The Great Storm of 2016

After much deliberating, we've decided we no longer want our patio table. Its free of charge to whoever wants it, first come first serve. We're even throwing in a bottle of Elmer's glue to help out with what would surely be a great family activity - a 5,000 piece puzzle :)

March 9: I guess I should back up - we got some rain in Abu Dhabi, which is always exciting since it happens so infrequently.

On the first day of rain, the kids had a half day at school, and since it was pouring when they stepped off the bus, they jumped out and made the most of it!

At 4am, Ken and I were woken up by the craziest noise, which we soon realized was HAIL bouncing off the metal pipes on top of the villa. I tried to get some pictures (I know, not super amazing quality...) Unfortunately, Colby wasn't as impressed and only knew something was disturbing his beauty rest, so he took quite a bit of time to go back to sleep :(

Will heard the commotion and wanted to touch the hail ("since it is almost like snow mom!")

We saved a few pieces to show to the kids at preschool the next day, since it was my week to teach. Will also got a second gift - we received a text right then informing us that school would be canceled for the day!!

The next day the sky was dark and we got some rain, but things were going on as usual. As I was finishing up teaching preschool, I noticed the clouds were growing black and the rain was really coming down. Sensing a perfect teaching opportunity, I told the kids to gather round the window to watch the storm. Unfortunately, it was one of THOSE moments - you know, the ones that look good in your head, but translate into something completely different in real life… At that moment, the wind picked up (60 mph is what I hear it hit), the sky opened up, and the world outside went crazy. Trees were snapping in half, the wind caught the umbrella on our table, and as the umbrella tapped the table, BOOM, glass exploded everywhere. Kids were crying, Colby and Owen were trying to climb my back, the umbrella was on the loose - complete pandemonium. I'll probably get voted off the preschool team for traumatizing all those poor kids, and every time Owen feels a little gust of wind now, he freaks out. It was the most exciting weather I've seen in my 3 years here!

The tree in our front yard didn't fare so well. 4 windows had water poring through the caulking, and my kitchen and one bathroom flooded. These villas were not built to withstand water! The kids got the next day off school as well, just in case of more rain. It turned out to be a beautifully sunny day, which we spent at the park :)

The table got the worst of it though. Any takers?!

One if by land, two if by sky … or something like that!

March 2: Scootering/biking/boarding on the corniche is always so fun we wonder why we don't do it more often! Then again, as with every outing, it takes so much time to get ourselves organized and moving, so I guess I've answered my own question… A trip to the corniche starts with parking - fortunately for Ken, everyone is ALWAYS watching and ready to lend a hand!

Owen thought we should eat dinner at Cold Stone and led the way - not a bad idea, really!

My favorite corniche sign

Dinner!

Everyone in the family goes at different speeds, so Will, Owen and I stuck together. They wanted to check out the tunnel.

City view at night

Superman :)

March 6: One of our other favorite activities this time of year is watching the air show that takes place right above our villa. Perfect view from the roof. This year, we were especially impressed by the women standing/doing tricks ON TOP OF the planes!

Owen and Jesper watching the show.

Can you tell there is a storm coming?!

March 12: We finish off the air show week with the Red Bull Air Show. This year we couldn't be as close as we usually are, but the water was still the perfect temperature for enjoying while we watched the show.

Cheese :)

Let's hear it for fun beach days!