The DC Choo Choo

While awaiting the baby's adoption paperwork in Virginia, Cody found a fun adventure for Louie to keep him active while I was at home figuring out which formula the baby could keep down...and sleep!
Cody would take Louie to ride on the DC choo-choo aka the metro. He loved to ride the long escalators down the metro station. The "choo-choo" passed through tunnels and over rivers as it traveled to DC. They would get off at different stops and visit some of Cody's favorite haunts in DC such as Eastern Market and his old townhouse.

Happy Easter!

This was the first year that Louie understood the connection between finding eggs and the instant gratification of sugar in his system. He's not much into candy (yet) but loves cookies like his dad. He LOVED searching for the eggs to find a mini Oreo in each one! Matter of fact, we had to "reload" the eggs and hide them again and again!

Above is our first family picture with the new baby. He was adorable in his tiny white knit Easter outfit. Now, you know, that outfit didn't fit him the next week?! He's changing so quickly.

Surprise Birthday Party!

Louie and I arrived home to Utah on April 1st with an email from my dear friend Sara which stated, "Do you want a baby?" Through my jet lag brain, I managed to call her and have a coherent conversation about a potential adoption. Sara's sister was due in about 6 weeks and couldn't care for the baby. Cody and I were in awe of the timing and felt blessed to have this opportunity to add to our family again!
Eleven days later, the baby was born! Hence the surprise birthday party...yet, the surprise was on us! We thought we had six weeks. So if you can picture this, I immediately called Cody. It was 1:30 a.m. for him in Saudi Arabia. He was sound asleep. I keep repeating "the baby is born, the baby is born" because Cody doesn't come out of his sleep coma very easily. My next call was to our adoption case worker as to how to proceed with an out of state adoption. While on the phone, I am going through Louie's baby clothes looking for the swaddle blankets and infant clothes going down memory lane. As for Cody, he immediately hopped on a plane from Saudi Arabia. Once I got the adoption attorneys in motion, Louie and I flew from Utah to Alexandria, Virginia. After a whirlwind of 48 hours, there he was...dark hair, 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 19 inches and the sweetest little guy.

We met the baby on April 14th and left the hosptial with him on April 15th. Cody and I looked at each other, shaking our heads in disbelief of the blessing we were just given. Fifteen days ago, I was headed to Utah to sell our home and clearly now I am not! In the picture leaving the hospital is the birthmom's dad and sister.  They were a huge support through this process.  It really took a village to put all the pieces together.
Once back at the hotel, we were calling family and friends to share our elated news of this new tiny baby sleeping on our hotel bed (picture above). Again, such a surprise to our family and friends as he was to us! In a matter of days, our life and the lives of our family members have been changed for the better.

Make Believe or Reality?

I never would have thought my son would be living the life I saw in cartoons on the Jetsons! Louie skypes with our family on a regular basis. He interacts with books. He does show and tell with el-phant, Abby and airplane. And he sings songs. This is his reality?! So amazing.
Right now he is learning colors, shapes and plays matching games on my iPad. Again, his reality was my make-believe as a child. He can find his apps, maneuver between screens and even start his own TV shows from my video list.
I wonder if he will have a cell phone as a teenager? Or will it be something else? I guess those inventions are still in the make-believe realm.

Louie's Big Boy Room

Since moving closer to the ocean, "we" decided to go with a vintage surfer theme for Louie's room. It's adorable. I found an old red rider bike at the consignment store on camp. I just need to restore it. Louie drives it around the house. In these pictures, he is first trying to get "el-phant" to ride the bike. The he joins him. He's quite a fan of his new big boy bed. He loves to climb on and watch TV (on the iPad) while leaning against his pillows. However, he isn't ready to sleep there...or is it me not ready to have him out of the crib?

Half Moon Bay

This past weekend, we went to explore the Aramco beach closest to our community...Half Moon Bay. It's a fantastic facility! So impressed there is a great changing area, shower and western toilets. The beach is groomed everyday. There is a snack bar/ice cream and small kiosk with blow up water toys and beach chairs.
Of course there are rules at this beach. 1. No littering (so glad to see that one). 2. No slaughtering of sheep (really glad to see that one!). 3. No gazing (interesting).
We went with the Dille family and had a great time. Louie and Owen splashed and explored. It's jellyfish season and had to be careful. One had come ashore. I couldn't believe how big it was. Afterwards, we went down the beach to ride camels. They are very large animals. Very Large Animals. I had ridden a camel before but it was a new experience with Louie. He would NOT sit down; probably because he couldn't see. Squealing with delight, he would point and announce CAMEL several times; as if he couldn't believe it.

Hoarding can be Contagious

Grocery shopping in Saudi Arabia is typically a 2 hour endeavor for me. I spend so much time desiphering the labels in Arabic, French, Dutch or sometimes English. When I find some US products, they are usually the testers that didn't do well in the states. For example, Prawn Cocktail Pringles. Can you imagine? Shrimp flavored potato chips.
Or, we will get the left over seasonal products such as cranberries, pie crusts and turkey stuffing. It's a bit of a grab bag not knowing what they will have available on any given day.
This grab bag concept leads to hoarding. I have been warned about this but hadn't really had a problem finding most things I needed; until I saw Diet Dr. Pepper for the first time in 8 weeks. I had been searching every grocery store for this particular nectar. There were only 2 and a half flats on the drink isle and about 50 single cans in the refridgerated section. Yes, I took everything I could fit into my tiny shopping cart. I hoarded. I probably left about 20 cans. The next morning I was back for something I had forgotten and all 20 cans were gone. Glad I got them when I had the chance. There's nothing like a Diet Dr. Pepper with lime. The picture shows one of my treasures plastered with their customs label. So I barely noticed it.
Hoarding is dangerous on the budget. American products are double the price. So it's basically doing all of your grocery shopping at 7-11. But to find an a rare American product, it's worth the price. After being here for 2 months, I have never seen cottage cheese, buttermilk, greek yogurt, popsicles, onion salt, all spice and a slew of other spices. Very interesting what makes it here and what doesn't!

Louie's Go-To Packables

Louie loves his blue and gray striped "el-fant." This is new within the last month. He lost his woobie in the markets of Jamaica. We didn't talk about it. He hasn't mention it. We moved on. Surprisingly...no drama.
Since coming to Saudi, he has attached to this stuffed elephant that's been around since he was born. He hauls that little guy everywhere. When you ask what is his name? He looks at you like you are a fool because clearly it's an "el-fant" It's adorable!
Lately, he's into packing things around with him. His go-to packables are: "el-fant," "ma-qeen" (Lightning McQueen car), Abby Ca-Dabby, and the nearest truck before leaving out the door. The packables go to night-night with him but only "el-fant" can go into stores. This is such a cute stage with the bonus of his vocabulary exploding!

Long Live the King!

The Saudi King was out for surgery in the US and returned this past weekend. In celebration of his return, he gave all of his government employees a 15% raise, created interest free loans to buy houses and declared Saturday (which is our "Monday" here) a holiday. Long live the King!
So we took advantage of our extra day off and went to the Persian Gulf referred to as the Arabian Gulf if you live in Saudi Arabia. Dora and Rich (my aunt and uncle) took us to the Aramco community on the beach in Ras Tanura. Unbelievable. Houses backing right onto the beach. Gorgeous sandy beaches with clear water and it walks out shallow for yards and yards...or meters and meters as they would say here. Between the houses and the beach is a bricked walking path for runners and bikes. Within walking distance was a pool, snack bar, theatre and bowling alley. Cody and I were looking at each other and thought what do we have to do to live here?! No need. Of course, Aramco has a bus for everything. They have buses that go to RT every hour of the day and return every half hour. What's not to love about that?! I think this will definitely be in the plans for many weekends to come! Anyone want to come and visit?

Shopping in Saudi: Who knew?

Hermes, Cartier, Marks and Spencer, Bebe, ZARA, Locitanne, Banana Republic, H&M and Gap kids to name a few. The shopping here is insane. But no Nordy's. The jewelry stores have large 10k stones in rings and necklaces on display in the windows. These are emeralds in the picture. Rolex watches are a huge status symbol here. Gorgeous, expensive formal dress shops in every direction. These are worn at home for family parties.There are tons of baby equipment, clothes, toys and furniture stores - big families here.
I didn't get to even the smallest fraction of the Dhahran mall. It is literally so big that it is probably the size of two malls. And for them, that is one mall. Then there is another mall a mile away with the more high end stores. It is insanely fun to shop here ...but "just looking" as I tell Louie and myself. The prices are very expensive...must hit the sales at just the right time.
In the mornings, the malls are empty. Due to the heat, the Saudi's are nocturnal. They come out about lunch time and then back in for prayer. The malls are packed in the evenings and stay open until 11 p.m. or midnight. Men aren't allowed to go to the malls by themselves but should go with their wives, families or friends.
Most of the store clerks are men - think back to the 1950s. Even in the lingerie stores, there are only men to help you. It seems to be a serious career here. Very interesting.
Women aren't allowed to try on clothes in the stores. You buy the clothes, try them on in the women's bathroom and if you don't like the fit then return them 10 minutes later. Few stores have a return policy; mainly an exchange policy.
I can't find my Asics or New Balance running shoes here. The Saudis are HUGE into soccer and have a zillion Addidas and Nike athletic shoes.
This is my favorite! Because the heat is so unbearable in the summers, the malls have amusement parks inside them. Usually they will take up one floor of the mall or one end of the mall with roller coasters, carnival rides and arcade games. Mall of America has nothing on these guys! Can't wait to take Louie. He doesn't know they exist yet for obvious reasons.

Our new sandbox

When we moved in, there wasn't one tree, bush or grassy yard. It was all sand-actually one big sandbox. In prepping the houses Aramco wants everyone to start out the SAME. So they remove all the grass, flowers and bushes. This allows the new owner to order the plants they want from "gardening." Interesting thought, but our yard was completely barren - not even a tree!
We were allowed three small trees (12 inches high) and a few starter plants and grass starts. I really had to bargain for that third tree. No concept of sod here and the starter plants are truly starter plants at 6 inches high. The secret is to find someone who is leaving and to transplant their plants, bushes and trees before Aramco comes in and cleans it out. It's the oddest thing but everyone does it before the hired gardeners get to it. The gardeners in turn sell it to the families they work for here in the community.
Basically, we started from scratch. One family leaving told us we could have anything in their yard. We transplanted 4 bushes in the dark cover of night - seemed very odd to be doing this! I joined the gardening club here and had to learn what grows in SAND. After a few trips to the nurseries around here, I was able to fill in around our 4 leafy plants and add flowers and filler.
We finally finished this afternoon. Louie was a big help with the flowers. He would bring me one at a time. I would point where I wanted it to go. He would smile at me and then put it where he thought it should go! Such a character. He loves to garden with me - because basically we are playing in a big sandbox!

Saudi-gaudy!

We have been looking for furniture for the past couple of weeks - the furniture is huge and gaudy! I call it "Saudi-gaudy!" Not only is it gaudy, it's tacky and expensive. Saudi homes have huge rooms for their huge families. So it's common for them to have a couple of couches, love seats and chairs in one room. They love a vibrant mix of colors and fabrics. Who can blame them when they live in the desert?!
Every now and then, we find a couch or sectional that might look like the US but such cheap quality. Also, I found it quite humorous that the only way to buy a couch was in a set--the way you would see it in the catalog; couch and two love seats or couch, love seat and two chairs. The same applies to buying a pitcher; one must buy the matching glasses in the set.
Well, that's not quite our style. So it has been a little challenging to furnish our living room. However, I did learn it is quite inexpensive to reupholster furniture. So I bought a couch off the company craigs-list for $200. It's from Hickory Hill in North Carolina and actually matches the over stuffed chair I have at home from Hickory Hill -- what are the chances? So I'll try to ship out my chair and recover both of them. Done!

Louie's new friend, Owen

The second day we were here, Louie met a new friend named Owen. He lives two blocks down the road. Their birthdays are 6 weeks apart and squeal when they see each other! They love to play choo-choos and ride bikes together. I've never seen two boys just laugh and laugh. They like to hold hands when crossing the street to their preschool. It's the cutest thing!

Louie starts preschool

There is an adorable little preschool here for just 2 year-olds. It is run out of someone's home where a little classroom is set up and has little tykes jungle gyms in the backyard. Their curriculum is to not hit, bite, or push. They learn to play together, share and line up. Louie LOVES it. He has a little "Lightening McQueen" backpack ("pack-pack" as he says it) full of diapers and wipes rather than books and pencils. His teachers' names are Mrs. Ana and Mrs. Laurie. He goes for a couple of mornings a week. I LOVE it too.

Louie's Life in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi women in the community just LOVE Louie. They touch his light colored hair, want to pinch his little rosy cheeks and try to play with him. He just scowls. One woman just picked him up as we walked into the dining hall. That didn't go so well. I think it's the head scarves. One woman was trying to talk to him and he kept pointing to his head. She looked at me and asked if he had a headache. Funny. I think he was saying, "what is on your head!" The women who wear the full scarves with just the slit for eyes really freak him out. They look like the dementors from Harry Potter!

Well, we finally got a crib today from the furniture rental. I think it was built in the 1950s. But Louie is able to stretch out and sleep comfortably. His room is the only one with pictures up, actually cute bedding and a bookshelf. The kitchen is pretty well stocked with Diet Coke. But the rest of the house needs a little help! We will get there. I hired a driver to take us into town to get a few things at IKEA - this will be our fourth trip in a week!

But I needed a microwave

After being in Saudi Arabia for a week, I realized how much I needed a microwave. The challenge was to find one without Arabic numbers and words and one with a 110 plug. Not as easy as it sounds. After searching several stores, I was ecstatic to find one for only $47.

I made my way to the line of taxis with this huge microwave, loaded it in the trunk and asked the driver to take me to IKEA. Very simple. Well, he didn't speak ANY ENGLISH nor did he recognize the shop name IKEA. Change of plans - told him to go to the Dhahran mall which was across the street. He understood and began to drive. At the first stop light, he looked over the seat and began to check me out up and down in an obvious sleazy way. Just as an FYI, the custom here is, if a man is attracted to you, cheats on his wife, or hits on you, then it's your fault. I was wearing the abaya and covered from top to toe. He begins to babble, possibly lecture, in Arabic and ends with the only word I recognized, "religion?" I told him Christian. He continues to lecture and asked again, "religion?" With a stern look on my face and in my best teacher voice I told him that I was here with Aramco and a Christian. Then I reminded him - Dhahran Mall please. After I mentioned Aramco, he quit hassling me.

It was the longest 15 minute ride to the mall. I happily paid him to get out of the cab and hauled my microwave to the closest Diet Coke on ice. No limes but it didn't matter. I was out of his cab and line of sight from his rear view mirror.

My uncle said that was unusual and I should have gotten out of his cab...but what about the microwave? I couldn't leave my new treasure. Some people asked if he was a "matawah" which is the self-appointed religious police here. These matawah feel it is their duty to reprimand women who aren't "covered." I wasn't wearing a head scarf but in full abeya. This is usually what the Westerners wear. I've had a few people comment it could have been my blond hair. Too bad... I'm keeping the blond hair!

The "Easy Life"

When we were going through the interviewing process with Aramco and learning about life in the Aramco community, we were told this was the "easy life!" You have housekeepers, gardeners, dog walkers and a nanny if you want one. Labor in Saudi Arabia is cheap. Therefore, it's the easy life.

With the community being relatively small, word of mouth travels quickly when a new family arrives. We arrived at our house at 1 a.m. Due to jet-lag, I stayed up to unpack through the night. By 6 a.m. (sun is barely coming up), I finally find the sheets to make a little bed on the couch so that I wouldn't wake up Cody or Louie. I wanted to get some sleep before Louie woke up. I am not kidding you, 20 minutes later, there is a knock at my door waking me up to see if I need a gardener?! What the freak?!!!! Clearly, my answer was no at that moment. An hour later, another knock woke me up to see if I needed a gardener. A couple of hours later, there was another knock at the door. Cody answered the door and the guy had raked our sand to show what a good gardener he would be and asked if we needed a gardener? I mean honestly! So I got a little tip from our neighbor to put a sticky note on the door that said NO. It worked like a charm - no more gardeners.

"Putt-Putt"

Transportation is the key to feel like "normal" here. Cody got a little impatient looking for car and came home one day with this tiny scooter I have nicknamed, "putt-putt." The engine is a quarter of the size of our lawn mower. It's a putt-putt.

Around here - only the gardeners drive scooters and are all Phillipino. So when they see this big white boy on a scooter, they are so confused. There is very much a class system here. You do NOT go beneath yourself. And driving a scooter is putting yourself with the gardener class. This is so Cody... thinks he going to change thousands of years of cultural norms because he wants a scooter. The upside is--it only costs 25 cents to fill it up each week.

Move to Saudi Arabia: First Impressions

So we get off the plane in Saudi, jet lagged from 24 hours of flying with a 2 year old and I swear my first thought was... is there possibly a fountain diet coke? No such thing...

Thankfully, all of our luggage, 11 boxes and our dog Murphy made it through customs and into 2 taxis to take us to our new home in the Aramco community.

As we drove into camp at 1 a.m., I felt like we were entering the Truman show! All of the houses were arranged perfectly in a row, lawns manicured and looked identical. We were pleasantly surprised to get a single family home on a corner with a great view of the sunsets, community, and palm trees. Your housing assignment is based on the number in your family. With three, we qualified for a two bedroom with a study. Our house has three bedrooms and a study!

The next day we took our first field trip to the commissary to buy groceries. It took forever, because I couldn't read the labels and was slow at the conversion. It is crazy expensive here. One box of teddy grahams - $10! One pkg of hotdogs - $10!

Afterwards, we drove around the community to get a "lay of the land." There is a tennis club, golf courses (one is a sand course), a couple of pools, equestrian center, tons of soccer fields and baseball fields, an art center, a business center with the PO boxes, a barber shop, a photo shop and the bank. I am curious to venture out of the community tonight or tomorrow to hit the IKEA. But I need to get an abeya first. Who knows where to shop for one of those?

Ho-Ho-Ho...Where did it go?

The Christmas season came and went too quickly! We kicked off the season with going to the Rockettes with Marcy, Wayne, Tiff and Rich. It was a fantastic show. Marcy would have joined in their high kicks if only they would have invited her!
On Christmas Eve, Marcy and Wayne joined us at the Park City Resort to welcome Santa down the mountain. Louie loved the excitement of the skiers with flares and Santa! We were sure to say hello to Santa. He handed Louie a Christmas candy cane. As a bonus, Louie met the skiing Frosty the Snowman and Mrs. Frosty.
It was freezing cold so we went home quickly for hot chocolate and prepared Santa's plate full of cookies. However, Louie thought it was important to test the cookies to make sure they were "good enough" for Santa. Matter of fact, he wanted all of us to test the cookies.
Even though Santa only got milk this year, he did bring Louie a few things from his wish list--legos, cars and trains. Thank you Santa!

On the Road Again...

Truly this is not intentional, but we seem to be on a plane for all of Louie's birthdays. Last year, we were in Aruba. This year, we flew to Houston for Cody's Aramco orientation. Dad and Becky met us there for the weekend. We celebrated Louie's birthday with cupcakes in the hotel room. He was delighted to learn how to blow out a candle. I must have re-lit it 17 times...until he got a little too close. Afterwards, we celebrated at the Houston Aquarium. He loved the octopus, parrot and feeling the slimy sting rays. Outside of the aquarium were carnival rides and games. Louie LOVED riding the carousel - again, again and again. Also, we rode the "choo-choo' through the shark tunnel. So fun to see Grandpa Hunter and Aunt Becky. Thanks for joining us in Houston! Louie was on the plane home to Utah for his second birthday. Happy Birthday Love-Bug!

Louie's First Cruise

One day we got an email advertising a sale on cruises and next thing you know we are packing our bags for a 7 day Carribean cruise! It's the perfect vacation for a 2 year old. We were able to get hot dogs at anytime, swim in the pool, play with the huge chess pieces on the Lido deck and go to formal fancy dinners with linen napkins. If there was ever a time he got fussy, one of us would take him back while the other could continue laying out at the pool. Louie learned quickly where the self-serve ice cream was located and visited there often!
He met some darling little girls in the markets of Ocho Rios, Jamaica. A special little musical instrument was made for him out of a coconut. He plinks on it like a guitar. We lounged on the beach in Grand Caymen and found MORE ice cream at the Hagen Das store; that kid has an eagle eye for ice cream. Overall, it was a great time to relax and spend time together as a family. We loved it! And as fate would have it, Louie was on an airplane for his second birthday as well! I like this trend.

Shhh! Louie has a shoe fetish

Now, Cody would die if he knew... but Louie has a shoe fetish. He loves shoes - his shoes, my shoes or daddy's shoes. Maybe it's his age. However, he wants to pick out his own shoes, wear his shoes to bed and wear my shoes. Now, he's in love with these new snow boots. One night I was trying them on him to make sure I got the right size. They were not about to come off without a robust rebuttal! He had to wear them in his house, driving his car and running around the house. He was delighted at the new addition to his collection. And yes, he did wear them to bed...for a week!