summer freedom...

I never found the time to sit and make an entry into our blog for June...there was lots going on and I had the best of intentions and plenty to say, but no time to say it in!

In the past few weeks or so the boys have had a plethora of birthday parties to go to which has had them in a state of constant excitement every Thursday morning (the start of our weekend here). They've been to a 'super hero' party (complete with supersonic jumping castle), a 'make your own pizza' at Pizza Hut party (that was a big hit), a trip to the local zoo and next week the grand finale party is a...wait for it... a pool party!

End of June saw the boys finish up their first year at the Multinational School. We got good reports from the teachers with a few recommendations to work on over the summer...Matthew must listen to instructions more (hey, that would help at home too) and Adam has to practise sitting cross legged on the mat coz he takes up too much space during story time sitting with his legs out straight! Matthew will go into grade prep come September, along with many of his little friends, but most excitedly with Mahmoud...his best mate. Adam will move up to KG2 and have the same teacher again which is a real bonus. She was great with the kids and they all love her, so another year with Mrs. Cherene will be a bonus for him.

We've been a sickie household for the past 6-8 weeks with colds, ear infections, coughs and tonsillitis. The few sand storms we have had in Riyadh bring all kinds of nasty spores and bacteria in from the desert and as a result there has been a sharp increase in the amount of summer coughs and colds going around. It's never nice to be sick, but in 45'C heat it is particularly unpleasant!

In little over a week we will be on a plane to Dubai en route to Brisbane and Melbourne. Really feeling the need for a break...from work, but mostly just from Saudi, the restrictions, the stupidity and the relentless summer heat. The ex-pats here call Saudi 'The Magic Kingdom' and we all feel as if we are living in a fish bowl most of the time and there is a definite need to get out to recharge the batteries from time-to-time...not having been out since February has us feeling it big time now...aaghhh, can't wait to be on that plane! We have a lovely little apartment booked on the beach in the Gold Coast and Auntie Sue will come up an join us for some of the time we are there. We are planning to get a 'Super Pass' which gives 14 days unlimited entry in to Sea World, Dream World, Movie World and Wet 'n' Wild...reckon we will be in need of a holiday afterwards if we take that lot on everyday...but boy, the kids sure will have fun and some wonderful memories too! Not sure if we are ready to take on a chilly Melbourne winter (8'C the other day) but it will be good to see everyone again and catch up with the last 12 months of life since we left.