The First 48

Hey y'all.  From Sunday to today (which I think is Wednesday) feels just like one enormous day.  Sunday we spent the entire day packing and visiting with close family and friends one last time.  After our notably dramatic departure (really, the chauffeur said he'd never seen anything quite like it lol!) we made it to the airport, got our bags checked and made it through security with plenty of time to hang out in the Emirates Club to have some refreshments and breakfast before we boarded the plane.  Emirates Airlines is known for their fancy A380 aircraft which is fancier than any hotel in Corsicana.  It has two levels with First Class and Business Class on the upper deck and Coach in the lower deck.  I lost count of how many staff members there were on our deck.  The flight couldn't have gone any more smooth! As we were getting things situated we were given champagne, hot towels with lemongrass, a refreshment kit complete with toiletries and BVLGARI perfume and cologne, socks, eye covers, noise cancellation headphones.  You could view cameras from three vantage points of the aircraft which was super cool for takeoff and landing.  (and landing was all desert!) The kids were perfect.  Kambry slept all but about 2 hours of the entire flight.  Kohen ate lots of Godiva and Mack had to take a few passes around the deck to refresh his scenery.  The only tiny piece of inconvenience that my tray table wouldn't come out.  4 staff members tried to fix it to no avail.  It was fine, as each seat has basically a night stand and I just used that. However, due to my "inconvenience" I was given a $78 bottle of champagne for my troubles.  (As if the complementary beef fillet and booze wasn't enough!)

We arrived in Dubai on time and easily got through customs and made a quick stop at the duty free shop.  While Michael was in the shop I stood with the kids and our luggage.   While we were waiting I noticed three Indian women (one with the most beautiful henna tattoos) making googl-y eyes at Mack.  He was just cooing and kicking and flailing his arms being totally cute!  They slowly crept closer until the next thing I knew they were touching him and talking to him and even snapped a PHOTO OF HIM! I smiled politely as they did it and I was completely caught off-guard, but they were very sweet.  Then, off we went to the car service outside to head to the hotel.

Once we got to the hotel we were beyond exhausted running on minimal sleep...but all the while the kids were still well-behaved and just extra sleepy.  Michael got inside of the hotel to make sure everything was good with our reservation.  Well, long story short - the room wasn't going to be ready for at least another hour and a half...at that point I was drained.  I was tired and delirious and my mental and emotional capacity was non-existent.  The kids were hungry and sleepy.  The hotel was packed full of people trying to check-out at the same time we arrived.  We went upstairs to a restaurant in the hotel, which was Lebanese...luckily they had a kids menu with chicken nuggets for the kids.  The air conditioner wasn't on yet because we were the first ones there for their evening service so it was HOT and I was dressed for a cold plane.  I went to the bathroom twice and had a meltdown.  Once all of that was over we finally got into our room which was thankfully EXACTLY what we expected.  2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living area, dining area, and full kitchen.  We all passed out around 3:30 and didn't wake up until 9PM! Michael went and picked up dinner and then we put the kids back to sleep.  They slept until 7AM local time this morning.  It was easy to transition into our day today.

This morning we got up and got dressed and went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.  Every single time we go somewhere in the hotel someone is going berserk over the kids - especially Mack.  I mean he's pretty cute and all but one man took photos of Kohen and Mack and then kissed Kohen on his CHEEK! lol  We didn't know what to do!  While we were at breakfast I caught some people at the table behind us trying to discreetly take pics of us...then one lady even asked to hold Mack.  I don't get any uneasy vibes from people but it seems like they're genuinely infatuated with children, especially my blonde headed babies that they aren't used to seeing often.  Every one is really nice and helpful here.  The kids aren't digging the Middle Eastern twists on American food - Kambry has opted for salads and such instead of their versions of chicken nuggets! Score!!! lol.  (However, she is insistent to find pho somewhere nearby.)

The next several days will consist of paperwork and hopefully a grocery store trip! So far we feel very welcomed and other than the touching and extreme interest in playing with our kids - the culture shock has been minimal.  Hoping to venture out more tomorrow once we have a vehicle.

I'll keep y'all posted!  Thank you for the many texts, posts, messages and prayers!  We really appreciate it!  This is going to be an interesting adventure.  Can't wait to share it with those of you that promised you'll come visit!

PS - One of the coolest things about the food here is that it seems to all be made from scratch! Even the sour cream! One of the things I'm bummed about so far is that they serve Pepsi products.  Boo!!!

Stay tuned!