Lightening in Liwa

Feb 26: We got quite a group together for a final (for us) Liwa camping trip. The difference this time was the weather - there were dark clouds gathering as we approached, and even some rain. Rain in the Empty Quarter?! I guess it happens :) 

Colby liked the freedom of sand in every direction, and walked all over the place. He never strayed too far from his parents though.

OK, sometimes he crawled too:)

Hailey was in the rare position of having a pack of little girls to run around with - it was cute to watch them band together and make up games.

At the top!

Sand soccer

As is the case on these trips, we had some "unanticipated" events. Owen got sick (sand absorbs throw up - I knew you were all wondering) and had a pretty scary experience with a camel. It rocked me enough that I didn't even take pictures for the rest of the day, which if you know me in a beautiful location, then you know that never happens. Owen was ok though, and the trip was still a success.

That night, we were treated to the most awe inspiring lightening storm I have seen in a long time. Ken and I took a walk, and seeing the constant flashes of lightening over the tops of the dunes made it feel like we were at the edge of the world. Fortunately, the storm ended up going around us at about midnight, so we could enjoy the lightening and thunder without too much rain :) With a sleepless Colby and a sick Owen, we were prepared extra early for sunrise! 

The camels trekked across our campsite early in the morning. Those baby camels were pretty cute!

Here's a view of some of our "campsite." I think we had 11 families out there!

This dune provides the perfect entertainment for kids with boundless energy. That is one of my kids with his friends, I just don't remember which one!

The storm left us an extra pretty sky.

Will was so excited to try sand boarding again, and was thrilled our friend would let him try on his own. He carefully waxed the board, then carried it up. He didn't get too high, since the sand was already heating up, but he sure was proud of himself!

I feel pretty blessed to get to live this life I have with all of these little people! (Hailey was running around with her friends and couldn't be bothered to take a photo with mom :) 

Goodbye Liwa, thanks for all of the fun memories !

Qasr al Hosn Festival

The night that we left to go to Muscat, we went to our favorite festival, Qasr al Hosn. These guards were funny in that they didn't want to take the picture until all of the kids could be in it - they had me take Colby out of the stroller :)

Everyone wanted a chance to hold the falcon! Except Colby, it wasn't really his thing :)

Owen really had his hopes pinned on a quick camel ride, but the lines this year were outrageous. As a family, we worked hard to convince him we could find a camel somewhere else - after all, this is Abu Dhabi!

Colby is quite the animal fan, and these salukis just about made him pass out from excitement. I fear my time denying the kids a pet dog is close to an end...

This woman was doing a weaving demonstration, and had all kinds of baskets around that she had made.

Tyler on baby duty, with a blurry little Colby.

This was our snack of the night - tasty little Emirate donuts!

Tyler got to attempt climbing up the palm tree to harvest dates.

Hooray for Qasr al Hosn!

Birthday Bash - Oman Style

For our birthdays this year, Ken and I took a trip, ALONE, to Oman for a long weekend. My amazing friend Jess (ok, let's not forget her husband Dan too :) came to my house and took on all of my kids in addition to her own, to make the trip a reality. I'm not even sure my kids wanted me to come back, they had so much fun with them! For 3 days, Ken and I could eat at whatever time we wanted, whatever food we wanted, nap on the beach without fear of some small child drowning, and explore the city to our hearts' content. It was a really fun trip!

On our way from the airport to our hotel, Ken made friends with the taxi driver and before I knew it, the taxi driver was inviting us over to his house for lunch to meet his family. Seeing as how we were free of all responsibilities, we decided why not, and came to his house on the outskirts of Muscat. His family was lovely, and as an added bonus they didn't speak English, so Ken and I got to break out our Arabic (his, great, mine, rusty!) Fortunately, my toddler-like Arabic and strong Egyptian accent was a fantastic icebreaker, and we were all best buds in no time :) The "small" lunch they served us was better than any food we tried the rest of our trip, consisting of 3 different kinds of meat, biryani, salad, fruit and dessert, and could have fed a small army. We left 3 hours later, stomachs bursting, having made some new Omani friends!

We also took out the resort's kayaks and paddled through the sea arch. It was our most exciting kayaking yet, with lots of wind and waves. 

One evening we took a trip to downtown Muscat and walked around the souq and old city. It made the inner photographer in me sing :) 

I know they don't look like it, but they did tell Ken he could take a picture of them!

It was a bittersweet trip in that it may very well be our last trip to Muscat for a good long time. It was fantastic to get to spend it with my favorite person. Until later, Oman!