Traveling internationally (overnight) with kids.. alone.. (pre-travel)

In about 8 hours the kids and I are headed to the airport and back to the States for three months of summer travel!

Yes.. we're excited.

It's 108 degrees today.. not exactly conducive to getting the kids outside to run off the tremendous amounts of energy they wake up with.  P called me into her room the other day to see what she was doing.  I held back a scream when I walked in and found her at the top of her door frame, so proud..  She'd shimmied up the sides of the frame.  M was on the other frame, and while his limbs are exactly long enough for shimmying, he was doing his best to monkey climb up the side.  We're taking "climbing the walls" literally. 



We're leaving a month earlier than A, who has to stay behind and finish out the school year.  We wouldn't normally leave this early (even with the crazy temperatures), but we are attending the wedding (and I'm making the cake) of a dear friend from our Morocco teaching days.  It didn't make sense to fly back here only to return a month later, so we get an extra month. 

The three of us are pumped for the extra month...  however...  the getting there is cause for a bit of anxiety..  We head to the airport at 11pm for our first flight around 1 am to Germany (overnight).  We have three hours in Germany before our next flight to Washington DC.  We grab our luggage, get our rental car, stop for cake supplies (and the toy they are promised for keeping calm on the flights), and head to the hotel (where I start baking). 

We have our essential oils (peace and calm and lavender for sleep), pillow/blanket combos, coloring pages, books, extra clothing, snacks, etc...  We've been talking for weeks about how everything will go..  now we will see.  I'm hoping that we'll get on the flight and after the usual food/drink service (Who needs that at 1 am???) the lights will get turned off and we will all sleep for several straight hours.  The crew will serve breakfast and a short movie later, we land in Germany.  We have three hours in Germany - perfect for a walk around, then settle in for toys and games before we get on the next flight.  A couple movies, nap, lunch, and we'll be there... greeted by all of our luggage (cake making stuff inside).  I realize, after writing this, that it's a bit delusional, but a girl can dream right? 

Some mild concerns:  getting everything into the airport without losing the kids (I can't do the airport goodbye, A must leave us at the curb.), the kids not sleeping on the plane (we have a history of not sleeping), bathroom visits (enough said), long flights with little movement, luggage arriving, driving to the hotel without getting lost..  and there's just handling both kids alone for days not at home..

I'll blog on the flip side and we'll see how it went..

One thing is certain, time will always pass.. we're going to make the best of it, even if it's not the best. 

Time to travel..

One of the (many) perks of living where we are is that travel is accessible and fairly easy.  We decided a while back that we wanted to travel somewhere relaxing, not too far, and really just to be together for part of A's spring break.  The kids and I are leaving in less than five weeks for a wedding on the East coast and A will be here sans family until the end of June (when he will join us Stateside).  That leaves us apart for about a month, so time away together was what we wanted. 

We decided on a four night/five day trip to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).  We found a GREAT deal using Expedia's travel bundles and started the countdown.  We were pumped to have some down time together and to be able not to have any distractions. 

We drove to the airport, took a one-hour flight, a two-hour bus ride, 30 minute taxi ride, and arrived at the Al Raha Beach hotel/resort, our home for a few days.  After some annoyance during check-in, we settled into a nice view with a great view of the water and beach.  Check-in took a lot longer than it should have, so we decided to get some sleep and enjoy the water when we had some rest. 

We woke up to this... 

M and P enjoying the view and ready to get in.. 

After breakfast, we headed to the beach for some relaxing.. and that's pretty much where we spend a couple of solid days.. except for a walk to the mall for a movie and to play at the arcade (the mall was attached to the hotel).

Beach bums!

M feeding the tickets into the counter..  "Do I have enough for the car???"

P was obsessed with the fishing game.

Poolside at night..

We decided, after a couple of full days of hanging out at the resort, to do a little exploring around Abu Dhabi.  Our goal for this trip wasn't sight seeing, but we did want to get out a bit, so we hopped on the 'Big Red Bus' and road around the city.  The hop-on, hop-off buses are a great option if you have limited time in a city.  The kids LOVED riding on top of the double decker bus!  It was over 100 degrees though, so they got cranky pretty fast.  We decided to stop at the grand mosque and then the souk (marketplace).  The mosque was HUGE and very ornate..  The souk was.. well.. modern and not very authentic, BUT the items inside were lovely.  Traditionally, souks are open-air markets with vendor stalls etc.  This one was in a multi-story building with AC, which I appreciated..   I (of course) found two beautiful paintings to bring home.

Not the best family photo, but at least we're all there..  Mosque in the background.

Back side of the mosque.

Inside of the prayer room.  Women must be completely covered..  It was hot!

Amazing work on the chandelier.

At the souk.

On the top of the double decker bus.

We spent our last morning at the beach enjoying the lovely relaxation of vacation..  I had a mani/pedi, the kids played with resort friends, and then we were off..  It went by fast, but was just the right amount of time.  We got back to Doha around midnight, and even though we were a bit cranky after hours of traveling back, it was good to see the familiar skyline and sink into our beds again (without kids).  Resort travel isn't really our thing, but for this break, it was EXACTLY what we needed!

A getting some needed R&R on the beach.