When I stepped out from under the umbrella of government monitored schooling, I thought I would still keep up this blog. "I don't make this blog for them! I make it for my family!"
And then the longest break from writing during the school year happens immediately.
Ooops.
BUT I do plan on continuing with this blog and to do it more often.
I must rationalize away my absence. That will be the bulk of this post.
First, Dustin and I spent three weeks (almost) in Texas learning how to sail. This was truly an educational experience, and we plan to pass that education on to our kids once the time is right.
Our hardest course was the navigation class that might not even be useful in the end because of GPS. I actually loved learning it though.
Our instructor (Craig) was the BEST! Literally, he is the best. He was ranked #1 out of all ASA instructors!
While there, we went to the NASA Space Center, and THAT made me miss my kids! What a cool educational experience!
While we were gone, my boys were doing little bits of school, and being loved by their cousins in Arizona.
The above photo is of the littles even going to a homeschool co-op for Valentine's Day! Very spoiled to have so many people love and care for my kids.
And then.....wait for it....we flew to Dubai!
WHAT?! Yes, Dustin needed to go for work and WE ARE STILL HERE! It's been a month and a half. We have had crazy adventures. The first week we were here, time seemed to slow down mentally because we were All. Day. Every. Day. having sensory overload of novel experiences.
My favourite being going to the World Expo. You know Prince Albert's Crystal Palace, Tesla's Alternating Current, Alexander Graham Bell, The Eiffel tower, you know, just some of the most important moments in modern history? You remember how they all happened at WORLD FAIRS? Well, they are still going on, and WE WENT TO ONE!!!!
The amount of awe struck and innovation and over-the-top stuff we saw was immeasurable and we didn't even see half of it. We DID see our friend from Vanuatu at the Vanuatu pavillion though!!!
At the United States pavilion, it was very NASA themed, complete with a REAL moon rock that they let you touch! and some space station exhibits, so I almost felt vindicated for not taking my kids to the Houston Space Station.
We went to our first day (yes we went multiple days and still only saw a portion of it) at the Expo with our new homeschooling friends, the Lanzes! This world is small for LDS homeschoolers!
Some of the more interesting things about our UAE stay: We went on a day out to explore the other Emirates, and followed advice of another Worldschooler, and ended up at this *new* ancient cliffside village.
We went to a Holi Colour Festival where we were the ONLY people of European descent at the entire event (half the people in Dubai are from India)
And we've been to the largest water park in the world that....wait for it....has waterslides that go through an aquarium!!!
And here is a Dubai (and Abu Dhabi) photo dump, but scroll down, because I actually did do school since the last time I posted (Who am I talking to anymore? John! Heather! Mike! Are you still interested in my life even though we don't go to the alternate school anymore? Uhhh Anyone? Future me. Hi Lindy! Do your kids ever flip through these books? Grandkids maybe?)
And a couple other educational experiences here was going to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The locals claim it's just as good as the Paris Louvre. Umm I'm a snob. It was incredible, but but but. If you want to see iconic art that you study in art history, Europe (including the original Louvre) is the place to go. Yes there was art by the most famous artist in history, but not their most famous work.
Still, I was geeking out and being my children's tour guide. I don't often get to use my art history degree!
