First few weeks in Washington....

The first few days of being in Washington meant some serious jet lag and early mornings. Every morning we were up and ready to go by 5:00 AM regardless of me trying anything and everything to get us back to bed. So, I decided to be useful with our time and do some errands. One day we went grocery shopping to get food for our new house, one day we went to Home Depot and one day we just went to the house and started working and had carpet ripped up by 8:00 AM! Me and my two little ones made a pretty sweet carpet removal team! And sometimes those little ones just needed a blanket and a movie and watched mommy work....

We also made frequent visits to our favorite donut shop called Rocket Donuts especially since they carried gluten free donuts which made Peyton's day....and later come to find out (another post) Graham's!

We cut flowers from our beautiful garden at our new house. We have a huge hydrangea plant growing on the side and it is gorgeous. We had peonies at the start of the summer as well.

We explored around my parents house and found the spot of where my dad was going to build a tree house. The kids were so excited and spent time helping bring boards up to the treehouse and draw up plans with him on what it would look like.

We went to church and soaked up the worship, messages and kids church for Peyton. We are thankful to have that community there to come back to and especially for the kids. Peyton adores going and looks forward to it every trip home.

We went to a car show and Graham was in love with the firetruck and firefighters. 

Graham (and Peyton but not as much as Graham) also LOVED riding on G's tractor....and had TONS of tractor rides all summer long. We had a funny joke all summer when we would ask Graham whose tractor it was and he would say "Papa's" and he would laugh because he knew we would get all pretend upset and say it was "G's."

We loved on my parent's dog Bailey....

We visited the farmers market and bought a two blueberry bushes and decided to make a fruit garden instead of a vegetable one. We ended up with two blueberry bushes, a raspberry bush, some strawberries and some snap peas. The kid LOVED running outside and seeing what had grown and eating fresh fruit from our garden. Even Peyton started eating the blueberries from our garden saying they were delicious but whenever I would try to give her store bought ones (even if I didn't tell her where they were from) she would say she didn't like the store ones. 

The kids were so helpful in doing tons of yard work, picking out new plants and planting our flower beds. They loved going to the nurseries and playing in dirt, rocks, and picking out the plants. It was also so much for me to pick out plants knowing that everything grows so well in Washington and I was overwhelmed with all the choices. I am excited to see how everything grows within the next year and adding and making beautiful flower beds! We later added some privacy trees along our fence to our neighbors which will grow quickly so we are excited about those as well. 

One rainy day we went to the Bellingham Children's Museum with my mom. The kids loved it and it was a perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon.

We started one of two sessions of swimming lessons at the same place we did last year. The first day was pouring rain! The pool is heated but it is cold and not fun getting out when it is raining on you. Peyton was in level three and did amazing keeping up with the big kids and this session Graham was in the Mommy and Me class and had a hard time because he didn't want mommy and wanted to do it "all by myself." We survived and made it through the two week session with only two or three rainy days.

We found tons of yummy gluten free places to eat at, had lots of doctor's appointments and just soaked in our new home of Washington. We do love our life in Saudi and there are so many good things about being in Saudi (daddy being home, the simplicity, a safe environment, wonderful friends and so many more blessings) but there is a rejuvenating affect that Washington has and it is such a refreshing, refilling place for us to be. 

And then just like that our first three weeks in Washington had come to an end and it was time for daddy to join us! 

Flying to Washington!!!

Our flight back to Washington for the summer was probably the easiest and most enjoyable flight since we moved here and were in Business Class on the way over! This time we were in Economy, and I was by myself but I still look back on the flight as a great flight!

We did something different this time and did a direct flight from Dubai to Seattle (15 hours) instead of going through Europe with layovers. We talked A TON about how to make this a positive experience and all our planning worked out amazingly. I decided to fly to Dubai the day before our flight so we were not flying through the early morning to make a connection. My plan was to spend the day and night at a the Grand Hyatt Dubai and let the kids play in the pool, relax and then wake up the next morning for a 10:00 AM flight as opposed to flying from 2:00 AM to catch that flight. My thought was that the kids would be well rested, less stressed and we would have a good flight. It worked out that John was able to come with us to Dubai as it was a long weekend which was even better! We spend the day as a family hanging out at the Grand Hyatt Dubai and playing in the pool. 

We then met my sister and her boyfriend at the Dubai Mall for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then ice cream which made the kids super happy to see their Auntie! 

It was so nice to have John with us for check in and waiting at the gate. It was a nice treat! 

When I boarded, I realized that we had three of the four middle seats. I really wanted the three window seats as I hated the idea of someone having to sit beside us for 15 hours and me be stressed about bothering them. We sat down, I resolved to make the best of it and then I realized that the man sitting next to us had his wife and two kids next to the window. I asked if he wouldn't mind switching so his family could all sit together in the four middle seats and I could have the windows and he agreed. Problem solved! We all got settled and off we went. 

Graham immediately fell asleep and had a nap (one of three during the flight), Peyton watched movies and eventually napped (and even at the same time as Graham so I was able to sleep), I watched two movies (never happened before) and the entire flight they entertained themselves, each other and were amazing! I never once heard "are we there yet," or had arguments about buckling the seat belt for Graham and they were just awesome. We made it through customs, got our bags and took the shuttle to the airport hotel and after showering, ordering lunch, we crashed! We slept from about 6:00 PM to about 5:00 AM which was amazing! We then headed to the airport, picked up our rental car, drove to the hotel to load everything up and then met my parents at Ikea.

I didn't realize how hard it would be for the kids to not see my parents in the airport when we landed. They both asked constantly even though I had prepared them about what was happening. The plan was to meet at Ikea the next day because the car rental was cheaper in Seattle, I needed to go to Ikea for stuff for the new house and I didn't feel safe driving two hours after a long flight. It was the safest and most practical decision but I don't think we will do it again because it was hard for the kiddos and it was hard to not have the carrot of seeing their G and Papa at the end to use as a bribe :)

Hanging out at the hotel and the one toy that provided endless entertainment on the plane! The best thing I brought for him to play with! He didn't even eat any of the candy :)

Our trip to Ikea was fun! I was so thankful my parents were there to help since we ended up with three carts full and we could use their car to get everything home and not pay for delivery. The kids were over the moon to see them as well. After our shopping trip to Ikea we headed to a natural foods market in Seattle to get some gluten free food for Peyton to start our taste tasting for the summer so I knew what brands to bring back to Saudi at the end of the summer. We loaded up with tons of goodies and headed up to Bellingham! 

Art Show

Our last big event just before we left was Peyton's first Art Show. She did a several week art class and she loved it. Arts and Crafts bring her such joy and she especially loved being an artist like her G. The art teacher put together a wonderful show at the end that featured everyone's art. Peyton was so proud to show of her art work!

Graduation Day...

Just before heading out of Saudi for the summer was Peyton's graduation from her preschool. She will be attending the big kid school next year starting Pre-K. She will going half days and riding the bus! Big changes and mommy can't believe (and is pretty sad) that she will be starting her elementary schooling.

Back to graduation...her teacher went above and beyond and had a wonderful program full of songs for us to watch and it was such a fun and special day. They had been practicing for weeks and it so wonderfully done and such a special day. We had a friend watch Graham and John was able to attend and it was just a great morning celebrating Peyton and the milestone up ahead.

Unfortunately Peyton had accidentally ingested gluten two days earlier and was still recovering and was incredibly tired. I wasn't sure she would be able to make it through it but she wanted to do it so badly and did. She did such a great job. 

They were singing a song about monkeys in a tree and alligators and I caught this picture of Peyton. She is doing a smirking face that I am known to do. So happy to see she gets something from me!

With her teachers. They have been such an amazing and positive influence for her this year. She has such excitement about school and has thrived beyond anything we could have expected. It was such a blessing to have two wonderful teachers in her life this year to prepare her for next year! Unfortunately they are retiring so Graham won't be able to attend :(

We are so incredibly proud of our graduate and look forward to watching her grow next year in big kid school. Peyton, you are an incredibly bright, strong and amazing young girl and I know that you are destined to do great things! We love you so much!

A proper little boy...

We have a lot of British friends and with dealing with Peyton's upset stomach issues, we have been home a whole bunch and not doing anything. Lately whenever people see Graham around camp, they are always saying, "he has grown up so much, he is a proper little boy now." So, I felt it was time to document some of Graham's milestones lately!

He talks all the time! Non stop! I do not remember Peyton talking this much this early and it has amazed me. I really thought he would be a delayed talker being a second child and a boy but he talks...ALOT! I have determined that he quickly realized if he wanted to be heard around his sister (who talks a whole lot) that he needed to figure out how to talk. So, with two very vocal kids....I sometimes feel like the amount of words said between them before 8:30 AM is more than I use in a week and it is kind of crazy! But it is so nice that he can communicate what he wants, even argue with his sister and stand up to her and it is so much fun to listen to his stories and how he plays with his toys.

Graham LOVES his train table. Almost every morning he wakes up and goes immediately to his trains and tells them good morning. After breakfast he goes up and finds Thomas and asks if he is ready to play and as a long running dialogue about where they are going and often times it is to get coffee for Thomas! I love working with him to build new track combinations and he gets so excited when I am done and praises me and tells me I am "awesome." His primary love need is affirmation and he makes sure to give that out as well. Other toys and games we like are dinosaurs, cars, airplanes (LOVES) and bubbles. He loves his swimming lessons and gets so excited to swim in the big pool. We are still doing a mom and tots class and I love the time we have together! He is doing really well and we will continue lessons in Washington over the summer.

Graham is very sweet and more soft spoken. He doesn't like conflict and would rather let a kid take a toy from him than say anything. I have found that the only times he will object is if it was Peyton stealing something from him. But with his sweet heart, he is amazing around babies and loves them. He is so sweet to his younger friends and such a giving, generous and nurturing boy. He loves to snuggle with anyone who has an available lap and will often give hugs and just sit with my friends for some affection. He is super polite and is always saying hello, thank you, good bye and just being very pleasant. 

Graham is pretty independent and despite living over here and not having a lot of opportunities to be away from me, he is awesome about me leaving when I do. He often says goodbye, tells me to have fun and there is no issue at all! He is starting to ask to go to school like Peyton so he will be starting a school next year for three hours a day/four days a week which I am sure I will start crying on the first day. I am not ready to not have kiddos in the morning to play with and love on. He is trying to use the potty and if we weren't flying home soon I would really work on it. He sometimes tells me he has to use it and does. I am thinking of doing pull ups and starting rewards this summer but not really working on it to help encourage him more and I almost feel like with his personality he might figure it out on his own by the summers end...I hope!

As for discipline, he is pretty easy. Normally a simple verbal correction fixes it. We are doing 1-2-3 Magic like we did with Peyton and so on occasion he will need to get to "2" but rarely he gets to "3" and a timeout. When he does go to timeout he is so remorseful and it devastates his day. He often tells John as soon as he comes home that he is "so sorry" and that he went to timeout and why even if it happened hours earlier. He needs lots of love, affirmation when he is done with timeout and I have to be careful about my tone with him as it affects him so much more than Peyton.

Graham has been on 37 different flights as of today! So as expected he LOVES airplanes! He loves to get ready for them and carry his carry on, he loves being on them and loves to take off. He doesn't like buckling up though which is difficult now that he doesn't fly in his car seat but he does sit still which is a plus. He is defiantly a child who has traveled because he knows what to do where and is so independent and awesome at the security line and puts his bag on the belt, walks through and then gets his bag and waits at a designated spot for me. He is a frequent flier! 

He is only napping once a day for about two hours and then in bed at 7:00 PM. He is starting to try delay tactics at bedtime which is frustrating at times but pretty amusing with what he comes up with...he forgot to kiss Peyton, he needs to put his book away, two more minutes, and my favorite...."more prayers." Normally he says his prayers and then I pray over him and then if he asks for more prayers I let him pray one more time and then I tell him he can say them by himself in bed. His favorite book at bedtime is "Good Night Construction Site." Like his sister he has decided he doesn't like pajamas at bedtime and would rather sleep in just a diaper. It is also getting hot here and I am sure that has something to do with it. 

I can not believe how big Graham is and how much he has grown up especially when I remember moving here with a little baby. I love this stage with him and we are having so much fun and life has a really nice groove but I miss my little baby, time goes by way too fast. 

* I am glad I did this post because I just realized how little pictures I have of him right now. I have been so busy with photography for clients I haven't been capturing my own families moments....that needs to change! 

Hold the Gluten

About a month ago Peyton came down with what we thought at the time was an awful stomach bug. Unfortunately it started during our trip to Doha. At first I really thought it was a standard stomach bug and that in a couple of days she would feel fine. Thank goodness she never vomited but it was still rough. 

Finally after a five days of this and nothing helping I took her in the ER and they just said it was a bug, do a stool sample and I am sure she will be better by the weekend. She wasn't eating anything at all but staying hydrated and sure enough come Friday was slightly improving, so she started to eat. What do you eat when you are sick with a stomach bug...bread, crackers and what happened....she got sick again. This time it was every hour through the night and the next morning I took her in for dehydration and they did an IV on her to help her. The poor thing was so scared, so weak and it was awful. We would also have to constantly disconnect the IV every ten minutes so she could go to the bathroom and it wasn't until the second bag that she was finally not going to the bathroom and getting fluids back in her. Graham was such a sweet big brother while we there. I eventually called a friend who came and picked him up but while he was there he was so concerned about her. Every time someone came in he would tell them that "Pey Pey tummy hurts," and he would give her hugs and make sure she had her lovey. It was so cute. My favorite part was when they wanted to do a throat swab and the nurse said she would show Peyton what was going to happen by doing it to me first. I did it and then Graham insisted on doing it. As soon as he did it he turned to Peyton and said, "it is ok Pey Pey, it just tickles." He is so in love with his big sister. We left the ER, feeling better and then....

We came back to the hospital two days later because it started up again. Another round of stool samples and NOTHING! I was so frustrated, anxious, scared, tired and so close to tears. We came home and had another rough night and the next morning I was in tears and sat outside the doctor's office waiting for her to open and just started crying with despair when he saw me. The appointment went the same as the others and I felt so helpless. After that appointment I was talking to my best friend here and she mentioned that I should look into whether it was a food allergy as it has been three weeks now and nothing was showing up. We both started looking into it and my same friend mentioned a gluten intolerance and also helped remind me of other smaller events/symptoms leading up that could indicate that such as several weeks of loose stools in the middle of the night that seemed to start out of nowhere, a persistent lack of energy from her, her hair not growing well and even a pediatrician mentioned a long time ago about malabsorption and increasing vitamins because of her hair look/feel. At this point I figured it wouldn't hurt so we went gluten free. 

Going gluten free in Saudi is NOT EASY! There are some options but not much and it was pretty challenging and still is. We made a trip to Bahrain to a couple stores there and found more items to help. I even found sliced bread (made from rice flour) from Seattle of all places and bought several loaves of the rice flour one and then a corn flour one and a tapioca flour one and have them in the freezer to do sandwiches which is a lifesaver at lunch time!

So far we have been gluten free for almost two weeks now and......I can happily report she is doing great! Peyton FINALLY has her energy back (she was sleeping all day), normal stools and is not losing weight (she had lost around two pounds). It took several days for her body to recover and it was hard finding foods for her to eat and convincing her to try new food items and explaining why she couldn't have other foods (bread, goldfish) which is pretty traumatizing to her but once she understood what was going on and saw the difference she was willing to give this a try and has been awesome in asking whether things have gluten in them.  She even reminded me that they were having a party at school soon and to ask the teacher on what she could eat. Thankfully she reminded me so I had time to make a gluten free cupcake for her so she wouldn't feel left out. I went ahead and froze a bunch so I have them in emergency situations. I am just not used to thinking like this. I still need some serious practice in baking gluten free items and making certain items, my first attempt at pancakes were awful but we are all learning together and I am so thankful to see an improvement in her! I have mastered homemade gluten free chicken nuggets which she devours and I did manage some yummy homemade cheeze-its! 

What has been even more eye opening is that we have seen set backs when we accidentally gave her something with gluten in it and immediately within 4-6 hours she is sick again. It happened last weekend with vanilla milk (vanilla has carmel coloring which has gluten) and then again last night when we went to Chili's and didn't pick 100% gluten free items for dinner :(. 

Next steps are to continue to go gluten free. I changed her in flight meal to a gluten free one and I am so excited about going to Washington and the abundance of gluten free food, restaurants and ease of finding food so I can take the time to learn, try new recipes and get better at this. I am even trying to find a gluten free baking class to get used to all the different flour types and when to use it where. I am also going to talk with her pediatrician there about what it means to do a formal diagnosis. From what I have read it is pretty invasive and would require us to go back on gluten for a period time for comparison which scares me. So I am not sure whether we will go ahead or just lead a gluten free lifestyle without the formal diagnosis especially as I am wanting her body to heal. Either way a long journey and venturing into so many unknowns regarding food. Please pray for Peyton's body to heal, for her to continue to be receptive to a new diet, for us as parents to gain the knowledge we need and for me to develop a new lifestyle of baking, making, prepping everything from scratch. 

Two years in Saudi Anniversary

Another year has come and gone and we have survived lived in Saudi for two years now! It is really hard to believe that a whole year has gone by. It is amazing to me to look at our lives and see how different it is since our one year anniversary. 

I remember shortly after moving here reading a blog with the seven stages of moving, the last stage was adjustment...and then a friend made a comment that she felt their should be another stage, that God would give us a time of having abundant joy in our life here.  At that time (being two months into our time in Saudi) I probably thought she was insane and that I would never get to that stage but now, two years later that is where we are....between adjusting and finding abundant joy here.

Life in Saudi is normal to us. We are used to prayer schedules, shopping, the restrictions and our trips shopping go much more smoothly now! I have become a home body. I no longer crave the need to go out and run errands and be busy, I like being home and doing the simple things in life with the most important people in my life...my husband and my kids. We have a good routine and have certainly adjusted to life here in Saudi. I am busy with my photography and the kids are busy in their routines. We are adjusted. Don't get my wrong, I still have frustrating days where I am very grumpy about being here but I get past it a whole lot quicker and I am able to see the huge blessings that being here allows us and that is where I have seen us move from adjustment to finding joy in where we are.

I no longer look at my time in Saudi as a sentence :) but am really enjoying it and finding the joy and thankfulness in this time of our lives. 

I am thankful that this year we have developed some wonderful friendships with many people here and especially with three other core families. They have become my kids family here and they are there when I need someone to watch Graham or offer to make us food when we are sick and so much more. Developing that core community of true friends that I can turn to for guidance, encouragement, girl time, support and so much more has made a world of difference in our lives here. I have known for a long time that we are meant for community with one another and it has become so apparent these past two years how much God has designed us to do life with the support of each other. 

I am so thankful and find great joy that my husband is home everyday at 3:45 PM. That he no longer has to fight to balance work and family and that he has an abundant amount of time with his family. Our family is doing great. We are growing, spending tons of quality time together and our kids are thriving because they have a dad who is home so much! John and I have so much more time to talk about our marriage, our kids, our goals and our family and continue to grow stronger and closer. We miss going on "real" dates but we have found ways to grow intimacy in our marriage in the simple day to day activities and conversations of life. I do look forward to the time when we will be able to go on dates though more regularly :)

It has been a struggle this year between wanting to be back in the States and living a more "normal" life versus what our life is here. Maybe it is because I was an expat kid growing up and I want to have a home somewhere that doesn't change and grow roots somewhere. And it is even harder now that we have fallen in love with Bellingham and feel like that is where we are meant to raise our kids. But being here allows us the opportunity to own our home in Bellingham, renovate it and have the freedom to choose at a later time to live there. I have seen God's hand in that decision to buy the house time and time again and continue to trust in His plan for the house and what I hope is our future there. Part of the struggle is also my love of travel and the adventures of seeing the world and knowing that being here allows us to do that so much more easily. Living overseas, my heart does feel torn between two places, two lives....and it is still hard to adjust from going back and forth. I have realized I don't do as well as I thought with change. But at the same time living here has shown me more than I think I would have learned staying in one place, that God is constant and that  my heart ultimely should be with Him at all times and when I am in that place, no matter what "life" or place I am in on earth, I am at peace and can find joy in that place. 

So, two years later, I am still so thankful for this part of our lives and how much we have grown individually and as a family. I am excited about seeing what this next year brings to our family and I am excited about fully entering the next phase of moving to a new overseas place....being joyful and growing abundantly where we are planted right now! 

Weekend in Doha

Last fall we attended a bazaar at a friends compound and we won the raffle prize of a trip! It was for a certain dollar amount to be spent visiting a Gulf Coast Country! So, since we thought John was supposed to start a shutdown (12 hour days, 7 days a week) the middle of May we decided to take a family trip before that to spend time together especially since I would be heading back to the States before he was done and it would be a long time before we had family time. Well, turns out the shut down was moved to June but we still went ahead on our trip! 

We looked at all the options and quickly realized that flying anywhere take up all out prize money and so we needed to drive. We have been wanting to do a trip back to Qatar so we decided to drive there. We left Wednesday morning for the boring drive through the dessert.

Graham wanted to drive....we were waiting in the car while John went inside the adminstration building for our visas into Qatar.

We decided to splurge a little since it was a prize and stayed at the Grand Hyatt Doha on their Club Level. The hotel was very nice and the service was great. We very much enjoyed our extra benefits of free snacks and drinks all day on our floor and the breakfast. We had a beautiful room with a separate living room area which was great for us and the kids. 

The first night we hired a baby sitter so we could enjoy the complimentary drinks and appetizers in the Club Level lounge and then went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant at the hotel. We were so thankful for the time together and chance to go on a date! At about 9:30 PM, We were going to go out for dessert but decided to check on the kids before we headed out and thankfully we did as Graham was still up! He didn't want to go to bed! Good thing we came back! 

Graham loved pressing the elevator buttons and had to bring his bag with him everywhere. This is him heading to breakfast....

The main reason we wanted to come to Doha again was to visit the Museum of Islamic Art. So that is all we had planned for Thursday! We tried to go early in the morning to find out it didn't open until 1:00 PM so we went to the mall and went shopping instead and then came back in the afternoon. It did not disappoint! We both were absolutely enchanted with the architecture of the building, the exhibits and it was a great experience. I only wish we had hours to spend inside reading about everything!

Graham and Peyton even really enjoyed the museum and I loved hearing the questions coming from Peyton. It brought back so many wonderful memories of growing up and exploring so many art museums with my parents. It was great to hear her curiousity about objects, questions and also to see her piece things together and associate memories of our travels. For example, when we were in a room with Turkish pottery she said it looked like her ceramic cat that she got at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. I love that she remembered it and that all our experiences are sinking in!

 Graham's favorite part was watching the airplanes landing at the nearby airport! And running around outside once we let him be free from the confines of being quiet and respectable in the museum! 

That night John and I ordered to kids room service and got them to bed and then ordered room service for ourselves and set it up on our balcony and had a nice candlelight dinner there. And then we headed home the next day. A fun weekend away from Saudi!

Abu Dhabi Here We Come

At the beginning of this year, my mom told us that she was going to come to the Middle East! John and I were so excited and really excited for the kids. We started working on the visa process and as we feared.....it didn't work out :( April 1 came around and her visa was still not processed and we ran out of time. Thankfully we hadn't told the kids (in case this happened) but we were still really sad about all of it. Instead the kids and I flew to Abu Dhabi for a couple of days to see her there and we had the unexpected addition of my dad! He was in SE Asia on business and was able to stop by on his way home which wouldn't have happened if we got the Saudi visa. So, it all worked out!

The kids were super excited to see their Auntie Ashley and could barely go to sleep. We kept it a surprise that the grandparents would be there! 

When we landed in Abu Dhabi, my mom was waiting at the Starbucks just outside arrivals. I knew she would be there but the kids had no idea. When we walked out I tried to get Peyton to look over in her direction to find a taxi but as soon as I said the word "taxi" she was so focused that she didn't bother to observe anything else around her. Graham on the other hand was walking slowly behind me, looking around and all of the sudden stopped and looked at my mom, paused and then kept walking. Then he stopped again, paused, and kept walking. The third time my mom smiled back and dropped his bag and yelled "G" and ran into her arms. Peyton turned around to probably yell at us for being too slow and just stood there in shock for minutes. Finally it all registered and she was so excited! I wanted so badly to capture it all on video but as always when I travel with the two by myself I get so caught up into everything else that I never take pictures.

We headed to my sisters apartment and the whole taxi ride Peyton was full of questions and Graham just keep saying "G" out of pure excitement! The excitement didn't end when we got home though.... after we got Graham down for a nap and were catching up and all of the sudden we felt the whole apartment building shake. My mom and I asked each other if we felt that and then it happened again. We finally realized it was an earthquake and tried to figure out what to do, we finally decided to get Graham and walk down the stairs and go outside. So we walked down the nine flights of stairs with my sisters dog and the two kids and waited until it was all clear. We later learned by reading online that we shouldn't have gone outside and were probably safer in the building. Never experienced an earthquake and had no idea what to do. We were feeling the tremors from the earthquake that hit the border of Pakistan and Iran. 

While in Abu Dhabi we played at the game center in the mall, went to the movie "The Croods," had ice cream, shopped and hung out with G...

 

 Graham got his hair cut one afternoon and was a champ. He did keep saying that it hurt and for mommy to "help me." 

After his hair cut it was time for the surprise of Papa! He was walking in the mall and so we had the kids walk by him and see if they noticed. Peyton ran right into him, said excuse me and kept walking! That kid doesn't notice anything! Graham looked up and say him immediately and yelled,"Papa." LOVE that Graham noticed both of them and it shows how much he has grown up and is understanding who they are in his life!

 We went to Dubai for the day and shopped around Dubai Mall....

And then we went to the souq area that sells knock off purses and shopped there. Peyton started getting really into trying on the purses! She cracks me up!

The best was when I decided finally on what kind of purse I wanted....a simple cross body small Michael Kors purse. Well, apparently that was not only hard to find but pricey. So we started going into each store and asking if they even had a Michael Kors bag so we could expedite the process. Nothing is more hilarious than when your four year old walks into a purse store and yells,"do you have Michael Kors?" She was a hit! And then when we finally found one the store owner was equally impressed with Arabic! What a life she lives!

We had a great time with our Auntie, G and Papa and only wish the time together was longer! Hopefully next time everyone can come visit us in our sand box!

Back to Saudi and Ramblings and Updates....

To try and catch up on what has been happening in Saudi since we got back from Bali, I am going to condense everything here.....

• Our trip home was smooth and much easier than the way there. I did realize when we were landing in Kuala Lampur that I packed my abaya in my suitcase as opposed to our carry on and had a slight moment of panic as I was wearing a v-neck and short sleeve shirt. I decided to shop around the Kuala Lampur airport before we departed and found a lightweight jacket to put on when we arrived in Saudi. Spent more than I would have liked but now I have a nice lightweight, water proof jacket for the summer in Washington!
• After getting home, I unfortunately got sick pretty much the day we got back and was pretty under the weather for a week or so :(
• We had Easter the day after we got back and I was thankful that I had planned everything and put it all together before we left. We didn't do much as we were traveling over the weekend and then John was at work on the actual Easter day and I was incredibly sick but we did celebrate with an egg hunt in the morning, baskets, and the Easter story and a craft that I brought back from Christmas time. Peyton had a party at school and a friend graciously took Graham to a planned egg hunt that some friends put together at the beach.   And then we had a very fancy Easter dinner of pizza (I was just too sick to make anything)!  Not exactly the day I had in mind but we were able to celebrate and share the Easter story with the kids and at the end of the day, hearing Peyton explain the real reason for Easter was the best way to celebrate the resurrection!

• Shortly after Easter, some friends and I went to Bahrain for some girl time! It was incredibly nice to be able to hang out with three of my closest friends here and have some girl time. We had pedicures and manicures, shopping without kids and eating without kids and swimming in the grown up pool! Just a fun time of laughing and bonding! Lots of fun! Being in Saudi it is hard to go out and do stuff and it was great to be able to have some good girl time and feel more normal!

• Another big change was Graham giving up his bottles! I was so nervous about doing it and worried how he would handle it but he was a champ! John totally took the lead on it and it was not an issue at all. It has been so much smoother than I ever expected!

• We have started swimming lessons up again and as expected Peyton was overjoyed. Graham had so much fun and is so much more comfortable in the water than last year and it is fun to watch him progress. Peyton is swimming the width of the pool (when she is paying attention and concentrating) and I love watching how much fun she has in the pool!
• We had an meeting/evaluation at the school for K4 (pre-k) next year for Peyton. Essentially it was for parents to turn in paperwork and check what immunizations they still need and then for the kids to see the classes, meet a teacher and do some activities while the teachers watch them and talk to them some more. Peyton was so excited about the whole day and is very excited about big kid school next year. I know she will do wonderfully next year and am excited about next year for her!
• And also next year...Graham will be attending one of the in home preschools on camp (the same one Peyton went to when we first moved here). He has been asking daily about going to school. Everyday we drop off Peyton he asks to go as well. It makes me so sad to see him growing up. I don't have a little baby anymore :( and I have no idea what I will do with all this free time if they both end up going in the mornings!