School's out summer adventures in Abu Dhabi

I was a little worried about how we would keep ourselves entertained in the heat of the summer after school let out.  Luckily, it hasn't been nearly as hot as it was when we arrived in August last year *and* we had a very long list of things to do that have kept us very busy.  Even though we don't watch much on a normal basis, I thought we might need a quick diversion here or there but we've even managed to be TV free (until today when Mere came down with what we think is strep throat -  poor thing...).

Here are a few highlights of our school-free summer so far (in addition to *lots* of trips to the pool and beach and lots of playdates to catch up with friends we won't see much of over the summer).  We've also been cat-sitting a neighbor's cat and the girls have gotten quite attached to her.  Anna was quite scared of her at first but now she chases her around to pet her and yells, "Yivie (Livie) yikes me!"

The last day of school (the 8th) only lasted for two hours - just long enough for a good-bye party and to collect the rest of their things which left the rest of the day for a special trip.  Regan, Jane, Meredith and I headed to Dubai after lunch to see Roald Dahl's play "George's Magical Medicine."  It was very cute and just at the right age level for these three kids (Anna was definitely too young - glad we left her behind).  Then a quick dinner at one of our favorite spots (Noodle House, of course - but they have changed their kids' menu so I'm not sure it will remain a favorite anymore....).

We then had a few days swimming and playing with friends and a quiet weekend when Jake was in the U.S.  Then we headed back to Dubai for another trip to Kid Zania (the pretend kids' city I posted about a few months ago).  We had a good time last time but this one was much better - I bugged them like crazy by phone to figure out what day that week wouldn't have many school groups.  We really scored as there were no school groups and just a very modest crowd - so no lines for anything.  The kids had a great time doing "jobs" (like delivering courier packages and designing computers) to earn Kidzoos (money) and spending it by going driving, doing arts and crafts or getting their nails painted at the salon.  We stayed most of the day and then checked out the in-mall aquarium (yes, Dubai has everything in a mall).  We thought dinner at the Rainforest Cafe would be fun but changed our mind after we were seated at our table (the giant moving snake over our table was a little creepy as were all the jungle noises) and saw the menu - it just did NOT look appetizing at all.

So we went to the biggest bookstore in the UAE for a little while and browsed and then decided to eat at their Japanese cafe where we could see the giant Burj al Kalifa (tallest building the world) water fountain show from the window.  The cafe had a relatively limited menu and wasn't terribly kid friendly (so not sure we'll do it again) but my kids loved the chicken teriyaki (one of only three real entrees on menu) and the edamame - so much that we ordered two or three extra orders of everything.

And one last trip to Dubai to hit the Little Explorers playplace/ museum (modeled after Les Cites d'Enfants in Paris).  We had a *fantastic* time there.  It wasn't large and once we went in, I thought we would spend a max 2-3 hours there but the girls liked it enough that we went back after lunch and again after a mid-afternoon break.  Lots of hands-on exploration.  The girls' favorite was a construction zone where you sent the bricks up a crank escalator and into a train car.  They pushed the train car to a crane and had to send them by crane to the house and then build the wall.  It was fun seeing them figure it out and design an efficient system to get it all done.  Another favorite was a complex wooden machine where you had to pull, push and step on levers to get a ball up the maze.  Highly recommended to UAE friends to take their kids (it's in an off-the-beaten-path location that I hadn't heard of.  My swim buddy Catherine told me about it and I know that many others haven't heard of it either that I've mentioned it to).

On the weekend, we drove out to Masdar City, a new urban planned neighborhood in the suburbs near the airport (check out their website at www.masdarcity.ae - it's pretty interesting!).  It's meant to be a "zero-carbon" city with business, residential, retail all within walking distance in some of the most energy-efficient buildings using some of the most cutting edge solar energy technology.  They also have a graduate research center to learn about and do research on alternative energy.  It's still very much in the early stages but it will really be interesting to see what it looks like in a few years.  Right now there isn't a lot of retail (coffee shop, one restaurant, a cafeteria for the school and a small organic grocery store) and there is plenty of "carbon" in the zero-carbon city (water bottles, regular street cleaners, packaging, etc.).  The kids loved the driverless people mover that took us from the parking lot to the city center.  It drove itself and it wasn't on rails so I'm not sure if there was something embedded in the concrete that it followed, if it just uses GPS or some other technology -but it worked and we didn't run into anything.  The kids loved it though.

And for a few days we kept things a little quieter - some arts and crafts at home and I did take Regan and Jane ice skating for a little beat the heat exercise (and to give me a break from all the swimming we've been doing lately).  The big kids are now in beach club/ sports camp for a few days so I can focus on organizing and packing for our big trip.  We leave in two days! 

Whew..  A busy but very fun few weeks!

Meredith ready to take off in the flight simulator.

Meredith working at a courier - she had to find the store on her list,
state her name to the grown-up working there, tell the company
he worked for and why she was there (to pick up a box) - it was great practice!

Regan and Jane working as muralists (one of their
favorite "jobs" at KidZania)

Make your own pizzas for lunch!  The girls with my friend's
son, Ewan, who thought it was a-ok to hang with the girls all day.

Getting nails painted at the salon

Ewan scans while Regan shops at the grocery store

More grocery shopping.  They had a shopping list
and the scanner really scanned and gave them
a receipt!

More shopping - everyone got a turn being a shopper and a cashier

Driving (after they got their driver's licenses, of course)

Swinging bridge in the aquarium

Regan a little frightened of the sharks overhead

View of Burj Kalifa water fountain show from the bookstore cafe

Yibie??  Yibie??

Yibie yikes me!

All the girls and Livie - our little feline charge for a while.

Look what I can do!

Jane loading bricks

Unloading the crane

Building the wall

Wobble path

Water pumps and flow

Get the ball from one end to the other contraption

Little and big

Ice skating

The popsicle "blobs" Regan and Jane made.  They
miscalculated on when to put the sticks in so we
just called them blobs - plus they used cups instead
of an ice cube tray or a popsicle mold so they are huge!

People mover at Masdar City (the first "zero-carbon" city)

Computer art at Masdar City

Playing in the fountain outside coffee shop at Masdar City

Fountain!

Our little puppy campers at beach club sports camp this week

Painting at home.  Even Anna gets to paint.