Jelly Fish.

Have you ever seen one of these up close?A Blue Jelly Fish.
I grew up in the States on the East Coast. I only remember jelly fish being pink and fleshy colors. The slimy little fish we spotted today on the gulf of Saudi were a surprise to me and an immediate attraction for the boys.
The boys- Who wanted to poke them, throw sand at them in the water, pick them up and jiggle them. Lucky for all of us the ones the boys poked had already passed onto fishy heaven and didn't have any sting left in them.

This morning we ventured out to the company beach on the Gulf. (Company beach means that I can go the beach minus the fancy black dress- aka, abiya).

Compared to Galveston, the Gulf we are used to visiting, this was a big upgrade. Clear water, running water, covered pavilions, showers and bathrooms, feet washing stations, playgrounds and many lifeguards.

From here you can see Owen playing in the foot shower, Mike at the pavilion and Grandma sitting under our umbrella by the water.

Mike and Carter flying a kite. The dolphin statue is actually a shower and they have several of these placed along the beach.

Our boys LOVE the beach. They love everything about it and could stay and play ALL day if we let them. Pretty sure as parents we wear out far sooner than these too.Grandma relaxing for the few minutes Owen didn't drag her up and down the beach.

A view looking back from the beach and Carter and his chips!

No camel rides today as planned, but a great morning playing on the beach instead. We had no idea how great the little company beach would be and are excited how close we really are to it.

We went early in the morning before it was busy and were pretty much the only people there. Us and two other families we drove with. It was a nice, break out of the normal routine, take a deep breath of fresh air off camp and feel better, kind of morning.

The walls of camp and the confines of having to take drivers into town can feel claustrophobic some days. On those kinds of days I crave the ability to get in my car and just drive to where ever I want on my own time schedule. No prayer schedules to go by, no black dress to throw on, no drivers to call and my own ability to make things happen. The more time I spend here I appreciate what I had back home. I'm grateful to be an American, grateful for the privileges that the US gives us as citizens and as women. This doesn't mean that I don't appreciate our new life here, I am grateful for that too. But even with that, some days can be long and challenging. Sometimes even short days, have I mentioned how dark it gets early in the evening, can be challenging.

It's nice to try something new. It takes the edge off. The beach was the "something new" for me today. I relish the moments when my boys are happy, my husband is happy and relaxed and I can walk my bare feet in the sand and watch the waves wash away my tracks and with that - my rut.

Camel riding is still on the agenda.
Now that Carter knows it's on the agenda we are committed.
Hugs, A