IT'S BEEN AWHILE!

Beaver Bay Campground, near Ape Caves.

    I had no Idea my last Blog post was in May!

    Well, it has been busy and eventful the past few months.

HOME SWEET HOME
    I went home in June and stayed through the 12th of July.  It was a good time visiting family and friends.  My wife is awesome, she made me a lot of American food and even some burritos.

    The first thing I noticed as I drove home was how relaxing it was to drive on the roads.  In Qatar the drivers are very aggressive and the lines on the roads are meaningless.  I like driving aggressive myself but this is to much!

    The family and I went camping and caving at Ape Caves near Mt. St. Helens.  We have not done anything as a family for a long time, Kristin and I were having a hard time remembering when we were all together.  We had some fun with photography, eating and laughing.  I have pictures on my Facebook page.  Oh ya, it rained 2 times, what a awesome deal that was!

This was a accident, Courtney was walking as the panorama pictures were taken.

Entrance to Ape Cave

The meatball is above our heads.

Exit of cave, about 3-4 foot diameter hole.

4th OF JULY    

    On the 4th of July we celebrated with our community again, it is a annual event our church host.  This year we added a Chili cook off, watermelon eating contest and a Soap Box Derby race.  It was a great success again with everyone's help.

Watermelon eating contest

Alyssa is having a blast in soap box derby race!

Elana is smoking Phillip!

Panorama of the park on 4th of July.

UP NORTH  
    After the 4th we went up north and spent some time with my brother and the rest of the clan.  It was really good to see everyone at the farm helping out.  GOOD JOB EVERYBODY,  keep plugging away!  By the time we got to the farm I think we were burnt out on taking pictures.  I only got a few pictures, let me see if I can find some...........nope can't find any.
   
 BACK IN QATAR
    Back in Qatar......I signed a new contract so I will be here at least until Oct. 2013.  I have been able to spend time with F (Fouad from Morocco) and Z (Zrdasht from Syria).  We have had a few sleepovers at F's house talking and encouraging one another.
    Work is going better, I am working in another section helping out with other components on the Stryker.  By being in close proximity with others, I am able to talk in depth with other employees, not just small talk. We will be moving to a new residency soon, my new home will be much nicer than the current one.  I will have a bedroom with a bathroom in it.  We are leaving here because the maintenance is not getting taken care of and my boss is tired of the hassle. 
    I have started teaching the TESOL class to the Philipinos from work at their home.  This is exciting!  There are 12 of them attending.  We meet in a hallway now, so I am hoping we can do it at the new club house or perhaps my church.  Z wants me to start a class teaching his Kurdish friends English.  The Kurds are the ones that I met at the Newroz festival.
    I feel like I cheated, because this blog is so short.  I am tired and maybe next time will be better.

TAKE CARE, LOVE YA ALL

P.S. Pray for rest, wisdom and direction.  I need it for the current activities and the future ones God will no doubt bring!
    
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