Yanbu, Saudi Arabia

I wanted to share a few photos I found of Yanbu so you can get a little visual of our new home.  Once I'm there I'll get tons of pix, of course.  :)  

A shot of part of our the area around our neighborhood.

This is the main hospital in Yanbu.

The Red Sea

Playground near the Red Sea

The Mall in Yanbu (the grocery store is also located in here)

Let's Get This Party Started!

Yesterday the moving company rep stopped by.  It was very surreal to go through my house and say what was staying and what was going...to Saudi.  Saying it over and over again still hasn't made it sink in all the way.  On the bright side...this move is forcing me to purge purge purge.  I'm a pack rat...always have been.  There are boxes in my garage that haven't been opened in the 2 years we've lived in Cali.  Now, it's time.  


There really isn't much to bring with us.  Our home there is fully furnished (hotel style, but furnished just the same).  Matt is getting a new computer and we'll be wiping and dumping the ones here.  I'm bring a lot of my kitchen stuff with me and a full array of seasonings.  (who knows what they have there)  Of course, that is Matt's first job when he gets there.  He has to scope out the grocery store and tell me what I'm going to need to bring (ya know, pantry stuff)  He's also going to give me a run down of the house so I can do some last minute bring/stay on certain items.  The most important things are the girls stuff.  We are bringing a fairly large library of books.  (if they don't have books, all is lost...seriously)  Bringing a few toys, a small pool for the backyard, and some of their other fave items.  I mean, they have ToysRUs there, so it's not like we can't get them gifts.  We just want  to make sure they have some of what they are used to as well.


Thankfully my in-laws are in town right now and as seasoned movers (Air Force) they have been giving me all kinds of advice.  And I'm very thankful because I have never made a move like this before!  My next course of action is to start separating what goes, what stays and what still needs to be sold.  Whew...these next few weeks are going to be crazy!!

Our Adventure Begins!!!

Well, two days ago we officially announced our move to Saudi Arabia.  To my pleasant surprise, we've had an amazing amount of support from our friends.  This was not an easy decision, but my hubby and I truly believe...you get one life...make the most of it.  We spent an obscene amount of time researching, getting on expat forums, emailing people already living there...and now, we feel as though we have friends eagerly awaiting our arrival.
So, this is just my welcome to my blog post.  I'll follow up in a few days with some facts about Saudi, my upcoming 2 months stay in Italy, and much more.


Looking forward to sharing our magic carpet ride with all of you!  Hang on...it's going to be a wild ride!  :)