Friday, December 31, 2010

Recap 2010- December









Recap 2010- November

November should have been called "routine month," for us, as we had finally settled into a comfortable routine in our new home. We didn't do much out of ordinary day to day living, but it was nice to finally relax into what is our new lives.

We did have one big event- our first Arab wedding, complete with us wearing traditional dress! It was alot of fun and I'm so glad we got to go!
We also had the surprise of finding some fall decor items in our little market, despite the fact that fall was almost over. And that it was still 100+ degrees outside.
I started showing in November, which was a great relief to me. I have been blessed with an easy pregnancy so far and it was hard to believe that there really was a baby in there until I started showing!
Thanksgiving came and I felt REALLY big. Though, I probably should have taken the picture before the meal, instead of after! I'm glad that Thanksgiving was so light and fun, because otherwise it could have been a tough day, being so far from family.
It was hard to believe that November ended as quickly as it came in. We were ready to celebrate the holiday season in our new home!


Thursday, December 30, 2010

Recap 2010- October

October seems like so long ago! We started the month, on the 1st, by celebrating Ian's 24th birthday! I was somewhat of a failure of a wife this year, because I wasn't really prepared for his birthday, nor did I make a big deal out of it. I was so overwhelmed with cultural adjustment and just learning how to LIVE here that I overlooked that little thing called "birthday gifts." My bad.

Although we announced our pregnancy in September, October marked the end of the first trimester, bringing about the chance to breathe a sigh of relief!

During the 13th week, I shared our first and second ultrasound pictures!
8 weeks along- just a little raisin!
Just 4 weeks later, at 12 weeks, she has a face and everything!
I finally had Ian take a picture of my pregnant self and began the process of more thoroughly documenting the pregnancy!
We took a long weekend and traveled to the big city, where we stayed in a nice hotel and ate a tone of good American food!
We received our first care package, which was the first of many blessings from people!
My class also took a field trip to a nearby fort. It was beautiful and I can't wait to take our little girl back there for photo shoots!
We also went exploring into the mountains on a Saturday, and went swimming in a wadi!

October was busy and I felt like we were so much more comfortable in our new home this month!

Recap 2010- September

September was a rather slow month for us. The heat of the desert was more oppressive than we could have ever expected and we were going through the various stages of culture shock. For the first half of the month, we really didn't venture out of the house more than an occasional trip to the grocery store.

Finally, right in the middle of the month, we began full time language school, which helped to jump start us out of culture shock and into the "adjustment," phase!

We went out driving a little bit, and learned to appreciate the {somewhat ugly,} barren beauty of this area.
I took a trip with some new friends to the big city, where we splurged on a huge meal at PF Chang's!
And that's really it! We quickly learned how draining language school could be and spent any time outside of class getting to know our new friends and generally resting our brains.

September was our first full month in the Middle East and it felt like such an accomplishment to be on our way!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Recap 2010- August

August came and we were sitting around, waiting to move to the Middle East. Ian and I spent most of our days getting our fill of western food and bacon. We ventured out of our lovely little apartment a couple of times for a few last minute touristy things.

We went out to see the campus of the University of British Columbia where we found this awesome building. *sigh* I would have a lot of fun with my camera here!

I also put a name to my photography. Not that I've really done any thing with Ruby Key Photography, or have any plans to in the near future, but at least I have a name. ha! I also spent alot of time figuring out a few things in Photoshop. It may not be alot, but I have learned some things.
The most exciting and life changing moment in August (and in our lives,) was finally seeing that "Yes," on the pregnancy test. August 14th, 2010 was an amazing day. I had waited a full 14 days after my missed cycle so that I could avoid the inevitable depression when my cycle showed up late. I had a pretty good feeling that it was "yes," but I was so scared and nervous! Ian and I spent the 14th basking in our news and planning how we would tell our families on the 17th!
We also started the huge process of packing, weighing, purging, and repacking, in order to use our luggage space to the best of our ability! It was a big headache!
I also spent countless futile hours trying to capture the stray kittens that lived on our patio. I was worried about what would happen to them when we moved and no one would be there to feed them. Our neighbors, who were also getting ready to move, finally got a cat trap from the SPCA and caught them both on the night before we left! Yay for getting the kittens to new homes!
Then, it happened. On August 18th, 2010, Ian and I boarded a plane that would (eventually,) take us to the Middle East. After over 24 hours of travel, we stepped off the plane into the sweltering heat of the Arabian summer. We finally arrived! We spent one two nights at our supervisors house before driving out to our new home, 2 hours away. What an incredible month!

Recap 2010- July

July rushed in and we rushed about, trying to see as much as we could before our time ran out!
We traveled up to Whistler, British Columbia, the sight of the 2010 Winter Olympics, to see the beautiful snow and mountains.
We got to experience being truly cold in July! I thought my fingers were going to fall off they were so cold!
Ian and I loved walking around the cute little resort town together with some friends. We saw tons of fun things to do, we just didn't have time to do it all in our little day trip!
We went to the Vancouver Jazz Festival and just enjoyed the chance to relax in the middle of the city with some beautiful weather. I'm pretty sure we both fell asleep, but not because it was boring- just so relaxing!
Ian and I also took care of our friends' kids so that they could get their packing done. We went to an outdoor water playground and an indoor pool. The outdoor one had REALLY cold water, as evidence in this picture, ha!
We loved spending more time with the kids that we had grown to love and miss them all so much!
After everyone from our training left, Ian and I were left in town. Our company didn't want us to come overseas for an additional 3 weeks, due to our supervisor being out of town and the fact that a Middle East summer is pretty depressing and extremely hot. Some friends of ours took us out to explore historic Fort Langley one day, but other than that, we just lounged around!
We also splurged and got me Adobe PhotoShop Elements and two Disney movies (yay!) Ian got some video game, and we spent our days in our cozy little apartment!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Recap 2010- June

During June, things picked up a bit for us- and I'm so grateful they did!

I think something in us snapped around June (a good snap, not a mental breakdown snap,) and we realized that we only had two more months left in the amazing city of Vancouver! Everything was so green, the weather was great, albeit a little rainy, and we so much more exploring to do before we left!We explored Bridal Falls outside of Vancouver (though I'm pretty sure every state in the USA has its own "bridal falls," and that I've been to at least 3 of them, ha!)

And got to spend a day picnicing at a snow fed, mountain lake with friends.
Ian and I took a day trip out to White Rock, where we did an impromptu photo shoot on the beach. I love my husband so much!
While in White Rock I got to touch "the Pacific Ocean." I'm not entirely sold on the fact that a bay with waters fed by the Pacific Ocean actually counts, but I suppose if I never make it out to the real thing, I'll count this. (Also, on a side note, this picture reminds me of how much I miss wearing my skinny jeans. Boo. After the baby comes and the next time I'm in the "big city," I might have to break those bad boys out for a wear. Maybe.)
Ian and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on June 14th, 2010. We had a great dinner, fresh ice cream, and a walk along the beach. Perfection.
We also celebrated our friends' baby's first birthday. We have been so blessed to be a part of "J's" life and can't wait to see him, his parents, and new his new little brother again!
Ian and I also ventured out to one of the many cultural festivals that happened in Vancouver this summer. This one was the Greek festival, and that woman, she was making little pieces of heaven. We refer to them as "honey balls." but they were a doughnut hole like piece of dough, deep fried and covered in a honey and sesame syrup. Anyone know what those little morsels are called? Sad, but this is the only thing I remember about this festival. There were far too many people and I tend to get a little anxious in over crowded places, so we left shortly after we ate.