Family travels, 4 years from USA to UAE and more!

Last Updated on May 1, 2019 by Jenny Pena

Family travels overview of the past 4 years!

2 and a half years in UAE so far
We spent a month in Sri Lanka
10 months in Panama before UAE
And did a 10-day trip with Jasmin in Costa Rica!

Our traveling adventures began when Jas was about 5 months old. You can read all about it in our blog series following our Costa Rica trip!

It was a bit tricky traveling with a cloth diapered/ diaper free baby for the first time.

But we figured out how to wash diapers, read her cues to respond to her need to go right away, she was still breastfed so that made things muuuch easier! We returned to Miami with a newfound love for our home and people and began getting more involved in the community and finding a church.

That’s when I started hosting classes teaching about essential oils as a doula for pregnant moms..my favorite!!!!

Moving overseas for the first time!

When Jasmin has just turned 2, we took the opportunity to live in Panama for 10 months in the little surfer town of Playa Venao.

Living in that little town and tiny home was a refreshing experience our family needed, to say the least!

Surfing, teaching in nature, horses, outdoor kitchen, living super minimalist and then doing it all pregnant!!!!

During our Spring break we took a short flight to visit our family in Colombia. I guess that was Noah’s first flight, as a baby in my belly. Was a wonderful time getting to visit our parents and grandparents. Even my husbands 101 year old great grandmother!

Wow was definitely a fun 10 months!

We went back to Miami between August and November to give birth to Noah!

He was born in my in-laws home in my husband’s old room! Once again, baby was born too fast for anyone to arrive so was just husband and I.

Yep we wrote all about our births because, well thats what got this blog started!

Just 3 short weeks after Noah was born, we packed up all our belongings and travelled halfway across the world to a country in the Middle East called United Arab Emirates. We have been living in this super remote town in the desert, not Dubai nope, for about 2 and a half years now!

Life in UAE

The best thing about being married to a teacher are the school breaks!

Our first winter break here we spent sightseeing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and buying a few things we needed to feel comfortable in our new home.

The Dancing Fountains
Burj Khalifa
Yas Island
The Grand Mosque

Were just a few of our favorite spots!

During our first spring break we spent a bit more time sightseeing and taking our children to the Al Ain Zoo.

Then my mom came to visit us for her birthday! We took her and her friend sightseeing and to visit where we live. Sir Bani Yas Island was the spot for a night! So beautiful! Noah and i stayed indoors while my mom took Jas on a safari tour woohoo!

Our first summer break we spent a whole month in Sri Lanka! That was a pretty amazing trip!

Traveling with 2 littles was really put to the test. Thankfully Noah was still not walking and was happy being carried or in a stroller. The hard part was when I got food poisoning and was out for a day! My husband said that was one of the best days driving scenery to see….but I just could not open my eyes I was sooo nauseous!

Jasmin has always been the best little traveler. She gets carsick too so watching movies, or toys is a no go. But she sits quietly looking out the window just entertaining herself.

Now that Noah is older is getting a bit trickier traveling with him!

So the second winter break was the best because my in-laws came to visit! We did tons of stuff with them but the best was our babies getting to be with their grandparents for 10 days!

We scared them a bit driving into our town, because 3 hours into the desert can be pretty intimidating! But then you enter modern civilazation again and its like WOWWWW! hahaha

The second spring break we laid low and spent our time at the beach in Abu Dhabi, enjoying the sun and food.

We did something super different our second summer break in UAE. We stayed at a doula friend’s home for a month and I worked! I got to do prenatal classes, and attended two births!!!

And then we got home sick!

A summer in UAE means scorching hot weather which means lots of indoor life. We are NOT indoor people.

So last minute we decided to go for 10 days to Miami!!!

We really cherished those 10 days. Enjoying family and friends. Especially the children getting to be with their grandparents! We also realized that Miami heat is not as bad as this middle eastern desert heat…Miami weather was actually nice. And thank goodness we missed all the crazy hurricane scares by a couple weeks!

It’s always hard leaving family. I have to dive into work, blogging, motherhood, homeschooling, to keep myself from getting super homesick and crying for my momma!

Our third Winter Break in UAE we spent in Dubai! We got to checkout the new LegoLand Park and MotionGate and Bollywood. Noah and Jas had a super fun time. Their first time at a real amusement park. Jas even got to ride a baby roller-coaster!