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To Be Continued...

Saying Goodbye

There are many ways to say goodbye.
Sainara, Au Revoir, Adios, Arrivederci but....
for some of Chris' co workers it's a Diet Coke and a little Shisha with a feather boa type Hookah.
(Shisha is the tobacco used in the Hookah water-pipe.)
Even though Chris doesn't smoke it was a thoughtful gesture.

Others say farewell with a 50 Mile social ride or an 80K hammer fest under 2 hours.

Some tear up, hug, or just say, "See ya later!" trying not to get
too emotional.

For me, saying goodbye has been bitter sweet. I will miss many aspects of the Expat Life: the travel, the 6 weeks of vacation, a nominal house payment and free utilities, saving money, having house help, a small close knit yet diverse community full of activities for the kids, everything on camp within walking distance, and dear friends such as these and many others not shown. It is very difficult for this kind of life to be replicated although I know small pockets exists all over the world.

I will not miss 36 hours of travel time home, sand storms, the 4 hour commute to church each week (other than the talking time with Chris), insanely crazy drivers, camel crossings, security checkpoints, imported American foods that just don't taste right like stale cereal and shredded cheese that arrives all melted and globby, the absolute inability of some nationalities to queue up properly, not driving, my Abaya in 100+ heat, and holes in the ground as public toilets.....just to name a few.

Saying goodbye to our houseboy Golum was also very difficult. Not only because he helped me immensely around the house but because he felt like family to us. We hope he felt compensated for a job well done. He will be returning to Bangladesh in September after working abroad for 10 years, 7 of which were here in Saudi. During his 3 month break he will marry and try and start a business so that after he fulfills his contract in Saudi he can be home with his wife and family. He was always kind and helpful and he adored the boys. They loved to go out and work in the yard with him causing him to get teased by the other workers for having little white boys as his helpers. We wish him the best and hope that he won't have to work abroad indefinitely to support his family.


This experience has enriched me in so many ways. My eyes have been opened by the things I've seen. I have served and been served. I have loved and been loved. I will cherish this time as it has helped me to stretch and grow and better understand the diversity of the world we live in. We do not regret our decision to move to Saudi. It's funny because when we decided to move there the common response from friends and colleges was, "What?! You're moving where?!" Now that we are leaving the common response from our expat friends was, "What?! You're leaving already?!"

Much thought and many prayers went into both the decision to come and to go and we feel that we are doing what is best for our family and Chris' career at this time and although the money was exceptional.....sometimes it's not about the money.

On that note we not only say goodbye to Udhailiayah but also to the Uda-Where Blog.
If you want to continue following the Jenkins Family Journeys you can find us at
www.thejenkinsjourneys.blogspot.com

Hello and Goodbye Shawarma Man

After 2.5 years I finally met the Shawarma Man all my DHA friends talk about, while out for one last night of shopping and eating in Khobar with the Reynolds and Dillies.

I'm sorry we met just as my Exit Visa is being processed for my departure. Shawarmas are the fast food of the Middle East. The ones I've eaten on camp have not been Blog worthy.

But this stacked chicken meat on a skewer grilled all day to perfection was DIFFERENT. Honestly this was not a place I would have stopped if my friends had not sworn they were some of the best in Khobar. Just looking at the place made me wonder how much time I would be spending in the bathroom the next day. They promised they've eaten here regularly without consequence so we went for it.

I love and will miss this Chicken Shawarma wrapped in flat bread with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and garlic sauce (they also add soggy fries which I tossed) almost as much as Graham will miss his little buddy O* from nursery. For the last several months it has just been these two cutie pies.

The next afternoon we gathered with 60+ of our closest friends in Dhahran to eat Sourdough Waffles with oodles of toppings like homemade buttermilk and apple cinnamon syrups and say our goodbyes.

Moving on is so bitter sweet. We love the friends we have made and the community we've lived in but we do feel it is a good time to move on. It isn't all that unlikely to cross paths with many of these people again as church and oil connections make this world seem so very small.

One person Ethan is sure to miss will be his special buddy Rusty M. They first bonded when Rusty would sub Ethan's class in Primary for his wife.

Ethan really loves Rusty and was showing him his homemade kites on Friday. Unbeknownst to Ethan Rusty just happens to be a kite enthusiast and went home to gather everything they needed to make REAL miniature kites.

They spent the entire afternoon teaching Ethan and perfecting the method. I am not sure who was more delighted with the out come.

I just want to make one more huge shout out to say THANK YOU to all those that have hosted and fed our family every Friday before our two hour journey home.

As If

This kid needs any more attention!

He insisted on wearing this warm winter fleece frog suit to get an ice cream treat.

While Dad was away I wanted to do something a little different as part of Family Home Evening.

We drove up to the Golf Club to redeem some free ice cream cone coupons the boys received at a birthday party.

Ethan didn't just wear the suit and drip ice cream all over it. He also spent a good amount of time running around with friends outside in it. I wasn't too sure that the small ice cream cone would have enough cooling power to keep him from passing out in this Alaska weather appropriate costume. But he didn't complain once nor did he suffer any ill effects.

Graham on the other hand decided to do a belly flop off a ledge and bruised up his noggin pretty good. He was more upset about losing his ice cream on the dust covered ground then being concussed.

Book Week

Book Week at school just had to fall the same time Zach has become obsessed with the Captain Underpants Series. It's all he and his little buddies can talk about. I've had to discourage the potty humor that came along after he began reading these books. I know it's just a phase that will pass but this is what he wanted to wear to school for "Dress up as your favorite book character day."

After a lot of convincing (people will laugh especially the older kids, you might get in trouble, you think its funny now but won't later). Or worse, in my mind, everyone will love it and he'll be hailed as the coolest kid ever for attempting it and it will cause him to continue down a path of attention seeking behavior. We already have one of those in our house and that's enough thank you very much. He chose instead to be the less offensively but not quite as funny dressed Harold.

Book week is the brain child of our good friend and school librarian Mr. Peterson.

During the week the kids are asked to bring in books their families no longer want.

In return they are given book bucks.

The night of the event families were separated into 5 groups and then assigned to a room.

In each room we were read an interesting and often exotic tale by some of the fathers from our community.

After rotating through each room we gathered in the gym.

Here all the donated books were laid out so the families could get new books (at least new to them) with their book bucks.

I love this idea! It's brilliant because in our small community of limited access to new books this was a great way to get rid of something we had enjoyed but no longer needed in exchange for new reading material for all 3 boys.

Zach is a voracious reader. I love books but I don't want to own as many as he wants to read. This boy needs his own library card and fast. That will be one of the first things we do once home. He's already hijacked my Kindle on more than one occasion.

Also Ethan has been surprising of late in that when I read to him he has started picking out words. I know we have another excellent reader in the making here. His teacher's comments about his letter & word recognition are similar to what I remember Zach's teachers saying in the past.

It's Official We're Moving On

Yesterday Chris gave his resignation causing:
Free flowing crocodile tears from Zach.
A Tender, "Don't Cry Zach" from Graham.
and
Serious concerns from Ethan whether we will indeed be able to bring our Apple TV with us and that it will not lose any of our downloads.
(He is only 5 and since the Disney Channel in Arabic holds little value to the boys they've only watched what we downloaded for them.)

We are sorting through about 5 different offers right now both domestic and abroad. At the moment we are leaning toward a position back in the states but nothing has been decided for sure yet.

All I know is that I am leaving here in two weeks full of mixed emotions. We have loved our experience here in many ways with minimal dislikes. We got out of it exactly what we wanted, an opportunity to save serious money and appease that travel bug that Chris and I have. 18 countries (some of them multiple times) in 2.5 years is not to shabby.

(Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emeritus, Thailand, Czech Republic, Budapest, Netherlands, England, Spain, Malta, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Mexico, St. Martin, Bahamas, and the Virgin Islands.)

Do You Know What This Means

It means everyone is getting along.

Does this ever happen in your house or in every room in this case?

I hate messes and clutter. For me less is definitely more.

But I'm willing to put up with the mess as it mutates and migrates from room to room if it means a blissful Saturday (or Thursday in our case)...

of siblings getting along in combined creative play.

Even if it means more work for me.

The Hunt

All I can say is Mr. EB came through this year.

Can you tell by the bed heads that he came in the morning?

This way the chocolate didn't have time to become an ooey gooey mess.

No basket full of goodies just a good ole morning egg hunt followed by boiled eggs and chocolate for breakfast.

With a special Savior centered Family Home Evening after dinner.

This (below) is why the Savior Sacrificed his life for us. So we could come to earth and experience this life. I am so in love with these 3 little guys and my one big guy not shown here. We love being their parents and having the responsibility of teaching them and helping them understand why we are here on this earth, where we are going after this life, and the significance the life and death of our Savior plays in it.

The SAEA also held a community egg hunt the day after Easter. Hundreds of kids, of all nationalities, scoured the park for little pink, yellow, and blue treasures. As per usual it was to start at 4:30 and for those of us that showed up on time.....we were already too late. Zach didn't even want to come because he knew it would be a disappointment if he didn't find any.

Ethan somehow scored a few eggs and sweetly shared them with Graham. Some kids weren't so lucky but got over it quickly and just played and ate and hung out till the chocolate gift bags showed up and were handed out.

Some of the kids kept telling Ethan this wasn't a good idea. I thought, "Oh well at least he's got his helmet on."

Red Fish Blue Fish We've Got A Little Fish

Is anyone else tired of hearing about this trip?

I am!

Leaving Universal Studios wasn't as easy as we'd hoped after our Magical Morning in Hogsmead. The shortest route to the exit is through Dr. Seuss Land.

This really is one of the most fun Carousels around because of the unique Seuss Characters.

Ethan rode it a least 6 smile filled times. We also spent a few minutes shopping and spinning around on some other kiddie rides. But then we were just done. Done, DONE, DONE with amusement parks, rides, and the lines that comes with these places.

....................................................

One Fish Two Fish...

We discovered we've got a Little Fish!

Who is fearless!!!

Since the pool rule changes we haven't really taken Graham to the pool. We didn't know that he is FEARLESS, doesn't mind going under, can blow bubbles, will dive in, or jump off the edge backwards until this trip.

...................................................

The whole trip I kept looking at this gorgeous red hair and wondered what a few of my curly hair products might do.

WOW!!!

See what a little
Big and Sexy Root Pump Plus
and
Big and Sexy Curl Power Spray Foam
and diffusing it upside down did.

Just look at these LUSCIOUS LOCKS of red!
Who would not want that hair and with those cheek bones and full lips?
I didn't find the right product for my curls until after collage. I spent way to many years with limp or frizzed out curls and worse those wet looking crunchy curls. Those days are gone for me and I'm so glad I could pass this info on to my niece who will be a tween before we know it.

Apparently, the day she went out like this people could not and would not leave her alone. She went to ooh and ahh at all the Princesses at the Magic Kingdom and instead everyone kept oohing and ahhhing at her.

The Magical World of Harry Potter

I'm not sure who was more excited about visiting HP World....the Moms and Dads or the kids.

In all truthfulness I think it was the Moms and then the Dads and then the kids.

Is it too much to say this was a dream come true? Not that I felt I've had no purpose in life before visiting, but come on! For those of us that have loved the books for so many years we've all had dreams about being a part of that magical world if only for a day.

Unfortunately everyone else in the park had the same idea. As we walked towards Hogsmead so did everyone else.

Only a few, and I mean very few people drifted in other directions. Reggie and Lauren took this opportunity to ride some adult coasters on the other side of the park and met up with us later.

Had we known that the crowds and long lines would only last until mid day we would have maybe changed our plans a bit. But there was really no way of knowing.

In reality there was no place else I wanted to be than waiting in the immensely long line sipping the divine shortbread and butterscotch concoction better known as Butterbeer. I brought back as many of the Icee and regular versions as I could carry to the line.

After we knocked back a few of the Butterbeers we could get back to focusing on the magnificent scenes around every corner.

To help the parents not go crazy we played a game of Harry Potter ABC's in line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

If felt so real inside the castle: talking pictures, advice from the sorting hat, bad singing from the Fat Lady, and after speaking with Harry, Hermione, and Ron it began to snow....inside the castle. The ride itself was the longest most intense ride I have ever been on. I actually closed my eye in fright a few times...thankfully I missed the big snake.

Then it was time for the Wand to choose Zach. For months he had saved and then passed up almost every other tempting purchase during the trip in order to buy a wand. All along he said he intended to buy Dumbledore's wand.

But as we walked along feeling each one it was Hermione's that chose him. If I had purchased one, and I was tempted, it would have been Professor Lupin's.

This was a we're out of Pumpkin Juice, or Butterbeer, or I want a wand too melt down. I don't honestly remember now. He was still very sick so you really can't blame the little guy.

The tricky part about this day was that Ethan did not meet the height requirements for most of the rides. So that meant a lot of standing in line with nothing to do except harasses his immediate and extended family. But can you blame the kid? He hasn't read the books and only seen snippets of the movies- since he hasn't read the books. So what else was there to do?

Hiding in this nest is a giant Hippogriff.

Just look at the smile on Ethan's face here. Finally something he could do.

By this time we were ready for a feast.....

and there was no place better than the 3 Broomsticks.

The set up inside was very well organized and went smoothly considering how crowded of a day it was.

And feast we did. There is also a giant family salad that goes along with this meal. Of course we washed it all down with a few more Butterbeers. So glad they didn't stick with a traditional British menu because for park food this was really good....especially the ribs.

After lunch we separated, the Jenkins to Honeydukes and the Slocombe/Hamms to Olivander's Wand Shop.

Zonko's was a delight where you could adopt fuzzy pets or buy extend-able ears.

We missed the show but caught a glimpse of wizarding students from Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbaton.

The boys decided on enormous chocolate frogs with collectible wizard cards inside. Meanwhile Chris and I shared a chocolate cauldron and some mini mint chocolate frogs.

It did feel as though a magic spell was cast upon us that morning, playing a game of Quiditch, escaping the Dementor's Kiss, being chased by a fire breathing dragon amongst other things..... if only for a few hours.