And now, it's back to reality. Abby started back to school yesterday and I was teaching again. I loved the break though! It seems like we had been going and going since we arrived back, but it was so nice to take a break.
We went to the first beach trip of the season with friends and introduced some "newbies" to the beach. It's so funny to say that as I haven't even been here for a year yet (still have a couple more weeks until my anniversary date). We enjoyed the sand and water and Abby put her swimming lessons to use (although now she would like to be a surfer more than a swimmer). We are still trying to explain to her that in order to surf, you need to swim - but hey she's three so we have time!
We also went on a picnic in the park with some friends. It was so nice to get out after the sun had gone down and enjoy the evening. We even had "pumpkin" pie with cool whip! This is a big deal, as this is the first time any of us had seen real cool whip here! (I've stocked up with 3 containers for Thanksgiving). Our pumpkin pie was actually made with butternut squash, but unless you knew, you couldn't tell the difference - At least everyone who ate it seemed to enjoy!
Speaking of new introductions to Saudi, I'm very happy to say that we are now able to find Reese's Pieces and Peanut Butter Cups here. It's the little things that make my day, but it was so exciting to see them in the stores. Oh and we found Tony's Pizza Rolls, so Abby is one happy girl. Right now our freezer is full of supplies, turkey (you never know when they might have them again, and it's likely they will disappear before Thanksgiving), Reeses, pizza rolls, cool whip and REAL popsicles! We even saw Eggo Waffles and Aunt Jemimah pancakes along with Weight Watchers meals! This is a big deal and certainly worth posting on my blog! :)
I really think it's important to keep things as "normal" as possible and I certainly don't want my little one missing out on all the holidays and things we take for granted in the States. So, we decorated for halloween. There have been some television shows on here, especially on Disney, that are halloween related and she's excited to dress up, even if we are only visiting 1 or 2 places. I don't want her to miss out on the fun of the season (or the candy and sugar that we all enjoyed as kids).
While we were in the US this summer, she informed me that she wanted to be Dorothy, so I worked hard and actually made her a Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz. She's worn it most of the summer, but it's still got a couple of wears left for Trick or Treating. The only problem is now, she's thinking of a princess or maybe a surfer, or a matador. I'll be sure to post in a couple weeks as to what we end up being for Halloween. The adventures of a 3 year old!