Day 5 started out with our friends having to return to work. Boo. Luckily their cute kids still got to hang out with us during the day.
I woke up when I heard the kids, and drank coffee while I gazed at them adoringly and observantly.
I was super not on Facebook and ignoring them, thus allowing this to happen...
Oops.
Yeah. That's a battery operated train, so Sister's hair was all kinds of spun around those wheels.
I worked and worked on untangling, and finally resorted to using the scissors.
This is what happens when Kendra is the only adult in charge.
(David was sleeping in)
When David woke up later that morning, I went for a nice run to get a little exercise.
Ha! Just kidding. I totally took a nap.
We'd had plans to take all the kids to a park a few blocks away, but with all the sleeping in and napping the kids were playing so nicely together and having such a great time, that we ended up hanging around the house...
When our friends came home early that afternoon, we all went to this lovely park...
This park was awesome!
Beautiful trees and water fountains...
...an "animal barn"...
...where this friendly camel came over to say hello...
Sister was in love...
...after the camel, we looked in on some other animals...
Then we headed over to a splash pad area...
...complete with benches for parents to sit on while their cherubs frolicked...
The kids played and played, having such a fun time and cooling off from the warm weather...
There was also a kid's wadi play area...
The kids would still be there if we'd let them.
Our friends offered to keep an eye on all four in the wadi while Dave and I went to a explore the botanical gardens...
Lovely garden area to walk through, and also a structure you could go up to the top (about four stories high) and take in the view...
Looking down from the top inside the greenhouse area...
Such lovely views of Abu Dhabi! It's such a beautiful country.
The twins each had a turn riding a pony...
...we saw some more animals...
Eventually we had to leave the park and take these crazies to dinner...
Our last dinner together =(. Man, am I grateful for this bunch...
That night, our friend took us up to their rooftop for some great city views...
...which my cell phone did not properly capture.
Dave and I attempted a selfie...
...which we pretty much suck at.
Some day, I will do an entire post with all our selfie fails. There are SO MANY, and they are all SO BAD.
A decent one...
David ventured back up to the roof in the morning with the good camera and actual daylight =)...
Our friends had to work again that day, and although I was bummed not to be able to spend the morning with them before we flew out, I realized quickly that it was likely a blessing as I would have cried and cried having to say goodbye!
We got our bags all packed up, and then David and I took the kids on bikes to a nearby park for a little bit...
These four are just so incredibly sweet together, and we are blessed to count them as framily. They all play really well together, and can pair off in different ways easily, or all play together, and just have the best time...
Eventually, the fun had to end, and we had to load up and head back to the house...
Packing up and saying goodbye to the littles was hard, but our hearts were full from all the fun, laughter, and love we'd had over the week.
As we stood in the airport lines, away from the fun of friends and excitement of all the activities, Brother finally started to puddle.
Poor kid had been going on little sleep for days at this point! (we'd put the kids to bed at a decent hour every night, but sometimes it's hard for him to fall asleep in new places...plus CHRISTMAS. So he averaged about seven hours a night while we were away, which is totally not enough for a six year old)
He started to get weepy at the idea of standing in a long line, so David scooped him up.
(look at how long his legs are! These kids are getting so freaking big...)
The departures area of the Abu Dhabi airport was SO pretty...
We got all checked in, grabbed lunch, and did a little perusing of the gift shops.
Sister with a camel made of Legos...
We picked up a magnet for our refrigerator, as is our tradition when we travel, and I also grabbed up this little lantern...
...and camel ornament...
Bummed to be leaving our buddies, but excited to be boarding another plane...
...the kid loves to travel =)
Before we knew it, we were back in Kuwait, watching the sunset from the taxi on the way back to our apartment...
We hauled ourselves and luggage into our building, and once we reached our apartment, promptly dropped our bags down and ordered Talabat to bring us dinner.
Because Talabat was created For Such A Time As This.
I'm always - ALWAYS - surprised how four people can create so much laundry while on vacation.
But it's totally worth it =)
Such a wonderful time with our friends. Such a fun time seeing a new country. Such a delightful and joy filled Christmas.
We are grateful!
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