The Great Wall

We have two trips planned to the Great Wall of China - one with Noah and one without.

Today, we travelled to the closest and easiest access point, which I would highly recommend. What a great day!


Just over an hour drive from Beijing...allowed us to take a quick nap.

All bundled up.


Cameras out.

Short gondola ride up.

Noah's new hat.

Not quite on the wall...

Now we are.

Just hanging with Dad on the Great Wall of China.

Pretty spectacular.

Soaking up the sun.

Incredible.

I am here!

Trying to give Mom a heart attack.

What a great day.

A little break.

So glad we could bring Noah...too bad he won't remember it.

Bob & I took the fast way down - by sled.

At the finish line.

While Jeff, Noah & Gayle went back down via the gondola.

That was a big day!

Beijing Here We Come...

We are very excited to see the Tisdall-McPhee's new home in Beijing and get to spend Christmas with all the Tisdalls.


Another puppet - Love Emirates.

I think this is going to be a long flight - Noah is in charge!

We arrived! Very tired.

Afternoon Stroll in Jumeirah Islands

December is a great time in Dubai and taking walks around our neighborhood often provide some memorable sightings.


Noah & Dad.

The resident flamingos have returned.

This is likey why they left...nice clean seafoam to swim in. Yuk!

Barb's Last Night in Dubai & Harry's Going Away Party!

Harry, a former colleague of Jeff's, was celebrating his imminent departure from Dubai and it just happened to be Barb's last night. This was just a coincidence but made for a fun night out.


Harry receiving Dubai momentos from colleagues.

Barb & Heather getting caught up.

Brad bearing departure gifts.

We will miss you, Harry!

Bye, Bye Grandma!

Sad to see, Mom/Grandma go but we had a great visit - as always!

Pictures with Santa

It has been a Ball tradition for as long as I can remember to get your picture taken with Santa, so we caught up with the man himself at the Madinat.

Noah was not too excited about getting his picture taken with Santa, perhaps it will go better when we meet up with him in Beijing. ;)

Warming Noah up to photos with christmas characters.

A little hesitant.

Not going so well.

Dad to the rescue.

Still not sure about the guy in the red suit.

New strategy.

Strategically place Mom, so Noah has no idea who is on the other side. ;)

Only in Dubai, does Santa have camels.

Much happier to know that Santa is gone and food is on its way.

Dinner at Toscana.

The end result...all worth it!

Night Out

With much of the new Downtown Dubai area being complete, we discovered that a night out starting with drinks at Neos, 63rd floor bar at The Address Hotel, followed by dinner at one of the many restaurants at the Souk Al Bahar, is a great, new experience to share with guest. We tried Asado - an Argentinian steakhouse, a great place to take a vegetarian. ;)


Drinks at NEOS.

Just what everyone needs - to see their meat before it is cooked.

Getting all the facts on meat.

Mom's vegetarian grill was a pleasant surprise - considering we were at a steakhouse.

Another great night out.

Al Ain Zoo

Inspired by all Barb's great stories of wildlife, we packed up and drove to the Al Ain Zoo. Noah had a blast watching all the monkeys, turtles, birds, lions and tigers - oh my!

A Visit from Barb

We had the pleasure of welcoming Barb at the begining of the month. She had just visited Kenya with her parents, so had lots of great stories to share. Her trip was packed, ensuring she saw all Dubai had to offer. Great visit!


At the Marina.

Pashmina lesson.

Sheik Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

Giving out her digits. ;)

Checking out Atlantis.

Thanks for a great visit - Barb!