Christmas break was spent with the kids here in Saudi. They had a bit of an adventure getting back – first thier school recommended traveling students leave 5 days early so there was a scramble to change flights. They got to the airport with travel COVID tests in hand and thier plane never took off. They boarded but then deplaned a few hours later and, a few hours after that they were told the flight was canceled due to mechanical issues. They spent the night in the delta staff lounge in Boston airport then routed through a quick connection at JFK the next morning followed by a Saudi flight direct to Riyadh and then a termial change and a connecting flight to Dammam. Phew! A long journey turned much longer but they made it in good spirits and with their luggage.
In other family news, our wonderful dog Webster passed away while the kids were here on break. He is missed.
Noah bought a stuffed lobster during thier travel adventure when they were stuck in Boston airport for almost 24 hours. He became thier mascot from the trip.
So fall started. The kids were back in school in New Hampshire which meant it was empty nest time. Things were quieter for sure but we still managed to fill our days.
It has been a while since I’ve put photos up on the site. While COVID would seem to have offered lots of time for these projects I found myself not getting out the camera very often and updating the website even more seldom.
There have been a number of posts that were only half completed and never posted so I’m trying to work through that backlog now as a way of cleaning house and connecting back to photography as a hobby.
This is the first of about five catchup posts. These images go all the way back to April, 2020 so are by no means recent. Still…..enjoy!
On April Fools we found that Nora had put Nicolas Cage's head on all the photos on our family history wall.
On April Fools we found that Nora had put Nicolas Cage's head on all the photos on our family history wall.
March 2020 - Nora's very first mask. Her pleat game did not start strong but did get better.
Ben wearing one of the early masks back in March.
Ben learning how to sew from Nora
Lockdown meant puzzle time
Kai suprisingly took to it with special skill.
We were at least one piece down that Suki had chewed.
Pre summer the back yard still had slugs that came out from time to time.
Nora making a fruit keyboard with her Makey Makey unit.
Nora was going to re-arrange her bedroom so she started with a scale cardboard model first.
Service hours even during the pandemic. Trash pickup on camp
One of Nora's early embroidery efforts.
Crystal and Nora on the new bench by the front door
Crystal and Nora on the new bench by the front door
One of Webster's favorite games is to "fight" the water coming out of a hose.
Sometimes you get the hose and sometimes the hose gets you
Suki has now been a member of our household for over two months and is fully adjusted. Her and Webster are not part of the same pack and, though Suki often wants to engage in play that Webster isn’t interested in, they spend a lot of time together especially during naps. Enjoy the pictures.
For a special treat we made "Monsters of the Deep". Cut a sausage into strips and pierce each one with a bunch of spaghetti. Cook the whole thing and what comes out is a tentacle sort of thing.
The family blog has been a little bit quiet over the last few weeks with the posts few and far between.  Spring is well on us now and the temperate weather seems to we winding down. We did have some sprinkles the last few days but we also had our first 90 degrees and humid day. I think it is only going to get warmer from here on out. Enjoy the pictures.
Nora and Crystal.
Crystal's first selfie. Oddly compelling.
Den 14 presents Den Leader Crystal with a commemorative plaque.
Nora, tired of waiting to have an iphone purchased for her and wanting to drop a hint, takes an "Aging Booth App" picture of mom on her notepad smart phone.
Kai post haircut.
Dinner at Phuket in Al Khobar. A Jacobs family tradition stretching back decades.
Kai packing for his first Boy Scout campout. Spoiler alert. He survives.
Nora with her puppy hat knit by mom. It is a puppy, definitly not a squid in an oil slick.
Nora and buddies at a girls' night out.
You load sixteen tons, what do you get, Another day older and deeper in debt
Webster wrapped up in Kai's blankets.
The Worrells stop by for a visit in our new backyard.
As we wind down the last few days of this school year we said goodbye to our long time house-helper Jaffar who retired this month. Â Jaffar has worked for us since we moved to Dhahran and worked for Ben’s family when he was growing up in Dhahran.
In other news we said goodbye to Kai’s long hair. Â He had been growing it out for quite sometime and was really enjoying the mop-head but it finally got too much and he decided to get it cut short for summer. Â Enjoy the pics!
Kai and Mom. Notice the long hair
This is the "before" shot with long hair
Here we are saying goodbye to Jaffar who worked with our family since we moved to Dhahran and worked for Ben's family when he was growing up. A more dedicated, hard working, kind and gentle person cannot be found.
Jaffar takes one last picture with Webster
Kai goes under the shears. He stepped up boldly and said "clipper #2 please"
Half way through I needed another picture. I was tempted to stop here.
