I sit here patiently (by Harry)

The first month has passed and now that Jolie’ and Connor have their tickets booked I can somewhat relax and wait for them to get here. It has been a whirlwind of a month...everything from slugging through Saudi government holidays to getting their documents moving, to adjusting to the slow paced and boring life of Saudi Arabia.

During the first few days I quickly came to realize that Saudi Arabia was everything that I thought it would be; but months of planning, preparing, asking questions, answering questions, and discussing every detail could not compete with hours of travel and jet lag. More times than you can imagine I doubted my decisions that lead me here, but I was surrounded by plenty of guys that were thinking the same thing, and more importantly I had Jolie’ and my family keeping me grounded, supporting me 100%.

Being that our permanent housing isn’t ready yet I have moved a few times. My first two weeks were spent living the wonderful hotel life. I know some people don’t enjoy staying in hotels but it’s great to me...two meals cooked daily, room service a button away, free laundry service, and gym/beach facilities. I guess once Dow/Sadara saw the bill they decided it was time to move us all into the bachelors’ compound (Al Farooq), or as we affectionately call it Cell Block 10. At this point there are no amenities here except that they bus us to the gym.

Basically my day consists of waking up an hour early to Skype Jolie’ and Connor, going to work for 8 hours, going to the gym, coming home, taking a shower and going to bed. If that doesn’t sound exciting enough we have our weekly trip to the grocery store to look forward to. I joke, somewhat. I have been to some of the huge malls, there are tons of parks and beaches, and some very nice restaurants, but its either too hot right now or the Ramadan hours aren’t conducive to my sleep schedule.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the hours of daylight so a lot of businesses switch to late night hours of 9pm-3am. Fridays are considered the Muslim religion’s Sabbath so very few businesses are open. On Fridays the major activity for most of the guys here is laundry. I'm sure we will develop more activities when our wives and families get here, but for now we lead a very dull and mundane life.

Every day is a new adventure. It may not be exciting by back home standards, but when you calculate all the disconnects and new barriers it’s comical just to even try and figure out what time to go to the store.

I have a very strong family that supports my choice, but the true strength is in Jolie’. She and I made these decisions together, but she by far is invested the most. She resigned from a career where she had elevated herself beyond her limited time in the system. She chose willingly to bring the second of our most precious gifts into the world in a Middle Eastern country. I have asked her repeatedly if she would prefer to have the baby back home, but she insists she wants me there. I am humbled at her ability to keep me grounded and focused until she and Connor get here.

Please feel free to Facebook any questions you may have (it will give me something to do).

I miss everyone terribly, but I know Jolie’ and Connor will be here soon.

Operation Countdown to Saudi

We got the okay to book plane tickets yesterday!  Connor and I will be leaving August 27!  We won't actually be in KSA until September 2 because we are meeting Harry in Dubai for a vacation, but who cares!  Connor really has no concept of how long Harry has been gone or how much longer we have to wait before we get to move so once we got a leave date I decided to make a paper chain to help him make sense of it.  I printed strips of paper with the days we have left on them and then cut them out.

Next, they decorated each day!

After they were finished decorating, I told them what number to look for and when they found it I added it to the chain.  After we had it all assembled, we counted each link to figure out how many days were left!  I used today's date to show him how we are going to take off a link each day until there is only one left and that would be our leaving day.  I'm hoping it gives him a little perspective!  And yes, it's 4:00 in the afternoon and he's still in his pj's...don't judge :)

Mickey Camp

I've tried to find fun stuff to do with the kids all summer...preferably inside activities!  Recently I noticed posts on Facebook about Party Palooza, a new indoor playground/party place in Thibodaux.  They host birthday parties for young kids, but they also have open play times during the week.  We've never been, but when they announced a Mickey Camp I decided that it was a good time to give the place a try!  Connor and Karaline were beyond excited about going (even though they really had no idea what it was all about...honestly, I really had no idea what it was all about lol). 

The kids were allowed to kind of roam around and play with everything when we first arrived.  The things available were perfect for kids their age and kept them occupied for quite a while.  What is there to play with...dress up clothes, slides, rock wall, blocks, kitchen set, chalk board, 2 bounce houses, a wii, and a stage with a karaoke machine.  I'm sure there are a few other things that I can't remember.  Just being in a new environment with new things to play with was very exciting for them.  They let loose...running around, laughing and just having a great time!  There were only three other kids there which made it that much better.  One had no home training, but I've come to realize that there's always one in every bunch!

After a while of open play, they sat down to do a Mickey craft.  It was a few pieces that they had to color and put together to make a Mickey.  Karaline's was rainbow colored, and of course Connor colored his entire Mickey green.  That kid loves the color green!

After craft time, they had a few more minutes to play and explore before Mickey's plane got there from Disney World :)

Finally Mickey arrived and the kids went nuts!  It really was so much fun to watch them.  He gave each one special attention and walked around dancing and playing with them! 

The camp wasn't until 1:00 so I spent the morning getting the checkbook in order and paying bills.  While I was glued to the computer, Connor and Karaline were playing and watching tv.  Karaline asked if they could color and I told her to go ahead.  They took it upon themselves to make cards for Mickey in anticipation of their fun day with him.  After they played at the camp for a while, Karaline remembered the cards and asked if I would go get them out of the car.  It was the cutest thing ever!  They were both proud as peacocks and Mickey appreciated their thoughtfulness.

After all the excitement, Mickey had to take a little nap so the kids set off to play on their own again.  Connor is getting really good at writing his name, so he decided to practice on the chalkboard.  Pretty impressive for a 3 year old...I think ;)

Snacks while waiting for Mickey to wake up from his nap!

The day ended with face painting!  Connor requested Batman and Mickey, and Karaline got a butterfly and a flower.  They both had a wonderful time.  On the way home they asked several times if we could go back one day.  Karaline kept telling us about how she knew that Mickey was real and that it was not a costume...as if I would tell her otherwise lol!

We had a great day!  My coconut tried really hard to stay awake while I looked into flights for our move to Saudi, but all that excitement wore him out!