For our spring break we traveled to the pyramids. Shaylin, our niece, met us in Egypt and experienced this adventure with us. She then continued to our home in Saudi and loved her time with us, and has now become an advocate of our lifestyle!
You grow up your entire life knowing about the pyramids. You see them in books, on tv, and the talk when people think about a must see. Well, we did this must see and it was amazing! When I first glimpsed the pyramids I really thought I was going to cry. They were real! They were huge! They were the PYRAMIDS! Our hotel had a view of these pyramids and each morning I would watch the sun rise as my family slept. Egypt is a crazy place but the trip is worth i, and for our family it is only a 2 hour flight.
 |
| The classic picture. |
 |
| This pyramid is not advertised as much, and we learned that there are hundreds of pyramids in Egypt. This one is one of the first pyramids and wasn't built as well as the Giza pyramids. Since tourism is down we found ourselves being the only tourist in this location. This made it tough because all the vendors were there selling their goods and services. In order to make things smooth for our children and us we handed out a few dollars here and there and we placed the boys on the donkeys so were not hassled about a ride. |
 |
| Our great group of traveling friends. |
 |
| (For some reason this website wants this picture placed here! I cannot move it or erase it without ruining my entire post. So, here I am with my sisters! I am hopeful they will one day come and visit us.) After our spring break we did a quick trip to Dubai with our only focus being Atlantis. Unfortunately we didn't take any great pictures. We were too focused on being in our swimming suits and floating the lazy river. It is place that is worth going back to again and again. Our family loves waterslides! |
 |
| Our first week back in the states we did a fun run with Jeremy and Jeanette. That is one way to spend time with friends! We ran a 10K and tried to visit the entire way. A highlight trip for our family was heading to Costa Rica and Nicaragua in July. This area of the world is very special to us and we found that we still are in love with Costa Rica and all it has to offer. Our focus for this trip was animals! Cameron and Carter carried binoculars, cameras, waterproof notebooks, and patience. Everyday we explored and everyday we were happy with what we found. The boys are now into google maps and constantly explore Monteverde (one of our favorite places). They would like to make Costa Rica our home.   
This little sloth was found without a mother. It is being taken care of at an animal sanctuary and will hopefully be released into the wild.
We traveled with Steve, Alexa, Hayes, and Noah. We loved our adventures together!
We loved watching the leaf cutter ants!
The river rafters! They rafted class 3 rapids! Pretty good for their first time.
Time Passes Quickly!
We are now venturing into our 4th year of living overseas and many people ask the question "When are you coming home?" That is a tough question for us and one that does make us sad for our family and friends because we do not have a clear answer. We can see the hope in our family that we will answer "Next year" but I don't think that answer will be coming anytime soon.
At this time home feels like here in Saudi Arabia. When we started on this adventure we were not quite sure if Saudi would actually feel like home. We had a lot of people worried about our decision but we knew in our hearts this what we needed to do in order for us to thrive in our busy world. We are thriving!
Cameron is in 6th grade now and is in the high school with kids to 12th grade. On the fourth day of school Cameron did tryouts for the school musical. He did really well and got a part! He has also pursued the drums and is now a member of a school rock band. He is doing so well juggling 10 classes and a different schedule each day. Cameron is also a member of the golf club and does lessons one day a week (2 once the musical ends). We are so proud of how is becoming independent and responsible. He continues to pursue his love for animals through research and has so many places he wants to travel just for the animals.
Carter is in 3rd grade this year. He started playing the clarinet and can't wait until he is big enough to begin playing the cello. He is also self teaching himself to play the harmonica. I love watching Carter play on the playground. Most kids are doing sports but he has a group of boys that are in the bushes building and using their imaginations. Carter loves climbing trees! We are lucky to have one in our backyard! Carter also loves taking care of the street cats. This has become a little bit of an issue so we are trying to teach him how to be a responsible pet owner. Today he is catching a stray and we are paying to have it vaccinated and spayed. The cat will then be returned to the street. Tough lesson for sure! Carter also continues to play rugby and is a member of the jump rope team. We are so proud of Carter!
Bryan has had some big changes since living here. He has changed his career completely! There is one more change that will be happening on December 1 and that will be a new contract with our school! For the past 2 school years Bryan has been commuting to a different school but an opportunity has presented itself and Bryan will be transferring to our school. The three of us are so excited that he will be on our schedule. Bryan will be teaching design technology and math in the middle school. He will also be able to coach and be more involved with our boys!
Me, I don't have as many changes as the rest of my family. However, I have changed as a teacher in so many ways. I think back in how much I have grown over the last 4 years and my mind just aches thinking about it. My job is challenging in a good way. I love teaching children from all around the world and I love that our school has more than just an academic focus. I love our school philosophy of being a "global citizens", which is something our family has become. I am up most mornings at 5:30 running or cycling. I am also coaching the jump rope team and will be the head coach of the high school track team. Busy!
Well, that is a little snapshot of what is happening in the Johnson home! It is an amazing lifestyle and we would love to share it with our friends and family from afar. Let us know when you are ready to travel and we would love to coordinate an adventure with you! We will be home in June/July but have found that is a busy time. We have found that quality time happens when we can spend time doing something unique, so for some of you we need to get planning!
Next Blog: Uganda Gorillas and Sri Lankan Safari!
|
