Saturday, October 4, 2008

Bachelor staus is over

I have not written for quite some time, as I have been busy enjoying my family here is SA since August 4th. They arrived in Kingdom on mine and Karen's 18th wedding anniversary. What a wonderful anniversary gift. It has been fun getting Karen and the girls settled into their strange new environment. The transition has been quite smooth without any major hiccups. They seem to be content with our new home. However they unanimously dislike our car - a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan. So I am shopping for a new vehicle that they will be happy with.

Danielle seems to be quite popular at school and is making many friends. Claire is also making many friends. She is running for a position in the student body. We are thrilled with her ambition. Rachel enjoys school too, and she is receiving substantial acknowledgement for being a gifted artist. Karen has boldly ventured into the community and is building a network of friends and connections. I am enjoying having lots of free time to spend with my family. We go to the pool, the beach, shopping, out to dinner, watch movies on our new HD movie projector, and we travel. We just returned from 10 days in Cyprus, a large island off the south coast of Turkey. The culture is Greek, with a strong British and Turk influence. We spent this vacation adventuring with 2 other Aramco families. It was marvelous. The Mediterranean climate is like a womb. I can understand why people have lived there for over 10,000 years. In contrast, I wonder sometimes why anybody ever settled in SA. Cyprus is lush with citrus, olive, avocado and banana orchards, with the remaining land covered in vineyards. Wine flows more freely than water. The scenery is incredibly diverse with beautiful beaches, rugged shores, and scenic mountains with quaint European style villages. Archeological sites are scattered everywhere, with some impressive ruins and antiquities. We are less than 3 hours flight from Cyprus, and may make it a regular getaway. Our next planned adventure is to return to the States in December to spend 3 weeks visiting family and friends.

Cheers and Peace,
Dave