Melting in Orlando...

Right now it is 9:00 at night at it is 92 degrees outside - ugh! I took the kids up to the pool today and the water was bathwater warm - not refreshing at all! They were happy to swim for a couple of hours then we headed home. We all spent the rest of the day in our swimsuits! Why bother getting dressed. We went from swimsuits to pajamas! I spent the afternoon working (in my swimsuit) while the kids played a Harry Potter game on the Xbox (in their swimsuits).

The summer seems to be going well so far.... Bailey has been obsessed with the new Harry Potter movie coming out and decided to reread all the Harry Potter books. She read them all when she was seven, back then it took her a few months to get thru all seven books. This time she read them all in two weeks. She also has been talking nonstop about getting a dog. We are actually thinking about it more than ever, but now we have another trip coming up so we decided to "look" after we come back.

We have been enjoying the lazy days of summer going swimming, waterparks, DisneyQuest, and hanging with friends. This week includes a day trip to the beach with friends and a kids cooking class at the Young Chef's Academy. Next week we head out on a vacation next week out west for two weeks. I am wishing we were heading somewhere cooler in temps but I think we are going to have some high desert temps! So now I have to start thinking about packing and getting ready for our next adventure!

Finally Egypt

Okay, we do finally land in Egypt with our party of 10!!! We have my Mother in Law, our family friend Vicci, my sister in law, Alison and her 12 year old daughter Olivia, my sister in law Anne and her hubby Bobby and about 30 pieces of luggage. We are at the part of the trip that we are now officially traveling with the others. Goodbye the quiet family time in London, goodbye the quiet family time at the beach house in Saudi Arabia (the others were staying in Dharan about 40 miles away). Hello, the in-laws with adjoining hotel rooms and masses amounts of luggage! Thru the trip we maintained our 1 suitcase per person that we started out with. These were not fully packed when we left the states but now crammed with souvenirs. We wanted to avoid what his sisters managed to do which is shop until they had to purchase more suitcases. Peter finds it embarrassing to travel overloaded like that. Especially when you are dealing with valet, bellmen,etc.

we landed in Cairo and cleared customs, picked our bags up and then had to recheck in for our Luxor flight. I will post pics of all the luggage (well, I have a pic of the lugagge on the carts but it doesn't show all the pieces everyone was rolling. I also have lost of other pics on my facebook) so you can visual what a pain this truly was! We had our tour operator meet us for this process. We originally were going to stay the whole time in Cairo but a last minute decision by the "group" to fly down to Luxor for 2 nights. We got down to Luxor and our Tour Operator met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel. I am sure the person that met us in Cairo called ahead and warned the people in Luxor about us and all the luggage ahead of time!!!

We checked into our "5 star" accommodations that the tour operator booked for us. Okay, the lobby and the grounds did look nice, but as soon as I stepped foot onto the death trap elevator I knew there would be problems. We open the door to our room and we have three twin beds! The A/C did not seem to be working and the floor looked dirty. First I have to admit that we are a little bit spoiled in the fact that we get to stay in very nice hotels all of the time thanks to Peter's job. We are used to designer shampoo, plasma TV’s in the bathroom and chocolates left on our pillows at night.

The kids immediately asked if we could go stay at a "nice" hotel instead of this one. We had to open the doors to the balcony to let cooler air in. The cooler air smelled like a campfire. I told myself and them to just pretend we are camping and it is only for two nights, we were going to suck it up, no matter what.

Getting out and about in Luxor the following days, we did begin to realize that compared to how many people there lived - we really were staying in "five star" accommodations. Many people lived in shacks or mudhouses with thatched roofs, their cars were donkeys and carts. It was a good reality check for us and the kids to be grateful for the things we do have in our lives.

We spent the next few days going to the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, the Karnack Temple, the Luxor Temple, etc. Peter told me after we left we left the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut that back in 1997 60 people were gunned down there in a terrorist attack... I probably remember this happening way back then, but my mind has a good way of forgetting things. (Maybe that can be a good thing for me!)

We did have armed guards follow our group at most of the tourist sites. Again, I kept hearing my parent’s voices in my head! We had a good time in Luxor and even took a Faluca boat ride on the Nile. Back to Cairo on an hour flight and checking in to the Cairo Marriott! I could hardly contain my excitement and being back at a Marriott. We did get humbled for a few days, but now it was time to get some decent sleep and be comfortable.

We did the whirlwind tour of Cairo including going out to the Giza Pyramids. Okay, in my head whenever I thought of seeing the pyramids, I imagined driving way out in the hot desert for miles and then coming across these majestic pyramids - wrong!!! I guess that is how it used to be, but now the urban sprawl of Cairo has reached right up to the pyramids! There is a Pizza Hut across the street!!! However, on the other side of the Pyramids there is desert and that is where you get dropped off so you can take a camel ride up the pyramids - breathtaking!!!!! Peter and Jake shared a camel and Bailey and I shared a camel! Riding a camel was a little different from riding a horse. For one thing, the camel has to bend down so you can get on it, then it jerks back and forth to stand up! These kids were leading our camels to the pyramids. 1/2 way there our kid comes over and hands me the rope and starts taking off!!! Panicked, I yelled for him to come back and finish "driving" this camel over to the pyramids. It was quiet the experience!

We also got to go back and see the sounds and light show at night! Impressive to be there but they could take some hints from Disney to make it a little more exciting. I got a little bored but I was also exhausted and on the verge of bronchitis! Also, in Cairo we went to the Egyptian Museum - very interesting!!! We got to see King Tut's collection! I loved it there although Peter and I were taking turns carrying Bailey who started running a fever. Thankfully we had a private tour guide for our entire stay in Egypt otherwise we would have come across looking like the Griswalds!!!

Flying home we went from Cairo to London, London to Miami (where we discovered were missing a bag), Miami then home. It was a marathon day of flying! The kids were really good flying back considering they were sick and extremely tired.

All in all, I am so glad we did this entire trip! I know it was a crazy trip to take with two kids venturing off into the Middle East. However, my belief is that you just have to live your life and not worry about what may or may not happen. There are bombings, shootings and terrorist activities right here in the United States. I am glad we had this opportunity and would do it all again in a heart beat. This trip did make me appreciate our country and the freedoms we do have. After spending time in Egypt I am grateful for things like air conditioning, cars, washers and dryers, etc. I hope it made an impression on my kids to be grateful for what they have.

Okay...

Well, I haven't gotten on here in a long time and I don't think I ever finished writing about my trip. Such is my life, especially this time of the year. As soon as we got home from this trip, we dealt with everything from everyone getting sick, snakes in the shower, my desktop computer going down, Relay for Life, Jake's birthday party, teacher appreciation, baseball, etc, etc..... I cannot wait for summer! This is what I cannot wait for:

1. Not having to drag my unwilling kids out of bed every morning... What a pain!
2. Not having to pack school lunches, ugh! I guess I will still technically have to make them lunch though... I just won't have to think about it at 7:00 in the morning.
3. No schedule or after school activities - Yay! There are a lot of people who do some great summer camps, but we usually don't. Instead we hit the water parks, beaches, etc.
4. I don't have to force anyone to do homework!
5. Relax and have more time with our friends! Summer BBQ's, trips to the beach, waterparks, the pool!

This is what I am dreading:

1. Trying to get my work done with the kids at home. (However, it shouldn't be too bad, I am usually up early - work in the morning - have fun the rest of the day.
2. Fighting kids - okay, I will just have to face this. They are going to be fighting... Not all of the time, but it will happen. It happens when they are going to school - why would they take a break from it?
3. Going grocery shopping! Not with them I won't. Grocery shopping will now be done whenever Peter is home. Love my kids, I do not like going to the store with them. Bailey makes me buy all this stuff I didn't intend on buying and Jake is too busy pretending he is Indiana Jones with the grocery cart. Plus, I loathe going grocery shopping in the first place. The employees at our Publix are so nice but I am sure they are tired of me whining about the fact that I wish I could grocery shop on line.
4. Star Wars... I do like Star Wars - just not as much as my kids. I am SURE they will want to watch the dvd's almost every day!

Okay - end of this post. I will start a new one about Egypt now!

Back to Saudi Arabia

Okay, on this trip that everyone warned me to be careful about, I never felt my life was in danger by terrorism. The only time I felt in danger was on the roads in Saudi Arabia. These people cannot drive! They are complete maniacs and they create their own lanes by driving on the shoulders. Most of the people we met were very nice and very welcoming. We spent an evening at Peter's friend Aziz's house. He and his wife are both from Saudi Arabia. They are what you would call modern muslims. His wife (he only has one wife) is a doctor and they have four kids. They love to travel the world and entertain in their beautiful Morrocan inspired home. It was by the neatest house I have ever been in! It has brick domed ceilings in all of the bedrooms, beautiful lamps and carpets everywhere. They were very welcoming and friendly people.

During our stay in Saudi we visited houses Peter used to live, in his old schools. It was a trip down memory lane for him. We also got to fly on one of the company planes out to Shaybah to the worlds tallest sand dunes. It was so incredible and the kids had fun running up and down the dunes. They also got to go in the cockpit during the flight and talk to the Captain who was an American.

The company, Aramco really did spoil us while we there. We were showered with gifts, dinners, luncheons and activities that were sponsered and paid for by the company.

When we did go out to go shopping out of the camp, the women had to wear abayas, which were like black flowing robes. My had some weird snaps so it was never on me the right way, I struggled with it each time I wore it. I was happy to hand back my loaner abaya at the end of the trip. Any time we were in the camps, the women could drive and wear what they want. They try to make it as much like the United States as possible in camp. Even the electrical outlets were the same.

I could really see why Peter loved living there - especially since his backyard was the ocean! I have to admit I was a little sad to leave. The people that live there in the company camps (the Americans) have such a great bond with each other and it has such a community feel. People seemed happy to live there, maybe because they all had houseboys coming over to cook and clean everyday! :)That would certainly perk me up a bit!

It does make you appreciate the freedoms we have here in the United States. Especially for women.

We did have an incident leaving Saudi Arabia for Egypt where they were not accept our ticketless travel confirmation. They demanded a paper ticket although they could see our reservation in their computer system! We had to buy four tickets to get on the plane. Peter is now dealing with Orbitz trying to get them to refund our additional tickets.

Flying on the plane with a bunch of Saudi men was quite interesting. I could imagine the whole time what my parents would be thinking... The funniest thing was, as soon as the plane touched the runway while landing in Egypt, all of a sudden everyones seatbelts came flying off. I am talking the instant the wheels hit the runway. People started standing up to get their luggage from the overhead bins as the plane is still racing down the runway. It was almost comical and I wish I had my camcorder on. Something about the situation told me I better brace myself for when the doors opened. Sure enough, there was a stampede for the door. I have never seen anything like it in my life and I have been on a lot of flights!!!

Oops, I accidently put a picture in sideways, you may have to turn your head until I can figure out how to fix it!

Okay, more on Egypt later.

A little more on my trip

I never have gotten back here to finish writing about my trip. We came home and suffered all kinds of jetlag and sicknesses! We were at the doctor three times and the kids both had bronchitis and we were all on zythromax. The kids went to school one and a half days, then our spring break started on Friday. Then we had a lovely incident of a snake coming up in our shower drain. Peter was in the shower and I was on the phone chatting away to one of my friends. Peter gets out of the shower and tells me, "Get off the phone now... There is a problem." He didn't sound very cheerful either. I went in the bathroom and there is a snake squirming around in the bottom of my shower. I was ready to pass out! Peter ended up killing the snake (by throwing drano and bleach on it). He wasn't about to hack it up. Bailey (our lover of all animals) was in the background sobbing because Peter was trying to kill the snake. 45 minutes later, Peter takes a shovel and removes the snake's body to the driveway. The next day a company called Critter Control came out to do an inspection. They labeled it an isolated incident, as if that is supposed to make me feel better! Today it has been one week and I am took my first shower in my bathroom since the "isolated incident". I did put a large sponge over the drain, although I am being told that probably would make a big difference. Oh, well, it gave me a little piece of mind. By the way, I have showered the past 7 days, just not in that shower!

back on again...

Okay, I decided to let the family sleep a little longer before we get up to go to the airport. We have been so busy this whole time I haven't had time to write. I will see what I can do right now...

We are going to miss our house on the ocean. You can throw a rock from the back patio and hit the water we are that close! We have been staying a friends of Peter's Dad's and they moved out and are house sitting for someone else so we have the entire place to ourselves. Plus they gave us a car to use! We have enjoyed listening to the waves crashing at night while we sleep. During the day the water is calm and blue like the caribbean.

The second day were here we took a bus tour to a town call Hofuf. We toured some caves, went to a date factory and had lunch with prominent Saudi business men. Everyone loved Jake! He was entertaining everyone the whole day and then let him talk on the microphone before the lunch to the whole tour. He welcomed everyone to the Hotel Intercontinental - it was so cute! They smile at Bailey but since she is a girl they pretty much leave her alone.

We attended a welcome dinner at a country club owned by a prince. They had tables set up on the beach - it was very lavish. I will upload pics when I get a chance!

We have had several lunches, a dinner set up a in tent in the desert complete with camel rides, henna tattoo and dancers (male dancers).

We have gotten used to the amount of security here! Everyone time you enter one of the company camps you go through 3 security check points. I would love to take pics or film this but it is not permitted. They have big metal barriers that rise up and down and you enter. They have huge spotlights at night shining right on the cars. They have bomb dogs, mirrors to look under the cars. They search the trunk, they look at ids. They also have landcruisers with built in guns off the back of the open end with guys waiting in them ready to chase someone down if needed. Crazy!

The camps are nice. They all have restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys, grocery stores, libraries, pools, fitness center. Everything you could need. After seeing how Peter grew up he makes a little more sense to me now! :) When we were looking for our current house and he saw our neighborhood that is gated with a guard, two clubhouses, restaurant, pool, fitness, elementary school and organized community activities he knew right then that is where he wanted to live. That is what he was used to growing up! Except our guards do not have machine guns and uzis.

The first day we were here we pulled up to the first checkpoint with our driver we were met with 5 guys running up to the car with machine guns and bullet proof vests - quite the greeting!!! They quickly backed off thought as soon as they saw our passports. However, they wouldn't let us in camp with the driver until we had our host meet us at the gate and drive us in.

More on the driving later... I probably will write more on all this next week when I get back. I really have to get everyone going. Today we are flying out. Orginally we were going to Cairo for four days but then decided there is so much in Luxor we want to see so we threw in another flight from Cairo to Luxor. So we will do two nights in Luxor and two nights in Cairo then home!

Finally adding something to my blog...

Well, it has now been a week since we have been gone but feels much longer. Which is good because most vacations fly by too fast. Our couple of days in London were good but we really weren't there long enough. This was the kids first time to London and there was so much more we wanted them to see. I guess we will just have to go back!

From London we flew to Bahrain and it was mostly uneventful except for the bathroom incident. We booked our seats so we can have two windows and two middles so each kid could look out. Well, Jake and I had a larger man sitting on the aisle, and he was spilling over into my seat, so Jake and I switched - Jake was good about switching with me. Well, after the food was served and we ate, Jake decided he had to go the bathroom. Bailey had to go to so I tossed Jake over the seat back to Peter and he took the kids back to the bathroom. All, was well. Not 10 minutes after back in their seats. Jake whispers to me that he has to go poop - great! I glance back at Peter who is sound asleep or at least pretending to be, because I tried to get his attention. The man on the aisle was asleep too, so I had to wake him up... We go in the bathroom and Jake really did have to go! At least three days worth - the mushy kind!!! The problem was it all landed closer to the front of the inside of the toilet bowl, so we I tried to flush it down - it would not go!!! I tried flushing it several times and there it sat! So then I wadded up toilet paper around my hand and attempted to push it closer to the hole! The entire time I am gagging and Jake's butt is covered in mushy poop! Finally it went down but leaving a trail, oh well! Next I had to deal with scraping this stuff off of Jake's butt. The bathroom had clorex wipes for wiping down surfaces and yes, that is what I used on Jake. 15 flushes later I had the situation under control. The bathroom reeked, however, I didn't throw up and Jake was as clean as he was going to get and most of the poop went down the toilet. Okay, out the door we go only to be greeted by a line of people waiting to get in. The first person in the line was the man sitting next to us! We hurried back to our seats and we pretended to be asleep by the time the man came back to our row!

Later when Peter "woke" up I shared the lovely story with him and I told him he was lucky it wasn't him back there with Jake. His response to me was that he would have just come and gotten me to handle it....

Mom and Dad, if you are reading this you may want to stop here and read the rest once I am safely home....

Our seats each had the televisions so we were able to watch movies, track the flight etc. After my movie, I decided to watch the map as we flew over all the countries you hear about in the news, the ones my Dad warned me about as far as staying out of their air space. We even flew right over Baghdad, the entire time my Dad's voice echoed his warnings in my ear. Well, we landed safely in Bahrain, got thru customs without problems. Once we had left the baggage claim area there were throngs of men just standing there by the doors staring at us. Peter said it was because of my hair - nice! The hotel sent a driver to meet us at the airport, a very nice Mercedes with bottles of cold water ready for us. When we got to the hotel, the front desk agent walked us to our room and checked us in up in the room. A huge platter of fruit was there. It was probably the nicest Ritz Carlton we have ever stayed at! Thanks to Peter's job at the corporate headquarters for the Ritz Carlton Club we get to stay at these nice hotels for less then the price of a Best Western! Peter also has some sort of VIP status listed on his portfolio with them since he works at corporate so we get the little added perks.

Okay, the next day we had a driver take us on a tour of Bahrain and then drive us over the causeway into Saudi Arabia. The causeway is 18 miles long and customs is in the middle of the causeway. We had to go thru 4 customs check points. One for leaving Bahrain, another for looking at our passports, then next one we had to get out of the car and walk over to a building and get fingerprinted and have our picture taken (only the foreigners had to do this), the next one the car was searched. There were several lanes of traffic and the whole time people were honking their horns. The building we went into looked very run down. I felt like I was in a movie.

Okay have to finish later!