Back in Houston!

It feels so good to be back in the US again!  We landed at the Houston airport feeling so tired after the long flight but excited to be home again.

It was a long flight...even in business class seats.  I sat in the middle between Lauren and Ella and didn't sleep one bit.  Lauren was really sick and developed a high fever.  I realized her children's tylenol was checked in my suitcase under the plane so the stewardess offered some terrible substitute that you dissolve in water and Lauren refused to drink the whole cup.  She said it made her feel sick and tasted gross.  So, then it got worse...she ended up feeling nauseated the rest of the flight and threw up on the airport shuttle at the Houston airport as we drove to get our rental car.  Nice.  I had nothing for her to throw up in, so I grabbed my makeup bag out of my purse (and dumped it out into my purse just in time to catch her puke).  I know... Disgusting.  The joys of motherhood. 

Needless to say after we arrived at the airport rental car office, found a restroom, got all cleaned up and eventually made it to the hotel in Houston....it felt SO good to get a good night's rest.  I was so relieved and happy to be there.  The whole family crashed and slept well...until 3am when we woke up jetlagged, wide awake, and starving (since to us it was the middle of the day on Dubai time).  During the drive from the airport it was so fun to see all the familiar American stores and restaurants we hadn't seen in two years.  But now everything was closed and we were wide awake.  We found some granola bars in our luggage and tried to go back to sleep.  No luck.  But within a week the jetlag wore off and we were enjoying all the happiness associated with being home.

Family Vacation in Paris

We decided to stop in Paris on our way home from Dubai.  It helped break up the long flight and gave us some time to enjoy together as a family amid the busy international move.  So, we landed in Paris early Tuesday morning and checked into our hotel rooms and got ready to see the sights.  Although this was my fourth time to France and Brandon's second trip, our kids have never been there, so we thought we'd gear this trip around them and make it a kid friendly trip. We wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, eat crepes, and take them to play at Disneyland Paris.  We also planned to head over to the Louvre museum so they could see the Mona Lisa.  This was high on Lauren's list of things to see, thanks to show she had seen on Disney channel or Nick Jr. 

As we ventured out of the hotel the first day, Hayden decided to bring his skateboard.  He ran over my small toe and I think he broke it.  Excruciating pain and can't move it.  The day could only get better from there.  And it did, because the next stop was the best bakery ever, where we had some delicious crusty bread sandwiches and chocolate eclairs. Yum!

Moving Back to the US

After three great years in Dubai, we are on our way back to live in the US again.  It all feels a bit surreal.  Sad to leave good friends and great memories.  But at the same time, happy to return to our home country and see family and friends again.  And at this point in our big international move, we are just looking forward to being settled again!