E-MEALZ EASY AND DELICIOUS DINNER RECIPES
Daisypath Anniversary Years Ticker

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Dubai U.A.E.

Yep, that is what it says, Dubai! My friend, Casey, and I made the long journey to Dubai for a little R&R. If you look at our pictures you will notice our company and the real reason we went. We had a fabulous time and the company was even better. I was very pleasantly surprised by Dubai. It was a very enjoyable trip.

We arrived late one evening and took the "lady" taxi to our resort. Our husbands had staked out the resort for us and we were impressed. We were a little jealous that they had been there without us before. While getting the details settled during check-in, we were sitting in the little tent that you will see below. They brought us refreshing cold towels (to wash our faces and hands), fresh squeezed orange juice, and dates. The concierge took us to our rooms where we were greeted with a personalized message on the tv and fresh fruit. We were blessed to get rooms on the ocean side of the resort. The resort had a phenomenal breakfast with everything you could imagine on it: omelets, eggs (all kinds), sushi, fruit, fruit smoothies, meats, pastries, cheeses, fresh orange and pineapple juices, waffles, french toast, pancakes, crepes, hash browns, salad, vegetables, etc. The resort also had three pools and direct beach access. They came around with cold moist towels, slushies, and water bottle spritzers to help keep you cool while you were out by the water. It was divine! The food was delicious everywhere that we ate.

However, none of that compared to the four days that we got to spend with our beloveds. We pretty well took it easy. We laid out by the pool and beach. We ate like kings and queens. We just soaked up each others company and enjoyed being together.

I was definitely surprised by how westernized Dubai is. They still ask that you respect their culture and wear modest clothing out in town. However, a lot of people were in westernized clothing everywhere we went. You definitely saw the typical middle eastern dress but not nearly as prominently as I had expected we would.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip. It was accentuated by the great traveling buddy that I had along for the adventure, Casey. Thank you, mom, for watching the boys so I could enjoy this journey.

The Lovely Camels!The sitting area in the resort lobby
Breakfast at the resort. They had everything you could possibly think of and the fruit was phenomenal. Not to mention the crepes. It was fantastic!
Enjoying breakfast
The Burj Al Arab Hotel in the background
Casey and me on our last leg of the flights to Dubai
Exhausted after getting to the resort
The Le Meridien Royal - our resort
Waiting for our hubby's arrival - woo hoo!
The "lady" taxi - only ladies and small children can ride in these taxis and they all have lady drivers. They were great!
The indoor ski slope
Dinner at the Maya
Enjoying some dessert - yummy!
The Burj Al Arab
Dinner at the Meat Co.
Enjoying the evening out
A better view of the ski slope
The sunset from our window
A panoramic view from our window
Good morning
Panoramic view from the beach back at our resort and the city surrounding it.
I am loving me some camels
Goldie loving the camel... well, sort of
The camel handler, Goldie and the camels
Aw, come on, you can get a little closer!! She won't bite or spit!
Beautiful Camel!
Maybe she will bite! Not really, she was very docile!
I loved the camel
Off the camels go
Footprints in the sand. Camel footprints that is.
Camel prints in the sand
This was a brave bird. I was sitting within arms reach of this bird that stole one of my authentic french fries. It only got one because I was getting my camera so I could take a picture.
Madinat Jumeira Souk
Outside the Madinat Jumeira Souk
My love and me
The stand up toilet the Dubai airport

Monday, March 22, 2010

Sladen Turns One


The monkey cake! Not bad for free hand and never decorating a cake before!
Kenan helping decorate the other cake!
Me and the birthday boy!
Amy entertaining the attendees!
Me and my boys
Where is the cake?
Woo hoo! Cake!
Now what do I do?
Oh, I can eat this? Yum!
There ya go, that is the way!
This is pretty good stuff!
Reagan and Kenan enjoying some birthday cake, too!
YUMMY!
I LOVE birthday cake!
I can't believe they are letting me do this. I better not stop they might take it away!
More cake...
Can I eat this whole cake by myself?! Hmm...
This is good stuff!
Time to hose him off!
Off we go...
All cleaned up and ready to open presents!
Bella loves Sladen and she loves to give kisses!

We had a pretty low key birthday for Sladen. It was hard for me to get motivated to throw a big party. So we just had a small get together with some friends. Sladen had his first experience with cake and he loved it. He ate about 1/3 of it all by himself. I finally had to stop him or he would have kept going. He was so funny.

Sladen is such a joy in our lives. He is a very happy baby and rarely ever cries. He is getting quite a little personality. He is a lot like his brother in that he loves attention. We will be in a restaurant and he zeroes in on a table and watches them until they notice him. Then he flashes that adorable smile and they almost always take the bait and talk to him. He is definitely a smiley little guy. He is a great sleeper and still likes to take 3 naps a day. I just took him to his one year check-up and he was in the 8th percentile for weight, the 65th percentile for head circumference and in the 90th percentile for height. That means he is a totally different body type than Kenan who is stocky and solid. Not to mention he looks so different with his blue eyes and blond hair.

We look forward to what the Lord has in store for our little guy! He brings us so much happiness and joy! We are truly blessed!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Orlando

Kenan was drenched after jumping in the jumper while it was raining. He didn't care in the least that he was sopping wet.
Eating his lollipop that he got from the pinata!
Happy little Sladen just watching the festivities at the birthday party!
Me and my sis-in-law enjoying the birthday party
Relaxing!
Cousins
Sweet baby girl


The boys and I made a little trip to Orlando to visit GW and Sarah. My mom had been visiting us here in VA and she was leaving to go home. It just happened that her flight went through Orlando on her way so the boys and I tagged along for some help. We got to meet baby Annsley for the first time and what a doll she is. It is so funny because she looks just like her brother sometimes and then at other times she looks just like her sister. She is a cutie-pie! We got to hang out and the kids played. It is kind of hard to get around with five kiddos all 6 years and under in age. So we didn't make any major outings which was alright with me. We did go to one birthday party for some friends of theirs and Kenan had a ball in the castle jumper. It started raining while we were there and so he was soaked by the time we left. The adults even managed to get in some Settlers of Catan. We had a really good visit and enjoyed the time there. While we were there we missed the big winter storm and snow that VA received last weekend. I was not heartbroken over that at all. Thanks to GW and Sarah for letting us crash your pad for a little while! We hope to get together again soon!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

We Came Home to Snow







After spending a week in Orlando we came home to snow. Kenan was itching to play in it so badly. He asked over and over again if he could go play in the snow. When he finally did get to play outside he loved it. He was running around making tracks and made snowballs to throw at the fence. Sladen wasn't sure what to think. He wouldn't touch it or move around in it. He enjoyed watching his brother play though. I was so proud of Kenan playing out there. He never once complained about it being cold even though he was soaking wet. I wasn't out there the whole time because Sladen was inside and he played all by himself and with the dogs. After he came back inside we put him in some warm dry clothes and he experienced hot chocolate for the first time. He thought he was in heaven. It was a fun morning.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Command Christmas Party

All dressed up
Me and Jen... I miss you
Chris and Jen, our fellow Aggies! Whoop!
Our Aggie Rings - Whoop!
Love my man!
Jen, Me, and Casey
Casey and Joe
The girls, Jen, Me, Casey, Becky and baby Rocco
Shifty and Becky (and baby Rocco)

Every year we have the privilege of attending the "mandatory fun" Christmas party. I actually always look forward to going and seeing everybody. It is always great spectating fun as well. You never know what kind of outfits you will see and it is always entertaining. It is fun to see the wives with their spouses since most of the time we are together it is without our other halves. We had a good time and it was nice to catch up with the gang.