What We Did For Christmas This Year!

"When was the last time you did something for the first time in your life?" Christmas 2006 was full of many firsts.....first time away from home in Canada, first time away from many of our family and friends, first Christmas in the desert / Dubai, first time in a hot air balloon, first time spending Christmas Eve dinner in a Polyenesian restaurant at a dinner show, first time watching Brianne and Kevin ski dive on Christmas Day, first time sending so many Christmas wishes from so far away.

Rick, Brianne, Kevin and I flew to Dubai on the 22nd for a well deserved rest. Dubai is a short 45 minute flight from Doha so we were there by noon on Friday. Our rooms at the Dubai Sheraton on the Creek were ready so there were no delays with what to do with luggage, etc. Following a short rest, we headed to the Mall of the Emirates. The indoor ski hill looked intriguing but we didn't bother to experience the cold. After a few hours of shopping, we headed back to the hotel for a late dinner. We broke the news to the kids that they had to be in the lobby at 4:45 am for an early morning adventure the next day. They moaned a little but agreed to meet us there. Despite the sleepiness, Brianne figured it out when we handed them both a small gift box with a balloon in it. We had booked a sunrise balloon ride over the desert. Following a 45 minute bus ride in to the dark desert, we arrived at the launch location. The pilot informed us that we would be flying to a heigh of 3500 feet and would be up for approximately 1 hour. As we rose, so did the sun! The view was spectacular. Another balloon also joined us as you will see in the pictures. Rick was in his geographic glory....describing all the land formations below. We flew over a Bedouin village (a desert nomad village) and an archaeological dig where findings from 10,000 years ago have been discovered. As we landed we were greeted by a few camels casually travelling across the desert. Not being terribly fond of heights, I was surprised at how peaceful the whole experience was.

Phew....it's over (almost!)

Happy Christmas from The Nigro Gang


Closing Ceremonies
Scene from Closing Ceremonies

Closing ceremonies - yes the boats are in the air

Rick's installation at Hamad Aquatics


#1 Hurdler in the World!

Rick and Ryann having lunch at Sponsor Hospitality Village


Kevin at Closing Ceremonies

Ryann, Brianne & Ute

Rick at the track with Canda Games guest.

The Look Company Tent at Sponsor Hospitality Village - note the maple leaves!



We made it....we did it....now a week of decommissioning and we are home free. The whole experience was remarkable....from opening to closing ceremonies and all the sports in between. We watched a 4 x 100 relay where the time between first and second was 1/1000th of a second and we were of course at the track to see the men's world champion hurdler. Kevin took in some of the sports new to us like Sepektakraw and Habbadi.

Closing ceremonies were nothing short of spectacular with 15 minutes of grand finale fireworks. We spent two weeks hosting delegations from all over the world....who knows where we will end up next. Months of hard work became of "buffet of LOOK" for the world to see.

If all turns out with decommissioning this week, we should be in Dubai for Christmas! Not alot of sunshine this month. It has been the rainiest (word?) December on record. However, the long range forecast for Dubai is sunny and 23 degrees. We plan to hit the indoor ski slope at the Mall of the Emirates just to remind us of home.

Kevin will be home on the 27th for 10 days with a long list of family and friends to visit!

To all our friends and family, we wish you a safe and happy Christmas. Can't wait to see everyone in March.

Mom's Visit

Time flies when you are working in the Games world and I have been ignoring my blog. We will try to do better! Mom was here for a visit in late October. It was so nice to have her here, even if only for a short time. Marie Kelly from Ireland came with her to keep her company while we were at work. Lots of pictures to share. I think Mom liked the sunshine and enjoyed her birthday in the desert.