Dubai

dubai.  let's discuss!

never in a million years did i think i would get the opportunity to go to dubai, but when my husband came to me back in january and said, "hey, i have a conference to go to in dubai, do you think you'd want to go?", i about hit the floor.  my jaw actually did!

not that i knew, really, where dubai was on the map, or how far we'd have to fly to get there, i only knew that my answer was, "YES!"

i was able to go for a full weekend.  we left on a thursday night and i stayed until early monday morning.  (heath and his co-worker stayed for the week).  we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, we really thought that the hotel was so amazing that we would just stay by the pool for a few days.

WRONG!

saturday morning we (heath, myself, dustin (co-worker) and abby (his wife) were all around the pool and dustin tells us that he booked us a trip to go on a desert safari.  we all thought this would be really fun and something new and exciting.  after laying out by the water, in amazing sand and having really nice cabana boys bring us popsicles to cool us off (no, i'm not kidding!) we all went up to get ready for our desert safari.

the safari was like something i've never done.  and never thought i would do!  we drove down the highway for about 45 minutes and then he just pulled into some desert.  while we rode around on quad-bikes, he let air out of the Land Cruiser's tires.  we all piled back in after a FANTASTIC time on the quad-bikes (four wheelers).  so much fun.

and we were off to the desert!  right away, he took us to this really high tip of a desert hill and we just rode it until the car started to go sideways!  we all screamed, i may have been holding my breath, i'm not sure and then we were on all four wheels again.  he did this over and over and over again.  it was amazing.  dune bashing is what it's called.  it was such a thrill!

after dune bashing for an hour or so, stopping to get some great pictures, and driving some more, we came to an area...i'm not even sure what to call it.  it was a wide open area for us to have dinner and entertainment.  we did things like camel riding, hookah, ate exotic food (like camel...yes, i ate some.  it tastes like chicken) and henna painted on our arms.  it was really like nowhere i'd ever been before.  it was so much fun.

the best part of it all was that heath and i were able to do this together.  to experience this for the first time, at the same time.  we were like little kids at disney!  my face hurt that night as we came home from it all because i'd been smiling so much, laughing and talking endlessly about what a great experience it had been.  it just kept getting better the whole day through!

you know, sometimes you need a little crazy fun with your spouse.  it was new and exciting and it enabled us, FORCED us, to forget about work, children, and responsibility.....it was wonderful.

just for a little while. to forget.  and to have fun.

the next day we shopped at the gold markets and had some fun bartering with the locals, (i may have had more fun than heath on that) and later, we were able to shop at The Dubai Shopping Mall, the world's largest shopping mall and then have dinner at the top of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.  it's really just kinda fun to say that we did these things.  the mall was more than i could stand.  endless shopping...you think it sounds fun until you are lost in a labyrinth of stores and you can't find your way out!

it was at our dinner, way up high, that heath and i were able to sit back and giggle at all the crazy things we'd done over the weekend.  again, like little kids at disney who were trying to be calm adults in an adult restaurant.  all the excitement from the weekend.  and not only that, but all the adventures we've done in the last 10 YEARS together!  it's been a wild ride since the moment we met.  we couldn't help but talk about our blessings that we've been given, the opportunities that we have in front of us.  there is not a day that goes by that i don't think about these years as a fun experience (even when times get a little crazy), a learning experience (goodness knows i'm learning!) and a time to grow.

it was also during this time, that we talked about the blessings and how much we enjoy and want to give back, to serve, to help.  i am certain that my time of mission work is not over.  i'm certain that at some point, God will lead me back to cambodia where there is more work to be done for those children.  i was not created to take in all these blessings and NOT give back.

dubai was a great trip for so many reasons.  it gave us a chance to escape reality.  but it also gave us a really hard look at what reality really is for us and the important things in life.  it's not that we'd forgotten these things but a tiny reminder never hurts.  dubai will be one of my most treasured trips with heath.  we learned more about one another and remembered a few things about ourselves too.