So it has been a while since my last post....sorry.

But here is an update on what I have been up too the last little while

Since it is so hot in Abu Dhabi in the summer months the city has started an Abu Dhabi Summer of Fun which they took the Abu Dhabi convention center and turned it into an INDOOR center for extreme fun.

They had everything from a zip line, little roller coasters, bungee jumping to waking boarding and archery .... seriously so much fun stuff. It is mainly for kids, but who isn't a kid at heart.

This is Chris smoking the a 5 yr old girl up the rock climbing wall ...you are the man Chris ...that girl had nothing on you.

Gorka and Chris put on a show for everyone when they decided to step into the American Gladiator ring....so hilarious.

We also went to Liwa for a local event .... the Liwa Date Festival....it was quite the experience.

Lots of dates...

These are the head guys of the Date Festival and they decided to come a chat with us....I was too nervous to ask them for a picture so I just took one when they were walking away. I know really classy.

Some ladies weaving away in one of the booths, they are wearing full abadya which is the traditional Islamic dress.

We also took a nice weekend trip to Muscat, Oman.

We made some friends at the Shangri'la hotel and hung out there for a day....really nice.

We went to an old Souk (basically outside "mall") and melted as we walked through all the tiny corridors full of vendors.

We were able to break away and snap some sweet pictures.

We walked around the Muscat harbor and felt like we stepped back in time.

So last weekend we went to Dubai to check out the town. The company I work for, DeSimone, is doing a small fit out in the lobby of the Burj Dubai (fyi that is the tallest building....in the world...2684 ft tall) and we were able to get pass to go into the Burj. The building is not yet complete so we felt super cool being able to go in before it is open to the public. It would have been cooler if we had got to go up to the 160th floor, but we had restricted passes and they were security guards every 5 ft. Since I was wearing a pink tee shirt, and Elizabeth and I were the only two girls who had probably set foot in there...ever .... "sneaking" up to the top wasn't really an option. The best pictures were from the outside anyways .... pretty impressive.

Warning this is going to be a long post because for the Fourth of July Weekend I went to Jordan for four days....and I took a lot of pictures...a lot.

We (Me, Elizabeth and Gorka) got off the plane, got our sweet rental car that only had a tape player even though I had burned about 20 cds to rock out too, and headed straight to the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is the lowest place on Earth and the saltiest body of water. So basically you float even when you are on your stomach and it burns if any water gets remotely close to your face. Also the mud at the edge is said to be very nutritious...and super cool when we smear it all over you. Please be advised that one should not shave one's legs the day before they go to the Dead Sea as it will burn....bad.

We then drove to Dana Reserve where we stayed for the night. The campsite is set up with these tents that have a mattress and clean sheets inside...very comfortable yet outdoories at the same time. The scenery was breath taking.

But on our way to Dana we were distracted by the incredible sunset looking out to the Dead Sea and Israel....ridiculous.

Dana Campsite

Petra was amazing. It is one the 7 Wonders of the World and can hold its own. Just the scale was mind blowing....never mind the raw beauty.

After making friends with our tour guide from Petra he suggested that we go with him to the desert (Wadi Arabia) where he took four wheeling in his jeep and then cooked us dinner...and of course watched the sunset.

Elizabeth contracted Bronchitis so we decided instead of dragging her around the desert some more we would get stay in a nice hotel, Movenpick (the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at)

So while Elizabeth regained some strength, G and I hit up Wadi Rum.

Wadi Rum is a vast desert expanse with really beautiful rock formations and cool history including the "house" where Lawrence of Arabia was thought to have lived and thousand year old rock carvings.

Before we headed out we enjoyed some delicious Bedouin style tea and a little Arabic lesson

We took a five hour jeep tour and only saw a fraction of the scenery.

....and the sunsets just kept getting better

After a long wonderful day...a feast Bodouin sytle!

We decided after our day in the desert to relax by hanging around all the water attractions our sweet five star hotel had to offer. So we started at the Red Sea and worked our way through the four hotel pools.

We had such a rough time we just had to get some beverages to cool down.

I have been waiting for a long time to see Jordan and it was definitely worth the wait. It is my favorite country I have visited and I highly recommend it to someone who loves to travel. I can't wait to go back.

So we did make it to the Emirates Palace and it did deliver. I substituted my hammer for a swimming suit because I wanted to sneak into the pool....but someone thought that would be a bad idea, so we were good and just took pictures. Enjoy

The Palace from the front (royal) entrance

It looks small but I swear it is huge

(I am not going to say it but I just set myself up for a Michael Scott comment there...hahha...Laud you know what I am talking about)

This a picture of the dome

Even more impressive in person

The opening below the dome

Flowers everywhere

(Anna I was thinking of you)

And of course gold everywhere too

(Gazelle I was thinking of you)

So in case you don't follow soccer the Federation Cup Semi-Finals were last Wednesday USA vs Spain. So I decided to take a bet with a Spaniard I know against odds of 1,000,000,000 to 1 that USA would bet Spain. Well turns out USA came out victorious and we won 2-0!!!! The Spanish haven't lost since 2006!!

E celebrating and G drinking his sorrows away

No his Grandma didn't just die, America just scored goal number two!

So we had a "business" engagement on Thursday night...I think Gorka still isn't over the tough loss from the other night.

Elizabeth and I have befriended two really cool girls, Sallie and Patricia, and we had a little girls day at the beach. The water is really warm...a little to warm actually...but it was fun to be out in the sun. Our apartment is seriously a two minute walk from the beach...nice.

Ok I know this picture looks like there should be people in it but Elizabeth, Sallie and Patricia are right behind me....they really exist...I swear

So last night we decided to go to a nice dinner, it was literally the fanciest restaurant I have ever been too. The food was really nice, the company was excellent, the service was great, and there were even a few ducks that showed up ...which was kind of cute until they started popping everywhere.

I had a tuna steak, I really am having a wonderful time I just hate taking pictures by myself.

Obviously, Gorka and Elizabeth are having a good time...awww so cute.

Ummm, the perfect way to end a lovely evening