FifteenintheSand!

Since the day we moved away the kids and I have been counting down until our family came to visit!  Literally the kids would ask me weekly, "how long until our cousins get here?"  Please remember that these are not only our cousins but our NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS in Texas.  You can imagine our withdrawals from these people!  It was the best feeling ever to hear my sister-n-law's chipper voice and laugh as they pulled up in our garage!!!

GETTING THE DUBAI TREATMENT UPON ARRIVAL!

7 months was a long time to wait but it was well worth it!  The Bryant's and Berkenmeier's and 1 Uncle Russell (Nancy's brother, a now honorary BRYANTMEIER) made the long journey to Dubai a few weeks ago.  Hotel Bryant housed 6 kids, 2 babies and 7 adults!  The new villa, just 2 weeks lived-in housed us all very comfortably. We had a very carefully planned itinerary (excel document created by Deric) that we stuck pretty close to for the week. 15 people in tow....we showed them the best Dubai has to offer..as well as a little of the ugly!

IS THAT MY FAMILY EATING CHIPS AND
DIPS AROUND MY ISLAND? HEAVEN!

ARE THOSE COUSINS PLAYING IN MY HOUSE?  LOVE IT

A post like this deserves much more than my thoughts!  I am so excited to have my amazing sister-n-law's share their thoughts on Dubai.  BTW.....I have know idea what they mean about "kid losing"or "home-alone".  I would never ever lose one of my precious children.

   

From Aunt Debbie:
Have you ever had your bed stolen?  Well Olivia and Blake have...for 8 nights in a row.  But on the bright side, that also meant a house full of aunts, uncles and cousins.

Our trip to Dubai was seven crazy days full of sight seeing, cab riding, dragon marting, asd visiting, dune bashing, indoor skiing, beach playing, kid losing :), souvenir buying, water parking, aquarium visiting on the go fun!

Then there were the other moments when it almost felt like we were all back home together...cousins playing non-stop after missing each other for months, aunts going for pedicures and massages, moms and dads drinking coffee in the mornings and wine in the evenings, duct tape crafts of all shapes and sizes being made and even sold, happy babies toddling or being passed around, sleepy kids finally bunking down to get ready for the next day and that darned Arabian Rooster making sure that we were all up on time.

We will never forget our trip to Dubai and the fun we had getting to see a little bit of the lives our Bryant's have been living.  We had the greatest hosts and most comfortable accommodations anyone could ask for.

Now all we need is June 23, 2011!! 

We love you, Bryants

Your Berkenmeiers

From Aunt Nancy:London/Dubai: Wild On Winnie!

Now we love to travel, but if you would have asked us a few years ago to guess where we would be for Spring Break 2011, this would have been our last guess.  And that’s not just because we cannot remember the last time we took Spring Break!  I guess now that we have a child, Spring Break is on its way back!

So, we found ourselves traveling thousands of miles to the other side of the world to see our very cherished Bryant 6 in the desert. Deric, Emily, Blake, Olivia, Luke & Lilly, thanks for the hospitality and sharing your experiences with us.  It was wonderful to hug you and see you in your new element.  Berkenmeiers, thanks for sharing your Spring Break trip with us too.  We made the journey with our five month old Winnie Kate.  She was an absolute doll as usual, and it was well worth the trip with our adaptable little international traveler!

I’d better tell you a little about our travel experiences before more on our sweet baby Winnie.  So, after a short but fun-filled stop in London to break up the trip, we were greeted with a warm welcome from our favorite Six in the Sand.  The entertaining blog and our conversations on Skype certainly helped prepare us for the trip, but there are some things that you just have to see in person to appreciate.  And when you see them, they take your breath away.  Here are our Top 10 Take Aways from Dubai :


1.Dune Bashing through the Desert – Who knew?  What a fun Arabian Nights Safari!  The off-road adventure was absolutely thrilling.  And the beauty of the sky line against the dunes was a spiritual sight.  What could make this better?  Shawarmas, Cultural performances, Henna tattoos, Falcons, and Camel rides, need I say more?!

2.Words of Wisdom - My Nana joked with Eric before we married.  Why do you want to get married?…right now you can eat whenever you want, sleep whenever you want…and I was like, Nana, stop!  So all that just to say, it’s true, singles can just get up and go.  Very spontaneously, we were joined by my brother Russell.  We were already in Dubai when he booked his trip.  Everyone made him feel right at home.  The Bryants and Berkenmiers plus Russell Janicek made for a wonderful and full, in love and lodging, family vacation!

3. Snow in the Middle East ? – Something to see!  We watched a special on Ski Dubai before our trip, but it was especially entertaining for me to see it in person and watch Deric and Eric go - these two morphed into competitive skiers!

1. 4. Where Are We?  At times you feel like you ALMOST could be in a US city.  Mall of the Emirates P.F. Changs – then you see a girls night, burka style.  At the Dubai Mall, there are fountains designed by the creators of those at the Bellagio in Vegas – but the world’s tallest building is lighting up in the background.  Dragon Mart in Dubai or Harwin in Houston ?  Our first time to see Luke playing T-Ball (and so well coached!) – only there’s that tall building in the background again.  American School Carnival – Great meeting friends and classmates on our first day there, but something just isn’t right.  We are not in Texas , and you can feel it!

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5.  15 People, “Home Alone” moment I feared – Check!  Guilty parties to remain unnamed.

6. Got Camel Milk?  Fresh camel milk is yummy.  Think melted ice cream.  Our Arabian Nights driver kept making stops at random barns to load up on it.  Only in Dubai !

7.  Here, There, Jumeirah Everywhere.  Dubai has such beautiful beaches.  We enjoyed our day at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort.  And figured out that if you build it in Dubai and put Jumeirah in the name, they will come.

8. From the Bahamas to the UAE.  We’ve now been to all of the Atlantis Resorts in the world – all 2 of them!

8. Old Dubai Day, Souks, and Cab Drivers – Learning about the culture in Dubai was an important part of our trip whether it was through museums, shopping at the souks or listening to Wayne interview the cab drivers!

Impromptu cricket game!

10. Sassos Roll Out the Red Carpet!  The Sassos hosted a special send off party for us.  The details of this party on the Palms were stunning and we truly enjoyed the very memorable last night with family and friends in Dubai .

Now back to Winnie.  Everywhere we went, little Winnie was the center of attention.  Paparazzi kept spotting her from the Burj Khalifa to the Tower of London !  The staff went wild for Winnie at Tips and Toes and the Emirates flight attendants fell in love with her in the air.  We have such cute pictures captured for you, including ones with your sweet cousins.  Winnie Kate, you are so loved!

I cannot imagine that we would have ever explored this part of the world if it was not for you, Deric and crew.  Emily has yet another calling or two to add to her amazing list of talents, Tour Guide and Travel Planner. Thanks for hosting.  It was such an incredible and unique life experience.  We love you, Bryant6!

Love,

Eric, Nancy & Winnie Kate




Thanks again to my sweet family for making the long journey here. I know it was not an easy task!  I am so happy that we got to show you Dubai and all its wonder but mostly I am happy that you can now picture where we are.  Cheers from Dubai! 69 more days....