Black Tie Gala, Baby Rampley, and Some Summer Plans

It's almost the end of January, and Riyadh already seems to be starting to warm up again. So much for the cooler weather here! Not much has gone on this month in the Rampley household - mostly just resting up for Baby Rampley's arrival. James keeps telling people that our due date is February 2nd or any second!

We did end up making it to one bigger social function this month, the AIS-R Black Tie Gala. It was a fundraiser sponsored by our school for the AIS-R Foundation. We got to get all dressed up, - I had to be quite creative about a formal maternity dress - eat amazing food, and dance the night away! There was also a live and silent auction as well as a raffle. The event was held at The Gardens at the British Embassy Residences. It is a gorgeous outdoor venue, and it was a great night was friends.

Before we left for the Gala

Prom-style photo from the Gala

January was more of a quiet month for us as we anticipate Baby Rampley's arrival - hopefully soon! We had a doctor's appointment yesterday. My blood pressure and weight are normal, and Baby Rampley's heart rate and movements are normal - no dilation yet, so we are not expecting anything to happen too soon ;) Tomorrow, I will be exactly 39 weeks. I plan to work up until my due date unless she makes an early appearance as we get exactly 10 weeks of maternity leave starting on the due date. I want to maximize my time with her at home as much as possible!

39 weeks and feeling good :)

We did make some summer plans this month, which is super exciting! We know we will be in Michigan from June 19-July 1, and we will be in the Philly/South Jersey area from July 1-August 8. We rented a shore house in Sea Isle City, and we will be there from July 4-25. The house is on 38th street a half block from the beach, and we have an extra room if anyone is interested in staying with us. We would love the company!

I imagine that next month we will have much more to write about or maybe,  as new parents, we will be too tired to write anything at all! We will see. In the meantime...

Stay stoked.

Baby Rampley, A Swedish Christmas, and Bahrain

It's been quite a year and quite the month over here in Saudi Arabia! I am a bit late getting this December post out, but better late than never...

Thanksgiving in Saudi
Tis the season! At the end of November, our school hosted a 2.5K, 5K, and 10K Turkey Trot. James and I participated in the 5K - walking only for me, but I did finish! Later that day, an American Thanksgiving dinner was prepared by the Social Committee at our school. It was 2 days later than actual Thanksgiving, but it was a fun event with great food and friends.

Finishing the 5K Turkey Trot

Baby Rampley

James and I have been preparing the nursery for our baby girl - so exciting! We bought a very cute crib and changing table that James put together. Thank God! Because there were about a million little pieces for each. We graciously received a glider from another couple at our school that wasn't using theirs anymore, and it matches the crib and changing table perfectly. We think that the nursery is ready to go whenever Baby Rampley decides to make her appearance. February 2nd - Groundhog's Day - is her due date!

James still has a smile on his face after putting together the crib and working on the changing table :)

Nursery view from the bedroom door

To the right as you walk in the bedroom door

Glider and dresser

Crib and glider

Changing table and crib

Crib

Glider with baby blanket quilted by James' Mom :)

My coworkers and friends decided to host a baby shower for me, and it was absolutely lovely! The girls and I got to spend the morning chatting, eating great food, and opening presents in my friend Jessica's backyard. It could not have been more perfect <3

Playing games with the girls

Opening presents!

A Swedish Christmas
Although we were not able to come home for Christmas this year, thankfully, James and I were able to spend it with some friends that also did not go home for Christmas this year. Our friends, Chris & Sara had us over for a Swedish Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, and everything was delicious - the food and the company! The spread was quite amazing - cooked salmon with a caviar sauce, pickled herring, smoked salmon with a mustard sauce, Swedish meatballs with beat salad, just to name a few. It was not our typical ham and turkey Christmas meal, but it could not have been better!

Delicious Swedish food

And more delicious food

The beautiful dining room table

Bahrain
James and I stuck around Riyadh for the first few days of our vacation, and the day after Christmas, we ventured out on our last "childless" vacation to Bahrain for 5 days. Bahrain is a small island to the east of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf. We stayed at a spa resort on the beach where we celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary!! We relaxed, did some shopping, and most importantly got to spend time with each other in a beautiful place :)

Map of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in relation to Bahrain

View of the beach and the Persian Gulf from our balcony

View of the pool from our balcony

A surprise cake from the hotel for our anniversary <3

Famous camel statue to promote peace

Best place to get some bacon and pork, owned by an American

Our attempt at some maternity photos :)

Another maternity photo attempt ;)

Today, I am 35 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I have 4 weeks and 4 days to go, and according to thebump.com, our baby is as big as a coconut ;) We cannot wait to meet her!!!

The bittersweet end & an exciting new beginning

New Year's Eve was our last event for this month and this year, and our friends Bryan & Disha had a bunch of us over for drinks and appetizers. And for any cousins reading this, I made buffalo chicken dip, and it was a huge hit! Although we did not watch the ball drop, - that happened 8 hours after our midnight and we were fast asleep by that time! - we did watch a new year's countdown on TV. It was low-key, and that was just fine by me (and baby)!

As I reflect upon this past month and the past year, I realize how lucky we are and how grateful I am to be me! In 2013, James and I got engaged and got married, and in 2014, we got pregnant. We have a new niece, Keely Marie - love her! We also got new jobs and moved to a new country. And most importantly, we are safe and healthy. I couldn't be more stoked about all of the wonderful things that have happened to us this past year, and I am more stoked than ever to see what 2015 holds for us and for all of you!

Stay stoked.

Pumpkins, Abu Dhabi, and the Edge of the World

It's about 7:30 AM on a Friday morning and coffee is brewing. We don't have work today, but we don't have work every Friday! Our work week is Sunday through Thursday, so we don't work on Fridays, but we do work on Sundays. It is still a 2-day weekend, but it's taking a little getting used to.

Shortly after my first blog post, my brother, Alfred, asked me if I had posted anything else to my "fake blog." He was more or less making fun of me! James and I started a blog when we were in Guatemala without much success. I think we posted once or twice to that blog, but I am determined to keep this one going. So far, so good because here is my second post!

This was another great month is Saudi Arabia. James and I are getting more settled in at home and at work, and we are excitedly anticipating the arrival of our baby girl. As of today, I am 30 weeks and 4 days pregnant. 9 weeks and 3 days to go! We bought a crib and changing table this week. The crib is put together, and the plan is to put the changing table together later today :) Doctor's appointments have been going well, and me and baby are healthy, which is the most important thing!

7 and 1/2 months pregnant!

A slight side view to see more of the belly!

This is one of my favorite times of the year for many reasons, but I especially look forward to this time of the year for pumpkins! Saudi Arabia imports pumpkins from California, so we did actually carve a pumpkin this year - our first pumpkin carving as a married couple (and ever because we never carved a pumpkin together before!).

Our pumpkin

James did the carving, and I picked through the mush for pumpkin seeds, which we roasted later. I would highly recommend it! Even though some of ours turned out a little burnt, they were quite delicious, and I have been told they are nutritious as well. In addition to having pumpkins, Saudi also offers canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice at the grocery store AND they actually have PSL (Pumpkin Spiced Lattes) at Starbucks here - my absolute favorite!

Our roasted pumpkin seeds

James and I did dress up for Halloween this year. It was a bit last minute and very homemade (completely made from construction paper), but we dressed up as characters from the game Angry Birds. I dressed up the red bird named Red, and it was perfect because the shape of my belly was quite like Red's circular body! And James dressed up as the green pig named Minion Pig.

Halloween costumes

So, despite my large status, we did manage to go on two trips this month. We flew to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (country to the southeast of Saudi), and we drove to the "Edge of the World" camping site in Saudi Arabia.

Abu Dhabi was a quick weekend trip, and we went there because, well, we wanted to get away! We had never been there before AND we wanted to see two of our friends from San Diego, Amy and Brandon, complete in the World Flowboarding Championship. It's a bit difficult to explain what flowboarding actually is, but I think the pictures will give a pretty good idea. Amy ended up taking 2nd place in both of her events this year (Women's strapped and strapless on the Flow Barrel). Congrats Amy! And James and I got to cheer them and the other USA competitors on and play in a pretty cool water park :) Here are some of the pictures from the trip!

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza on Yas Island

Our friend, Brandon, during the competition

In the shallow end of the wave pool - no slides for prego!

Watching the competition and cheering on USA!

Another picture of Brandon

From the balcony of our hotel room

Our friend, Amy, during the competition

James and Amy in the lazy river after some rides

The "Edge of the World" camping trip was also a quick weekend trip, but quite a site to see! We drove for about an hour outside of the city to get to the turn off, and then it was about an hour of off-roading to get to the actual camp site. We hiked around the edge of the world , and then we set up camp comfortably far from "the edge." The Saudi desert is surprisingly beautiful. It gets very dark at night, and you can see a billion stars. Then, later on during the night, and during this particular stay there was a half moon, the moon comes out, and it is almost as if somebody turned on the lights because it is so bright! Who knew the desert could be quite so beautiful?

Black one-hump camel on the way to the Edge of the World

Overlooking the Edge of the World

Another picture from the Edge of the World

Prego picture from the campsite before setting up camp

White one-hump camel on our way home

So, this next paragraph is for my northeast Philadelphia family and friends because you may remember a store in the Franklin Mills Mall shopping center called Carrefour. It used to be over by where Dick's Sporting Goods is right now. Well, did you ever wonder where that store went? They are in Saudi Arabia! The employees are no longer wearing roller skates, but they are wearing roller blades! I couldn't believe it! It was a little blast from the past...

Our Carrefour shopping cart

Can you see the guy in roller blades?
He is in the very center of the picture!

This past week at school was UN Week. It started off with the UN Festival hosted by our PTSO (Parent Teacher Student Organization) last Saturday with various activities throughout this week at school. And it ended with a school-wide (K-12) UN celebration yesterday. It was really heartwarming to see people from all over the world come together like that. I learned so much about the many different cultures represented at my school. It actually gave me goosebumps! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful to work with such amazing people from all over the world <3

At the UN Festival at our school

Sitting in the "Circle of Nations"

And we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving...yet! Our social committee at school is hosting a Turkey Trot tomorrow morning and a Thanksgiving celebration dinner tomorrow afternoon. We will get to eat some turkey then!

Although we are not headed back to the United States for Christmas this year, we do have one last trip planned before our baby arrives! We are headed to Bahrain for some rest and relaxation (and some alcohol (no alcohol for me tho!) and bacon since they are outlawed in Saudi!) over the holidays this year. We are definitely looking forward to that and more on that in next month's post!

Stay stoked.