It's official!

We booked our non-refundable, one-way tickets last night. We are leaving Portland on August 7 and flying to Amsterdam, where we will spend four days before flying to Bahrain- arriving on August 12. We tried to book online- which would have been pretty quick and painless, but because Edward isn't two yet, it kept saying we couldn't buy him a seat. So we had to call and book through an agent at a call center in India. It was painstaking and nerve-wracking- "yes- N-as in Nancy, E, Y-as in yo-yo...", dates of births, "no, Evelyn is a girl...", "that flight is no longer available? but it is still on your site?", "Rog- can we go on KLM that morning instead? It is the same connection in Munich..."", but an hour and a half later, we were done.

I couldn't sleep last night thinking "Wow- this is really happening. What are we doing?!"

Ready or not, here we go!

Siblings

This sums up their whole brother / sister relationship!

Scratch that!

We were planning on flying through Jordan on our way over to Bahrain and staying a few days, seeing Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea. But we were going to be there in August- which is hot and during Ramadan. It still sounds incredible, and I would love to see Jordan sometime. But the more we thought about it, the more we thought we better head somewhere maybe a little cooler where we could eat and drink during the day without being disrespectful.

Our choices were Holland, Germany, Iceland, and London. How to choose?! We could also go through Turkey, but they are also predominately Muslim (Ramadan), so decided against it. Since I have always wanted to go to Holland to see where my family is from, we are going there.

At first I was kind of hesitant, because I am stressed over this move- I've hyped up going to Holland for years and I didn't just want to go and throw a once-in-a-lifetime trip together- what if I left something out and always regretted we hadn't seen it. I wanted to have time to plan the perfect trip. Roger thinks I am totally silly. We have the opportunity- we have to fly through somewhere anyway- it is just like bonus travel. So here we go!

Roger is trying to find us cheap but nice accommodations away from the Red Light district. I am trying to figure out what I want to see in the 3-4 days we will be there. On my list so far, the Van Gogh museum, the Rijks Museum, Anne Frank House and the Zaanse Schans village- which is a historical village with cheese making, wooden shoe carving, and windmills galore. But we'll see. We will be jet lagged with two crabby kids. The perfect way to start a dream trip!

Plan of attack?

To pack or not to pack...that is my dilemma. We are getting a shipping allowance and relocation allowance from the international school Roger is teaching at. We are going to be in a furnished three bedroom townhouse. And they are providing some things, but not others. We've tried to talk to other people over there to see what they do. Some ship everything over, some ship a little, some come with just their luggage and buy stuff there. They said it was really up to us which approach we take.

At first I was up for shipping all we could use, but now I think we should leave most of it behind. What do we have that is so nice that we really want to ship it all the way across the world? Plus I am hoping the shipping and relocation money could cover some of the stuff. And what better time to simplify my life? I think there is a pretty good chance we'd find some good second-hand household goods from all the expats that come and go. We were told toys and electronics are really expensive so bring those for sure. I'm thinking now to try to cram it all into our luggage and maybe ship another two boxes or so, then buy the rest there.

In my handy housing handbook it says the following are provided by the school that can be kept: pillows, dish towels, toilet brush, towel (one for the family or per person?), wash clothes, dust cloths, king sheet set, twin sheet sets. Check- but I am thinking I should bring/get a second set of sheets and mattress protectors. Because what better time to switch Edward from a crib to a twin bed?!?

The following are stuff the school will loan you until your shipment of stuff arrives: comforter/ duvet, dishes, table knife, fork, spoon, glasses, cutting knife, pot / pan, skillet, mixing bowl, kitchen tools, can opener, cutting board, trash can, baby cot (if required), water pitcher, salt and pepper shaker, toaster, iron, ironing board, drying rack, plastic bucket, mop, broom, dust pan and brush, alarm clock, electrical adapter and power strip. Our kitchen appliances like the Cuisinart and KitchenAid wouldn't work anyway (tears). My dishes and kitchen stuff are nothing special, but my pots and pans are really nice. I might bring those. The rest I am hoping we can pick up used. Maybe I'll stuff extra crannies in our luggage with can openers and wooden spoons!

There is this handy message board for new teachers and a few of us wondered when one of the old teachers listed a fridge for sale for $150 Bahrani dinars, or $400 American. Don't the houses come with a fridge? we wondered. Yes- but only a small dorm style affair- so many teachers buy larger ones. I said "Let's buy that used fridge now!" Roger said "But we could just shop every few days." I think he underestimates those years of Mormon food storage mentality firmly ingrained in my mind.

Speaking of which- I am having the hardest time not stocking up when I grocery shop! And I can't seem to eat down the food storage fast enough. We pretty much have to eat chili, tuna, powdered milk, pinto beans, oatmeal, noodles and canned cheese until we leave. With a liberal helping of condiments in our fridge! But none of us wants to. Which is why I double coupon at Albertsons for cookies and crackers and we eat that instead!

Any tips on food storage meals? Any advice on what you would bring?

Here we go!!!

Bahrain in August. I've heard it is like 120 degrees with 90 % humidity- so it feels like you are cooking in a big pot of soup. Thank goodness the whole country is air conditioned! But this year, Ramadan is basically the month of August, so no eating or drinking during the day. I think you can't even purchase food during the day. So I hope someone will stock the fridge. My carry-on plan? Every snack you can imagine. I heard the no liquid on planes is no longer in effect? I need to research this- as I plan on taking as many juice boxes and water bottles as possible. Reading up on Bahrain, it seems that even though you could drink the tap water, no one does. For mysterious, unstated reasons. Everyone drinks bottled. Hmm....

Easter pics

I thought I would upload some Easter photos for our families. Here is us on the way down to Portland at Mulnomah Falls. It was such a pretty day!

Here is Edward's first egg hunt (as an active participant!) in my parent's backyard. He loved finding those two eggs and wouldn't give them up for anything... no matter how many more there were to find.

Until he found a bigger, better chocolate bunny!

Here is Evelyn at Aunt Karina's big Easter extravaganza! She loved seeing all her cousins, aunts and uncles.

We visited my grandparents and aunts and I asked Roger to take a picture of all of us. This is the best we came up with! Not one of us is looking at the camera- but we were all laughing.

Evelyn thought the recliner would be perfect for a creative pose.

And here is us after family Easter dinner.

On an adventure!

It has been about three weeks now since we found out we are moving to Bahrain. It has been a whirlwind. There is so much paperwork to do. And so many things to figure out- like how to ship a whole bunch of stuff internationally. Oh well- it will all come together somehow- at least that is what I am telling myself so I don't panic...worse!