Building furry friends

The mall attached to our hotel where we spend A LOT of time happens to have a Build A Bear Workshop, which as everyone knows, is a universal magnet for all children everywhere. An expensive magnet. But, our friend gave us some buy one get one free coupons for stuff in our mall and badabing-badaboom: new stuffed animals for everyone! 

I forgot what a fun event it was! Pick out your friend, make a wish on its little satin heart, stuff it, sew it, shower it, brush it, and then select one of the hundreds of adorable outfits. 

 

We now have a rainbow bear chef,

a special agent german shepherd,

A black-belt karate smurf,

And a firefighting camel. Along with some extra happy kids.  

Dubai Stay-cation

I know we are in limbo for a few days while we sort out housing, but I really just feel like we hit the jackpot. Someone flew us to Dubai, where they put us up in a fancy hotel for a few weeks, and it just feels like an awesome free vacation! We wake up in the morning and stroll downstairs to an amazing breakfast buffet, then head to the pools, where someone brings me an umbrella for shade, or a towel when we get out of the water. All the while someone else is cleaning our two rooms, and even adding cute elephant towel origami to the kids beds.

 Also, there's a huge mall attached to the hotel so when we are done swimming or hungry for dinner, we stroll through the marble halls and red carpet of the hotel, and grab some yummy tikka masala at the food court, and maybe an $1 (37 cents US) ice cream cone for the walk back. If the line is not too long, we might stop for a quick free boat ride,

and the kids will definitely stop at the front desk for a sugared date, or apple, or whatever they have out that day. 

My point is:This rocks! I really wish you guys could all be here to enjoy it with us!

Here's my new friend and I, going out for a movie at our mall.

The kids love that there's curry flavored ramen here! ( the grocery store is in the mall)

Even chilling in the hotel room is entertaining. This fort is a daily game.

Did I tell you Dora was at our mall with a free show every night?

 

Here are the kids with their new stuffed animals. 

Oh, and here's a day out at another mall where we met some friends for an evening of games for super cheap!

Vacations don't last forever, and soon we get to embark on the new adventure of real life in Dubai. Today we will get the keys to a big lovely villa, and next week the kids will start school, and I will commence setting up a home that will be mostly empty for a good long while. 

Let new good times roll! 

But in the meantime, i'm heading to the pool...