These are the Days of our Lives

The days are just flying by and things are going pretty darn well at this juncture.  Today, Friday, was our weekend and we had a chill evening of ordering in Papa John's pizza and swimming at the pool.  Photos are prohibited at the pool so you won't be seeing any photos from our time there...Jon already got a talking to by security after snapping a couple of pics the other day at the clubhouse pool.  Photo taking is very private here and if it looks like someone else may be in your photo, either accidentally or on purpose, it can be offensive.  There are also some Islamic dimensions to be considered when it comes to images such as photos...we're still learning.  

The boys and a Swedish friend they met at a Science dinner...chilling. 

We met some lovely people and have been to some dinners and gatherings in our first week.  The boys are quite good at trying new foods (not finishing them) and being polite and patient while we head to these new outings.  They have most everyone who meets them in awe of their self control and manners and we are incredibly proud.   

The boys were discussing pet possibilities in the beginning and we were keeping our options open, even though we're really not pet people.  Anything for the kids.  This was sparked by Jon's Mom getting an adorable little kitten before we left the States and the fun they have with Lucy, the cat my Mom & Dad share with their neighbor ;-)  Our upstairs neighbors got a kitten just the other day and we brought the boys up (Adam mostly) to see how they would react with allergies, hives, etc.  They did ok but Adam definitely broke out in hives on his face and neck :(  Jay is such a little bug lover and has been on the lookout at all of the new creatures.  He was very excited to find a new "beetle" the other night and held it in his had our whole walk home.  He'd gaze at it and then tell me that he couldn't believe how much his "beetle" loved him.  By the time we made it home the "beetle" had disappeared from his hands and Jay was devastated and in tears.  "Luckily", just before walking in, I saw it crawling up his back and shoulder and grabbed it and showed him that I had found his beloved bug.  Needless to say he was THRILLED and ready to go and create a habitat for his new pet.  I had him show me his beetle in the light of the kitchen before finding him a jar, and sure enough, my non-biased entymologist had himself a big old cockroach.  OMG!!!  I calmly grabbed the bug and told Jay that he'd have to bring it back outside.  He was devastated and sobbing about having to release him into the great unknown and he is still quite cross with his discriminating mother.  "What's wrong with a cockroach? Wall-E had a cockroach and they're great pets"!  What oh what to do :)  When we were unpacking the toys the next night, and what should we find but his battery operated cockroach.  I told him that was the only one I would allow.  He got kind of a kick out of that.  

Jay's battery powered cockroach...imagine the real deal

MN teams were well represented at a gathering 

Primary School entrance

Senior School where Jon works

Not in Sweden anymore :)

Today was a good day filled with lots of good chats and conversations with both new friends and colleagues.  Adam and Jay met an adorable boy from New Zealand who loves playing "Dragonvale" as much as they do and they had their first, albeit impromptu, first play date here at our place ... He only lives 3 houses down where they've made numerous other friends :). The boys seem to be adjusting well, although Jay wakes up telling is that he isn't going to orientation week child care, and yesterday, as we approached our flat, I said, "Look guys, I see our street right there, we must be close"...in which Jay replied, "that's NOT our street Mom, Congress Street is OUR street!!!"  I hear you, sweet boy...you miss home.  Overall though, both he and Adam are laughing, playing, and their usual sweet selves.  Fingers crossed that it stays that way.  Our packages arrived today after Jon made some things happen at the airport cargo customs area.  It's a lengthy, frustrating process, but my guy got 'er done.  A very nice, fragrant man with a long beard delivered everything today and it's like Christmas with all of the boxes and reintroduction a to toys...not to mention my shoes and wine opener ;)

We took the trek out to Ikea tonight and it was quite the experience.  First off, drivers got a bit confused, bringing some of us to a large gray, concrete warehouse (not quite Ikea, but I see the resemblance).  Another driver took a group of us to a Kia car dealership (closer yet, but not there yet).  We were really hungry and eager to get our plate of ikea meatballs...order up.  Not the same meatball, much more lamb tasting and a different overall flavor...not good in our opinion ... big bummer but ice cream saved the day.  We scored our current must haves and headed home where early bed is in high gear.  

Sunday = Monday!!!!

My two cool guys with their nerd glasses, ready to head to head out.

Today was our first official day of work and it all seemed to go quite well considering the night nerves that showed themselves in two little boys in the dead of night.  Saturday night here is like Sunday back home as the work week begins on Sunday and ends on Thursday.  Friday is the holy day in this part of the world so we plan on getting used to this small change in our calendar rather quickly.  Jay woke up around 1:30am to tell me that he couldn't sleep because he was too nervous about attending the child care arrangement at school with the newbie kids.  He was quite upset and that woke Adam, who then wanted to know how many miles we were from Minnesota.  I felt so bad for them both, but after a snack, lots of snuggles, and some silliness, everyone fell back to sleep around 3:30am...Oy!!!

The morning went well, trying a couple of exercises of having them cast their worry and nerves on Mom and Dad.   They definitely liked that idea and were out the door, ready to go without any drama...Yay!  Such a relief to this Mom.  We sat in on numerous presentations for banks, culture, driving (this has me quite nervous), and checked out our offices/classroom.  Jon is wowing everyone with his brilliance (not surprised in the least).  The boys did great and the child care (kind of like discovery club in St. Paul) teachers found me at the end of the day to tell me that they wish the could have "400 more boys just like those two" ;). They really are such well behaved boys.  Jay was so worn out by the end of the day that he fell asleep alongside a colleague's son on the way back to our flat...so sweet.  Tonight we were fortunate to meet our super cool upstairs neighbors...Cherie & Anthony from New Zealand.  They were very kind and we enjoyed their company quite a lot.  Should be fun getting to know them and others even more so.

Adan's 2am snack was a quesadilla that ended up looking like Minnesota just when he needed a bit of home :)

Grocery Shopping and a Visit to the Club House

Outside our apartment near the bus stop

Grocery Shopping

The Club House at night

I took a shuttle to check out the grocery store today while Jon and the boys slept.  Jay and Adam slept around 11 hours in all...impressive.   The grocery I went to was like a super duper Target and you can find any and everything you are looking for...even many familiar brands, which was comforting on my first try at grocery shopping.  Just haven't found milk that has the "right" taste, according to Jay, and no luck on the rice milk, but soy is an option, so we'll see if Adam notices the difference ;). We had a nice teacher luncheon with our kids and other newbies...met a lot of really great colleagues from all over the world.  We also discovered the clubhouse on our compound and it was amazing.  Game rooms, squash and tennis courts, spa, and restaurant.  The temp of the pool is like bath water and the boys were loving our time there.  Whatever will we do when have to actually start working and the boys start school ... Curriculum to write, papers to grade, homework to do, deep breath :)  ?  All in all, a great day!!!

At the pool

Our Street and view of our apartment

Just made it!!!!!!

It started off without a hitch...Jerry and Bev tag teamed to get us and our 10 suitcases to the airport.  They were sooooo helpful, amazing!!!!  Delivered and onto our flight to Chicago.  We even happened to meet a woman and her daughter from St.Paul, who are also on their way to Qatar Academy in Doha.  The little girl might even be in Adam's class :). Things were going GREAT and then our flight was late leaving MSP so we literally ran thru the terminal in O'Hare looking something like the family from "Home Alone"...I even sang. "Run run Rudolph" straight off the soundtrack and embarrassed the boys terribly.  We made it to the plane in the nick of time, held the doors for us but as I walked thru the aisle with all of the carry on mumbo jumbo I was carrying I  think I hit every passenger on my way back to my seat straight out of "AIRPLANE"  like the flight attendant with the guitar :). The boys are in awe of the movies, video games, and touch screen computers on the back of the seats.  Everyone's excited and hopefully our baggage will make the super tight connection, but we're being realistic...but still , here's hoping. ...Update!!!  All bags arrived, which we find to be unreal considering our mad dash and urgency on the crew.  Phew!!! 

We met our colleagues and admin and were whisked away to our apartment.  We are so happy with our accommodations as there are three bedrooms, three bathrooms.  We actually think our place is about the same size as the first two floors of our house in the US.  Staying up late as jet lag has us spunky but will be hitting the hay shortly.

Exhausted after a long day and some night fishing with grandpa!

Ashland Summer Fun 2013

We spent a week in Ashland as we are still free wheeling and fancy free, otherwise known as "homeless".  It's a great feeling having no homeowner responsibility at the moment and we took advantage of the great weather and great family and friends up north.  Jon and I celebrated our 11th anniversary, met up with our friends Eileen and Brad, visiting from South Africa for the rock the dock fiesta, and ventured out to see what little was left of our famous oredock.  My amazing Mom made Thanksgiving dinner for us seeing as we will miss it this time around and it was fantastic!!  Our wonderful friends gathered for a send off to say "good bye", the boys played and played, and the "corn man" came to town to bestow his delicious harvest of the world's best corn.  All in all, a wonderful trip home!  We are blessed :). 

11 yrs

My beautiful Mom

The best friends anyone could ever have

Frog hunting

Corn Man

Bob, the corn man with the best corn around!!!

Sweet boys

Out on the lake with Donald

The last arch of the ore dock coming down 

Pondering life 

Tree climbing wonder

Home :)

Happy 11 years!

Adam and Grandma made an awesome anniversary greeting for us.  Hard to believe it's been 11 years.  The weather is almost exactly as it was all those years ago and we're spending it in

Ashland.  

Before the move 9, 37, 6

Saying Good-Bye

As we prepare for our big move east, we've been making our rounds saying good-bye to friends and family who have filled our lives and our hearts since moving back to St.Paul 9 years ago.  First, we said good-bye to our home and neighbors just in time for the renters to move in.

The boys had a going away party at Highland Park with their school friends and neighbors and managed to play and play until they dropped.  We celebrated Liz's baby shower and oohed and awwed at all of the adorable baby gifts she has to find a way back to Texas.  Grant and Ella, Jay and Adam had fun and so did Cam and the boys. Today Madeleine and Elise stopped by and everyone got their nails painted...even the boys. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives.  I really don't know how Bev and Jerry can stand having ALL of us and ALL of our stuff in their house right now, but they couldn't be more generous and fun. We have been staying up way too late but the point is to enjoy these days to the absolute fullest, so bring on the tired mornings, the coffee, and the photos.  It's been a trip and we haven't even left yet.

The famous "door" of growing boys

Adam and Jay say "good bye" to their friends.

Pink hair was a must

Neighbor friends

Liz's baby shower

Grandmas and a grandpa :)

Happy 5th Grant!

Silly cousins

Saying goodbye to sweet cousin, Cam!

Nice dress...now which one is pregnant :)

The "old" cousins

Cousin Fun!

The artiste :)

The patio spa :)