Dubai - fountains, fish and ninjas.

On this trip home to the UK we tried going via Dubai, firstly because it was cheaper and secondly to help with jet lag.  On the way out we had one night there but decided to have two on the way back, giving us a full day to see a bit of Dubai.  Sam was flying home for work so had a seat in business class which he gave up for me for the London to Dubai leg of our journey.  I had a lovely relaxed flight drinking Verve Clicquot and having delicious food paired with excellent wines.  

     

   

Unfortunately I was only able to make one visit back to the three boys as the seatbelt sign seemed to be on rather a lot and my book was gripping!

In an attempt to combat jet lag we forced ourselves to get up in the morning and head down to breakfast which was pretty much eaten in silence by Sam and Oliver, the non-morning members of the family.

After a short walk to the metro and a quick journey we arrived at the Dubai Mall.  

                               

All of us were impressed by the sheer size of it.  Sam and I quickly snapped out of our mall gazing when we heard Oliver shout 'Cool, William, look at that Ninja'.  We realised that the boys had never seen anyone in a burka before and gave them a quick lesson on Dubai culture!  

The morning was spent looking around the excellent aquarium and lunch was eaten watching the fountain display. 

                                  

       

                                   

                                 

  

 A trip up the Burj Kelifa had been intended until we read that, although it is the world's tallest building, it's observation deck is 22 metres lower than the Bottle opener in Shanghai. 

                                  

                                  

 Having made that saving I had a quick look in the gold souk but couldn't find anything I liked.

Our afternoon was spent by the hotel pool swimming and relaxing and eating pizza for supper.  It was lovely to sit outside and enjoy the very different Dubai heat and the lack of mozzies.  

                                  

                                  

Gadding about Guildford

After the wedding we collected the boys from Sue and Suresh where it sounded like they had had a fab time.  We then spent a day at John and Jo's before they headed off to Canada.  Oliver and William enjoyed seeing the cows and riding in the tractor.

       

       

     

       

       

    

After heading back we chilled out for the weekend in Guildford before Sam headed to Essex and work for the week.

Mum, Dad and I took the boys to a local National Trust property, Clandon House.  In the grounds is a Maori Meeting house which was purchased for £50 by the Earl of Onslow in the 19th Century and shipped from New Zealand to Guildford. When we were in New Zealand in February we went to visit the village it comes from.  

         

       

                                       

       

We also spent time going out for coffee, going up Guildford Castle (an annual pilgrimage for the boys!) and playing in the garden. 

        

 Mum and I also enjoyed a few g and ts looking at the view.

        

      

Sam and I met up with friends for dinner in London one night and I spent a day with the Magee women at Godstone Farm.  

        

        

At the end of the week I headed to Essex to meet up with Jess and Louise and meet their new arrivals and Sam came back to Guildford with us.

On the Saturday we spent a lovely afternoon and evening at the Rowlands where we were joined by Tim and Sian.  We drank champagne to celebrate their engagement and clearly took our eye off the ball with the children.  

       

They all dressed up, went a bit 'Lord of the Flies' and locked Tim and Sian in the playhouse and then undressed and went on the trampoline! 

      

      

The Sunday was spent with Zoe, John and Chloe seeing their new house and trying out their new local which was rather good both for food and children.

     

The evening was spent with Beth and Scott and the girls seeing their new house and chasing foxes round the garden!

For William and Oliver's birthday Ellie and Dan had offered to take them to the Natural History Museum to the dinosaur exhibition.  Oliver and William had also expressed a desire to go on the London Eye.  Early on the Monday morning we headed up to London on the train and managed a trip on the eye without too much of a queue.  

       

This was followed by lunch and a trip to the museum which the boys and all of us thoroughly enjoyed.  

      

     

      

      

The mechanical dinosaurs were fantastic and very realistic.  

       

That evening William and Oliver fulfilled a dream.  In my parents garden is a playhouse and last year my mother told the boys that they could sleep out in it the following year.  Oliver, William and Sam headed off down the garden and set up camp for the night in the house.  They all slept well but were disappointed not to see the foxes.  

       

                                    

Our last day was spent buying last minute bits, including school shoes, and packing.  The last evening was spent eating fish and chips with Mum and Dad and sharing a few glasses of wine with Janet and Sue.  But the holiday wasn't quite over as we were looking forward to a couple of nights in Dubai on the way home. 

Mr and Mrs Thompson

                                       

    

The main reason for our trip back to the UK this summer was to attend the wedding of my cousin, Amanda, and her lovely fiancé Matt.  The night before the wedding was spent catching up with the Smiths, Smiths and Jarmans in Guildford where we were told the exciting news that Anna and Antony are expecting a baby in February!!  

      

The morning of the wedding was lovely and relaxed apart from the fact that Sam and Dan needed to go and buy shoes and Ant a belt as they had all forgotten these key items of clothing!  

Eventually everyone was dressed and ready to go and we headed to the venue.  Getting there was a little tricky as the taxi driver, despite being given the address well in advance, told us he wasn't quite sure where to go.  As we got nearer he informed us that he had two sat nav units and a printed map but didn't want to use any while he was driving!  We managed to direct him and arrived with time to drink some Pimms!

      

                                     

      

The ceremony was lovely and a few tears were shed and of course the bride looked stunning.  It was lovely to spend time catching up with my extended family and to meet Matt's family and Amanda and Matt's friends.  The food was fab and the speeches excellent especially Matt's and Allan's.  

                                    

        

         

         

         

After a few champagnes and wines we hit the dance floor and I managed to get a fair few requests in with the DJ!  

        

It was a fantastic wedding and a great start to married life for Mr and Mrs Thompson.

Home for the Holidays

We arrived back in the UK after a day in Dubai and were met at the airport by Sue much to the boys delight.  She and Suresh had moved to Kent while we were away and we were very excited to see the new house.  After a few moments of confusion over the way back and a couple of laps around a roundabout, we reached the house!  After looking round we decided to head out for a walk to try and keep ourselves awake.  We managed to stay awake enough to drink champagne and toast the new house.  It was lovely being able to sit outside looking at the wonderful view, with out sweating or having to avoid mozzies.  Although I did need a cardi and blanket!

       

        

The next few days were spent catching up with the family in Kent.  We spent time with the Grants, picnicking, walking and drinking champagne and wine.  

       

        

                                        

     

We also made a visit to John and Jo's new pub, The Gallipot Inn, in Hartfield.  It is a lovely pub and Jo has been working hard to get it up and running whilst John has been working hard to sample the beer in his role as front of house!  

An obligatory trip to Pooh bridge was made with Harry and Chloe, where we were all convinced we had won Pooh sticks!

Towards the end of the week we left the boys with Sue and Suresh and headed over to Guildford to begin preparations for Amanda and Matt's wedding.