Abu Dhabi - here we are

I am operating with limited technical functionality so no pictures and short posts for a while. So we made it here. Flight over was long and tiring but still easier than I expected. We flew from DC to Chicago and caught a direct flight to Abu Dhabi from there. Due to a big thunderstorm in Washington, our almost three hour layover was condensed enough that we were sure we would miss our flight. Jake literally sprinted from one end of O'Hare to another while I may may way more slowly with the girls. We made it by the skin of our teeth. And the only reason that our luggage made it was that one of the Etihad (abu dhabi airline) was owed a favor by a United persons United drove a truck over speciallynwith our luggage. Whew.

The 13 hour trip over wasn't all that bad. I had a backpack full of snacks and a laptop, iPhone and iPad loaded with movies, books and songs. Didn't need many snacks at all and inflight entertainment options were plenty entertaining for the big kids (Regan's favorite was the airline travel series on their destinations. So an upside is that she learned a lot about the region! Anna was a restless sleeper at first but finally settled down and slept for a long while which was great!

We're in our house now. Our container was delayed so we'll be "camping" out here for a couple of weeks. We have beds, skeleton kitchen supplies and that's about it! Kids seem to think a big empty house is a lot of fun so far. But I think we'll all be ready to be a little more comfortable. We had dinner on the stairs last night!

Today I decided that the kids needed a fun day since most other days have been filled with travel, errands, etc. Off we went to an indoor play place but I didn't do a god job getting around a giant construction project so it took us much longer than we planned. We finally made it to "action zone" and the kids had a real blast - bouncey slides, bumper cars and an indoor playground. We really must find indoor things to do do in the heat (111 degrees today!!!). The kids do NOT like the heat and we avoid it as much as possible. We are still up late (jet lag) and have been heading to the pool before bedtime (our first night here we were there at 10pm,) which has been a great refreshing way ti end the day.

I still don't have a UAE cell phone as I must have my resident visa processed first. Had my medical screening today to make sure I don't have Aids or TB which must be done first. I am ready to have a cell phone and a wireless network up but it's not working yet either. I will be more accessible once I am settled technically.