First things first.

Just to cover all our lost ground.  Here are some pictures of the Season in Saudi...

 We managed a Christmas tree.  It was small but beautiful.

 I just want to memorialize the fact that I made my kids matching Christmas outfits.  It seemed like the right thing to do.

 I love this picture.  Even though it's a little fuzzy. Look.  They can be happy.

 This is our version of a gingerbread house.  I should get extra points for letting them do all the decorating.

 Lots of extra points.

 I love this picture.  And not just because it's one of the few decent pictures of me taken while going through the ugly-growing-my-hair-out stage.

This gentleman dresses up for the kids on camp.  Beti had pink eye (I didn't know, okay?).  Merry Christmas.

Christmas (that's right...2012)

Since I just ordered our Christmas pajamas for 2013 I thought it was time to blog about Christmas 2012...

We had a great Christmas season here.  Just as I was beginning to think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to spend Christmas in Saudi we left.  And went to Switzerland. And I realized how much I'd been missing! We had planned to spend five days with friends in Zurich and then spend a couple of nights in Germany but we had so much fun in Zurich that we skipped Germany and enjoyed our time together.  It was so much fun.  Just. So. Much. Fun. We can't wait to do it again!

 Who wouldn't love this face?

 On our way up the toboggan "hill".

 Any sledding hill you can take a ski lift up to instead of having to walk is pretty awesome.

 This is what I got to run in.  It was beautiful.  Good for the soul running.

 Skiing.  Calvin's first time.  He loves to hot dog down a bunny hill - maybe a little too much.

 The best window displays.  I could do a whole post of just the kids staring at the displays.

 Yes, we had our Nativity.

 Christmas pajama time.  My kids were pretty excited until they realized their friends had received angry bird/pretty pink pajamas instead of lame Christmas jammies.

 Oh well, they got over it.

 Almost.

 We usually have more luck going for the nobody-look-at-the-camera shots.

 Ice skating on Christmas day.

 Andy's one job was to get a picture of Calvin looking so swank.  It was a tall order.

Fail.  We meant to see the Sleeping Beauty castle but got stuck in traffic and didn't make it before closing so we had to settle on viewing it from the outside and touring the sister castle.  Much less glamorous.

Where to begin...

I have not completely abandoned my blog.  I promised I would update it and here we are.  The only problem is I'm not sure where to begin. A few bullet-points seem in order.

• Buster is no longer a resident of the Law household.  If there has ever been anything to convince me that 4 children is plenty for me it was getting a dog.   
• We finished our first repat.  It was awesome and included lots of Costco pizza.
• We made it back to Saudi. (This deserves it's own bullet point because it was really hard to get myself on that plane.)
• Calvin started Kindergarten and learned to ride his bike without training wheels.
• Beti taught herself how to swim.  How are my kids growing up so fast? My heart is breaking.
• We traveled.  

Life is good.  We're happy and the kids seem to be adjusting to life here.  Small victories are what we're counting - and they're the best kind.

The invisible mom...

I've always dreaded entering into this phase.  For moms, somewhere between having cute-as-a-button babies and too-cool-for-school teenagers there is a place I like to call the invisible mom stage.  When you no longer get stopped by strangers who tell you how cute your little bundle o' joy is you've entered it.  It encompasses things like permanent teeth, the birds and the bees, learning to play the recorder, "Clarissa Explains it All" fashion choices, and ears and teeth growing faster than the rest of your child's body.  And as a mom, you disappear behind the scenes, lost in tooth-fairies, testosterone surges and after school activities.

Except...

I love it.

I love that Naomi lost her four front teeth all at once.  I hope I never forget that toothless smile.
I love Tal's ears, and big teeth and freckles.
I love to hear my kids plunking away on the piano...watching their brains grow is fascinating.
I love to see what outfits my kids put together.  Some days, I even let them wear them.
I love watching Tal ride his bike with Calvin to school.  Even though I'm there and he's much faster and it's not very cool (except, that it's actually very, very cool)
I love when Calvin stops me in my tracks with a sincere, thoughtful deed.  Like the calm in the eye of a storm.

I even love the hard moments.

The ones when you have to send your babies off into the world and you want to cry because you know that what's facing them isn't easy. Or, when your son prays for a best friend so he'll have someone who always wants to play with him.  And you pray too.  Or, when you mediate yet another (and another) girl fight because they are "Best Friends Forever." Or, you stay up late quizzing your daughter on the difference between rural, urban, and suburban because you just realized she needs the help.

These moments, I wouldn't trade. I loved the baby stage.  I'm sure the teenager stage will be fun.  But this stage I love.

Elbow-head

Beti fell and bumped her "elbow-head" a few months ago.  In case you aren't as versed in three-year old slang as I am let me clue you in.  An "elbow-head" is the area of you face directly above your eyebrows.  Some people may  refer to it as a forehead but why settle for the common word when you can dazzle it up a little.

My kids have a thing for anatomy.  Remember Tal's leg-pits?

I got my wish.

Those of you who have known me for a long time know that I have always wanted a "nerdy" son.

Don't get me wrong.  My kids are all cool.  Really cool.

But once in a while, they do little nerdy things that my heart delights in.  Lately, Tal has been channeling his inner-geek with one-liners kike these...

Naomi: (in a squeal only a six-year old girl can produce) ewww, a bug!
Tal: Oh.  Highly evolved.

Tal: (displaying his rock collection for one of my girlfriends to see) These are fascinating rocks.

I wish I could record his commentary because it's SO much better in person. But for now, you'll have to use your imagination.

Buster

Meet the newest member of the Law Family.

Also known as, "the-reminder-why-I-didn't-have-five-children."

Why?  Why did I think this was a good idea?  It's one of the mysteries of the universe. But it's too late - my kids are completely in love...and I can't blame them he's a pretty good guy.

This picture perfectly encapsulates our experience over the past few weeks.  Beti LOVES this puppy...a little too much.

Power Rangers

Calvin and Beti are at that age. The to-be-dreaded can't-get-them-out-of-their-heads Power Ranger stage. However, as much as the PR's annoy me they do provide lots of entertainment. This afternoon Calvin and Beti spent a good chunk of time outside with their improvised power ranger weapons fighting off the bad guy...me.

Poor little guy...

Calvin is sick. Ear infections and pink eye make for a long, sad night.

Oman

At the end of October we took a week and went to Oman.  It was wonderful - we traveled again with our good friends and again it was !  We had lots of adventures on this trip - I got sick, then Andy got sick, we took incredible hikes, celebrated Halloween and enjoyed the beauty of the place.


It's incredible how countries only separated by a few hundred miles can be so different.  But they are.  Until recently, Oman was also a closed country.  But since they have opened their borders to the world so much has happened - some is sad; the waterfalls, wadis and hikes that were once pristine and private are now bustling and showing signs of increased traffic - some is incredible; the beautiful buildings and roads, the kindness of the people, the openness of their culture. Oman. is. beautiful!!  We loved it - the scenery, the people, and the liberation.  We spent a lot of the week discovering and falling in love with the country.  I would go back in a heartbeat and while there I kept thinking of all my friends back home that would love Oman too.

The house this time - not so great (cockroaches.) But the grounds were perfect.  A pool, a playground, and a basketball hoop.  What more could you ask for?  The kids didn't want to leave.

This is about as good as it gets for us.  Getting a good group picture is i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e.

The guard at the Grand Mosque offered to let Calvin take pictures with him.  Calvin wasn't so sure.

Andy loved the trip - we spent the majority of the week off-road.

Our hike through Snake Canyon.  

Tal and Naomi having a pull-up contest.  What family vacation is complete without one?

Loved this village! Wish we had more time to stay!

Family pictures outside the church building in Oman.  Yes, we are matching.  Yes, I thought I might get a good family picture out of it.  Yes, I was wrong.

Lauren, are you there?  I need help.

A moment.

None of the pictures we took captures the insanity of this hike.  Basically, this is us with our nine children hiking around the rim of Oman's Grand Canyon.  It was crazy.  Amazing no one died.  

But it was worth it because at the end we got to explore these incredible cave dwelllings. Alone. 

See. I can take a good picture of my kids.  One at a time.  If I'm not planning on it.

The day Andy was sick we took this incredible hike. Up a Wadi. To a little river and a canyon. That we had to swim through to get to a hidden waterfall.  I was trying to help Andy.  It was a long hike.

Andy rallied enough to do a stellar backflip off the cliff.  Nice.

Inside the Grand Mosque.  Maybe the most beautiful building I've ever been in.

Last day we took a few hours on a Dhow ship to see the Dolphins.  They were amazing.

We were not so amazing.  One word.  Seasick.