Our friends were very welcoming during this time and we had many late night visits (people stay up eating and partying all.night.long) and shared in many wonderful traditions. It is a time when you feel very involved in the community and yet very much not part of it at all. Kind of confusing, I know.
Anyway- At the end of Ramadan is the Eid celebration. It is a fun couple days of visiting and everyone gets to dress up in special Eid dresses and the kids get little treats and money. We had a great time seeing friends and the girls LOVED dressing up and getting candy everywhere we went.
Also during Ramadan, some sweet friends from Texas had a 2 day layover in Dubai and we got to hang out with them and do something new! Until now, we have just admired the Burj Khalifa from the base, but this time we went up to the viewing deck on the 124th floor. The elevator was…highly uneventful. It goes so fast that it take less than a minute and the only way you know you are going so high is that your ears pop. The girls loved the lights and music though.
The views from the deck were hard to grasp. Everything just looked so…small.
We are glad we got to do it, but because Dubai is such a hazy and hot city in the summer, I think if we do it again we will wait for the cooler winter (the dust settles a bit and the views are a bit better, too.)
We also took them down to the old Gold Souq. It has been quite some time since I’ve been down there, but it was fun to go see again.
Well, that gets me caught up through August and the end of Ramadan! Next up…Sayla’s birthday festivities.
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::4th of July was a blast. We had a ridiculous amount of people come to our house (we invited every American we know- to give you an idea…) to celebrate. It was so much fun! At the time we had some girls living with us while they studied at a summer Arabic program and they were a huge help in getting all the decor together. Britt and Traci helped a ton too, of course. (Have I mentioned that Traci moved here? She did, and it’s SO fun having her around!)
::One of the bonuses of living so close to Dubai is that we get to see people as they pass through en route to their final destinations! This summer we got to see my cousin and some friends from Texas and this fall two more sets of friends will be stopping through that we get to see.
p.s. I love Sayla in this picture…
:: The date harvest happened. Dates are a pretty big deal in this area of the world, and the date harvest is fun to see. We went back to the oasis that we went to while granny was here and walked around to see how it’s done. Â Fresh dates are sold here as a delicacy and are super expensive, but most of the dates are dried on roofs (like raisins). Personally, I prefer the dried dates. The fresh dates are kind of like a green banana, they feel a bit fuzzy on your teeth and aren’t very flavorful.
 
:: This summer has been a slower time than usual (it’s stinkin’ hot!) so we have taken the opportunity to do a little “photo bootcamp”. Â I set up a blog and have been collecting useful photo articles for us all to read. It has been wonderful and I feel like I have learned a lot as well!
So there you have it! Most of the summer in a nutshell. Â I also got to take a most wonderful trip for my 30th birthday, but that deserves its own post. We have really had a fabulously mundane summer, but are ready for the schedule, busyness and cooler weather that will come with fall!
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In Dubai, there is a “creek”. I don’t know why it is called a creek because when I think of creek I think of a little stream in the middle of the country. This is not a stream and it is certainly not in the country. Â :)
It is a saltwater inlet that runs right through Dubai and its history is actually quite interesting. We love heading down to the creek to watch the boats with the kids. There are a lot of party boats and floating restaurant boats that trull the creek at night. اسرار ماكينة القمار Plus  there are crazy multi million dollar yatchs to remind you that you are in Dubai, which is fun. كيف تلعب القمار Usually you can find a party boat that didn’t get booked for the night and in an interest to make a couple extra bucks, they will take you on a little cruise up and down the creek. When we have a big enough group to split the cost, it is always a fun treat.
I know I mentioned that Kirst’s family was in town, but did I mention that we had some Lubbock friends here too? موقع رهان كرة القدم Four friends from the LBK decided to visit us on their summer break. Good friends plus lots of extra hands to help with the kids? Yes, please.
It was a really fun way to spend an evening and if you are ever in Dubai I think it is a fun way to see some of the sights. (It’s not really that expensive…under 50 bucks- but much much cheaper if you are splitting it 13 ways.) Oh, and just to warn you (you know, in case you’re planning a trip to Dubai…) it is crazy humid and hot…unless you go in the winter months. That would be glorious!
]]>The tallest building in the world, The Burj Khalifa:
The Emirates Mall, with an indoor Ski Slope:
The Medina Jumiera “Souq” (a mall that looks like an old world market)
The Dubai Mall, with it’s crazy fountains, huge aquarium and yummy food:
Perhaps my favorite part of the weekend was getting to go to Redeemer Dubai on Good Friday! It was our “Easter” service and it was nice to celebrate with the Church, and have a place to get all dolled up in our Easter outfits. كيف تربح مراهنات كرة القدم
It was another great visit to the big city and we are so thankful to have it so close by that we can pop up there!
]]>Anyway, here are a few pics of our last couple days with Lita in Dubai. We had a great time! The girls were SO excited to finally see a camel and get to go to the beach but I think the water show and burj khalifa (tallest building in the world) were pretty fun too. dog seizure after ivermectin
