Well we went to Dubai! This was when we first landed and took a little bus from the plane to the airport and I looked over and thought our little kids were just so dang cute, so I had Greg take a picture. We really do have a small little family. Everyone is always watching us when we're out. You don't often see so many kids and so many kids SO YOUNG in one family here. People always think Brighton and Scarlet are twins.

Does this look familiar? Man made islands in the shape of a palm tree? This is where we stayed. You can see our hotel at the top of it all.


Atlantis Hotel- it was pretty stinkin' amazing.

We got an INSANE Black Friday Deal where the room was 40% off, so we got to stay in a WAY nicer room that came with a TON of perks (free water park, free aquarium,  free breakfast, etc). It was awesome. 

This hotel is amazing. It had aquariums all over. You'd just pass through a hallway and there one would be. It was amazing. We even saw a hammerhead shark! Scarlet spotted it first! We didn't even see it and she yells, "There's a hammerhead shark!" We missed it, but saw it days later.  The whole theme of the hotel was ATLANTIS- the sunken city. So all the aquariums looked like ruins inside. It was so cool. I don't know what they gave their fish but they were ALWAYS moving. ALWAYS. It was incredible and so amazing to watch. I was always mesmerized when I'd pass by.

I've never seen such giant rays. They were HUGE. It was amazing.

This was the kids room.

These doors slid open and you could see into the bathroom, with the tub between.

Greg and I had our own room and this was our BATHROOM. To be honest- it was half of our bathroom. Biggest tub ever and the shower was one of those that are above you and it feels like a gentle waterfall. OH it was amazing!

Our view was amazing on our little balcony.

Ok, I think I'm gonna say amazing in this post a lot. The breakfast was AMAZING. If it wasn't included with our room it would be $75 a pop each morning! Yikes! But it was that amazing. This was the buffet, but you can't even see it all! There were huge sections on both sides of the picture that you can't even see.

I had liege waffles (the crazy good belgian ones) everyday- they were amazing. They had bounteous fruit, yogurt with REALLY GOOD fruit puree on top, eggs benedict. You name it- it was there. I had someone make me a crepe on the spot every morning! Multiple different juices and orange cinnamon infused water. OK. This was crazy too- so this hotel attracts people from EVERYWHERE. So they had ASIAN breakfast options too- like RAMEN NOODLE SOUP and fried noodles and just things you would not see on your american breakfast plate, but these options abounded in the buffet and we saw people eating them. It was so different! Greg gave it a try- but wasn't wild about it.

Of course, one of the perks of leaving this county is eating GOOD FOOD. This isn't a good pic, but it was a steak place and we spent a ridiculous amount of money. But it was fun. The service was amazing! ALL the service was amazing! People were nice! People smiled! People spoke english!

This is going to sound silly- but we're not used to these things . . . everything was clean. It was so American like. It was amazing. It was so relaxing! Everything made sense! I love that! I need that!

This is in our hotel room. Greg went to ride some slides at the water park while we rested. Brighton is stacking orange slices on his waterbottle

and Scarlet drew a spider.

This was the actual aquarium, not just the hallways you pass-

The actual aquarium had a very Indiana Jones feel to it. It was really dark and decorated all ANCIENTLY and it was really neat. It was more of an EXPERIENCE than just looking at fish.

I mean, these lobsters had this light that made them all glow red and it was SERIOUSLY creepy. (the pics are not that good)

and then you look up and they're above you too! It was so gross!

Each stop along the way was just so exciting. These giant ones were just so IN DEPTH. Big, tall and DEEP. So many fish. The small ones were just so VIBRANT and fish I'd never seen before! The fish were so alive and never still. It made you feel like you were really getting a glimpse into the ocean!

Sometimes you'd see guests scuba diving inside.

Instead of a bench they had these mat things to sit on. I just loved this woman with her head scarf, sitting on the mat. It all went together and looked so appropriate- so I took her picture.

Greg really loved the mats. He thought they were so cool and different.

Poor little Brighton fell asleep and missed the whole thing. He literally woke up the moment we walked out. This is how we carted the kids around. All three in the stroller.

So there was an amazing water park there. It was incredible. Really cool slides and this "river" that ran through the entire park and connected everything together. All the slides would land in the river, so you could get out or just float along for awhile and get out at the next slide. Really neat. There was even a speed slide that would begin with you standing straight up and the floor would DROP beneath you and down you'd shoot into the floor. Crazy. I, of course, did not do this- but Greg did.

I went on a slide that was pitch black inside and YES! I got stuck. I'm not kidding. I was on an innertube and completely came to a full stop for a good minute, wondering if I was ever going to get out. I laugh now, but it was not fun. It was my first time, so I had no idea how much distance I had to go. I was so stuck I kept moving myself and would only go an inch before I got stuck again! It was the worst! I was so panicky someone was going to slam into me! What if multiple people came! I mention again that it was pitch black. I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. I didn't know what was ahead and wondered if I abandoned my tube and just slid down with my body- would that be ok? Would it be dangerous? It was not fun and I hated it. It was so sad because if I hadn't gotten stuck, it probably would've been a lot of fun.

Scarlet loves to swim. She never wanted to stop. She's so brave. She would just take off without us, constantly. There would always be crowds of innertubes and she would just wander through them, far away from us. Sometimes she'd disappear behind them and it'd make me a little nervous.

Brighton got in sometimes, but usually he stayed on the sidelines.

Marius was a trooper. He missed a lot of nap time, for an entire week- but still stayed pretty dang happy most of the time! He's pretty adorable, this one!

This was definitely our favorite restaurant- Kaleidoscope. We ate breakfast here almost everyday and ate dinner here for Indian Night. Wo mamma- after so many dishes my brain and mouth suddenly went- "I can't take anymore spice and unfamiliarity!" I need something American and normal! In one swift kick I suddenly had to stop. It was fun though. Dinners were usually tricky with it being late and the kids were cranky and we were all hungry. But all the same, it was fun to try so many different foods every night.

OH man, and of course there was dessert EVERYWHERE!!! All different kinds and we lived it up. No holding back. There was even a chocolate fountain!

So lately my eczema has been OUT OF CONTROL. I can't stress how much I mean that literally. I find myself constantly overwhelmed with the itching, obsessive researching- trying to figure out my allergies or some miracle cream that can ease my constant ITCH! OUCH! BURN!!!! Then we go to Dubai and BAM!!!! Within TWO DAYS my hands look like THIS-

Nearly clear! What the heck? Is the dryness in Bishkek THAT BAD????!!!! That all my obsessive searching and all my suffering has been because of the unchangeable climate? Are you serious? Different waves of despair- all my worry and research- what a waste of time! I couldn't change it! To- OH MY GOSH I'M MOVING TO THE PHILIPPINES AND MY ECZEMA WILL BE GONEEEEEE!!!!!! WAHOO!!!! I also discovered while there, I am seriously allergic to nuts. Way more than I realized. Because my beautiful unfamiliar eczema-free skin got itchy right when I started eating them again. Even my feet- which have been cracked and horrible for two years now- suddenly smooth and crack free, just like that! And the kids felt so much softer. I was shocked! After two days of being amazed at the softness of their skin I asked Greg if they were always this soft and he said yes. THAT MEANS that I haven't even been aware of my angel soft children because my hands are so rough, dry and scaly that I literally can't feel them. Is that so sad or what? Now I'm back in Kyrgystan and overnight my hands are worse than ever and I have cracks in my feet already! I am so ready to leave this behind!

So apparently Greg looks the spitting image of a famous Pakistani cricket player. Greg would catch multiple guys our age STARING at him until one of them told him that he looked like this athlete. So crazy! So I looked him up and they do actually resemble each other. I can understand they thought it could be him. Pretty funny!

There's definitely a similarity. It just made me laugh to think of young guys staring at Greg, saying to each other, "Is it him? Is it not?" and just eyeing him, trying to figure it out. Cracks me up.

 Some of the innertubes had a child seat inside and Scarlet would pull Brighton around. Really cute!

Marius is all about trying to walk now. It is crazy. He's pretty wobbly, but he loves it. 

I just really love this picture. This is basically what we looked like for our trip. I like it!

Brighton was very hesitant about getting in the water. He stayed off shore or went walking with me a lot of the trip. With naps and feeding Marius, along with taking Scarlet to the bathroom and the rest of us eating- I felt like I was hardly in the water at all. The few times I was, it was really fun. 

Marius LOVED the water! We were blown away. It was like it was the best thing that ever happened to him. I was amazed. He was glowing and so happy and it was even cold when he was in.

Happy boy!

Our last day we went to the Dubai Mall. The malls here are pretty amazing. Huge and really nice stores. This is a random spot they called The Souk. It was all Arabic looking and I nursed there, while the kids looked at ancient dinosaur bones.

While I was there loud music started playing and this guy was dancing at a restaurant. He twirled for two straight songs! It was crazy! He twirled with round boxes and fabric and it was actually really cool! Say it again- I was amazed!!!

This was a really cool fountain, there were a couple of them.

Downstairs there was a grocery store and it was like I was in America! They had EVERYTHING! Oh how I long to have that in Bishkek! We even bought CALIFORNIA STRAWBERRIES!!! And they were so yummy.

Dubai is insanely expensive. The cheapest sunscreen we could find was $50. The mall had Gucci and LOTS of expensive jewelry stores and people were definitely buying!!! Everywhere you look you just see money. Everything is NEW and NICE and EXPENSIVE looking and the buildings and architecture were like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was pretty incredible.

When we first arrived in the airport, the people working there were dressed like this.

I was really shocked at first. It was not what I was expecting at all. I felt embarrassed I was so uncomfortable when I saw the men. They were just standing around, some checking passports and the women were at the counters looking at passports. But while we were waiting in line, I had awhile to observe and the longer I stood there, the more obvious it was that the only difference between us was the clothes that we were wearing. Everyone was smiling. Everyone looked inviting and warm. You could see the coworkers smiling and chit chatting, cracking jokes with one another. They acted just like us, they were just wearing different clothes. Once we got up to the counters to have our passports checked, we had a woman check ours. Her english was perfect and she smiled and it really shocked me. I was thinking, "We're in the Middle East. These women are CLEARLY educated. They're WORKING. I thought women here were oppressed. What?!!??" I was so confused and blown away at what I'd just seen. Then when we get to the hotel- SAME THING. People dressed like this EVERYWHERE. And I mean JUST LIKE THIS. The exact same outfits with almost NO variation. And a LOT of the women's faces were covered except for their eyes. But I would pass at these women and though I couldn't see their face I could see their eyes and THEY WERE SMILING AT MY CHILDREN and me and literally skipping the halls with their children. This was NOTHING like what I'd imagined. It was the coolest experience. My perspective was completely changed. So after 24 hours there, I didn't even NOTICE the clothing. It was like no big deal. It was a pretty big mix of normal western dress and then the locals dressed like this.

Ok. So the whole week was really cool in that I looked at this part of the world really differently, even though I know Dubai is only a small part of the Middle East and it may be the only part that is like this. All the same, it was really cool. And then . . .

THE AIRPORT. Flying home again. Oh my gosh. I nearly crapped my pants.

It was crazy. All week, I was so impressed with everyone, and how normal everything was and I thought I'd grown so much. And then we get to the airport. Everything's going really smooth. We check in. Oh man, don't even want to go there. Someone in our line was acting SERIOUSLY SUSPICIOUS with a package he had. Leaving it here, leaving it there, handling it in a not normal way. Talking with someone that was constantly talking on the phone, watching him the whole time, a little bit of running with the package, I mean- Greg and I were seriously wondering if we were all going to get blown up but thank goodness we didn't. We even told someone that worked at the airport. I said, "Hey, that guy left his package there." And he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Someone will probably come and get it." Say what???? Are you SERIOUS! What is WRONG with you! Don't you WORK HERE?!!! Anyway. Greg and I were a little panicky at first, but since nothing happened, we're wondering if they were just trying to get something past security- not necessarily something dangerous, just something not allowed. ANYWAY. It got us a little uneasy, while we were checking our luggage and getting through security.

Ok, so that happens within the first hour we're there. Then we find our gate and wo. I can't even describe to you. We didn't get a picture, though I wanted to. There was just a sea of people. SEA. They all had the same face expression. They had the saddest eyes that told the story of a ROUGH life. Their whole face screamed poverty and ignorance. They looked dirty, like they came from the  poorest most poverty stricken village. I was certain they were traveling with no luggage, that they were possibly wearing the only outfit they owned. Some of them weren't wearing shoes and were barefoot. I'd just look at their face- and I swear their expression was all the same. They ALL had the same outfit on and all I could think was, "What are you doing here? Where on earth are you going? You're not even wearing shoes, how did you afford a plane ticket?" The whole thing freaked me out. There were so many, we were surrounded. We stuck out like a neon sign with our giant stroller and extremely Western look and I didn't know who these people were, where they came from, I was all freaked out. I hated that I was freaking out. I hated that I was judging them, I hated that I hated it! But I did. I was so uncomfortable and my nerves were really rattled and I felt so uneasy and was worried about our safety to be honest! I tell Greg we need to leave and find a new area to stay at and we found a little cafe nearby and bought a sandwich. It felt so much better. It was so weird how one side of the airport was perfume and money and people shopping and then you turn to the other side and you find something you only see in magazines. I saw the oldest, tiniest, most insanely shrivel-faced people I've ever seen. They had the smallest faces, wrinkled wrinkles, and their faces looked sunk in. I can't describe. All week I was thinking, "This place is so peaceful! I never wanna leave!" and after that moment all I could think was "get me outta here! I NEVER wanna come back!"

After we left I told Greg how rattled I was and he said the valid point that EVERYONE in the airport had been through security. And I knew it was true, but I still felt really uncomfortable. I was glad and impressed that he felt fine. In my head I kept telling myself that they were probably harmless and it was just my "first time" to see it- that if I lived their I wouldn't be rattled by it. I would know it was "normal" and I may not want to SIT there, but I wouldn't be freaked out by the situation.

I tell you one thing- I'm grateful for VACCINATIONS!!!! Oh yeah- they were as curious about us as we were rattled about them. Until we left, there was just a sea of eyes and they were ALL ON US. It was crazy. I felt so strange.

By the way- these people weren't what scared me. This was fun to see. I loved the ones that wore vests and a bigger hat. It reminded me of Indiana Jones. Greg said it was a more Pakistani look.

About to load the plane at 11pm, everyone was asleep.

Oh man. The flight back. First off, before we even board the plane- there are just Kyrgyz people everywhere WITH THEIR OVERSIZED BAGGAGE. I can't even describe to you. You know how you're allowed one carry on and one small personal item? Somehow the Kyrgyz decide to bring BAGS and BAGS and somehow they're allowed. I'll never understand that they can bring 4 bags each every time. I just don't understand! It's just crowded and chaotic. So we approach our seat and OF COURSE, someone is sitting in it. I don't believe we have EVER flown to Kyrgyzstan, without  someone else sitting in our seat before we get there. EVERYTIME, from the very first time. So I motion to this old guy and point to the letter B that he's in our seat. He shows me his ticket, all ticked off and so I point to his, I point to mine, I point to the letter over the seat and try to tell him he's in the one RIGHT NEXT to our seat. I hear people behind him and next to him telling him in Russian what I'm saying in English. Then he gets all pissed off and just LEAVES. Off to another person's seat. This is so normal. So we sit down and somehow he comes back and sits in his seat right next to Greg and I just pity him. After take off, the man starts gesturing for Greg to move to another seat. I am so pissed. All I can think is, "If you don't want to be crowded and you see a different seat- MOVE YOURSELF!!!!" Why are you making it OUR problem! Blah! I can't tell you how common this is. Greg keeps telling him no and to move himself and the guy won't let up 'till he finally realizes Greg his sitting next to his kids and can't leave them. Eventually the man moves himself and we're so glad. 

On the plane, Greg wanted me to take a picture- in the bathroom there was a sign of a person demonstrating not to stand on top of the toilet and squat, but to sit on it like you're supposed to. So funny. I can only imagine how many people tried to do that to put a sign up there. Ok, in Kyrgyzstan you can't flush the toilet paper, you have to put it in the trash. Another perk of living here. So people don't understand that you can flush it on the plane. So they STUFF IT IN THE TINY LITTLE GARBAGE pocket in the bathroom. So by the end of the flight, that little door in the wall is CRAMMED FULL, overflowing with used toilet paper. It's so disgusting. So little by little, each step of the way- we get more and more tense and FRUSTRATED and thinking, "I can't wait to be RID of this place!"

Then we arrive in Bishkek. Oh man. We knew what was coming because it is ALWAYS this way. So we're diplomats so we have to stand in the diplomat line, but EVERYONE stands in that line. And for SOME REASON, despite the SHORT line that is always is- it takes 4 times as long to get through as the other ones, but we HAVE to wait in it. Meanwhile, instead of nice single file lines- everyone just crowds themselves in like sardines. ALWAYS. Even as there is no order and we're just smooshed together- people will just come out of nowhere and put themselves at the VERY front of the line- ahead of 50 people that have been waiting for 30 minutes! It aggravates me SO MUCH!!!! It takes forever. By the end I am just losing my mind- I mean I've already been awake 24 hours and this on top of it all just makes me mad- as in crazy. 

In line Brighton starts screaming for Pringles and next thing I know this woman hands Brighton her half eaten can of Pringles. All I can think is, "I hope you don't have measles (there is a massive outbreak right now)" Then she give Scarlet (and Scarlet only) a hard little candy. Despite this being a serious choking hazard that I always avoid, this creates a HUGE fit because Brighton doesn't have one and it's not something you can split in half to share. So that was fun. I have finally realized that outside of the states, people will give my kids candy constantly and there's nothing I can do about it. At the water park, we had icecream and afterwards Brighton was FREAKING OUT because he wanted more. We wouldn't give in and let him cry and cry until lo and behold- one of the workers just GAVE HIM marshmallow rope. Oh my gosh. The whole reason he was crying was because we didn't want him to have sweets and he just GAVE it to him. I know the worker thought he was fixing a problem and being a help to us but it was the LAST thing we needed. This happened SO. MUCH. Again, people just don't get it. When we get the kids food and we tell them we don't want the juice or milk they just look at us like, "What? You're going to give your kids water? What is wrong with you?" It can be frustrating.

We FINALLY make it through passport control and get our bags and as we're waiting for our driver to find us these random guys approach us and ask us if we need a ride. We tell them no, we have a driver. They keep telling us how they can drive us and we keep telling them no. They keep calling Greg "Boss" and just STAY THERE staring him down, literally 2 feet from his body. IT'S SO ANNOYING!!!! People never listen and have no concept of personal space or the thought of "hey man, staring me down and trying to force me into your service is scoring you no points man, even if I DID need a ride." They just don't get it.

The whole experience. Leaving our hotel, so relaxed- thinking how WONDERFUL our week had been. It was so incredible and perfect. Then once we board our flight the TENSION and CHAOS CREAP. BACK. IN. Just like that. The relaxation GONE! Sigh. 4 more months and we're gone! I can't wait.