Kids Triathlon

Today the Recreation Center hosted a kids triathlon!  Our boys had a blast swimming, biking, and then running.  They were troopers! Enjoy the pictures.

 I don't think many triathlons have this type of view!

 Cameron is the 2nd child over and Carter is the 4th child over.

 Determination! The brothers were duking it out at the end.

 Cameron was 3rd!  Way to go Cam!

 Carter was 4th!  Way to go Carter!

What a fun morning!  Next week there is a bike race.  Should be fun!  We feel so lucky to have all of these opportunities. 

Sand Dunes

Rebecca's Point of View: This has been the longest we have gone without posting a new blog since we have lived here.  I guess the month of January was a little busy with the end of the semester, new sports, and our daily activities. Cameron started playing after school rugby, Carter continues with TKD, Bryan is all over the place, and I have decided to try golf.  I have completed two lessons, so we will see what happens with this new adventure.   Today is Bryan's turn to blog.

Bryan's Point of View:  Rebecca stated that I am all over the place, but does that surprise anyone??  That is what I thrive on, and here, I am able to go full-tilt until I crash and need sleep.  Actually, it is not that bad and more just generally being busy.  I was coaching 3rd-5th grade baseball which was fun watching kids who are normally cricket players hit the ball with a round bat.  Cameron loved playing too which was fun for me and it was good to get to know more kids in the community and share baseball with them, which is not very common in these parts. 

While Rebecca was in a professional development class yesterday, the boys and I jumped in with one of our friends here and his 2 daughters, and drove about 30 minutes down the road to some wonderfully cool sand dunes (I know, sand dunes in Saudi Arabia - surprising!) 

 

We had boxes and tubs to sled in but the sand was too loose so we just tumbled down the hills.  The dunes were amazingly picturesque and I got some great shots with the camera that now needs a new lens because of the sand in it!!  Will bring my kites next time too.

Playing golf 1-2 times a week but still not getting any better.  But I have a heck of a time playing and try to keep the swearing and club throwing to a minimum.  Have a good group of 10-12 guys that have a standing 7:30pm tee time.  Played during the day a short while back and it was strange as I am very used to playing under the lights.

Had a chance to go on my second mountain bike ride in the desert today which was fantastic.  It was a very hilly, loose road but made for some great descents and grueling uphill chugs.  It wore my fat old body out but I will be ready for the next ride.  I am also helping the mountain bike club put together a bike track here for the kids and adults.  We have been given a plot of land and said "tell us what you want built" so that is kind of fun helping out with that.

Got into Jeddah this past week and finally bought a new bbq.  Only issue here is that there is not propane, only butane, so I need to go into the neighboring town and have the hoses swapped and a new regulator put on - things are never as easy as they appear here!  Looking forward to bbq'ing some fresh fish, chicken, and steak.

My days seemed to be occupied with all sorts of fun things to do, but being here has given me a great opportunity to attend almost all of the school activities that the boys do - and there is a lot!  It has been excellent having that flexibility.

Cameron will be blogging about his swim races soon!

Christmas in Germany

This year we celebrated Christmas in Germany with our friends the Chaplins.  They teach at the Frankfurt International School, which looks amazing.  Our friends live outside of Frankfurt in a little Hamlet called Obereiffering (I think).  It was out in the hills and surrounded by trails, ski hills, and beautiful countryside.  We enjoyed driving through the country on our hunt for castles.  Castles were our main focus since it also appealed to our boys.  They wanted to find the dungeons of each castle and talk about the battles that were fought from the impressive walls. 

Our adventure was great, but we did miss our dear friend Charlie, who spent his entire holiday in the hospital.  He is in our thoughts and we know that tomorrow's surgery will put him back in action.  We spent many afternoons at the hospital playing cards, cracking jokes, and trying to bring a festive atmosphere to him while he stayed in the hospital.  I guess we will have to go back once he is well, so he can explore with us too.

It was amazing to be driving in the country and then seeing a castle perched high on the hill.  They are an impressive sight and to think that they were built so long ago.  Germany has so many historical layers.  We would try and picture the days of Kings, Queens, and Knights and then we would try to picture the destruction that WWI and WWII did upon this lovely country.  Lots to learn!

Bryan loved driving on the autobahn.  This is the freeway that does not have a maximum speed.  The minimum speed is listed, but other than that you can cruise as fast as you would like.  Bryan liked to cruise around 180-200 kmh and we were passed like we were standing.  We were passed by Ferraris, Mercedes, BMW's, Porches, and Bentley's to name a few. The autobahn does move quite smoothly.  We never saw traffic and were impressed by the use of clover leafs to move you from one freeway to the next.  However, on the back roads the speed limit is an issue.  Bryan managed to get two tickets.  The speed will change from 80kmh to 30kmh in the matter of a short distance.  Speed boxes are in place and will take your picture.  It snapped twice on us!  We have know idea where the ticket will go, but I am sure those Germans will somehow track us down. 

 Carter tried to keep up with this hip 8 year old.  She gave him a run for his money.

 

 This was taken in Rothenburg, Germany.  We had to climb to the top of a very steep tower to take this photo. I think the people back in the days were very small.  The steps were tiny and Bryan had to duck through each doorway.

 

 Emma, Keira and the boys.  We tried to hike often.

 The above castle ruins were only a few minutes away from the house. 

 

 We spent Christmas eve on a train headed to Frankfurt.  We then boarded the correct train, but going the wrong direction for our way home.  It was great fun being lost on Christmas Eve!  However, it all turned out well.

 Bryan enjoyed his liter of Christmas Beer and a plate of Pork Knuckle.  It was the first time we have spent Christmas Eve in a restaurant.  It was great not having to do the dishes!

 The above pictures are of Frankfurt on Christmas Eve.  Most of Frankfurt was destroyed in WWII, so it has been rebuilt to be more of a modern city.  Some parts were saved or rebuilt, but for the most part Frankfurt wouldn't be on my list of must see places in Germany.

 

 Braunfels castle was my favorite.  It was built in 1285 and parts of it are still lived in my the family.  This might have been my favorite because of the lack of people.  We took a tour in German.  We didn't learn too much, but it was fun to see the inside and listen to the language.  The boys were very eager to be close to the tour guide and listen to the stories.  I wonder if they noticed it was in a different language? We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside.

 Torture devices were in the main squares of most little towns.

The below pictures are of Strausbourg, France.  We decided to drive about 3 hours and check out what France had to offer.  It was extremely crowded.  I could have relaxed more if I didn't have to worry about the kids getting lost.  



 I think Santa left an elf behind!

 

The below picture are of Heidelburg, Germany.  I wish we could have spent more time here.  Almost everything was closed.  Germany closes down the day before and after a holiday.  Everything is closed!  Even grocery stores!  You really have to be a planner. 

 

 
The Christmas markets are what Germany is popular for during the holiday season.  I wish we would have taken more pictures.  You could just wander the streets and visit vendors, drink warm wine, and listen to Christmas carols.  It was quite surreal. 

 These are tasty desserts are everywhere!

 

I wish we would have taken more pictures of the countryside and markets.  I guess we will have to go back.  I am also sorry if the editing to this page is funny.  The blog sight has been a little crazy this evening.  We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and many good memories were made.  We would definitely recommend traveling on the holiday season!