Tank is here!

Hello everyone,
We just wanted to let you all know that Tank has arrived in Abu Dhabi safe and sound.  He left Dulles International airport on Friday Feb. 12th.  From there he flew to Amsterdam where he spent the night and a doggie hotel.  On Sunday Feb 14th he left Amsterdam and arrived in Abu Dhabi at about 9 pm.  The American Vet Clinic took care of getting him through customs and delivered him to our house around 11 pm on Sunday.  Both Brian and I were so anxious and excited to see him after 5 weeks. 

Initially, he seemed a bit dazed and confused getting out of his crate, but it didn't take him long to start exploring the yard.  Even though it was late Brian thought it best to take him for a walk to stretch his legs and give him some feeling of normalcy after what we could only imagine was a pretty intense couple of days.  After our walk we let him check out his new home, which he really seems to love.  He's already picked out numerous napping spots and really likes to lay on the cold tile floor. 
Of course he started to get antsy and excited right before bed time (leave it to Tank).  Although we let him climb into bed with us, he didn't stay put for long and spent most of the night pacing around the bedroom.  We pretty much figured that he'd have some time adjustment issues, just like we do, but hopefully he'll be on track in a few days.  Needless to say last night was pretty sleepless for the three of us so we're hoping tonight goes a little better.

We introduced him to Pikey, Andre and Jess's dog, who lives down the street.  Jess, Pikey, Tank and myself went for a nice long walk today and they seemed to get along great!  Only a few of the workers in the community seemed wary of the two dogs and two women walking through the neighborhood (dogs as pets aren't a popular thing over here).

Overall he seems to have come through his traveling unharmed and is still the same Tank we all know and love.  His hair is already covering every surface of the house, yippee!  It feels great to have our family back together.  Now as soon we get the rest of our belongings we will be all set!

What we've been up to

Hey everyone!
Life has been moving along over here in Abu Dhabi.  Lately we've gotten into a lot and have met some great people along the way.  I enjoyed my 28th birthday here in Abu Dhabi.  Thanks again to everyone for all of the birthday wishes.  It was nice to be thought of even though we are so far away.  And thanks to Angie for my birthday cake!  Brian and I went to a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Mezzaluna in the Emirates Palace.  That whole place is just amazing!  We only walked around a small portion of it, so hopefully I'll get a chance to explore more in the future.  Inside they had a small exhibit that outlines the history of the UAE and gives an idea of where they are headed in the future.  Most of the exhibit was devoted to showing new construction and some of the big attractions that will be built such as the Guggenheim, Louvre and Performing arts center.  All of the buildings will be one of a kind.

On Friday (the first day of our weekend) we spent the day in the desert.  We got to do some serious dune bashing in Jeeps and quads.  Brian was in absolute heaven!  I will admit, I had an awesome time as well. I got to go out three times; once on a quad with Brian and then twice in two different Jeeps.  We rode past a few camel farms and got to see an awesome sunset.  It was very neat to be able to stand on top of a sand dune and just look out to sand for miles and miles, it wasn't until then that I really felt like I was living in the desert.  We had so much fun on this day excursion that we've got a camping trip planned in two weeks!  And of course Brian is now contemplating a quad purchase, which I wouldn't be entirely opposed to :)

In even more exciting news, Tank will FINALLY arrive in Abu Dhabi tonight!  His flight from Dulles to Amsterdam was canceled three times!  He was originally supposed to arrive a week ago, but ended up spending a few extra days in the kennel until he was able to be re-booked.  The kennel manager was extremely accommodating in keeping us up to date on how he was doing and staying on top of all the cancellations and re-bookings.  He undoubtedly made the whole process much smoother than it could have been given the circumstances with the weather, so thanks a bunch Shady Spring Pet Relocation!  Tank spent last night in Amsterdam and will leave there this morning and arrive in Abu Dhabi around 7:30 pm our time tonight.  We both are so ecstatic to have him here.  Our landscaping was pretty much completed yesterday so Tank will have lots of grass to enjoy.

Also, our container shipment is also due to arrive near the end of this week/beginning of next week so I will be busy trying to put the finishing touches on our house.  It will be so nice to be done with the whole moving process!  Once we get all of our stuff, I will take some pictures of the house to share.  This also means that we should have a bed for my dad when he is here in three weeks.  Yay!