Hello all,
Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I went back to Bama a couple of weeks ago to see my youngest daughter, Tara, graduate from college. It was so exciting and I was so very proud to see her walk across the stage and get her college degree! She has been accepted in an internship program at another university to get her masters degree and is already working at the university and going to her classes. She is such a great student and very goal oriented. Amy hosted a wonderful graduation party at her home and invited our special friends and family to celebrate. Thanks Amy for such a kind gesture and great food! You are by far the best cook in the family- Greg and Jeremy are so lucky!
The week before I left to Bama I suffered a pinch nerve in my neck. It caused severe pain below my left elbow. I went to my doctor who gave me two treatments (shots in my butt, neck and arm-ouch!) and medications before I left and another treatment when I returned. I still have some discomfort in my arm and constant tingling and numbness in my left fore finger tip. I drop things sometimes because I can't feel that fingertip. I also make more mistakes typing than before because I can't feel if I have have hit the key with that finger so I have to be sure to check my words before I send and email or post a blog update. As if my typing wasn't bad enough! I've just accepted that this is something I will have to live with and am grateful it is not so painful. The worst part is that I have not been able to go treasure hunting on the beach because the constant bending down and digging is too painful. I finally went for the first time in a month yesterday and could only hunt for 30 minutes before my whole arm started tingling and became painful. I found two coins but had to go back to the apartment but within 30 minutes it was back to the normal tingling and numbness but not so much pain. Growing old isn't easy!
So my last post of the family visit is the best- Atlantis! We had a blast! Jimmy reserved a private cabana so we had our own place that was shaded with a table and chairs and had a hammock, several lounge chairs and "fat boy" lounge seats. It was also right on the water so we could walk right into the pool. Awesome! We had an attendant who took our lunch order and brought the food to our table and provided fesh towels throughout the day. I arranged for the earliest appointment for our Dolphin encounter at 10:45 am. I wanted to get it done early so the girls could enjoy the water park the rest of the day and not have to worry about checking the time constantly and miss our scheduled time. The Dolphin encounter was fantastic! We received instructions and were provided with either a vest or wet suit (our choice) and went to the Dolphin Bay. Here are some pics-
Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I went back to Bama a couple of weeks ago to see my youngest daughter, Tara, graduate from college. It was so exciting and I was so very proud to see her walk across the stage and get her college degree! She has been accepted in an internship program at another university to get her masters degree and is already working at the university and going to her classes. She is such a great student and very goal oriented. Amy hosted a wonderful graduation party at her home and invited our special friends and family to celebrate. Thanks Amy for such a kind gesture and great food! You are by far the best cook in the family- Greg and Jeremy are so lucky!
The week before I left to Bama I suffered a pinch nerve in my neck. It caused severe pain below my left elbow. I went to my doctor who gave me two treatments (shots in my butt, neck and arm-ouch!) and medications before I left and another treatment when I returned. I still have some discomfort in my arm and constant tingling and numbness in my left fore finger tip. I drop things sometimes because I can't feel that fingertip. I also make more mistakes typing than before because I can't feel if I have have hit the key with that finger so I have to be sure to check my words before I send and email or post a blog update. As if my typing wasn't bad enough! I've just accepted that this is something I will have to live with and am grateful it is not so painful. The worst part is that I have not been able to go treasure hunting on the beach because the constant bending down and digging is too painful. I finally went for the first time in a month yesterday and could only hunt for 30 minutes before my whole arm started tingling and became painful. I found two coins but had to go back to the apartment but within 30 minutes it was back to the normal tingling and numbness but not so much pain. Growing old isn't easy!
So my last post of the family visit is the best- Atlantis! We had a blast! Jimmy reserved a private cabana so we had our own place that was shaded with a table and chairs and had a hammock, several lounge chairs and "fat boy" lounge seats. It was also right on the water so we could walk right into the pool. Awesome! We had an attendant who took our lunch order and brought the food to our table and provided fesh towels throughout the day. I arranged for the earliest appointment for our Dolphin encounter at 10:45 am. I wanted to get it done early so the girls could enjoy the water park the rest of the day and not have to worry about checking the time constantly and miss our scheduled time. The Dolphin encounter was fantastic! We received instructions and were provided with either a vest or wet suit (our choice) and went to the Dolphin Bay. Here are some pics-
Tara and Dara lounging on the fat boy seats before the dolphin encounter.
Or cabana! Yes, it is roped off so no one will get to our things and the attendant keeps a close eye on it and makes people leave who wander in. We accidently left Ashleys iPhone on the table when went to the water slides but it was right where we left it when we returned. It was great to have a place of our own to strech out relax and sit in comfort in the shade. Jimmy really pulled out all the stops to ensure everyone had a great time and got rock star treatment!
Me with the dolphin.
Jimmy with the dolphin.
Mom kissing the dolphin. Mom enjoyed this the most. She really loved the dolphin!
Group pic with the dolphin. Mom's face says it all!
Ashley with the dolphin- happy girl!
Dara dancing with the dolphin!
Tara dancing with the dolphin!
You can see a great time was had by all! There are several waterslides- one called The Leap of Faith was particularly scary! It was a very long, almost straight down slide. The girls couldn't believe I did it but I wanted to enjoy as much with them as possible-even if it meant going down the scariest water slide of my life!
Each daughter had a digital camera and so did I. We took pictures the entire week of every event and many random pics. Before they left I downloaded every pic they took plus mine onto my laptop. In all I had over 1,100 pictures! I sorted each camera by event- Atlantis, dune buggy etc. into seperate folders. Then Jimmy and I purchased 5 digital frames and I selected the best pictures of each event. Jimmy loaded those onto a memory card for each digi frame and set it up so each event would play in sequence. In all there were 285 pictures on each digi frame. I took them back to Bama with me and gave them as gifts to the girls and my mom. I also had one complete set printed and put them into a photo album for my mom so she would have the digi frame running and the album she could browse through. I totally won Mothers Day this year!!
It's been getting pretty warm here in Dubai already. Way hotter than last year. We have already been up to 115 fahrenheit and was still May! It's going to be a brutally hot summer!
I want to say hey to Denny- I was so glad you came to Taras graduation party! Shout out to Jacob and Jeremy- my two handsome, young nephews. I hope you had a fantastic birthday Jacob! Shout out to Wayne- our dear friend in Pennsylvania. How does it feel to be a grandpa?! Hope you and your family are doing well; come visit us! Shout out to Carol in Florida- come home soon! Shout out to Amy & Greg- congrats on the lake house. You will have so many great times there; it is beautiful! Shout out to Pam & Jay- I miss you both so very much.
So this is where I say farewell for now. I'll be back soon and post more on the days of our lives in Dubai! Be happy and take care of each other.
Peace, love and happiness,
M&J
