It's been a while, but we've actually got some adventure to share.

As you've no doubt noticed, there's been a bit of a lull in the adventuring of the Frank family. After the first year of excitement, we made finding a routine our goal for that second year. Well, it looks like we'll be ramping up the adventure over the next few months. My contract comes to an end in June and we've decided that it's time to make our way back east. The experiences we've had here have been absolutely incredible and we've grown in ways we could have never anticipated, but all adventures come to an end and we're determined to go out on a high note.

This week Liam tested for his black belt in Karate. The test started at 6 am and went until almost noon. As you can see from some of the pictures, his training has really paid off. We're going to take a little break from Karate for the remainder of our time here, but, for those keeping track Liam's at a black belt in Karate and Kobudo, Lucy has her Brown 3, Miranda has her Purple Belt and James is at Yellow and I stalled out at Green. We've really enjoyed the Karate club here and the experiences it has given to all of us.

Ouch!

Does my son intimidate me? A little.

It was our third National Day in Abu Dhabi and it just seems to get bigger every year. We took advantage of the four day weekend by spending some time in Fujairah camping on the beach. We travelled with a number of families and had a great time. The water was gorgeous the weather perfect. However, unbeknownst to us, the particular beach that we chose happened to be the party beach which meant a whole lot of Arabic karaoke all through the night. On the plus side, because I couldn't sleep, I was awake to watch one of the most incredible sunrises I've ever seen. The kids played, barely pausing to eat. Exotic fish were seen and a lucky few even  spotted sea turtles. The jelly fish stings were plentiful, but didn't keep people out of the water. Liam stayed a second night with friends while the rest of us hurried home to watch the fireworks. This was the first time we were able to see the National Day fireworks since we arrived. Not likely to see anything like it again. It's going to be hard to give up the apartment and its view, but we're grateful for the time we've had here. 

You're only supposed to see fish like this in an aquarium.

Gleefulness!

Our campsite.

This almost captures how pretty it was. They call it 'Snoopy Island' for obvious reasons.

Lots to explore.

It seems the only time I get in picture is when someone wants to make fun of me.

I will miss the camels.

Mountains!

Yup, that's a camel staring at us from that truck.

Over the next few months, we're determined to visit the rest of the Emirates and take in a few of the sites that we haven't seen yet. We'll need to pace ourselves if we want to survive these next few months. We're still not sure where we'll end up or what we'll end up doing after we leave, but where would be the fun in a certain future?