Middle East Reunion

Two weeks after I got the call that I was invited to join the next foreign service class of officers we had a planned trip to Oman. The plan was for me to put the kids on a plane, fly them to Oman and meet Randy there. We were going to stay with our good friends who has moved to Oman from Manila last year. I was really excited for the boys to see Ben and Zoe again and to start realizing that when friends move away or you move away it isn’t goodbye forever, it’s just goodbye for now. And when you see your friends again, it’s like you never said goodbye and you pick up right where you left off.

But first, I had to get through a 9 hour day flight with these three sweet faces alone….

I was just a teeny bit afraid but in the end it was great. The boys were amazing! And Miral was a superstar, well a one year old superstar. She wanted to walk around and smile at everyone and everyone was more than willing to oblige. I mean how can you not smile at that face.

We were so excited to see Naomi and Julian. As I explained to Adam, with good friends it was like no time had passed and we all picked up right where we had left off.

And it was the same for these little peanuts. They all clicked again right away and watching them play together and seeing them pick up where they left off made me realize that this lifestyle is the right one for our family.

As each tour ends and we are forced to leave, we will have friends in one more corner of the world and the same goes for our kids. By the time they are adults, they will have lived all over the world and have friends in so many corners of the world.

Oman is only three hours behind Manila, but this little one KNEW and was up three hours earlier than normal, which brings us to 3:30 a.m…..but we made the best of it and how can you not smile at this face.

The next morning started with some cat play, as did every morning in Oman. It was hard to tell who loved the car more, Malcolm or Miral.

After an early morning wakeup and cat play, we headed to the Muscat fish marker.

Then it was onto the Muscat market. Randy and I had visited Oman over 12 years ago. It was a little bit surreal to go back after all that time, now married (I remember I had worn a fake wedding band before we were married, so people in Oman wouldn’t be upset we were sharing hotel rooms unmarried), with three kids! The market was exactly how I remembered it. The only difference was that we had these three little amazing people who were now experiencing all of these things with us.

After a few days in Oman we headed out to Jabal Akbar to this amazing hotel, Alila. This was another moment of when travels just seem so amazing and surreal. We arrived at this beautiful hotel on this mountaintop and had the most amazing visit. We all loved being up there!

This place also had an amazing pool that was enjoyed by all!

All aspects of pool life was enjoyed!

The next morning we had a long breakfast with the kids spending the whole time exploring, with the most amazing view.

The next day we headed down from the mountain and headed into the dessert. Randy and I had been to the dessert once before in Oman and it was amazing. But for me, this time was so much more amazing.

I am a very nervous off road driver. Being in a pickup driven by friends automatically made me more comfortable. Once we were up there to be confronted with the most majestic sunset one can ever witness juxtaposed with our children playing on the top of a sand dune was the most magical moment of the entire trip and one of the most amazing travel moments I’ve ever had.

Another amazing perk was camel rides for all!

Another great perk was that Adam is finally old enough to babysit. I like to call him my Sunday nanny 🙂

The next morning Julian’s truck got stuck.

Luckily the hotel sent this guy to get us out…and he did!

We headed back to Muscat for some relaxation and hanging out, which included reading books, shopping in the non Muslim supermarket section and the exploring beach which is amazing!

Adam and Ben went with Naomi and Randy to swim with whale sharks which they loved!

I stayed home with the little ones and prepared for Randy’s birthday party.

I didn’t mind so much since this was my amazing lunch! My ultimate lunch right here!

Oh, I also had these cute faces.

While in Oman we got to celebrate Randy’s birthday.

We had an amazing brunch at home. We hung out with the kids and then headed out to an amazing dinner at the Chedi. Randy and I had stayed there when we visited Oman so it was nostalgic to go back to this amazing seafood restaurant.