Catch up?

I am not sure it is possible for me to actually catch up on this blog!  It has been a great winter here in Abqaiq and we've been having so much fun!!!  We are so grateful to be having this experience.  In the next few days I hope I can share just a glimpse into what has been happening in our lives in the last 6 months.

In October there was a company holiday.  Most people left the country and went on vacation but we didn't have our visas ready yet to we got to chill out in Saudi.  A group of us went out into the desert looking for desert roses one morning.  I couldn't find a good picture of any on my computer so I'll have to snap a photo and upload that later.  In the picture above are our really great neighbors Dan and Sandra with Millie and Brigham.

 Josh dug this deep hole and that is where we found the best roses!  They are down deep where the sand meets the water.

 Our school has a rock climbing wall so we took the kids to practice their climbing skills.  Millie, Levi, and even Callie can get all the way to the top!   I got to the top once and that was enough for me!

 Briggy wanted to get the the top!  He'll be doing it before we know it!

 Callie is pretty fearless!  She does not get that from her Mom!

 Poor Briggy... stuck at the bottom!

 We ended up getting our entry/exit visas just in time and we were able to leave the country!  The line of cars at the border was crazy!!!   I think it took us over an hour to get through.  I've heard it can take up to three hours though!  We had a great time in Bahrain.  Our neighbors, the Langbauers and the Harders came with us.  We spent most of our day the a water park.  The kids loved it and we were so grateful that Dan and Sandra decided to join us. It is a lot easier to take 4 kids to a water park when you have 2 extra adults with you.  I wanted to snap some photos at the water park but it is kind of hard to do that when you're busy playing in the water.  The muslim women wear bathing suits that cover their whole body.

 After a busy day at the water park we walked through the mall and found a place to eat.  I think we decided on TGI Fridays.  We had wanted to go to a movie but they were all sold out.  Instead we just walked through the mall some more and then headed to our hotel.   It's always an experience when you are in a new place trying to find your way around and dealing with crazy middle eastern drivers.  

 We've had a few opportunities to ride camels.  I thought this was Levi on a camel when I uploaded it but he is actually on a mule.

Callie, our friend Kealy, and Millie enjoying a camel ride. I think this was on Saudi National Day.

More soon!

Levi turns 7!

I am not sure how it happened but my little Levi isn't so little any more!!!  If I was a good blogger I would have blogged about his birthday 6 weeks ago, since his birthday is on the 13th of September.  We all know I am not good at this though. :)

His birthday was on a Friday, which is our day for Fellowship.  Janet made this huge cake for him.  It was SO GOOD!!!

 He got lots of gifts from his Arabia family and lots of gifts from his grandparents who sent them with us from the US when we travelled over.  That night we had brownies and ice cream out in the drive way with all of our neighbors and he got even MORE presents!

He had a great day!  We are really blessed to have so many people here who love our kids and help make them feel special.  Levi is an awesome boy!  He is usually helpful and does what he is asked.  He likes to play with his friends and ride bikes and scooters and has especially enjoyed going to the BMX park here in Abqaiq. He also still loves to play video games and likes to play on his iPod. One thing I really appreciate about Levi is that he is my least picky eater! He is a really kind boy.  A few weeks ago he got the idea to try and make other people happy by leaving treats for them.  He left some cans of Pepsi by Dan and Sandra's front door for them and he has helped me make some cookies that he has delivered to other neighbors.   I am so grateful to be his Mom!

Safety! It's How We Bowl!

Back in September we celebrated Saudi National Day.  There were a few days of company holiday so we joined in a few festivities around the camp.  Our neighbor, Choy, was in charge of a bowling tournament for kids and he signed us up.

Apparently bowling is a big thing for Filipino people.   You'll notice the few white kids in the photo..They are either my kids or the neighbor kids...LOL.  So very different than in WY.

 While we were taking the group photo the gentleman in charge kept yelling "Condense!"  He wanted the kids to scoot closer to each other.  I got a pretty good laugh out of that.

 The got a free t-shirt! Score!  Aramco is very focused on safety so of course the main focus of the shirt is on safety more than bowling!

Selfie! Me and my Levi!

Swimming in the Gulf

About a 2 weeks after we got here we drove out to the gulf with the Tolmans and Janet.  You basically drive on a paved road through the desert for about 40 minutes and then go from seeing nothing but sand to nothing but water. :)

 I don't think it will ever get old to see camels as we are driving.

 It was almost dark by the time we got there so we only had about 15 minutes to play in the water.  There are lifeguards at the beach and the one by where we were was nice enough to let us play a little longer than usual.

 The water was so warm!  It was like getting into a bathtub!

 Briggy of course wanted to just run and play in the sand.  He loved it!

 Josh in the Gulf!!!  This was one of those moments where we went, "Holy cow!  We are really living in Saudi Arabia!"

 I was looking for a bathroom and nearly went into the Mosque instead... oops.

 After we had to be out of the water the kids played in the showers instead.

First Day of School....2 months later. :)

Catch up time...  School has been in for nearly 2 months.  I can hardly believe how quickly time flies by.  It is the end of the first term and we have parent teacher conferences this week.  

 I have some seriously cute kids.

 Millie:  4th grade (how did that happen???).  Her teacher is Mr. McGough who just happens to live in the same 4plex as we do.  Her best friend is Kealy McGough.  Millie spends a lot of time at their house.  Poor Mr. McGough! :)

 Callie is in PreK-4.  She goes to school every day in the afternoon from 12:30-3:00.  She loves school!  Her teacher is Ms. Cindy, who just happens to live in the 4plex next to us.  She loves playing with her friends Sara and Alexzi who both live on our street. 

 Levi:  He is in first grade and really loving school.  His teacher, Mrs. Bick, tells me that he is a very good friend and always very well behaved.  He is getting to be a better reader and does pretty well on his math homework.  He likes playing with his friends Finny, Diego and Nick.

Cute Briggy.  He is pretty much a monster who needs eyes on him at all times (otherwise something is going to be destroyed.  He loves riding his scooter and playing at the park.

Busy Busy Busy

I keep thinking that I will become a regular blogger.  I am really really wrong in this thinking.   I just can't ever seem to get around to it.

Things here are going really well, we stay plenty busy.  The kids all have activities they participate in that keep us moving in the afternoons.  All three of them have swimming lessons on Monday, on Tuesdays, Callie has ballet and Levi has rock climbing club, on Thursday Millie has rock climbing.  They all seems to be enjoying life here and they all have a lot of friends.

Josh has spent the last week and a half of so car shopping, then buying a car and trying to get all of the money wired over here from the US.  Things are done differently here so it has taken a while to figure our exactly how to do things.  Thanks to a lot of help from our super awesome neighbors Dan and Sandra, we finally got our new car last night!!!  (YAY!!!)  We had arranged before coming here to buy a car from some people that were leaving camp just as we were arriving.  It was a cheap car that was really too small for us and had some issues with the starter.  It was more stress than it was worth so I am super grateful that we have something newer and bigger.

Today is the last day of school for the kids for the next ten days.  Josh goes to work on Thursday and Sunday and then he is off for a bit too. On Monday we have plans to go with our neighbors out into the desert for some exploring.  I am not sure what else we will do but it will be nice to have a break for a bit.  

A shamal (wind/sand storm) started to blow through yesterday and its still windy today.  It looks kind of foggy outside because of all the dust in the air.  The temperature has dropped quite a bit as well, enough that my kids asked to wear jackets to school.  Right now it is about 75 degrees at 10:00 in the morning.   The sand in the air makes my throat feel kind of scratchy and I feel like I have sand on my eyes.  I think this will just be something that we learn to deal with.

More soon! Maybe.  Probably in a few weeks.  (I told you I stink at blogging)

Our House

Here is our humble abode. :) This is what we will call home for the next little while. 

 We live on the end of a 4-plex.  Just to the right of our garage is the neighbors garage. The lawn isn't fully grown in yet but we hired a gardener that is working on getting that taken care of.  He stops by a couple times a day to turn the sprinklers on, he also sweeps off the porch and once a week he washes the car.

 The kitchen is very different than the kitchen we had in the States.  I call it a hallway kitchen and I have a rule that no kids are allowed in there when I am in there.  Too close for comfort.  I do like the kitchen though.  There is plenty of counter space and lots of cabinets too.

 A view from the opposite side.

 This is our dining room.  Aramco provided the furniture for us until our own furniture gets here in a couple of months.

 This is me and Josh's room.  The provided a double bed for us but there is no way that I was gonna share with Josh so we put Briggy in a crip and then used the bed that was meant for him for Josh.  The beds are actually not that bad.

Another shot of our room, looking into the master bathroom.

I'll have to get pics of the kids rooms, the family room, the office and the laundry room up here next.