Twilight time of day

Dinner is over - it's about an hour before the first shift gets to bed - it's my favorite time of day - twilight. The sun's glare lowers into long shadows, and we are all home tonight to relax together.

Garrett came home from Philmont eight pounds lighter and with pneumonia in his lungs. He is on the mend now, but is still needing to take meds & rest, and and watching a lot of the "Price is Right".

Madison finished field hockey camp and dove right into the new "Harry Potter". The team camp was at University of Maryland, the "terps".

Rhett has a late meeting and comes home a little late today. Cecily wants to be like her field hockey wielding sisters.

That's our day. We saw "Hairspray" all together. It was really happy and cute. I forgot to bring the diaper bag, and of course Cecily dumped a big load! We went in the back so the whole theatre wouldn't smell like diapers! John Travolta & the whole cast rocked!

Lets learn about Saudi Arabia

Iam ashamed to say that I know very little about Saudi Arabia, and the past day or so I've been reading the packets Rhett has brought from work. I thought they were so interesting, I wanted to forward them on. One packet is on the religion of Islam and the customs and etiquette of the Saudi people to prepare visitors for living in the country. The second packet talks about the housing facilities and what to expect. The weekend for Saudis is Thursday and Friday - they work on Saturday and Sunday, so Rhett will be doing the same. Religious services will be held on Friday, the holy day in Islam. Rhett will live inside the compound and have a three bedroom "villa" - furnished and equipped with appliances, etc. The base has a gym, pool, etc - lots for him to do. You can certify in scuba, take Arabic classes, and take trips around the country every now and then. Everyone working there is unaccompanied - without family. I thought the boys would enjoy hearing that there is one grass golf course in the Kingdom, and five sand courses - that makes sense, right? This is straight out of the manual "A hobby is a 'MUST' here so bring all supplies for your special hobby." Clothes and shoes wear out rapidly, and everyone is asked to bring extra of both. Another quote "Life here can be frustrating and confining, but you will also find it interesting and educational. The three most important ingredients you can bring with you are a spirit of adventure, your sense of humor, and a great deal of patience."
If you are a western woman, you need to respect the conservative views of the Kingdom, which means that women don't drive, have their own section in restraunts and busses, and wear the
Abaya (black shroud) and veil outside the compound, unless they are wearing a business suit which is recognized as professional.
We can't send Rhett any movies, because most western movies are viewed as porn, and they will throw them away. Rhett also can't carry his scriptures in sight or talk about the church. Books we send him will be looked at by security also, and can be tossed. A little more interesting stuff from the handbook:
Generally, Saudi's value sincerity and graciousness with etiquette, and it is never appropriate to display impatience or haste because these traits are interpreted as evidence of insincerity or a lack or self-control. It is wise not to express admration or interest in any of an Arab's belongings because they most people will offer it to you as a gift, and insist that you keep it. Saudi Arabians are not apt to take offense at a foreigner's social blunder made out of ignorance,but a deliberate slight will be viewed as serious. They also frown on reaching for things with your left hand at the table (Rhett is a lefty). Taking photographs within the Kingdom is generally discouraged, and you can't photograph anyone without their permission.
I remember a lot of this when mom and I went to Israel.
Rhett is also looking forward to being trained as a marksman with a 9 milimeter handgun before he goes. Hopefully he will never need to use it! I guess what Paul said about Jack Bauer is maybe a little true, and Rhett is happy that he is going from "geek" to "cool geek".

Notes from Becca

I thought I'd send some funnies from Becca. She's been into writing and posting signs lately, making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. She says "I'll be the reminder girl" - aren't we lucky? The other night a group of 10-13 year old girls from the Utah Valley Children's choir stayed with us overnight, and could all sing and play the piano. Trust those Mormons from Utah to know how to entertain musically (hee hee). Anyway, they were doing a jazzy version of "Follow the Prophet" in like six different harmonies, and I came in dancing russian style - if you can picture that. Becca watched me quietly for a few seconds and then went into the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later and posted a sign on the piano "NO DANSING" I laughed and left it up for a while.
Last night, I was really on her case because she was being a pill, and I told her she couldn't have any dessert. Again, went into the kitchen for a few minutes, then said "mom, how to you spell bags?" I spelled it for her. She taped the note on the oven and went up to bed. The note read "PAC YOUR BAGS MOM". I am going to save this one forever!

Swim meet

Swim meets are long events - the home meets at our pool last about five hours start to finish. It's like a giant cookout/gabfest while waiting for your child's race. Becca always one race -#15. She manages to swim a crawl stroke with her head out of the water, a smile on her face - flipping her hair from one side to the other as she swims. She also gags in the water a lot, and we hold our breath in case she throws up. Livi and Madison swim five or six events, and because of that we splurged and bought them the green $50 team suit that Livi is modeling. Livi says she hears theme music when she races, like Bolero, and Madison has a graceful stroke in the water - her cap has a big bump in the back from al that hair. Becca gets one next year. As a swim parent, you get to work two meets in some official capacity. We normally time, but the timer slots were full, so I signed up for "rope". I knew that this meant I would be in charge of the false start rope, and thought I could handle that. It meant holding the rope tight
over the pool during every race, and dropping it if a false start buzzer goes off. I also realize that I am a pansy rope holder. After a couple of hours, I was begging for someone else to take over. After three hours, someone did. Okay - it's back to the gym for me! Cecily not only knows how to open a cell phone, she knows how to dial and then talk. She called gramster a few weeks ago!
Rhett took the three youngest girls camping last night. They loved the smores, and Cecily ran back and forth in the tent all night on the air mattresses, which deflated overnight. They all came back with ticks, which we took off with the tweasers. I still freak out about ticks from growing up in the west and rocky mountain fever. Here - ticks are plentiful, and you get them almost everywhere. I still feel like screaming "TICK" when I see one, and running for cover.
I am needing a makeover -clothes & hair - who is up for it?





Cecily is mad that her phone plan only allows for 900 minutes a month - free text messaging though Ceciloo! After her old phone went missing or stolen, Madison bought another last week -
the ring tone is from the movie "Music & Lyrics" - Hugh Grant singing "Pop goes my heart". Now Patrick and her girlfriends can call and text message and we can hear "Pop goes my heart" 20 plus times a day, and I can do something besides answer the phone. Madison and Patrick mostly just walk to and from his two jobs and her one - His other job is pounding metal for his uncle's duct work company. He became sick today with heat exhaustion and dehydration walking to work, and Madison called us for help. Well, time to get the girls to bed and Rhett wants to go out and fly his RC airplane.
We'll blog July 4th next time!