Our Home

I was inspired by a friend,who is working in Sri Lanka,to blog pictures of our home.  Since this blog is record of our time here I thought I should add these photos so I can someday show the boys where we once lived.  I have posted pictures once before but those were before we fully moved into our home.  Here is our home.

Bryan's bike room.  This would be the room for a nanny but he has converted into a shop.

We are adding pins to all the places we have been.  It is funny to how much time each of use looks at this map.

The lizard live on this little tiny balcony.  Our idea is to turn the entire place into a lizard home.

The view from the lizard balcony.

Cameron and Carter's room.

I think the little thing by the toilet is for feet.  It is not for the end you are thinking about.  Notice the sprayer on the wall.  That would be used to clean the other end.

Our guest room!  Doesn't it look inviting?  Too bad we don't get many guests!  I guarantee all of you would love to vacation here.

Our bedroom view.

We still have the photo of Carter and Hunter.  We miss Hunter!

 Now I have realized I have forgotten to take a few pictures.  I guess I will have to post a part 2 of our home.  I know this was not the most interesting blog, but important for our family.

Stuck In The Sand

Meet our new car that we have had for about 2 weeks.  Today was its 2nd adventure into the desert and it wasn't very happy.  Everything was going along just great until we hit a soft patch.  It took a lot of man power to get this car out of the hole it kept spinning.  Finally the Coast Guard showed up and towed the car back into safe territory.  The boys were covered in sand and sweat!  Our car has a black scoop in the front, which we would like removed, and it scooped the sand as we drove.  We miss big red!  This is our first time being stuck!  What a day. 

Our Poor New Car!

However, we didn't let this episode spoil our trip.  We ventured about 90 minutes north to a beach along the Red Sea.  Many people go camping to this beach, so we wanted to check it out.  We rounded up a troop of adventurers  and set out on our excursion.  Most of our trip was on a highway, then we had to cut through a town that has huge oil refineries. The road system was a little different.  At one point we were on a 4 way street that lead to a narrow alleyway, and then it ended up on a 6 lane highway.  We then veered off onto the sand and tried to find a place on the beach.

This is a holiday week so we found many Saudi tents along the beach.  We had to find a private place because we did not want to wear our abayas.  This was a little tricky, which led to us being stuck in the sand.  

While the boys were digging our car out of the sand the moms and kids hit the beach.  Carter had fun collecting hermit crabs, star fish, and snails.  Cameron spent the entire time snorkeling and found dozens of different fish.  They both had a great time and Bryan finally got to come and play too!  

My handsome husband!

Cameron spent a lot of time under the water.  Can you see all the little fishies?

Friends on the beach!  Notice the garbage.  That is the sad reality of many places in the world. 

We loved this sign!  We did see quite a few camels too!

Saudi National Day

Once again I am finding myself behind in my blog.  However, today was a holiday so we decided to take go on an adventure with a great group of people and then finishing our evening my celebrating Saudi National Day at our waterfront. 

Falcons play an important role in Saudi tradition.

They are used for hunting and sport.

Cameron pushed his way to the front of the line.  We have found we need to be pushy or else we lose our place in line.

Carter was told he had a very strong arm.

Carter was very excited to hold the sword.

Hopefully this isn't a glimpse into our future.

Some traditional Saudi items.

The sun is setting by 6:30 these days.  You can see our beacon off n the distance.

We made our way to the fish and chip restaurant.

We also woke up early today and ventured out into the desert on the hunt for a Wadi.  Pictures are soon to follow (Hopefully tomorrow). 

 



Back To Reality, or is this actually Reality?

We have now been home for almost 4 weeks and I have yet to blog.  I promise to get better at blogging because so many of you told me how you love reading my blog. I am glad I could entertain you.  I was given a few suggestions on things I could write about, but if you have a particular subject let me know and I will find a story.

We had an amazing summer and went a little crazy in all we did.  I guess that is what Expats do on their first summer away.  Hopefully next year we can still have some fun but come back home with some cash in our pockets.  Did I say next summer?  Coming back home?  I guess many of you have now realized that the Johnsons are on the incredible journey for an indefinite amount of time.  We will keep you posted. :)

We came home to hot weather.  Many of you never have and never will experience the temperatures that we get here.  One day it said 106 but feels like 117!  Those are some sweaty days.  I know it sounds terrible, but it is just the time of year when you stay inside more, just like winter for you. My glasses fog up at least twice between my front door and my short walk to the garage.  Today we went to the pool, which has chillers installed and you can actually get goose bumps if you are in too long.  The hot weather is also helping me with my personal goal of relaxing more.  I can't stop moving when I am inside, so I am now doing puzzles.  I can't believe I have a goal of doing puzzles.  Crazy Reality!

Last night Bryan and I attended an Embassy dinner.  We had fun with about 15 friends and then about 150 other Embassy guests.  We were on American soil for about 5 hours!  Woo-hoo!

Our project this weekend was creating a map with pins pushed in for the places we have been.  It was a fun activity and it made me feel a little crafty at the same time.  We have realized that we actually haven't been to very many places!  I think this map project is going to cause us to spend a lot of money on plane tickets just so we can get a pin on that side of the world.

The boys have settled in great!  They love their new teacher and classmates.  I am so proud of them!  Bryan is now in grade 5 as a student teacher and I am once again in grade 3.  We are all four quite happy!

We did add a family member (or two) to our home.  It was so difficult not having pets last year.  We tried to bring our cat from home, but he was just too big and the traveling would have been difficult for him in cargo.  So, yesterday we got ourselves a kitty.  Her name is Yala, named after Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.  It should be a destination for all of you that like adventure.  Yala is just a baby and is so cute.  I even catch Bryan holding and playing with her.  We also added a lizard to our family.  As you know we really like our reptiles and it has been very sad for us to leave Yoda behind in the states.  We have adopted a green iguana named Alice.  Her family has leftt and she needed a home.  The best thing about Alice is that she lives outside.  Bryan is working on turning a balcony area into a lizard habitat.  The difficult part about Alice is that she is aggressive.  At the moment I am the the only person that can handle her.  We are hoping that we can tame her, but we just might have to find her a new home if she doesn't get a better attitude.

That is what has been happening these past 4 weeks.  I promise to do a better blog in the near future. I am also too tired at the moment to go get my camera to download photos.  Here are two for you.

Riding the Tornado

We were told to expect a whirlwind our first vacation back home, but it feels more like a tornado.  Trying to balance friends, family, and our own kids has been such a focus that we forget that we are actually on vacation.  We are loving seeing everyone and spending quality time with our friends and family, but how do we get out of this tornado that is sweeping us away?  How can we balance things and still stay sane?  Maybe this is just the way it is and we need to get used to our summer holidays being crazy.

Many people ask us what we miss about our home.  We usually pause before we answer, which leaves many with a sad expression.  It is just a very difficult question and it is something we tried not to think about to much our first year away.  It just could have been to painful for us to think about everything we miss.  Of course we miss our friends and family, and then a few small things like going shopping and trying on clothes.  I also miss a good grocery store and costco!  Also, missing the freedom of just driving anywhere and everywhere.

We do not miss the crazy, busy lifestyle that just makes your life zoom right on by in a blink.  We also do not miss gas prices, car payments, driving the kids everywhere, and teaching in a classroom with 30 students and a lack of technology.

The below link explains a little on how we are feeling.  However, I wish we knew a 2nd language!  Maybe next summer we will be able to relate to that point of the article.      

Have We Changed?

Koh Samui, Thailand

Since we were taking a detour on our way home for the summer, we decided to leave Sri Lanka and make a stop over in Thailand.  We spent one week in each place and now we know we must return and spend at least two weeks in these wonderful, unique, and adventurous places.

We decided to follow our good friends, Justin and Rebecca Somerville, to Koh Samui.  They live about 4 houses away from us in Kaust and have been a family we immediately connected with.  They are from New Zealand, about our age, have three awesome kids, and area also a little looney like us.  This is our second adventure with them and we look forward to making more memories in the years to come.

We also decided to fly Gracie, our niece, to meet us.  She flew to Bangkok on her own and then we continued to Koh Samui.  She did a great job!  Her words: "I love airports!"  She enjoyed the independence, courage, and adventure it took to make this long journey.  We are so glad she spent this week with us.

We didn't spend too much time on the beach.  I think we are a little spoiled by living right on the Red Sea. 

Our place was quite large, but when you shop around you can find some great deals.  4 of the bedrooms faced the pool.  We also had a lovely view. 

Sorry ladies, but I had to post this picture.  Notice how the mommas are hiding behind the cute girls.  We all bought the same suit in different designs from a beach vendor. Rebecca S. worked us out a nice deal.  I did not appreciate being told I was extra large and had to pay more!

Our home!

You can buy gasoline in bottles.  It must be for all the scooters that are racing around the island. 

The food was so delicious! 

This was the name of our villa.

The Big Buddah was a great find!  The shopping was amazing and it is always fun to learn about the customs of the country you are visiting. 

This is a typical boat.

Shopping!  Everything is so cheap!

Carter lost his tooth right when we arrived.  The Thailand Tooth Fairy delivered 50 bot for this front tooth.

Gracie's first night.  She did a good job of not falling face first into her food.  Catching up on her sleep was an important task for the first few days. 

Our good friends.  The Somervilles!  We hiked to a waterfall, which was barely flowing, and a did a little swimming.

Cameron being blessed by a Monk.

Gracie was blessed too.

Bryan and Cameron just had to go to the Snake Farm.  I can't believe I gave in.  It was the most miserable experience of the entire trip.  The snakes were kept in awful conditions, but the people were so happy to show us around.  I tried to be upbeat, but I really thought I was going to pass out. 

This is the snake charmer!  He also had pet scorpions and wanted to prove to me that they were friendly.  It did not work.  This guy also had a USA tattoo.  Very strange!

This has been bit 324 times!  He is missing several fingers!  

Carter wanted a massage.  He was lubed up with coconut oil and a little Thai lady rubbed him down for a 1/2 hour.  Gracie also enjoyed a massage, but mine was awful.  The He-She that massaged me made me feel like I had been in a boxing ring.  I am not a fan of the Thai massage.

Now we are back in the U..S spending time with our friends and family.  We missed everyone dearly, but did enjoy our adventures over the last 11 months!  We will be flying back to Saudi in August and look forward to the adventures that are still to come.