Little toes and Speedo's

View on the way there..

midget took these two <3


one of the pools

midget in her hotel robe..

monkey running up to slide for the 5000th time :)

Isabella getting her spa day!

monkey in the pool

the terrace

view from our terrace, can you believe this is in the middle east?

in the lobby at check-in, the kids were thinking how long would it take to get to the pool?

A family ready to relax :)

monkey playing in the fountain.

Midget and dad splashing in the water

midget actually fell asleep on the terrace.

monkey sliding into theh pool on the waterslide

My sweeties!
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I had to do it, i made him stop on the way home... my camera is now filled with sand after getting out of the car and make us all tromp up a hill to get a picture :)

He was loving finding all the hermit crabs!

That is a happy, relaxed adorable hubby, pre-toe incident :)

We went on our first ever "holiday", as they call them here. Lots of people were leaving town, so we looked into it, and it's surprisingly affordable! We were quite excited, and found a great deal at the Hilton Resort and Spa at Ras Al Khaima. It is a fabulous, FABULOUS resort. Hotel does not describe this place! we had a 2 bedroom suite, it has a living room, a hallway, and bathroom that frankly i could have died happy in. The shower is a glass enclosed one with a rain shower head. I thought we had one back home, the rain shower head, it said it was on the box, but i know now it wasn't :) The kids loved taking their showers, and were each in their for at least 30 minutes!
We also had 2 balconys, one which was really a terrace, it had 2 lounge chairs, and a table set. Midget was in love with the terrace, she turned it into a spa for us. The hotel even puts rose petals on the beds, which were then promptly stolen by midget to be used at her "spa". Isabella her doll, was quite pampered on this outing! Monkey was all about the pools, he was asking to go all day every day, and we did. He also loved, loved, loved, the buffet. They had fish, crab, sushi and cakes galore. Plus the boy loves mango, and they had all the mango juice you can handle. Midget has now learned of the chocolate fountain, heaven help us all.... However once her dad saw the snotty nosed kids sticking their hands on the marshmellows after wiping their noses, we all lost a bit of desire to use the fountain :)
We went to the local souks, but they weren't like the ones in Sex and the City, so i am holding out for those style. Nor were the people as nice as they are in town here. We decided we will stick with the brits at the hotel :) So we stayed there and went to the beaches. Let me just say this, i don't get it people! Speedo's were everywhere!! Maybe i am an uptight american, and anyone who knows me well knows i am uptight. Having said that, sitting on a nice terrace, enjoying a nice relaxing lunch is great. Heaven on earth, it was until i had to keep telling my son to stop laughing at the 70 year old men playing soccer 15 ft away, even if i couldn't help myself, nor could the hubby, as it's hard not to laugh at them in their speedo's!!! OMG, i have never seen such a sight in my life. That being said, they were in remarkable shape!
Apparently the brits like their bikini's and speedo's, and enjoy letting the little girls go around topless. I saw an 80 year old woman take her bikini top off and put a shirt on right in front of me on the beach, thank heaven monkey missed that one. ;) So, here's to hoping that hubby dosesn't pick up on the speedo trend....
Now to the disclaimer section, when relaxing on the beach after snorkling with your children, watch out for those plastic beach chairs! If you are a wonderful loving husband, trying to help your loving wife out, by rinsing out your childs sand toys, watch those toes, if you hit one on a chair you can break it! Hubby did just that, broke his little toe. So there was no 4 wheeling, nor boat rides for us. He went to the hospital and had to have his toe re-set. The hotel was worried sick over being sued, and he made it clear it was his fault. So the vacation was a learning experience, mostly relaxing at a gorgeous hotel. We had a lovely time, until hubby broke his toe :( All in all it's a fabulous resort, just be warned of the topless ladies and bouncing speedos!!