We're Moving

It's official..

WE ARE MOVING.

Brooks got a job in Borger, Texas, up in the Panhandle with his company.  It's not exactly southeast Texas where we lived before moving to Saudi, but it's a domestic job on US soil and we're excited and eager to make this move!  Brooks will start June 1st so we have 21 days until we no longer live in Saudi Arabia.  We are currently working on getting our house ready for movers to come and pack us up.  We have to figure out what we need to live with for the next 2 months (and it all has to fit within 10 suitcases), we have to make our air shipment based on a certain weight limit, then group things into our sea shipment that we won't see for a few months.  The only good thing about this process is how it causes you to purge things and really decide whether or not something is important and/or will get used, worn, or be needed over the next 3-4 months!

It is so crazy to think that we moved over here almost 3 years ago filled with anxiousness, anticipation, and so many unknown fears, but we did it!  We put our time in and made our home here.  We learned to love life here and adapted to the many changes brought our way.  And now, our adventure is over.  I've had so many mixed emotions over the past week since we found out we were really moving.

I'm sad to leave this season of life behind.
I'm sad to leave our friends.
I'm sad to leave what's become our new normal.
I'm sad to leave our community.
I'm sad to leave the convenience of having a grocery store outside our front door, personal drivers, our helpers, maintenance at our beck and call, a beach, pool, restaurant, workout facility in walking distance of our house, and many, many of the other perks that come with living here!
I'm sad to leave our Friday morning group.
I'm sad to leave the semi- slow paced life we have.

It's so funny to think that all the hesitations I felt when moving here are the very things I've grown to love and accept and am going to miss the most.

I'm grateful for making this move.
I'm grateful for the memories we made.
I'm grateful for the friends we now have.
I'm grateful for the travel opportunities living here gave us.
I'm grateful for how much living here caused us to change and grow and adapt.
I'm grateful for being taken out of our comfort zone and seeing there is a whole new world outside of the USA and it is amazing.

I love that we were challenged this season of life.
I love that we learned how to do life in our environment.
I love that we have a new appreciation for the different cultures we've been surrounded by and the various people who have enriched our lives who we may otherwise have never known.
I love that we will always get to say 2 of our kids were born in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
I love that Gavin's first memories will be from a foreign country.
I love the stories we'll get to tell of learning how to understand broken English so much you begin speaking it to others because you know that's the only way they'll understand you or how it is possible to cook a meal without sour cream and rotel because stores don't carry them for months.
I love that because of this move I feel we can now do anything.  We can go anywhere.  We can adapt to any situation.  We can make any circumstances work and we can be happy no matter where we are or what we're doing.  Time truly has a new meaning for us.  I remember thinking before moving here 3-5 years is going to feel like FOREVER and here we are.  We're on the other side of it and we did it!

The biggest life lesson I will take from this experience besides NEVER SAY NEVER (I totally told Brooks I would NEVER move to the Panhandle of Texas, too) is sometimes you have to look at what you are gaining in a situation and make it work versus looking at what you are losing or missing out on.  That's the only way to survive it.

Sure, I could write a whole post about all the things we feel like we missed out on not being in the USA for the last 3 years, which believe me, I do have a list and there are some moments that sting my heart when I think about them, but what if we wouldn't have come here and taken this adventure because of holding onto all those things we weren't going to have or that we weren't going to be apart of?  Our lives would look very different right now.  So,  for this moment in time we went where God called us, we did what we came to do, and we are in a much, much better place and have been greatly enriched by all that we have seen and done the last 3 years.

I'll end this by saying our next move will surely be an adventure into unknown territory, where we won't know anyone and will start our new lives in a foreign place.

We don't know:
- where we'll live
- where we'll go to church
- where our kids will go to school
- what our friends will be like
- how long we'll be there
- what life will look like for the next few years
- what cars we'll drive

But we do know there will be:
-Wal-Mart and Targets nearby
- family and friends in the same time zone AND less then 12 hours away
- churches
- stocked grocery stores
- driving laws that are enforced
- movie theaters
- pork
- freedom to wear what we want and go where we please
- public restrooms that don't make you want to vomit when you walk in (well, we may still encounter some of those)
- stores that don't close half the day
- and many, many, many more wonderful opportunities at our disposal

Easter

We started our Easter Celebrations this year with a compound wide Easter Egg-travaganza!!  Several ladies got together and created the whole event.  There was Easter Egg Hunts for all the kids, based on age groups, a cook out, and scavenger hunt!  

**I realized that our kids have never had Easter Baskets so I went out and found some at a local shop and when I got home, decided they looked ugly.  Since I started learning to sew, I figured I'd make liners for the baskets!  It was a definite learning experience, but lots of fun and I was pretty happy with the end results!

Our kids loved hunting for eggs!  Thankfully, Miles and Brooklyn's age group was very few kids and the eggs were out in the open of the backyard making it extremely easy for our kids to get and find eggs!  At some point, pretty quickly, too. Miles and Brooklyn realized there was candy inside the eggs. Game over.  That was all they were interested in.  We did convince Miles to keep hunting for eggs and he was eager to fill up his basket!  Gavin was all into his age groups hunt and seemed a little competitive but just against himself not others!  He really, really wanted to get all the eggs he could find!!  

I took an applique sewing class with my friend Laura and we decided to make the girls Easter shirts.  We used our Silhouettes and cut out the images with fabric and then appliqued the designs on!  So cute and something I plan to do again.  MAYBE... I won't have to spend $30 on holiday applique shirts off Etsy anymore.. just maybe!  

Of course we spent the evening with our friends and the kids played their hearts out together!  We tried getting a few group shots together.  They were all more interested in what the other one had in their baskets!

Gavin got to dye Easter Eggs and was amazed his turned blue!  He loved it!

I made an Easter Bunny cake for the BBQ.

Easter morning was lots of fun this year!  The kids were excited to see their baskets and had a ball playing throughout the morning with all their new toys.  They got bubbles, and balls, and music instruments, toy planes, and bumper cars!  It was precious watching their faces with all the fun stuff they got!

After our morning group get together we invited all of our friends over for lunch and I cooked a Mexican meal.  What are you suppose to eat on Easter Sunday by the way?!?  Our friends pitched in with the side dishes and desserts.  I wanted for all of us to have a fun and memorable day so Brooks and I came up with Easter themed games for everyone to play!  We had a blast, laughed a lot, and made some fun memories!!  The guys played chubby bunny (with marshmallows in the mouth)- i think the highest number was 8 or 9!  We played egg on a spoon where each couple raced against the other to see who could make it walking/running without dropping their egg.  We did this twice!  Another game was Pass the Egg.  Each couple had to hand off an Easter Egg to the other one without using their hands and then drop it into an Easter Basket!  This game might have been everyone's favorite to watch and got the most laughs!!  We played Egg Toss.  Guys together.  Girls together!  The guys got real competitive and were pretty serious about wanting to win. They were really good at it too and had to move outside our yard to keep throwing.  They even did a few dives to catch their eggs!  Fun stuff!  When it was us girls turn, we had our own surprise!  We used hard boiled eggs so that it would be more difficult to crack our eggs and when they did crack, it wasn't going to be messy!  The other girls appreciated my gesture and went along with it!  We set up the jump house for all the kids and they were busy jumping, playing in the playhouse, jumping on trampoline, and riding around in the back yard!  I was a really, really fun day with all our friends!

Pass the Egg

Egg on a Spoon

Chubby Bunny

Egg Toss

Girls Egg Toss

This is Tara, 9 months pregnant.  She gave birth a few days later!

Me and Steph's egg cracked first!

Happy Easter! Hope you and your family are blessed!  He is RISEN!

Thailand: Excursions and Exploring (April 2013)

We took a family vacation to Thailand when the kids were 4, 2, and 1 years old.  We had an idea our time on that side of the world was winding down so we wanted to make sure we got in visiting another country before we left the Middle East.  If you haven't read about part 1 of our trip, check it out here.... or if you just don't remember reading about it go check it out!  

This post will be all about our excursions and exploring Thailand.

I mentioned in the previous post that we were staying at the same resort as several other families from Saudi so we chose to go on a few excursions together to make them a little more "private".  

Our first outing was to explore the Phi Phi Islands.  These are well known islands in Phuket.  We took boat rides to each spot.  We kept Brooklyn in her carrier for the ride and she ended up falling asleep.  Miles on the other hand had to be watched like a hawk due to his enthusiasm to hang over the boat!  

At each stop, we could get off the boat by walking through the water, hence us needing all the help and extra hands, and would climb to different spots around.  We toured the islands by foot and saw huge trees and beautiful scenery.

We were all able to swim in the water and jump off the boats.  The kids were all about jumping off the boats and the water was crystal blue/green.

One of the stops was at monkey island.  We did not get off the boat, but were able to get close enough to throw bananas at the monkeys and feed them some lunch!  They entertained the kids with every catch, movement, dance, jump, etc.  Totally worth the 15 minute stop.

We were able to get out and snorkel around the area which was half entertaining half there's nothing down there to see, but hey, you're snorkeling in Thailand waters.

Our last stop was at Rang Yai Island where were were able to get off the boat, relax, and play on the beach.  The kids loved the freedom.  Miles and Gavin took off with the kids exploring the sand and water while Brooklyn took a little nap before enjoying the beach front. It was beautiful! Even the men goofed off a little bit.

One day we hired a private driver for the day and went on an Elephant Trek.  I had no idea what to expect, but it exceeded any expectations and was an AMAZING experience.  Our driver got lost, which made us late for our excursion, but thankfully they were waiting for us and we made it just in time for the beginning of the Elephant Show.  We got to watch two elephants kick a soccer ball around, they painted on canvas, played music with a few instruments.... VERYentertaining!!  After their show we had the opportunity to feed them bananas.  During this trip, Miles was 2yo and Brooklyn was 1yo and we weren't sure if they would willingly feed them, but they did and LOVED it!  They couldn't hand those elephants bananas fast enough!  It was fun to watch them squeal every time the banana disappeared.

When we finished feeding them, it was time to learn specifics about various elephants, how they act, what they eat, etc.  We basically got a lesson on elephants.  In our minds we just couldn't wait for our turn to get on an elephant!  Eventually, a group of elephants came strolling in and we waited our turn to climb on.  Brooks and Gavin rode an elephant together, called "Teno"- I think it meant watermelon, and I had the two little ones.  It was pretty awesome riding on the back of an elephant.  The views were spectacular through the jungle.  It took a little while to get use to sliding from side to side as the elephant moved around, but after a while you quit feeling like you were about to fall off!  Overall, soooo glad we didn't let having little kids keep us from doing this and for sure is something we will remember FOREVER!

The next part of our day was at the Big Buddha statue.  They were doing major renovations to this area, but it was still feasible for tourists to tour.   We went to the Big Buddha because we wanted to see the temple and get an idea of their culture.  This is one of many Big Buddha temples found in Asia.  When we arrived we found that it is considered a religious area and women were asked to cover up in certain ways... shawls were given out to use as skirt wraps or to cover shoulders up.  We saw animal sacrifices EVERYWHERE inside smaller temples that were scattered throughout the area.  Coins were all over the place being dropped for public donations to help with the building renovations.  Inside there were countless resources of their religion, way of life, acts, and more.  You even had the opportunity to be blessed by a monk--- we walked passed that area and didn't participate.   The rest of our tour had some incredible statues and we watched some talented men carve very descriptive drawings into wood.  Overall, we were glad we went and saw the temple and got an idea of the Thai culture.

Next up, we needed lunch!  We were tired, exhausted, and starving!!  We headed into Patong and found a Hard Rock Cafe, plopped down, ordered tons of food, and stuffed our faces!  We were pretty delirious, too and just goofed off.   After lunch, we went shopping the streets and did some major bardering for deals and left pretty happy.  Eventually it stormed and the kids were done.. not to mention, Brooks and I had been wearing kids in backpack carriers ALL day and we were done!  What a fun, filled day!

Our last big outing was with our Saudi friends, again, and I'm soooo thankful we had all of them to experience this with.  Not to mention all their kids around helped keep our kids entertained and their mommy's and daddy's were HUGE helps to us wrangling 3 kids on the boat!  The weather wasn't great and rained off and on throughout the day, but that didn't stop us from feeling hot and muggy!  The kids didn't seem to mind as long as they weren't wet, so we stayed below deck most of the boat ride.

Today our trip was to Khao Phing Kan then Phang Nga Bayotherwise known as "James Bond Island". This island was featured in the 1971 James Bond "The Man with the Golden Arm", thus making it a popular tourist site.  This is now the 2nd James Bond place we have encountered on one of our trips and yet I don't even know Brooks and I have seen either movie.

We took a boat ride to several areas where we could check out the scenery.  At one location we got out and rode kayaks through the caves, which was amazing.  There were cliffs everywhere, limestones, and breathtaking views.  The kids enjoyed the kayaks and so did I since we had our own "driver" and didn't have to do any of the work.

Miles totally fell asleep during our kayak ride.  In order to get through the caves you would have to lay down and there were even locations where the cliffs were so low, they would brush across your body while you were laying down.  But it was AMAZING!!

Brooklyn LOVED the freedom of playing in the water and finally being out of the carrier.  We brought our kids life vests but found it was easier for them to function on the long boat rides wearing their floaties, however Brooklyn was so little she couldn't wear her vests AND be strapped into the carrier, so she stayed in the carrier onto Brooks.  At some point, she started crying and wouldn't stop so he undid her and this is what she did the whole time.  Keep in mind she was 15 months old and LOVED playing in the water.

Our group!!

After kayaking the area we were sent to a drop off where we could explore the actual island.  The kids hiked up a few areas and were fearless.

At some point, we noticed a few foreigners pick Miles up to take pictures with him and I don't think I've ever seen Brooks run so fast up a mountain to grab our child.  We weren't that far behind them, but let the boys explore since all the other big kids were with them, but we felt like at that point we needed to intervene.  Sadly, we are so use to other people wanting our kids that it wasn't anything new.  Check out the guys face facing the camera-- looking at Brooks.

The moment we waited for-- not really.. but it was the photo op moment! James Bond Island.

from the movie

For lunch we stopped on an exclusive island where people live, go to school, and stay away from the hustle and bustle of the mainland.  This island, in my opinion, was awful.  It was gross, the people lived in huts that were built above the water, on stilts, and broke my heart to see their living conditions.  However, on the flip side of this community was a built up restaurant and shopping area where the tourists would go for lunch before finishing their tour.  Hmmm.. Part of what we learned is this is an exclusive community, where you have to be a member of one of the original founding families to live there.  They are all muslim and keep to themselves.  However, they had NO problem using their children to come out and encourage us to take photos pay to have photos taken of us with their pet monkeys.  I literally pushed an 8 year old off of Gavin while she was FORCING him to take her monkey.  It was an awful experience and made me nervous the rest of our time there.  We had to walk through this maze like set up, which in my opinion was intentional, yet gross at the same time.

Afterwards, we were back on the boat and the kids got some play time.  If you asked Miles back then what he loved he would say "jumpin off boat!"

Our last night we decided to head out just the 5 of us and take the kids to a show called Phuket Fantasea.  It's a performance style show with flying dragons, fire spitting, animal performances, etc.  The show and the grounds it was held on was HUGE and a Disney/carnival style experience.  I'm not gonna lie.. there were parts of the show that we were covering the kids eyes because it was a little much for them to see, but the dancing elephants were AMAZING!  The kids did an awesome job sitting through the show and not wanting to leave.  It really did keep your attention and was worth going.

Overall, it was a great way to end our trip!  

People often ask if we would go back to Thailand again, and if I'm being honest, probably not, but not because we didn't enjoy it or we didn't think it was good enough.  We kinda have the attitude of we came, we saw, we conquered, and now move on.  The memories we made their were AMAZING!  Our kids can always say they rode an elephant or we can say we've been to James Bond Island.. LOVE the memories and it was a great, great trip!!  Next time, we would just want to experience a new place in Asia.   

ลา ... จนกว่าเราจะพบกันอีกครั้ง

(Goodbye, until we meet again)