E-box and packing

When we were in Houston we got to see what an E-box looks like.  Our family will get two of these big boxes to fill with as much stuff as we can.  They will be shipped at the same time our big shipment with all of our furniture is shipped, but they will come by air and get to us about 3 weeks after we arrive in Saudi Arabia.  Each box will hold up to 500 lbs.  It sounds like a lot but for a family of 6 I am sure we will fill it up really fast. 

We used a carry on sized suitcase and a lap top bag to try and get an idea of how big it is.  The actual dimensions are: L 42", W 29", H 27"  

Here is the list of (tentatively) what will be packed into the E-boxes.

Microwave

Vacuum

Pans, utensils, baking pans,

Diapers

Air mattress

Small kitchen appliances

Gaming system and small TVs and wall mount

Board games

Teacher supplies (lesson plans, materials)

Halloween decorations

Briggs potty chair

Surge protectors and extension cords

Racquetball racquet

TV trays 

Outside toys

Kid toys

Lamps

On the airplane we will each have two pieces of luggage that can weigh up to 70 lbs each.  We will also each have a carry on suitcase and a backpack.  Here is the list of what will go on the plane with us.

Most clothes and swim suits

Shoes 

Electronic devices (computer, phones, kindles, DVDs)

Batteries

Toiletries (soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shaving things)

Blankets, sheets

Pillows

Some toys for each kid

Towels, washcloths, bathroom rugs, front door rugs

Medicines 

Fans

Passports, binders, paperwork, 

Vanilla in with toiletries, spices

Oxyclean

Sunscreen, swim toys, sand toys, 

Bike

Cards, games,

Art supplies.

Anybody wanna volunteer to pack all this for me???

In The Meantime...

What have we been doing while we kill time waiting to move over seas???

Briggy turned 2 on May 7.  He's definitely hit the "terrible two" stage.  He keeps me on my toes but I sure do love him and I think most of the time he loves me too.  

Levi lost his first tooth!  Actually he had the front two teeth on the bottom pulled by the dentist.  You can see how his tooth on the bottom right side was almost fully grown in behind the baby tooth. 

We've spent more time than normal down in Utah spending time with our families. :)

Last weekend I was SO blessed to be able to go to Virginia Beach to spend the weekend with my favorite Andrea. Ah...such a great couple of days. We spent time at the beach, went parasailing, ate such delicious food (they totally spoiled me), I got to go with Andrea to get a tattoo, and we just lounged with her family a lot.  She is amazing and beautiful and has such a fun and adorable family.  I hope I get to go again next year, I miss them (and really regret not getting a picture of all of us together).  

It seems like most of our time from now until we leave for Saudi (our official departure date from North America is August 16) is filled with plans already.  We are looking forward to a lot of time spent with family and friends before we leave.

Less than 3 months to go! (and Houston trip)

The other day it dawned on me that we are only 3 months away from our departure from the US!!!  Aaahhhh!!!!    We have been super busy for the last few weeks, which is good.  When we aren't busy we just get bored and trunky.

On April, 18 we got an email telling us that Aramco had given us BI (background investigation) approval.  We weren't really too worried about getting that but it was still nice to feel like we were one step closer to having all of the contingencies met.   We also have now gotten our medical clearance from Saudi Aramco.  We were a little more concerned about that one so we were really happy to hear about that.  When we were in Houston we had heard we had medical clearance but hadn't gotten an official email stating it until May 12.   We have been doing a lot to get us ready.  The last Saturday in April was really nice and warm so we had a huge garage/yard sale.  We sold a lot more than I thought we would and then gave away a lot of stuff too.  It is so nice to get rid of so much junk.  We have had our house for sale for about 6 weeks now.  It's been a lot of work getting it ready to show and advertising it (as of now we are not using a realtor).  We have also been trying to get things organized.  We have lots of piles and lists made. :)

We went to Houston for our orientation on Friday, May 3.  We left Thursday morning and first dropped Brigham off with my friend Tye and then drove down to Salt Lake to leave the other 3 kids with Josh's parents.  Our flight left early in the afternoon so we only had a few minutes to spend at his parents house before they dropped us off at the airport.

At the airport we saw Elder Richard G. Scott (A leader in our church.  He was on the same flight as us so we went over and said hi.  He was so sweet. :)

When we got to Houston we were met by a driver guy waiting to take us to our hotel.  He drove us through Houston in a Lincoln and wanted to chat the whole way about our move to Saudi (it seems to be a hot topic of conversation).

We're pretty cute, huh?  We were super excited to spend a few days without the kids. :)

Thursday night we just kind of hung out at the hotel and the mall that it was connected to. It was fun to people watch and to spend time hanging out without trying to keep track of all the kids. 

The orientation was kind of exciting, kind of boring, kind of informative.  We started with Josh doing his medical testing and both of us had to get blood drawn.  Then we went and got pictures taken for our visas.  The rest of the day was spent in a conference room listening to a presentation about what its like to be employed by Saudi Aramco.  Most of the other people who were doing their orientation that day were there for their initial interview.  They had A LOT more questions that Josh and I did so most of the information was pretty redundant for us.  Still, just being there made this who thing seem a lot more real.  We were able to have lunch with our recruiter (Brenda) and our relocation advisor (Terry).  Another lady joined us because she had some Despains in her genealogy.  Lunch was really fun, they were all really friendly ladies and they let us eat whatever we wanted. :)

Orientation got over about 3:00.  Sharman (Josh's sister) came and picked us up and we spent the next two days with her family. 

We went to a state park where there are alligators just off the path from where you are walking.  It was super cool and a little freaky.  We ate A LOT of super yummy food, enjoyed the time with family, and really enjoyed the super warm weather.