GIRLS TRIP TO PRAGUE!

March 2017, Madeline and I met in Prague, Czech Republic for her spring break.  John was supposed to go with us, but he had to cancel because of work.  Fortunately, Madeline and I did NOT have to cancel.  It was the most amazing trip.  The weather was better than I could have asked for because I LOVE cold weather.  It was chilly, but not miserable.  Many days we actually saw the sun.  Because John wasn't with us, we got to Uber around the country instead of walking and taking public transportation.  Don't get me wrong, we did PLENTY of walking, but when it was difficult to find we called Uber.  John really enjoys meandering and mastering the public transportation system in every country we visit, but I do NOT.

Our hotel couldn't have been in a better location.  It was within walking distance to the Old Town Square, the malls, and many other attractions. 

We explored Prague Castle (after not being able to find it the first try, we uber'd the next day and found it quite easily...I mean, it's a huge castle and YET we couldn't find it), Charles Bridge, John Lennon Wall, the Astronomical Clock, Cesky Krumlov, Kutna Hora (the Bone Church), Terezin Concentration Camp, the Ruckl Crystal Factory, and the Pilsner Urquell Factory.  We also

saw the AMAZING Salvador Dali exhibit and loved it.  Our favorite tour was the Prague Foodie Tour.  It was amazing.  While Madeline didn't like the food because it wasn't bar food, she LOVED the tour.  She DID eat steak tartare and loved it, but almost vomited eating beetroot puree....go figure.  Anyway, the foodie tour was given by a native that had been an exchange student in Houston around the time of the fall of Communism in Prague.  He had the most interesting stories and history lessons.  It was an amazing tour that I recommend to EVERYONE that visits Prague.  We also had an amazing driver the ENTIRE week that took us to all the far away places.  He was amazing.  We got his name from a friend who had used him previously and we were not disappointed.  You can find him on Trip Advisor under Mike Chauffer.  So very reasonable and worth every penny.

A week wasn't long enough with my girl, but I'll take it any day.  She is the perfect travel companion and we enjoyed eating, drinking, and exploring all that Prague had to offer.

2018...Big Year for the Watkins Family

Wow...it has been three years since I last updated the blog.  It has been a big year for the Watkins Fam.  So far, we have had a wedding, a college graduation, and we have another college graduation in December.  I guess you can say we sort of see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Alison got married March 10th.  It was a very fun, happy, drama-free wedding.  Many of my friends  from Saudi Arabia came to help celebrate and I couldn't have been more excited.  I was so thankful for my Saudi Sistas that showed up early in the week to help me get ready.  They were invaluable as were my two sisters!  It was an amazing week of reunions!

Alison and Luke said it was exactly what they wanted for their wedding and that makes me happy.  It seemed to have gone off without a hitch (or at least any fatal ones anyhow). I loved catching up as much as I could with everyone.  It was such a whirlwind that I can barely remember it all.  Now I know why some cultures make their wedding last DAYS.  My advice to anyone getting ready to have a wedding....take it all in.  Stop and enjoy.  Hire someone else to put out fires so that you can enjoy yourself.  We had an AMAZING "day of" coordinator provided by the venue, but there were still some issues that she couldn't solve. 

I was missing two of my siblings and my dad.  If they been there that would have made it all the more perfect.  So many friends and family drove so far to help us celebrate and for that, we are so grateful!

After the wedding, Luke and Alison spent a week in Cancun while John and I spent our last week in the United States babysitting their dog, Tucker.  Poor Tucker missed his parents.  The night before we left we spent the night at Alison and Luke's house with Janie and her dog.  In the middle of the night Janie woke up to find Tucker lying on the bathroom floor crying.  It was so sad.

In April, Madeline graduated from college, so John and I flew from Saudi to Pittsburgh to be there to see her walk across the stage.  It was freezing in Pittsburgh and we were totally unprepared for that weather.  We flew in and got spend 5 glorious days with Madeline...and her besties.  It was amazing and she is so much fun to be around.  We could not be prouder of her.  She finished school in three years without having one hour of college credit when she started.  She worked so hard, trained so hard, and played so hard in her three years.  In keeping with Madeline's personality, she had no idea that she graduated with honors.  I asked her several times and she said that she was not graduating with honors...

Notice the closed captioning in the picture....yeahhhh.  She graduated cum laude.  No chords.  No fanfare.  She just gave us a shoulder shrug.  God love that girl.

Madeline will be working in Pittsburgh this summer and is planning to move to New York City in September to continue her acting career.

So next up is Janie.  She totally rocked Texas A&M this semester!  She got a 3.6 this semester!!  We are so proud of her.  She has student teaching this fall semester and then she graduates in December! Like I said before...Big year for the Watkins Family!

 I seriously am so in love with these three girls.  They are so amazing and I miss being with them every day. I will be leaving for Texas at the end of May and will be in the States until August.  I am going to try and visit with as many people as I possibly can this summer.

John and I will be living in Saudi Arabia for the foreseeable future.  Our tentative repatriation date is June 2022, but one never knows...

Happy New Year

As 2015 comes to a close, I realize that I haven’t updated our blog in forever.  There were a lot of changes this year to our family.  We started the year in NYC mostly together.  Janie was in Bahrain, but the rest of us went to NYC.  

Alison began her teaching career in January.  She moved to Sugarland and started teaching eighth grade English at Wharton Junior High.  It was a tough semester.   Wharton was a challenging school with an interesting demographic.  It was definitely a trial by fire situation.  Thankfully she was offered a job in April teaching English at Sweeny Junior High for the 2015-2016 school year.

Spring break brought me to NYC where Madeline and I started a trip to visit all of her prospective colleges.  We started by driving from New York to Pittsburgh to visit a small school in the city called Point Park University.  It was Madeline’s first choice school.  It was a lovely little school right in the heart of Pittsburgh.  She lit up just being there.  It was clearly the school for her.  We then continued our road trip to Ohio Northern in Nowheresville, Ohio.  It was a great program in a really small rural town in the middle of Ohio.  We drove back to New York and then flew to Charlotte, North Carolina, rented a car, and drove to Catawba College.  Madeline and I loved the school.  It was such a neat little school about forty five minutes outside of Charlotte.  It was a great program and a great school that offered more of a normal college experience of sports, greek life, and activities.  They also offered her a huge academic scholarship so it was definitely high on my list.  All that travel and visiting, but I knew Point Park had her heart.  In the end, she was accepted to several BFA programs, including Syracuse, but after agonizing over the decision she chose Point Park. 

Madeline graduated from the Masters School in June.  We all met in NY for her graduation and then had one last hurrah in NYC together.  We visited our old haunts, saw several Broadway plays, and shopped.  I am so going to miss NYC now that Madeline is no longer living there.

The summer was pretty normal.  Madeline got a job, Alison moved from Sugarland to Pearland, Janie continued to take classes, and I unsuccessfully attempted to teach Madeline how to drive.

Alison began teaching at Sweeny in the fall, Janie got a roommate for the semester (Jemma) and continued taking classes, and I moved Madeline to Pittsburgh before going back to Saudi.  This is the first time in three years that I wouldn’t be coming back to the US for parent’s weekend in October.  It was a long fall season in Saudi. 

We spent Thanksgiving in Louisiana with the Jane, John, Alison, Luke (Alison’s boyfriend), and my family.   We attended the LSU vs. A&M football game with my brother and his law partner.  My dad was in the hospital for the month, but all in all it was still a nice weekend celebrating with family.

We did an early Christmas with the Watkinses and Alison and Luke before heading to Louisiana to do Christmas with the Brauds.  We did our annual Christmas eve at my Aunt Maycel's without Alison (she was with Luke's family) or John (he was in Saudi) and Christmas day with my nieces and nephew before heading out to Mississippi for my cousin's fireworks show.  Ali came the day after Christmas when Luke went hunting. 

So as we start the new year Alison is back at work, Janie is gearing up for a full course load this semester and Madeline flies back to Pittsburgh on Sunday for her second semester of college. I will be going back to Saudi in the next three weeks.  Leaving our kids is always the hardest part of expat life. 

It's weird having three grown children, but we are getting used to our new normal.

GRADUATION!

It has been a while...I guess it is time that I updated our blog. 

Well...it's done.  It's over.  Madeline has graduated high school.  What a ride these last three years have been.   While I am happy that she is done and the next chapter has started, I sure am going to miss our times that we spent together in NYC.  I have spent the three years getting to go visit her and explore NYC and all it has to offer.  She has spent the last three years surrounded by good friends, awesome teachers, amazing dorm parents, and just an amazing little community.  She has had all the comforts of small little town in Westchester with the big city just a quick train ride away.

We all flew to New York for graduation and then one final Watkins Family NYC blow out for a while.  Janie, John and I went up a few days early as I knew it was going to take more than a few hours to pack up her dorm room and send it home.  I was hoping that she might have it finished, but I was also aware of how stressful the last month of school was for her so I wasn't surprised with what we saw when we got there.  Alison and Susan came up a few days later.  After banquets and packing and finally graduation, we moved to into the city.  We saw several shows (Wicked, Fish in the Dark, Drunk Shakespeare, The Book of Mormon), ate at our favorite place (5 Napkin Burger), shopped, ate some more, explored the last few places we hadn't been yet (Chelsea Markets, Brooklyn, Highline), and just enjoying our last family vacation in New York before everyone is grown and living their own lives.

Graduation and NYC Pictures

Now that we are back in College Station I was assuming that since we have spent the last few summers doing workshops and camps and traveling we would have this quiet slow summer....I was wrong.  Apparently all the things that a teenager does that Madeline has not gotten to do is what we are doing this summer.  She is doing dance classes, taking piano lessons, learning to drive, and she got her first job.  So that is what we are doing this summer.  John went home last weekend and we miss him so much already.

Janie is still in College Station.  For the first time since she started college she is not taking summer classes.  She is helping me with my chauffeur duties, working out, and getting a job.  She has also been cleaning out our house and getting it less cluttered...thank God for her!

Alison moved to Sugarland in January to teach at Wharton Junior High.  While she liked Sugarland, it was a really tough job.  Wharton is one of the worst school districts to work in and she had little help.  She is teaching summer school in Wharton and getting ready to move to Pearland.  She starts her job at Sweeny Junior High where she will be teaching English and coaching volleyball and basketball.  We are so excited that she has a career in something she is good at and seems to enjoy.  I miss her being here every day like the last few summers, but she does come visit most weekends.

I will be in the U.S. until Madeline goes to college.  She starts Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA, in the fall.  It is a small school of about 4,000 students in the heart of the city.  Their saying is "the city is your campus."  While it's not New York, it is still a decent sized city compared to College Station.  She will be living on campus for the first year and she will be going through their Conservatory program for performing arts/musical theatre/writing.  LOL.  She wants to do it all so she is having a hard time trying to narrow it down.  She will choose her second major after this semester.

John and I will be in Saudi for the foreseeable future. We enjoy our little life there even though it is just the two of us...we miss the girls desperately, but we have a routine that works for us.  John likes his job and we have a great group of friends.

Belated Spring Break Post...

It has been so long since I posted!  I have jet lag so I decided to spend my time wisely and update the blog...lol

Because none of the girls spring breaks are ever at the same time, we have spring break with Madeline solo every year.  This year she had a trip to Ireland with an acting/writing group from school planned in the middle of her spring break so it was difficult to plan a trip.  We decided that she would fly to Bahrain and we would stay there for a week before she was off to Ireland.  She had not gotten to see her Bestie, Iman in almost two years so she was excited.

We had planned to be in Bahrain the Friday before Maddie got there on Saturday until the entire plant shut down on Thursday.  John informed me that he wasn't going to be able to come with me and maybe not even at all.  I was a bit upset...needless to say.  But I decided to make the best of my night alone and schedule a massage.  Around 5:30 p.m., John called me to tell me I needed to pick him up ON the causeway.  It was surreal.  I have been across the causeway a hundred times, but I have never driven across it.  You should have seen the tollbooth guy when I paid the toll...he did a complete double take.  It was funny.  Because women can't drive in Saudi, obviously I could only drive up to the Saudi side.  I picked up my hubs and the weekend started.  The only problem was that every single day started with the same understanding that he had to leave that night to get back to the plant.  Every day he made plans to go back and every evening he got to cancel it because they weren't ready to start up.

Madeline flew in late Saturday night.  No matter how many times they fly solo overseas I always have a major panic attack.  It never gets easier.

I know that is a horrible picture, but it is all I have.

We had the best week.  She spent a few days at the school and hanging with Iman.  We went prom dress shopping, she got her hair done, and basically hit all of our old haunts.

The week went by way too fast.  She hopped a plane late Thursday night for Ireland to meet up with her group.  I get to pick her up from boarding school in NY in three short weeks and I am so excited!  I have not seen her since March 20th!  

After she left, we got to spend a day together before we had to go back to Saudi.  We visited the Tree of Life and the Grand Mosque...two things we never did when we lived there.

It was a nice vacation just a few hours from home in our favorite country.  

Maddie had a great week in Ireland writing and collaborating with the group in Ireland.  If you're interested in knowing more about their project here is the link to their site:  http://tower.mastersny.org/category/blogs/the-ireland-project/

Because there were three days left of spring break when the Ireland trip ended, Maddie flew to Washington D.C. to stay with some friends we met in Bahrain, The Buntings!  We love the Buntings and we are so thankful that they allowed Madeline to come and stay with them.  Sometimes boarding school logisitics are really difficult and it is great to have people in our lives that will help us out.  Maddie texted me several times while in D.C. saying that she didn't want to leave.  I suspected that would happen.  They an amazing family.  We love them and are so thankful for them.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Wow...it has been almost a year since I updated the blog.  I have spent so much time back and forth between America and the Middle East this year that I haven't updated the blog.

This summer was packed full of stuff.  It started when John and I flew to NYC to pick Madeline up from her first year at boarding school.  Because Madeline's birthday falls in the summer, she never gets to celebrate her birthday with her friends so we decided to let her plan something before we left NY.  We were in for a real treat....hehe.  She decided she wanted to take 6 of her friends in to the city and eat at Jekyll and Hyde's in The Village and then go to Rocky Horror Picture Show.  To begin with...logistics were difficult to say the least as the trains stop running to Dobbs Ferry from the city at 1:00am.  Rocky didn't start until midnight so that wasn't going to work.  We thought about a taxi, but they aren't required to take fares to the outer burroughs so that wasn't a guarantee either.  We had a rent car, but it wouldn't fit 9 people, so we decided to rent a minivan as well.  John and I each drove a vehicle with a group of friends in to the city...in the rain...ugh.  We had eaten at Jekyll and Hydes on New Year's Eve in 2009, and it was such a cute little place that had good food and a fun "show."  Fast forward three and a half years and that place went DOWN HILL.  There is a new one in Times Square that we should have tried instead, but we didn't.  It was HORRIBLE and expensive and annoying.  We then took the group to Rocky Horror.  It had to be one of the worst troupe of Rocky actors EVER...just a big group of young adults with huge daddy issues...lol.  I actually fell asleep.  She has some good friends to endure that with her....while the entertainment was questionable, her friends were fun to be around none the less.

From NYC John, Madeline, and I drove six hours or so to Washington D.C. to see some of our friends, the Buntings, we knew from Bahrain that are now stationed there.  They had just bought a huge house outside D.C. and we were so excited to impose on them because we just LOVE this family.  They are just some of those people that when you meet them you are just in awe of how amazing they are.  They have the best family dynamics and are just good people.  Madeline and I had never been to D.C. so we were excited to do the sightseeing thing.  Maddie wanted to read The Things They Carried as we walked the Vietnam Memorial and see Arlington Cemetary and the Lincoln Memorial.  It was such a fun time.  We visited D.C. Cupcakes from the show and drove around Georgetown.  Best of all, we got to catch up with our friends. We love their new house and are so happy that they are finally getting to put down roots after 20 years of traveling with the Navy.

From D.C. we drove back to NYC and flew out to Houston.  I had not seen the girls since January so it was nice to be back in College Station with them.  Alison spent the summer working at a law firm in Houston and she was the Maid of Honor in her best friend Lizzies wedding so we didn't get to see her much.  Janie did the first session of summer school and Madeline went to Super Summer.  John only got to spend two weeks at home before having to go back to Saudi.  Between Super Summer and Theater Camp at Stephen F. Austin University Madeline wasn't home much.  We spent a week in Lousiana visiting the family and before we knew it August was here and it was vacation time.

The month of August was long and eventful.  We started the month by picking John up in Houston and driving to Louisiana for a week to visit my family.  We then drove to Orlando to do Disneyworld for two days and Universal Studios Harry Potter World for a day.  It was something we probably will never do again...until we have grandkids.  It was hot...it was crowded...it was taxing and grueling.  It was not my favorite thing in the world to do, but we can now tick that off our bucket list.

From Orlando we flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a seven day vacation at La Concha Resort.  I really liked Puerto Rico.  It was tropical and adventure filled.  The girls and John went rappelling and zip lining in the rain forest one day.  I spent that day sleeping and recovering by the pool with high doses of vitamin C and a massage trying to nip an illness in the bud before it became full blown.  It was hands down the worst massage of my life.  He looked and sounded JUST like Tone Loc (the 80s rapper...funky cold medina).  He did WAY more damage than good.  My knees and back were out from the time I left the spa until we went home.  I still managed to hike the rain forest to the waterfall, but it was painful...beautiful and worth it although I am not sure the girls would agree with me.  We got to sight see and shop Old San Juan, swim in the Atlantic, kayak in a bioluminescent bay, drink cold umbrella drinks by the pool...it was nice.  John and I spent our 23rd wedding anniversary in the hot tub at the pool.  This was our first vacation where the girls were old enough to go out and do things on their own at night and it is unfortunate that they have the mother that they do....I am always a nervous wreck when my kids are out and about.  Even in College Station.  It's my nature.  My poor children.

 

We flew back to Orlando and promptly drove to New Orleans, La. the same night.  Huge mistake.  We were exhausted but everyone was ready to be home so we did it anyway.  It was gig 'em week back at A&M and the girls were anxious to get home.  We stopped in New Orleans long enough for us to take a nap, a shower, eat a poboy and get back on the road.  We made it safely back to College Station and they got to partake in their gig 'em week activities....here's to hoping that next time I strongly suggest we FLY to Florida instead of DRIVE that my husband will listen to me.  THAT was an exhausting vacation...and road trips aren't any more fun when they girls are older than they were when they were younger.

From vacations back to school.  John and I both flew with Madeline back to NYC to get her settled back in to her dorm for her Junior year of high school.  It was a quick stop.  We were only there for a day or two...just long enough to make 25 trips to Target and Walmart for all the various sundries and essentials Madeline needed.

From NYC to Nice, France.  John and I had a layover in Nice, France for four days before we made our way back to Saudi.  It was one of the best vacations.  Lazy days on the French Riviera, sight seeing, walking the Promenade de Anglais...it was just lovely.  We visited the same bakery for a jamon formage every morning for breakfast before setting off for the day.  We took the train to Monte Carlo, Monaco, and Italy.  It was just perfect.

I came back to Saudi for a month or two before heading back to the States for Alison's Ring Dunk - WHOOP! and Madeline's Parent's Weekend and Play.  Alison got her ring in October and she had a ring dunk with a few of her best friends from A&M.  It was fun and interesting.  Most of the entire ring ceremony was cancelled due to a torrential downpour...the first rain in a year and it happened on ring day.

We are so proud of her and can't wait for graduation in May!

From America back to Saudi for another month after which John and I both went home for Thanksgiving with our family in Louisiana and Texas.  It was a short two week trip for him, but so worth it.  Any time all five of us are together is the best!  We had so much fun.  For Christmas I stayed in Texas/Louisiana with Madeline and Alison, John was working in Saudi, and Janie spent a few weeks in Bahrain visiting her old friends.  It was a strange Christmas and I suspect the first of many to come where we are all not together. It makes me sad that the girls are growing up and getting ready to start their own lives, but I am immensely proud of them.

Things to come....

Madeline is spending half of spring break in Ireland this year.  She auditioned for and got a spot in an acting group that is writing its own play and collaborating with an acting group in Ireland.  They will be spending the week sight seeing and working with this group to finish their play where they plan to perform it back in NYC.  We are hoping that she will be able to spend about a week with us in Bahrain/Saudi as well.

Janie will finish up her Sophomore year in college and is doing very well.  She has had her best semester ever this semester.  She is such a joy to be around...

Alison graduates in May and we hope will have a job somewhere.  She is debating whether to go on to grad school or to get certified to teach, but has applied for several programs and jobs.  As of now we have no idea what she will be doing, but I am sure it will be spectacular!

I will be here in the Middle East for the next 5-6 months with the exception of the week of Alison's graduation.  This is a long stay...sigh...but I am so happy to be back with John.  It is so hard because if I am in the U.S. with the girls I miss my husband desperately and if I am in the M.E. with John I miss the girls desperately.

All in all...I am excited to see what God has planned for our family.