This is a Post Where I Ramble

I feel like I've slammed you readers (all 5 of you) with non-stop photos lately. This post will have no photos...b/c I think I'm just gonna ramble a bit on what the Dibb-lets (and Brian and I) have been up to the past month or so. This will not be in any particular order b/c I think that's the point of rambling- there's no order to it. Sorry not sorry.

1) Mei has become quite the social butterfly. Like, she has more social commitments on our family calendar than me. She's averaging 2-3 play dates per week. Not only that but she's pretty much rockin' the whole riding a bus to school like a boss. She told me the other day "Mom, my heart is happy" and I kind of just melted- it makes me think we're not so, so crazy for moving our family to Saudi.

2) Emiko decided to join a couple of friends and sign up for a 6 week basketball clinic. She literally has never bounced a basketball in her life. This is going to be interesting...or comical...or both.

3) Emiko is also taking a monthly sewing class with friends from fellowship group. This will also be interesting...comical...or both.

4) The 3 older girls tried out for swim team. They had 120 kids try out with only 26 spots open. B/c of high numbers the team ended up adding a few more spots and took 40 kids. Kaiya and Emi made the team...but Mina's swim times were too slow. Admittedly, her breast stroke does need some...or a lot...of help. They encouraged Mina to keep practicing and try out again in the Spring. Swim team is year round but they do try outs twice a year. So Mina and Mei are doing private swim lessons.

5) Mina is signed up to do soccer, which starts in about a week.

6) Mei is doing a weekly gymnastics class- which of course she loves.

7) Wow my kids are doing a variety of sports. But I'm still waiting for 1 of my girls to want to play volleyball...I may end up waiting forever. This is sad b/c it's the one sport I don't suck at.

8) Speaking of sports, Emiko's doing a rock climbing lunch club at school (they have a rock climbing wall in the gym). Yeah, her school is way cooler than the one I went to at her age.

9) Brian is going scuba diving with a friend at the Red Sea again in a couple weeks. This can only mean one thing- his wife so totally amazing.

10) I'm teaching my kids piano b/c teachers here are in short supply and have waitlists a mile long. So far, Emiko's rolled her eyes at me, Mina's yelled at me, and Kaiya doesn't practice. It's going well, I'd say.

11) The temperature high's have finally fallen into the double digits. Yes, 99 degrees. And the humidity is starting to wane. It makes me want to go outside and celebrate...but actually it's still a little too hot so I'll just stay inside where I have the A/C blasting. It feels great though when I run in the mornings- it's in the 70's! So what that it's 5:00 am?! Speaking of running, I've finally got some running buddies which makes the runs feel more like a social hour. Being up that early though means I really prioritize power naps in the afternoon...but if Brian asks, I'm totally up doing laundry, cooking dinner, and vacuuming.

12) I started taking a watercolor class with a couple of friends. The teacher is one of my running buddies...she's an amazing artist. I am not. I can't draw stick figures. I'm re-thinking why I thought it would be a good idea to try watercolors. I drew my first still life the other day (of fruit and a vase). I didn't realize how hard it was to make a lemon look like a lemon.

13) Saudi just approved Brian's parents visa application- which means they're coming to visit in November! Hooray! They'll arrive just in time for Mina's special 8th birthday pool party. And then we're taking them to Oman for an extended weekend- everyone but Kaiya will go to Oman...she'll be at girls camp in Bahrain. And then they're going to watch the kids the next weekend while Brian & I fly out to Jordan for a quick trip to Petra and the Dead Sea.

14) Kaiya applied for an OOK (out of kingdom) school trip to Zululand. There are several OOK trips offered during Spring Break- you have to apply and list preference for your top 3 choices. We were told it was unlikely that she'd be chosen b/c she's new to the school, they give preference to 9th graders b/c it's their last year at the school, and b/c she decided not to list a 2nd or 3rd choice. If she couldn't go to Zululand, she didn't want to do an OOK trip. Well I swear Kaiya is my child where everything goes in her favor b/c she was chosen for this OOK trip. She is really excited to go and I'm totally jealous b/c our dear friends live there. So she will spend her 2 week Spring Break in Zululand abseiling, kayaking, zip lining, beaching (beaching is a word I think), hiking, and safari-ing (that's a word too). She'll also have the opportunity to volunteer at orphanages and help in the local schools doing service. It's going to be an awesome experience for her. It will also be the longest amount of time we've been separated. I will try not to think about this fact.

15) A couple weekends ago we met up with a bunch of families at Half Moon Bay- a private, Aramco beach- to celebrate our first Saudi National Day. I heart the beach. Unfortunately it was littered with trash- but we spent about 10 min cleaning it all up and then it was all good. Littering is very common here. Singapore would not be happy.

16) Mei is throwing a temper tantrum. I think this means my rambling has officially come to an end.