places to eat. I'll use those pictures to convince my shopping friends ( you know who you are ) to come see me! We'll have a great time. I'm waiting for you... (and any of you who want to become my shopping friends:)

Burj Khalifa. Tallest building in the world. My kids are obsessed with it. Tyler, because his friends have been talking about it at school. Will, because his best little friend was born in Dubai, and he is under the (mistaken) impression that she was born AT Burj Khalifa. He spent the entire time we were there talking about her. Hailey, because her brothers talk about it :)

We took Grandma to the camel festival. We waited a while for a saluki race, which never materialized. Another typical UAE experience.

BUT, we did see camels. More camels than we've ever seen in one place. We caught the end of the camel beauty pageant, and got to see the winning camel. He (she?) was beautiful. I guess. I don't think I really have an appreciation for camel beauty yet!

When they announced the winning camel, all these little boys ran over to it and tied their kafiyyas around its neck.

Hailey decided she was ready to get up close to a camel. She was thrilled to sit on him! We're slowly working up to actually riding one.

If Hailey is brave enough, so is Will! (Tyler has already done it and opted out of a repeat experience)

Camel crossing indeed!

Firewood, anyone?

Christmas Eve, we had hot chocolate and candy canes for a snack!

Christmas morning started at 4 am. We had some pretty excited kids! Owen thought the bike was for him...

 This is blurry, but I love how excited he is. Tyler loves this game, and it quite good at it!

Hailey constantly pretends she is a puppy, so Tyler found her her own dog ears. They were a hit! We loved having Grandma here, and were sad to see her go. Thanks for the fun visit, Grandma!!