StayCation Adventures

Our 10 day Eid break is coming to an end. Instead of jetting off on an international trip, we decided to go low key and stay in Riyadh. After a busy summer of traveling, staying "home" sounded very enticing. We enjoyed lazy mornings drinking coffee on the porch, took a couple quick day trips out to the desert, relaxed with friends at the Mariyah Spa, and spent afternoons at the pool; Leif had his first dunking session with daddy and loved it.

Impulse buy at the firework souk

Look what we found...crazy

Kristin and Billie Jo shopping at the Saudi Gaudi souk

Look what I found...

Our first desert excursion was to the Heet Cave, 40 minutes south of Riyadh. We had heard rumors of there being water at the bottom of the cave, but were cautious not to get our hopes up. We were pleasantly surprised to find a warm turquoise pool at the bottom, complete with cliffs to jump from and walls to climb. We'll be heading back soon!

Hiking to where we thought the cave was

Enjoying the ride

Got to a ledge and realized we were directly
above the cave entrance 

View from the top of the cliff.
The parking lot below is where we needed to be.

Finally found the cave entrance

Heading down

The girls leading the way

As we got closer to the bottom we heard "splashes" and
noticed the beautiful turquoise water.

View from the bottom

Jordan and David climbing the walls

Jordan couldn't get in fast enough

Our second desert excursion was our second attempt to find petrified shark teeth. Between the six of us, we found over 3 dozen shark teeth of all shapes and sizes. According to Mark's book, these shark teeth could be 45 million years old. 

Learning how to drive

Gabe is also learning how to drive. (haha)

Driving out into the ocean floor

Loves sitting in the front seat

Old ocean floor

Hunting for shark's teeth

Mark and Kristen's finds

Stopping at Jordan's favorite milkshake stand.
Perfect treat after a hot day in the desert. 

The New Compound

Next year we will be moving to a new compound and to a new school campus.  The compound is closer to downtown and is in the newer part of town. The compound will have a movie theatre, bowling ally, climbing wall, 4 star hotel, restaurants, a rec center that includes an indoor track, climbing wall, workout room, pool, basketball and tennis courts, and soccer fields. The compound also has an outdoor pool, splash pad for the kids, and outdoor tennis and basketball courts. They are still in the process of building the compound, but already have more than half the villas complete. Here's a glimpse of where we'll be living in the future! The new school campus will be on the compound as well, so we'll be able to walk to school. Here are a few pictures from the tour last weekend. 

One of the outdoor pools. Still being worked on, but is gorgeous

Indoor running track and ice rink

Our modern 2 story villas

Entry way

Glimpse into the living room and stairs going to the 2nd level 

The beautiful, bright kitchen! I love the green backsplash.

Downstairs living room with 2 sliding glass doors.

Dining room and living room.

Upstairs living room

Upstairs living room

The villa is 2 bedroom, 3 bathroom and comes with the furniture. We couldn't be more excited!

*Pictures taken by Cody Shellenberger and Amy Magnin.

Saudi Style

This weekend we ventured out to the clock tower souk to purchase traditional Saudi couches. We wanted to create a little nook for Leif to play in while Jordan and I were in the kitchen or living room. Last May we had our dinning room furniture removed so we could create this fun play area. It's finally done and Leif loves it. 

Exploring an Ancient Ocean Floor

A month after being back, we finally made it back out to the desert! Our friends, Mark and Kristen, had read about a place an hour and a half away where you can find petrified shark teeth. We were all up for the challenge! 

Rocky desert terrain 

Boys only... doesn't matter the age, it's legal!

Desert baby

Searching for shark teeth

Jordan was the lucky one... he found one 5 minutes into the hunt

After a bit of research, we realized this tooth is millions of years old!

A petrified coral shelf

We had a great time getting out of town for a quick excursion. We look forward to cooler temperatures so we can spend more time out in the desert... so much to see and explore!

Back to the Sand Box

We made it! 

After a long 30 hours of traveling, we arrived in Riyadh with all our bags, a happy baby, and two tired parents. The first leg of the trip (Denver to Chicago) Leif slept the whole way on Jordan's lap. Our layover in Chicago was uneventful, but highlighted by our candy apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  Our second leg of the trip (Chicago to London) was the worst of the three since there was only one bassinet on the flight and the youngest child was assigned it...Leif wasn't the youngest. Luckily the BA rep found us an aisle with 3 seats so Leif could have his own seat. We had great plans to lay him on the seat and let him sleep the entire flight. It all worked out fine until 2 hours into the flight when the seat belt sign was turned on and never again turned off. There was slight turbulence the rest of the flight which meant babies had to be held. We (mostly Jordan) ended up holding Leif for the next 5 hours. Leif slept most the flight, but was awoken a few times by screaming twins 2 rows behind us. Thankfully, they didn't bother him much and he went back to sleep. The last leg (London to Riyadh) was great since we were given bulk head seating with a bassinet. Leif slept 5 out of the 6 1/2 hours so Jordan and I were able to catch up on some much needed rest. After a long line at customs, we were finally on our way home. We arrived to a spotless villa!  We've spent the last few days unpacking, settling in, and catching up with friends. 

We had such a wonderful summer...It's one we will never forget!

Back to work tomorrow...

One Decade Down...

10 years ago we made the best decision of our lives! 

Some of our experiences in the past 10 years:

-graduating from University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with an bachelors degree in History
-graduating from Colorado College with a Masters of Arts inTeaching
-studying in Egypt for 3 weeks
-moved to Nigeria
-moved to Saudi Arabia
-spent a holiday with friends in South Africa
-went on safari in Kenya and saw the Big 5

-visited the black and green sand beaches of Hawaii

-cruised the fjords of Alaska

-traveled to all 3 countries in North America, 5 countries in Africa, 6 countries in Europe, and 3 countries in Asia.

-went to the famous Keukenhof Tulip Festival in Holland

-enjoyed a private tour of Rome and a romantic dinner in a 1000 year old wine cellar

-visited 28 states
-lived in 5 houses
-lived in 3 countries
-lived on 3 continents
-owned 7 cars
-lost Grandma Lyons
-lost my dad
-road tripped around the US on 5 separate trips in 1 year
-lived out of a Honda Element

....and most importantly, welcomed a healthy, handsome, and happy baby boy into this world

We've had our ups and downs, but are stronger than before because of them. 

I can't wait to spend many more decades with this man!