Snapshots of December

This will be my last post of 2009, and hopefully I'll post more regularly in 2010 (I have to remember that they don't need to be long, right?) Here is a glimpse of December happenings in the Green house:

The boys still love to decorate Christmas cookies, but I do notice the amount of time they are willing to spend each year shrinking.

The Christmas Eve picture you weren't meant to see...

Mom and Michael, getting their grove on to Jingle Bell Rock when they SHOULD have been working on the Christmas tree!

Jake's lips were pursed, but he did a good job NOT blowing!

"Up on the roof top reindeer pause..." Wait, this time it's little boys retrieving a lost ball.

Watch out Gordon Ramsey...Michael's in the kitchen now and his language is MUCH cleaner!

Decorating the Christmas tree

More fake guitar...this time it's Beatles Rock Band! Steve got it for his birthday and LOVED it!

Celebrating Dad's birthday by lovin' on him:

London

It felt GREAT to step off the airplane into 75 degree, dry weather after being soaked to the core in London. But don't let that comment fool you into thinking that we had a miserable, rainy week along the shores of the Thames River.

It was quite a roll of the dice to even take a trip to London at the end of November. There were so many sights that we wanted to see, so much to do outside. Our apartment was in the heart of London; a 10 minute walk to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. There was a Winter Wonderland was going on in Hyde Park, complete with a German Christmas market (think mulled cider...), rides and attractions. And we can't leave out wandering the streets of Soho looking for interesting pubs after a night out at the theater. If the weather ended up being normal for London this time of year, the trip would have been a cold, damp disaster - or at the very least not what we had hoped for. Yes, it was taking a risk -- but come on...when have you known us to flinch?

Steve's sister Holly and her husband Kelly met us there, with their suitcases filled with somewhat random but much desired items for us such as racquetball racquets, college textbooks, Frangos, jeans, legos, and ink cartridges. Not only was it wonderful to be able to see them mid-year, but we love traveling with them and were delighted that they were able to join us.

The weather started out a bit drippy: our first night was spent wandering the immediate area in the rain looking for a restaurant. However, we woke up the next five mornings to blue skies and mild temperatures until the sun set. We spent a majority of our week outside, thinking every morning that the next day would certainly rain; the indoor attractions would have to wait until tomorrow. Unbelievably, "tomorrow" didn't come until our last day there. And once it started raining, it didn't stop all day, night..it was still going when we soggily boarded the plane. We got a real taste of what could have been, and it wasn't pretty.

Holly and I took the kids to see the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, celebrating it's 10th year there. The costumes and grandeur defied our imagination, the music was thrilling, and the boys were rapt with delight for the entire two and a half hour show. The larger musical numbers even had animals coming down the aisles! To to be fair, the boys would also add the priviledge of being able to drink blue slushies in the theatre during the show as one of highlights of the experience. And to be just as fair, my own excitement was evident when the lights came on at the end and there was no blue slushy anywhere on the floor! The whole afternoon exceeded our expectations in every way, and is included on all of our lists of favorite London memories.

Steve and Kelly saw the matinee show of We Will Rock You, a musical set to the music of Queen, while we were at the Lion King. Though I don't know any of the details, they apparently had a fabulous time as well and were impressed with the singing ability of the cast.

Amongst the best experiences we had in the city was the Royal London walking tour. The walk took us slowly from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace where we would experience the famed Changing of the Guard. Our guide was animated, energetic, and above all not one bit ashamed to express his passion for England. As he defended the monarchy we got a dose of insight into why this seemingly outdated, seemingly irrelevant institution is still such a large part of the modern British identity. Our guide also had friends in the guard and after a quick cell phone call, he made arrangements for the kids to stand in the guard boxes, apparently something that NO ONE is normally allowed to do.

I'm not sure what Holly and Kelly would say about the food in London, but we greedily gobbled up every bite! In Saudi, our choice of restaurants on the compound is pretty slim and I can make better tasting food at home. Even in Al Khobar, our neighboring town, fighting the traffic and avoiding prayer time makes it's too much of a pain to be worth the marginal food. Therefore, you can be sure that when we are traveling, especially in places where it's safe to eat the food and drink the water, that we make the most of it! Some of our most memorable meals were authentic pub fish and chips with beer on tap, wine and cheese from a local deli, and scones with clotted cream at Harrods. Thanks to our wonderful sister and brother-in-law, Steve and I were able to have a night out and enjoyed an intimate dinner at a French restaurant as well.

As always (and I know you probably get tired of me saying this), the boys traveled like professionals. They continually amaze me with their willingness to walk all day, go on tours, and try new things. Michael even took the subway and city maps a couple times as navigator. That's my boy!

To see more pictures of our week in London, you can view my Facebook album by clicking here (you don't have to have a Facebook account to view them).

Reflecting on Christmas 2009

2009 was our second year celebrating Christmas in Saudi Arabia. Having Steve's parents here last year was a wonderful experience, one that we will always remember. At the same time, having them here masked the uniqueness of our community during the holidays, something that we would not discover until this year.


We haven't actually spent Christmas back in the Seattle area since 1996. That's not to say that we haven't spent the holidays with family at all in those thirteen years. While in Maryland we managed a couple trips up to Connecticut for Christmas with my Uncle Lee, one that included my dad meeting us there. We've also had Steve's sister Holly and her husband Kelly out twice, once in Maryland and once in Michigan. Still, including last year in Saudi, that accounts for only six out of the thirteen Christmases with family.


Occasionally when we were in the states we would invite families over for Christmas dinner with us. However, most of the people we knew either had family joining them, or went out of town for the holidays. We didn't think much of it, and just made our own traditions that were completely focused on the four of us. No obligations, no stress, no guilt...and a whole lot of staying in our pajamas!

This year came as a surprise though. Had I thought more about it in advance, it would have made sense. We were invited to go sand sledding on Christmas Eve morning, invited to "just hang out together" on Christmas Eve, invited to a couple different Christmas Eve services, Christmas morning brunch, and several Christmas dinners. It was way more Christmas than we were accustomed to, or could even manage. However, none of the invitations came with any obligation, just a longing to be together. After careful thought, we narrowed the festivities down to a dinner with close friends at our house on Christmas Eve, and one Christmas morning brunch at another family's house.




What makes this community so different during the holidays than the others we have lived in? I think it's that most families are either back in their home country with their extended family for the holidays, or they are here alone. There are very few people that stay in the Kingdom that have family coming in, besides teenagers returning from boarding school. Those of us that are here alone, bond together, much in the same fashion that we do all year long.

We end up creating a family of sorts - the people that you know you can count on in a pinch. You can count on them for anything from borrowing a can of pumpkin at Thanksgiving when the stores have none in stock...to asking someone to watch your eldest child while you take the youngest to the ER. In the absence of movie theaters, concerts and other entertainment ...the people you hang out with on the weekends.


It gave us a lot to think about this year: a chance to reflect on what we want Christmas to be for our family. What is a good balance for us? What traditions do we want to keep in place, and what can be sacrificed in exchange for spending time with people who mean a lot to us? And can we manage all of decisions without adding stress into our life?

Snapshots of November

November came and went like a flash! Here's a glimpse of the fun...

Michael celebrating his 10 1/2 years of life! Note the 1/2 candle, for his "half" birthday..

Learning some good chess moves...

November was all about baseball. Steve was the assistant coach of Jake's team, "Big Red." The games were played at 5pm, just as the sun was setting. Temperatures were fabulous...in the mid-70's.

Michael enjoying sandboarding/sand sledding in Shaybah. This was an amazing trip we were blessed to be able to take with the cub scouts to a remote area of Saudi Arabia. I'll try to get a post up about this soon...

The second grade got right down to business this year and performed their musical, "Bugz." Jake was a firefly.

Who knew Jake's mouth was so big?

Jake's First Piano Recital

After watching his big brother on the piano for a year, Jacob was pleading for his own lessons. Seriously. He even coaxed a babysitter into teaching him how to play Fur Elise while we were out one night. We happily gave into his "demands" to learn, and started him in lessons this September with Miss Lydia.





Jake had his first piano recital last weekend. This was the very first time he has performed completely alone in front of a large audience. All of his other performances have been with groups for cub scout skits, 2nd grade musicals, etc. While he was eager to show off his hard work, he was understandable nervous (as was his mother!). He did a FABULOUS job and we couldn't be more proud of him.

He played Ode to Joy by Beethoven and The Clockshop, which was a duet with his teacher. Here are the short video clips:

Halloween 2009

Here's one for you...I now have to worry about their Halloween costumes being too hot, instead of worrying about how to get the costumes over their coats! Thank goodness the trick or treating doesn't start until after the sun goes down. However the 2:30 parade at school was a different matter...

This was Michael's very last Halloween parade. How did he grow out of those so soon? As 2010 and middle school approaches, I imagine that there will be many more "lasts" and "firsts" for him. He is already talking about the school dance that will replace the parade for him at Halloween. Oh boy...

Please indulge me as I take a quick detour down memory lane...here is a picture of his first Halloween parade in 2003, as a 4 year old in preschool. What a great big brother he was (and is), taking 2 yr. old Jake along with him:



...and then six years later as a 10 year old in 5th grade:


The kids paraded and had their parties at school on Wednesday, Oct. 28th, which is our "Friday." The theme seemed to be Black for the 2009 Green family costumes. Jacob sported an authentic ninja costume that Julia brought him from Japan this year:


Don't you think that Jacob's costume looks very similar to one of our everyday sights...


We waited until the 31st to do the actual trick or treating. We kept things pretty low-key this year and stuck close to home. There are some neighborhoods of the community that are literally packed with kids, teens and parents trailing with cars. It's down right dangerous on some of the streets - in fact last year a kid got hit by a car. It's much less crazy in our immediate neighborhood. The Miller family came over to go trick-or-treating with us, and then we had some fabulous roasted butternut squash soup for dinner. A very autumn-like meal, despite the desert heat.

Catching Up...

Hmmm, it looks like it's been awhile since I've posted. I have been keeping lists of things I want to write about and hopefully I will start working on those topics this week. Normally I have a ton of time to spend at the computer. However lately, I've been spending much of that time working on itineraries, flights and accommodations for our upcoming trips to London (November) and China (March).

In addition to that, I have been researching and applying to schools for online classes. I'll be registering later this month for classes at Bellevue Community College (in WA state) for the winter and spring, and I'm waiting to hear from Washington State University on acceptance for the fall -- they both have distance learning classes and I'll be able to finish my accounting degree completely online from over here. WSU is going to treat my situation similar to military and give me in-state tuition once I've had my WA driver's license for a year, which will be in July. We are excited beyond belief about their decision, which will allow me to use my 20 year old tuition scholarship there. Next on our plate will be computer shopping, as I'm not confident I will be able to rely on our "dinosaur" for online classes.

School is still going well for both the boys. We had parent/teacher conferences several weeks ago and both the boys are doing great. Socially, it's like night and day from last year at this time. Hurray for settling in and making friends! Speaking of school, did you know that that our school in the compound is the ONLY school in ALL of Saudi Arabia that held classes before mid-October? The other international schools, as well as the Saudi schools have been closed, due to Ramadan and swine flu fears. I feel for those mothers, and am horrified to think of how short their summer break will be next year.

On a sad note, we took Skippy back to her foster parent in town a couple weeks ago. Jake was doing great with his allergies but there were other issues that ultimately made her a bad fit for our family. At the top of the list was her ongoing grave dislike of Jacob and her inability to stop terrorizing children that came over to play. The psychology of what may have been causing all of that was well beyond our limited knowledge of dog training, and we thought it would be best to break the bond before it was too difficult to do. It was heartbreaking, especially for Michael but she really didn't turn out to be the family dog we wanted. We are going to give it some time, talk to some animal behaviorists and see if it's something we can do better with a different dog. The worst part of all of this was that it came to a head within a week of Uncle Fuzzy, the hamster, dying.

The weather is cooling down to reasonable finally, enabling us to enjoy Jake's baseball games, bike rides and many other outdoor activities. The highs have been ranging from 88-98 degrees this week. Unfortunately with the "cooler" weather comes mosquitoes and the flu. Oh well, I guess you can't have it all.

In a nutshell, that's what we've been up to...Stay tuned for Halloween pictures, a photo tour of the inside of our house here, an education of the different types of palm trees we have, and our thoughts on a recent teen riot in downtown Khobar.

We Couldn't be more Proud

There are times as a mom when I just think my heart is going to burst with pride. Michael provided me yet another one of those moments this week...

As I mentioned before, my brave son ran for Student Council President of his elementary school, along with a dozen other candidates. Listening to the speeches at the school assembly (a crowd of over 700 students, teachers and parents) on Tuesday, I was impressed with the maturity and courage the candidates all possessed. Their counselor has been working with them for weeks, coaching them on good, fair, campaigning as well as practicing their speeches. Their hard work was evident not only in the professional way they presented themselves but also the maturity they displayed in the entire process.

Sadly, Michael did not win the election, but still walked away a total WINNER for running. I can't begin to put into words how proud we are of him. A year ago he was a new student, one that had a very difficult transition into the school and a tremendous struggle to make friends. That his confidence has turned around to the point of running for president speaks volumes.

Here is the video of his speech:

RIP, Uncle Fuzzy

I have a very, VERY sad boy tonight.

Uncle Fuzzy passed away sometime between last night and tonight. He was in his nest under the platform, his favorite spot, with his eyes shut.

Uncle Fuzzy was our first non-aquatic pet. He brought Michael much joy and taught him a little bit more responsibility. He will be missed.

Snapshots of September

It's hard to believe it's the last day of September already. One month of school under our belts (minus the week off for the Eid holiday) and I couldn't be more pleased with how well school is going, academically and socially. What a difference a year makes!

Michael is doing well - he's keeping up with the school work and still managing to practice his trombone, and occasionally the guitar. He just began his campaign for Student Council President this week. The elections will be held on Oct. 14th...I'll let you know what happens. He has to give an election speech on the 13th at an assembly with the entire student body, teachers and parents. He says it will be "no big deal - after participating in the variety show last spring, it's not so hard to talk to 800+ people." Wow.

Jake is holding his own again. However, during the 2nd week of school his teacher had a family emergency that she had to attend to in the US. Then while she was there she fell ill or something. Unfortunately she's been gone since Sept. 7th and the school has no idea when she will be returning. They have a long-term substitute in there right now. Not the best start to school, but what can you do? THANKFULLY, this did NOT happen to Michael. I shudder at the thought...

Here's what else we've been up to this month:





Playing dress up with our friend, Ethan. They've all clearly mastered the art of posing for the camera!

Enjoying some down time with Skippy. This was before we remembered she shouldn't be on the sofa. Now when we sit here she lays in our laps, if invited. Otherwise she has a little bed she likes to nap in.

Michael and his gold "basketball" time capsule. Uncle Fuzzy no longer has a hamster ball to use. Everyone else in his class used the recommended Pringles can. Where DOES this child come up with his creativity??

A little father/son bonding: practicing guitar together.

Poker / Fudge / Popcorn Night. What? Sure it goes together!

Diligently practicing piano

Jake loved the birthday gifts Michael bought (using his own money - a first).

More father/son bonding? For the record, Michael can cream any of us on Guitar Hero. Too bad it doesn't translate in "real guitar" playing ability!

Introducing....Skippy

Are you sitting down? Great...let me introduce you to the newest member of our family: Skippy! She is named after Skippyjon Jones, the Siamese cat who thinks he is really a Chihuahua (a picture book written by Judy Schachner).

Skippy is a 2 year old Chihuahua who desperately needed a loving home after being dumped in Khobar by what we speculate to have been an abusive family.

Yes, Jacob is still allergic to cats and dogs. But he wanted a dog so bad that he was all set to start allergy desensitization shots when we got here. The local allergist had no qualms about arrogantly telling me what he really thinks about the situation: He believes the shots are immoral and totally unethical unless you are a vet or other professional that works with animals. He then continued on about the "fact" that the allergists in the U.S. are in the back pockets of the pharmaceutical companies, and that's why they "push" the allergy shots. After controlling my white-hot rage, I realized that day that medical ethics are not the same everywhere as I had always assumed, but instead are probably unique to each culture. We have had some absolutely outstanding allergists in Washington, Maryland and Michigan and I don't believe for a minute that they are in any one's back pocket. But I digress...

We put everything on the back burner until we came back to the states this summer. After consulting and testing for several hours, our allergist in Washington State gave us the green light to bring a dog into our family, with the following conditions:

• The dog MUST be kept out of Jake's room at all times. (easy enough to do - we'll learn to keep his door closed)
  
• The carpets and tile must be vacuumed 2-3 times a week. (they already are)
  
• Jacob may need to stay on Zyrtek, with the possibility of backing off it slowly. (He takes it most of the year anyway, due to other environmental allergies)
• It should be a small dog, and one from the hypoallergenic list is preferred.
• The dog should be trained to stay off the furniture, or get leather furniture (I voted for buying new leather furniture, but the keeper of the family finances said to do the training)

After returning to Saudi in August, we started putting the word out that we were looking for a small dog, preferably NOT a puppy. Last week, Skippy was put up for adoption through the Saudi PAWS organization. Jake spent some time with a Chihuahua this summer and didn't have any issues, so we pursued her even though she's not on the "hypo-list."

Skippy is house trained, energetic and has the sweetest little disposition. She doesn't bark unless someone comes to the door, and she hasn't nipped AT ALL. She is very trainable - we almost have her trained not to get on the furniture or beds unless we've invited her to sit on our laps. Maybe a couple more days...

We've had her exactly one week now and so far Jake has done fine, the exception being the time that he allowed Skippy to stick her nose in his eye (don't ask why...). He holds her and plays with her, but we remind him to not let Skippy lick him. Thankfully she's not much of a licker. She does love taking walks, chewing dried pig ears (can you believe we were able to get them here, but I can't get bacon?), being held, being included, and just being loved.

We've all hoped we'd be able to have a dog for a long time - it's been a decision we didn't take lightly. We know that being good pet owners takes a lot of time. Living here with the laid back schedule gives us the extra time we needed to not only be good owners but also diligent about the allergy issues. It's a HUGE emotional risk for both the dog and us - we know that. However, no amount of time spent in other people's homes with other people's dogs and other people's cleaning habits would predict how Jake's allergies would do in our own situation. We decided to go for it...wish us luck!

Totally Different, Yet Very Much the Same

We just ended the long month of Ramadan last week Saturday, at sunset to be exact. It was amazing how friendly and happy the security guards at the gates were the next day as we went in and out of the compound. It's the beginning of Eid Al'Fitr, the celebration that starts immediately following the end of Ramadan, and clearly the gentlemen were no longer fasting. Keeping in mind that I am not an Islamic scholar, just an observer, let me give you some background on the two most important holidays of the Islamic calendar.

In a nutshell, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It's based on a lunar calendar, so the date moves forward by about 10-11 days each year. The beginning is marked by the viewing of the crescent moon. During this month, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking (even water is forbidden), smoking, having sex, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from sunrise to sunset. In addition, during Ramadan followers of Islam are especially generous to the needy, repentant of past sins, and generally try to purify themselves through self restraint and good deeds.

Eid Al-Fitr occurs on the sighting of the next new crescent moon - it officially marks the end of Ramadan. During Eid festival, Muslims celebrate by offering Eid-specific prayers, visiting relatives, feasting, gift giving, wearing their best or new clothes, and donating food to the poor. This Eid is a day of rejoicing, happiness, and celebration. The Saudi government gives us four days off, making it a week-long holiday.

I read an interesting op-ed piece in the Arab News last week that caused me to stop and think about religious celebrations. The author of essay was pointing out that many Muslims were not approaching Ramadan with the sincerity and reverence they should, that they had a basic lack of spirituality during the holy month. Often people turn their schedules upside down to make "getting through" the month of fasting easier...so they sleep much of the day and then feast, drink and party all night. I have heard that many people actually gain weight during the month! There are all kinds of special (but non-religious) entertainment shows broadcast on cable in the middle of the night. Lamenting the increasing amount of "Ramadan Sales" and other retail specials that are profiting from the holiday, the author voiced his concern about his fellow believers losing the spirit of Ramadan.

In a broad sense, doesn't that sound familiar?

The parallels between modern-day Ramdan/Eid Al-Fitr and Christmas celebrations provides food for thought. Why is it that modern society, regardless the religion or country, seems to be slowly secularizing religious holidays? Is it part of human nature? How far back does this trend go in history? Are there indications of this happening in places such as ancient Mayan cultures, for example? Or is this truly a modern trend, perhaps a sign of "end-times" ?

I'm not convinced that it's an intentional secularization of these religious observances. Perhaps pieces of the celebrations, such as gift giving, are gradually being taken to extremes, elevating that particular portion of the celebration above other equally important ones and thus corrupting the original intent. Capitalizing on the potential profits from these holidays is just common greed, one of the ugly characteristics of human nature that knows no borders.

When we first arrived, the differences between our culture and the Saudis were glaring. Those obvious differences still exist, but the longer we're here it's becoming clearer to me that the differences are just surface. Underneath it all we are more alike than we realize.

Some Video....finally!

I am still waging the battle to provide you with good quality video. We did buy a new video camera this summer and I've recorded a bit to get my feet wet. Learning to use the camera was the easy part. Figuring out how to transfer the video to the computer and use the software was an hours-long nightmare. Cannon definitely earns a nomination for the Most Poorly Written Owner's Manual award on this one! I'm still pretty amateurish, but it will be good enough to serve my purpose...to keep you updated on our lives over here.

So without further delay, here are the two debuting videos from the Green Family Production company. Coincidentally they both display the musical talent (?) we Greens possess! They're both about 20 seconds long, and all you need to do is click on the triangle to begin playing them. If you are receiving this post through email, you may have to click on the link (the post title) to view this on the web - let me know.

This one is the first day Michael brought his trombone home from school. See what we have to look forward to:




This is the infamous clip of Jake playing the recorder with his nose. His mouth is shadowed, but I assure you it is closed and he is only playing with his nose. Such skill! What's even crazier is that when I uploaded it to YouTube, there were three other clips of kids playing the recorder with their nose...one of them also named Jake!

Have I Changed? Most Definitely.

An odd thing happened while I was doing the most ordinary of tasks; making cookies. As I packed the brown sugar into a measuring cup, I found myself thinking, "...I just opened the last box, I better put it on the shopping list." Huh. When did I start putting things on a grocery list before we were low on them? Probably around a year ago, when I started realizing that certain things take longer to find in Saudi. Brown sugar that isn't as hard as a brick is not always easy to find. It might take me three shopping trips, four stores and two weeks to find it!

I don't remember specifically making the change in my mind. And that led me to wonder how many other ways I have changed my habits, ways of thinking or doing ordinary things as a result of living here...without even knowing it. After some pondering here is what I've come up with:

Shopping:

I now plan for weekly grocery shopping several days in advance for many reasons: arranging transportation, figuring out the best routing to get the most shopping in before prayer time, keeping a running shopping list at ALL times, and finding companions to share the cost of the driver. This is no longer a last-minute, easy run to the store-kind of lifestyle I have.

I have become a complete hoarder. Obscene amounts of things like chocolate instant pudding, frozen pie shells, multi-grain toaster waffles, semi-sweet chocolate chips and Frosted Mini Wheats can be found in my kitchen because I don't know when they will magically appear on the store shelves again.

Cooking:

My method of cooking has slowly evolved from selecting recipes because I'd like to try them...to buying what produce is available AND is good (or even fair) quality, and then deciding what to make for dinner based on what I brought home.

I've been making more than ever from scratch (salad dressing for example), not because it's healthier but because it TASTES so much better than what I can buy.

I NEVER use the tap water to cook anything anymore, and rarely even use it to wash our fruits/vegetables. It won't hurt us (well, maybe eventually?), but it tastes BAD, BAD, BAD. The sweet water tap (treated water) tastes pretty bad too but I do use it for washing. We only drink and brush our teeth with bottle water now.

Eating Out

What's that? We rarely eat out anymore, maybe once month and on trips to Bahrain. We've mostly eaten at home during other phases of our life, but for different reasons (tight budget, small children, etc.) Why don't we eat out anymore? Frankly, it's mostly because it's just too much hassle to go into Khobar (off compound). The food is just NOT that good to make it worth dealing with of prayer time and Khobar traffic. Even on compound the restaurants and dining hall are just not that good - the kids would rather eat at home.

Travel

Our low-budget vacations are no longer road trips to stay with relatives...quick, inexpensive trips now are to nearby locations such as Jordan, UAE, Egypt, and hopefully in the future...India, Turkey, Thailand and the Red Sea.

Home Repairs

When something needs repair in our home, I now pick the phone up immediately, without second thought, to have it fixed. We live in a rental here so we are no longer financially responsible for repairs, nor do I have to wait for Steve to get the time to work on the endless stream of household maintenance. Not only that, but when I do make the call about the air conditioner not working, the leaky sink or the rusty shower curtain bar...repairmen are here the same day - sometimes within the hour! For free!

Attire

I rarely wear socks or jackets (and never a coat). That's a HUGE change from living in Michigan.

Before leaving the house, I now take a minute to stop and think about where I am going and what I am wearing. Yes, on the compound I am generally free to wear whatever I like. That being said when I am wearing shorts and a tank top, I'm not comfortable going into the administrative buildings or the clinics. I usually change into capris (below the knee) and a short sleeve shirt (cover the shoulder).


I'm sure I could come up with more, but it's time to stop typing...I have already figured out which morning works best this week to go grocery shopping. Now I have to call Julia and Laura to see if they want to go with me. And then I have to call a driver to make a reservation. Then I have to call the ladies back to let them know if I've secured transportation...

Or...on second thought, maybe I'll just skip it. Does anyone know how to soften brown sugar?

It's YOUR Turn to Talk!

...I want to hear from you!

I'm curious as to why you read my blog...are you mostly interested in keeping up with our family activities? Or are you curious as to what we experience over here in terms of cultural differences? Are you just checking out the pictures and places we have the opportunity to travel to? Or perhaps you are just being a supportive friend and you really don't care otherwise?

Naturally this is so I know how to entertain you in the future. So please take a minute to either email me or add a comment. I am always open to suggestions for future posts as well.

Meeting the Mouse

Was it a labor of love for two boys, or just an excuse for three adults to have some good ole' fun?

As we were making plans for the summer, I began to see some issues with the last two weeks that the boys and I would be spending in the states. Imagine: After four weeks straight of travel, summer drawing to an end, everyone sure to be tired of living out of suitcases, Steve already back in Saudi...I would be faced with trying to entertain the boys for the last two weeks of vacation on my own in Western Washington.

While talking to Steve's sister Holly about my dilemma I mentioned that going to Disneyland would be the perfect solution, but it would be far too difficult for me to take the boys there without Steve: Michael loves fast, wild rides...Jacob likes to take things easy. Neither of them are old enough to be left alone in Disneyland.

Imagine my surprise and delight when Holly enthusiastically responded, "We'll go with you!" There was no way I could pass up an offer like that...we booked four nights in Anaheim for the week before we had to return to Saudi. This was to be the first time the boys have been to Disney, and though I was sad that Steve wouldn't be able to be part of it - it was such a relief to have something to break up a couple difficult weeks.

As worried as I was that the boys would be too old to enjoy seeing the characters -- it totally was not the case. What do they say...you're never too old to enjoy Disneyland? That must explain all the couples I saw on their honeymoon there (judging from the bride and groom mouse ears).

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:





At the Medieval Times dinner, waiting for the food and the show. The boys LOVED this neat experience.

Jacob at the Jedi Training Academy, battling with Darth Maul. (Can I just say how TOTALLY cool this was for Jake! Talk about unforgettable...)

The classic picture, no explanation needed.

Jacob and Aunt Holly having fun!

NO RIDE was too fast for Michael and Uncle Kelly!

Making good use of the hotel bed and their Medieval hatchets

The boys HATED this ride...too slow, singing dolls, an annoying song over and over and over again. All it takes to make them crazy now is to start humming, "It's a Small World."

We were on a mission to find Donald, the boys' favorite character. It took four days, but we finally tracked him down.

One thing I have to say about Disneyland...I was surprised and TOTALLY impressed with how well run the park is. I never saw trash on the ground anywhere. The bathrooms were always clean and had toilet paper, didn't stink, and amazingly there were no lines. The friendly workers were smiling and helpful, and appeared to genuinely enjoy working there.

Going with Holly and Kelly was perfect: Kelly was more than willing to go on the super fast, wild rides with Michael...over and over again. When Jake needed some time to slow down and get away from his type A mom, Holly stepped right in and happily took him off for a couple hours to explore at his own pace. We ALL had a fabulous time and I owe so much to them for "helping" me out. Thank you!

I was especially proud of my boys' behavior: there were no melt downs, no "I want ___," no arguing...just a couple of great kids enjoying something they'd always dreamed of doing. As a mom, it just doesn't get much better than that!