Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Happy Birthday to Me

Being I have a milestone birthday coming up there is reason to celebrate. I did not want the typical “Lordy, Lordy, Michelle is 40”, surprise party... mostly because I don’t have that many friends. hee! My hope was to have a family getaway somewhere we have never been. With this in mind, months ago, I began my pursuit….Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mauritius…with my strongest desire for the latter. Well, I did not get too far in my pursuit to realize taking a family of 5 to any of these destinations did not jive with the bank account. Insert boo-hoo here!

After some sulking (just kidding) and learning about some great connections my pursuit turned to the Middle East. Strange as it may seem, boarding an 8 hour flight to another continent became more economical than flying to a neighboring country. That along with some other connections and Starwood Points, accommodation began looking favorable. So I did it, booked tickets to Dubai! Home to the fantastic plastic (ridiculous indoor fun), gorgeous beach, renowned shopping, shawarmas, camels…even a Chicago Uno's Pizzeria.

When do we leave….on Friday! My kids have a week and half Springbreak so we decided it would be a great time to go. After a wonderful but looong and busy winter and the schedule on an upward spiral finishing up the year this will bring some welcome respite!

Each of the Franzen fam has certain things they are particularly looking forward to…Tori- riding a camel, Sky-riding the world’s longest water slide, Blake-riding a toboggan at the indoor snow park, Me- laying horizontal for hours on the beach and Rich- air-conditioning. We are ready and so grateful for this next week of nothing but pure Franzenfam Adventure.

Lordy, Lordy, Michelle is almost 40 and will be celebrating Dubai style! Happy Birthday to Me!


10 comments:

michelle said...

Can anyone tell me how to get this silly photobucket message off my main screen? I would consider it an early b-day present. :)

Heidi Jo Comes said...

can't help with the photobucket issue.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU BEAUTIFUL LADY! i can not think of a better way to celebrate. i think i'll start saving and planning something similar for my own forty. i've got a long time though :o)

Susan said...

What a wonderful adventure for ALL of you. Will be eager for the reports. Happy Birthday dear one.

Danielle said...

How fun! We love Dubai. My bro in law lives there and we often stop in on our way to India.

If you need anything, let me know, he's usually happy to help out :)

Just Mom said...

HAPPY B-DAY! WELCOME TO THE 40s. Trust me, it gets better and better! :-D

btw ... have you tried changing your blog template? That PhotoBucket message could be because that template no longer exists or has been moved.

Lisa H said...

LOL...I've been wondering about that photobucket message every time I see your blog! :)

Happy (early) Birthday to you!! That sounds like an absolutely fabulous way to celebrate hitting a milestone. (And for the record, even though I've heard of it, I'm on my way to our globe to see where Dubai actually is...hee hee!) Sounds like an awesome place.

Sohailah said...

WOW! So great! I love this for you. And I cannot help with the crazy square, but would if I could.

Beth said...

Oh, this makes me so happy! Love it when all the fun detail work out so well. Hope you guys enjoy every little minute! : )

Oh, and Happy Birthday!! (I have such YOUNG friends!)

Anonymous said...

Hope you get that silly photobucket message off your screne.


WOW! Did you hear me? WOW! Your trip sounds amazing! We spent my 40th in Aruba courtesy of my parents. It was the most wonderful trip. I hope you enjoy to the fullest. If I get to Chi-town I will have some cheesecake in your honor.

Leah said...

Who-hoooo! Sounds awesome.. wish we could come and celebrate with you.