Visitors

 My mom and sister made it to KSA with plenty of time to spare. While waiting for the newest member of our family, we've enjoyed some down time with plenty of pool time, naps, walks and Riyadh adventures. 

My mom came bearing gifts...obviously it's no longer about
Jordan and I

Friday lunch at Johnny Rockets

Making our House into a Home

We finally finished putting our house together...just in time for visitors and our little one's arrival. 

The baby's room is complete, but we're still waiting for decals to come with my mom. Once I get it completely set up, I'll take pictures.

Before

After

Entry way to the two bedrooms

Before

After

Master Bedroom...a terracotta/sienna color

Sweet Deal

I know I promised pool pictures months ago, but every time we go to the pool, I forget the camera. Well today, I remembered. Here are some pictures of the pool, hot tub, and spa facilities on the compound.

Lap pool

Outdoor hot tub.
 (Wading pool in the background)

Shaded wading pool

Hot and cold tubs inside women's locker room

Steam room and sauna

The best part is that no one ever uses the facilities. 

Quick Trip to Bahrain

Since Jess is so close to delivering, we knew we couldn't go too far from Riyadh for winter break. Our original travel plans were postponed until next winter break, but we figured we could handle a four hour drive to Bahrian, a small island country off the east coast of Saudi Arabia. The drive is easy, safe, and in no time we found ourselves on the Persian Gulf enjoying more freedoms than we have in Saudi. Bahrain, known as the "Las Vegas" for Saudi's,  is a more liberal Muslim country where alcohol, pork, and movie theatres are allowed. Jess also had the freedom to walk around without wearing the abaya. We stayed at a nice hotel attached to the largest mall in Bahrian. We chose this for comfort and convenience. We had quick access to the movie theatre, great restaurants, spa and shopping. We enjoyed four days of relaxation and are now home "nesting". We still have 9 days of break!

The Bridge to Bahrain...over 10 miles long

Enjoying drinks (alcohol free for Jess) by the pool

Merry Christmas!

Enjoyed a nearly empty theatre

Ready for "The Hobbit" in 3D

Baby's first movie (haha)

Tis the Season...

...to make...and enjoy Tiger Butter!  I was so excited to be able to find all the ingredients (a total of 3) for my favorite holiday treat. This weekend, a couple of the teachers hosted a cookie exchange, so I made a quick batch to share. Luckily there was extra!

Feels A Little Like Fall

...at least in the mornings and evenings! Now that we're almost in December, we're starting to get some rainy weather and the morning and evenings are a bit chilly. Chilly enough for me to wear long sleeves on our evening walks. I'm loving it!

Most of us think of Saudi Arabia as HOT...miserably hot, but that's not actually the case!  I won't argue, Saudi Arabia is HOT from May to September, but starting in October, the temps start to decrease and the weather becomes more manageable. Once we hit November, we noticed a huge difference in the weather. The daytime temps are comparable to Colorado's late spring/ early summer weather. I'm looking forward to the next couple months of PERFECT weather!

A Day in the Desert

A couple weeks ago, we headed an hour northeast to the red sand dunes. It was the perfect weather for being in the desert...glad we waited to do this until the cooler season. Unfortunately, I had to keep my abaya on due to some local camps nearby.  Saudi's living in Riyadh build permanent campsites near the dunes and use them as their weekend getaways. 

Stuck!
No, we didn't deflate our tires like we should have.
Lesson learned

Some generous men pulled off the highway to help us
out of the deep sand. I wonder how many times they
have to rescue expats. 

On to the other two cars...

After helping us out, they invited us to come back to their
 camp for lunch. We started following them, but since our tires
had been deflated quite a bit, we couldn't keep up on the
highway and lost them. Maybe next time!

Driving through the sand to the base of the dunes.

The boys racing to the top of the first dune

The long trek up the dunes

Almost there

Playing in the sand

The beautiful sand of the Arabian Desert