Opportunities!

If I've said it once, I've said it 1,000 times, "Dubai is an such an awesome opportunity for our family!"   While the timing is not the most ideal as far as school is concerned, we've been able to take advantage of this place and all it has to offer for 7 years now.   It's nice to stay together as a family and enjoy this adventure together.   I'm not sure how much longer our journey will carry on, but we will continue to make the best of it for as long as we can!!

Rod truly loves what he does for work!  Godolphin is an incredible opportunity for him, as they are one of the largest owners of racehorses in training in the world!  They currently have horses racing in England, France, Dubai, Australia and America, and it is owned by Sheik Mohammed, the Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE.

Just another night at the races.  Rod is waiting for the horses to go onto the track. 

We've had the opportunity to make friends from all over the world!  Some of our best friends are from Ireland, England, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Jourdan, Lebanon and even New York (ha!)

My two favorite Irish girls: Aisling & Caroline!

Mason is fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play baseball while we are here.  It just so happens that the little league season is from December through March!  How convenient! He's been able to have private pitching lessons with professional pitchers, attended a winter camp put on by the Washington Nationals and gets to play the game that he loves!  Mason was recently selected to play on an All-Star team, which will play in a tournament in Kuwait one weekend in March!  What an opportunity!

Mason with Washington National pitchers Pat Lehman and Danny Rosenbaum

While Mason attends the American School of Dubai, there are over 60 passports represented at his school.  The twins attend an International preschool, where their teacher is from England, the teacher's aid is from the Philippines and kids in their class are from various countries such as Columbia, Africa, Brazil, Japan and the UK.

Truly a masterpiece created by Jake and Cash! ha!

Mason playing a game of football with his buddies after school

We have all had an opportunity to try new foods.  The kids have especially become more adventurous with their tastings.  They also eat lunch at school; check out their school's menu:

Not your traditional PB&J or Lunchable!  

Rod and I love to go out to dinner with friends and enjoy all the wonderful restaurants within walking distance of our hotel.

This is an insane dessert display from our favorite sushi restaurant, Zuma!

Since the temperatures range from the 70's to 80's here during the "winter" months, the kids have had the opportunity to take weekly swim lessons in one of the hotels heated pools!  Ms Rita is from Hungary and sings songs like "Ring-a, Ring-a Rosey!"  They absolutely love it!!

 "Ring-a, Ring-a, Rosey…And Cash falls down!"

Jake is practicing his dive!  When we arrived in Dubai, he did not want to get his face wet!

Obviously, a lot of these opportunities are available to us because we live in a big city.  We get to enjoy access to shopping, world-class restaurants, organic markets and accessibility to good doctors!  We even have a chance to become the Dubai Mall Millionaire!  For every 300 dirhams you spend, you can enter a drawing to win 1,000,000 dirhams ($270,000)!

I think we can truly appreciate these opportunities because of the lifestyle we have back home and living in a small and quaint town.  We really do get to enjoy the best of both worlds!  What an opportunity!