1 week later

So here we are 1 week in and  I think we are doing pretty darn good!!! we have encountered many things since i posted last.....SOO lets start with my first trip to IKEA , that right there is an IKEA here and it's just as crazy as the one in canada . So we started by driving to Ikea which was about 4:30 /5pm and roads were busy but not to crazy , with my Abaya on and 3 kids in hand we were off!  The store was almost identical to the one at home , until they announced that is was prayer time and told us where the mosque on site was :) but it did not effect us much we were still able to shop we just could not leave the building. So as we "tried" to be quiet and respectful with the kids we shopped away ! No issues until it was time to leave the building that is when the craziness began you can not take the shopping carts into the parking lot so you have to bring your car up to a loading zone, Which was packed!! just picture trying to pick up things from someplace in the middle of new york! people everywhere and also these were hard core people where women were covered head to to and men were all dressed in White so i;m sure you could imagine what the "Tracey " clan  looked like:) LOL   Anyways with our 3 kids and 10 bags of awards items we trucked through the parking lot which was and still is one of the scariest park of my adventure!!!! I truly believe that if they run us over it's our fault so we were ducking and rushing out of the way of on coming cars . It was scary , but we made it!

Here is my next trial with saudi living ,My curling irons  do not want to work with saudi power!! so frustrating  i just want to curl my hair !! All of our appliances are 110v and power here is 220v plus a different plug so to get anything to work you need an adapter , then a converter and cross you fingers the first time you plug it in that you read it all right and your not going to fry you favourite thing!! and on top of that there is like 1 plug in per room  , hopefully!! so that is a bit of an obstical. Brandt went and picked up some car battery size coveters that we can do power bars off of so that is going to help a lot!!  In our journey we have found manu stores that feel just like canada , there is a store that is  just like best buy , bed bath and beyond , Toysrus  , starbucks , and basically ever other restaurant or fast food you could think of!! Tony Romas "Famous for Ribs" could be interesting considering that we are in a pork free country...maybe they do turkey ribs or chicken ribs.  Today we  went to go food and it was safe ways! its called Tamimi , but it even has the safeway simple and brands ! so that was a good find!!   Almost everything they had there was imported from USA , they even had Canada Beef ($22/kg for ground beef)!! With all the other good stuff , fresh cheese , olives , nuts , spices and Fish market! We picked up some full fresh shrimps so that will be our event tonight , de heading and de veining !! its going to be great!!    
Cooking seems to be a bit of an experiment , as we don't have a full kitchen yet  . Waiting for all of our kitchen things , i sure hope the get here soon . they say it takes 2-5 weeks for our boxes to arrive so fingers crossed it is 2:) The other day we were jones'in for some chocolate chip cookies  , and i was not going to disappoint so i used what i had . Made some dough in the blender , instead of mixer then baked it in a cassolro dish and it turned out to be some sort of cookie/cake, it was Awsome!! i probably could not do it again if i tried:)
Driving is turning out to be a fun time every time we go out , we are coming up with some great nick names for roads today we named one the "intersection of fear"...no more needs to be said . They are wild!!! we were driving on and off ramp and the people behind us desided they had to get past us right now on the single lane off ramp a extra large suv came right up behind us and past on the shoulder , no big deal then another one did the same ! Then next thing we knew where were in downtown Khobar  , fun times there , Then  to driving along and the lanes disappear  although it's not like people use them anyway , or the best highlight of the days was Large open excavation right beside the crazy busy road!!

Brandt's obilgatory insert - holy crap driving is insane!!!  I rented a car on day #3 (which has helped immensely) but you really are taking your life into your own hands.  I quickly learned that at every intersection it doesn't matter what lane you're in...they ALL make left hand turns.  Also, drivers here like to use their headlights to simulate police flashing lights.  They come up behind you going mach-chicken and start wildly flashing their lights.  If you don't move they'll physically make you move.  Bump drafting takes on a whole new meaning here.  Next, not only do stores close during prayer time but so do traffic lights.  A reasonable person would think that intersections become 4-way stops but not here.  It's whoever has the bigger/faster vehicle or locals get the right of way...take your pick.  What else....oh!!! a lot of intersections don't even have lights; they have speed bumps about 2m from the entry of the intersection.  We were on a 6 lane divided freeway and came up to one of these intersections and the locals will launch over these speed bumps just to make sure that they get through before you do.  Is it wrong that I find driving quite amusing and entertaining?

On a positive we found the best playground ever on the main compound it was massive i'm sure we will spend a lot of time there!! Brandt dropped me and the kids off one afternoon as he had to go back to work and i figured we might as well stay at camp. So it was only going to be an hour no big deal  right? did i mention it was 45 degrees that day....Well i discovered you could actually die at that heat! the kids just moved slower and slower and sweat more and more ,about 30 min's in we were hiding in the shade fighting over water:) #adventure   But by the end  we were baked and thinking we are going to check it out at night next time :) learning experience

 

The awesome play ground!!!  

15 min's in at the park  , he was a little warm

Look close and you will see the prettiest starbuck ever!! on the other side of it is the ocean!! As we drove past we saw a group of 10 plus women go in with their full coverings. Something are the same in ever country , coffee with the girls:)

 This is  on the side of the road by us ,  we had to buy a water mellon !!! it was so huge i have never seen a water mellon that big , it was 50SAR . And we were a little freaked out to eat it but this is all part of the experience , why not buy fruit from some one on the side of the road??

 Our new back yard!!! the kids are loving this

Under water picture in the pool of the tower , super cool  shot. Such an awesome day , so clear

The other day we went out exploring ! Friday is their holy day so nothing is open until 4pm , which was really nice! we went exploring in the neighbourhood around us and found it is really beautiful!! the coast is about 5 mins' away and it is just how you would think  a board walk would feel with lots of restraints and parks. It is not what i was expecting when we moved to Saudi  , i have seen more ocean than i have sand! Really nice, i'm sure there will be sand in my future:)