Family

Best Present Ever

September 22, 2014Posted By: MitchFamily, Minnesotathemightaswellers Leave a comment

In Rachel’s post of ‘The Things She’ll Miss Most‘ and in my ‘Things I’m going to Miss Most‘ we both mentioned how much we are going to miss our little triplet nieces and nephew! When we left in August they were about 6 months old, and will be about 15 months old the next time we see them in person. Babies change so fast, especially at this age. We are going to miss fun milestones like rolling over, crawling, standing, walking, and talking. We are also going to miss things like their first Christmas and Birthday party! It rips our heart knowing that we can’t be a larger part of their life right now, or be there to help support their parents. In today’s technological world, we are lucky to stay in touch with them through things like FaceTime, Email, Skype, and apps like WhatsApp and Viber. Before we departed to Kuwait, we received one of the coolest going away gifts ever from the Triplets (thanks to their parents who were thoughtful enough to think to buy us a gift in the middle of some pretty intense sleep depravation). They bought us one of those electronic picture frames that scrolls through hundreds of pictures. The cool thing with this frame though, is that its connected to our wifi network and has its own email address. That way whenever the triplet’s parents snap a cool picture of them with their iPhones, they simply email it to the designated email address and it automatically pops up on our picture frame! There have been so many times that we will wake up to a whole slew of new photos. We have even been sitting in our living room watching a movie or something, and all of a sudden one of us notices we have a bunch of new photos on the frame! The frame is a great size, about the size of our iPad. It’s super clear and a ton of fun! The frame is from a company called Pix-Star and you can visit their website here. Here are a few of our favorite photos we have received on the frame thus far:

It’s fun to walk into the living room and see this happy face on the picture frame!

When you think babies can’t get any cuter, just add sunglasses

Nothing better than a baby just after bath time

Look who’s standing!!!! With a little bit of help 😉

The Things Mitch Misses Most – Volume I

August 28, 2014Posted By: MitchFamily, Friends, Kuwaitthemightaswellers View all 4 comments

We have officially been in Kuwait City now for about a week, and it doesn’t really seem real yet that this is our permanent residence for the next 2 years! It still seems like we are just here on vacation, and will be back in Minnesota in the next week or so. Before we departed the States, we talked about each of us doing a blog post about what we will miss most about living there. Well, I apparently came up with a good enough excuse not to complete my part of that post. So instead, I’ve decided to do a quick version of what I miss thus far since we have been in Kuwait.

1. 80 Degree Weather

On the lake, and wearing long sleeve shirts. Perfect weather!

I cannot begin to describe how freaking hot it is here in Kuwait City! The temperatures that last few days have ranged from about 109-119 degrees Fahrenheit. Frankly though, anything over 90 degrees to a Minnesotan is unbearably hot. Before we left, we joked with friends that it was a “dry heat” in Kuwait. However when we arrived to the airport, the members of the school who were there to greet us, informed everyone that a wave of humidity moved into the area and it would be a few days before it moved out. Lucky for us, the temperature Gods provided a little welcome gift for us! Regardless of the humidity, it is smoking hot here. The other day there was a slight breeze off of the Gulf, and it was not pleasant like one would think. It felt like when you are sitting in a sauna and someone blows a small stream of hot air at you, but instead it was over your entire body!

2. Green Grass

Green Grass, Green Trees, & Green Bushes

From the color of the buildings to the ground, everything in Kuwait is brown. In kind of reminds me of some of the new residential neighborhoods in the suburbs of Minnesota, where all of the houses are one of three shades of tan. It’s hard here to tell the taxi driver, “drive down the street, and my house is the brown one on the left,” because everything is brown! There are a few palm trees and other green plants around some of the neighborhoods and freeways, but they are far and few between. At the school though, we are lucky enough to have 3 beautiful outdoor courtyards. They are covered with trees, bushes, vines and other lush green plants and foliage. It is a great place to have lunch or just gather to enjoy the colors.

3. iPhone

I heart my iPhone

I never thought I would be the kind of guy who would admit that they miss their iPhone, but I officially think I have become one. A few days before we left the States, my phone was shut off, so I have gone about a week and a half without it. I don’t miss the access to email, Facebook, or Twitter, but rather the ability of having a map showing my location or the internet accessibility to find the answer to a simple question. As soon as Rachel gets her Civilian ID in October, we will be able to get a cell phone package with iPhones.

4. Mountain Dew

I think I miss Mountain Dew more than booze!

More than missing the ability to drink booze, I miss drinking Mountain Dew even more! A couple of times a week, usually about 3pm in the afternoon when I would hit a wall, a 12 oz can of Mountain Dew is all I needed to perk up for the rest of the night. The thought of its refreshing taste and carbonation is making my mouth water as I type this. Multiple times over the years, I have tried giving up pop with zero success, however maybe this trip to Kuwait is all I need to make it a reality.

5. Friends & Family

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Our Little Triplet Nieces & Nephew

It has to be a given, that I miss our family and friends. We have been able to connect with a few people over FaceTime so far, but its definitely not the same as a face-to-face conversation, or the simplicity of sending a quick text message. Wherever we are in the world, we will miss them dearly, however knowing that they support our decision to move overseas, we feel their love wherever we are!

Today

August 18, 2014Posted By: RachelExpat Life, Family, Kuwaitthemightaswellers View all 5 comments

Today we pick up our bags and step out into the unknown.

Today we hug our families goodbye.

Today we take a risk.

Today we get on an airplane and hope we are making the right decision.

Today we are full of excitement.

Today we are full of nervousness.

Today we leave.

“In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”

Long Minnesota Goodbye

August 3, 2014Posted By: RachelFamily, Lake Life, Long Minnesota Goodbye, Minnesotathemightaswellers View all 2 comments

With less than three weeks remaining before we get on the plane and head for Kuwait we are officially in the midst of the Long Minnesota Goodbye. We want to see as many of our friends and family as possible in the next few weeks and we are starting that off by spending a week up in Northern Minnesota with Mitch’s family.