The Stecherbush Abroad

  For Eli's last night in Oman, we went to the beach with paddle boards and friends. I didn't take pictures unfortunately, but I did take these videos of the shells in the tide pools. The tide was insanely low! I thought it was low last time but this was considerably lower. There was a whole sand bar and no water where we'd paddle boarded to see the fish before.  We had fun with Elijah and Keilah Ware. They boys especially enjoyed themselves. They went walking through the sand into the inlet area with the Mangroves and things. We had a cake for Eli. The little girls spent a lot of time out on the paddle board knocking each other off. We stayed until it was completely dark.  Eli was off that next morning to University adventures. Hopefully all good!

So in the History of Me, there is no public school until this month. I'm in shock still but my children are in school! This has been the subject of SOOOOO much discussion and prayer over the last year. Brigham and Sennia were 100% excited/nervous or as a friend said "nervcited". Alena was the opposite. "nervannoyed" perhaps. Elise was much more on the nervous and unsure side but perhaps that's partially because we didn't explain school very well to her as we later discovered. This photo is after our 3 orientations we juggled. TAISM did a great job of giving the kids a good picture of what to expect. With COVID restrictions and precautions we weren't allowed to take the kids into the school. This was a big deal to me for Elise so I wanted to make sure each kid knew exactly what to go and where to be. By the end of the day we had a great plan. TAISM has polo uniforms with PE tshirts every other day. There are 3 colors but the kids all picked navy for d...

This is our favorite superhero. We talk to him most Mondays when he has a Preparation Day to help with shopping, errands, and of course some fun with the other missionaries in his District. This area of Wales has been hard. He and Elder Valentine have worked so hard to speak with people and they have touched many but struggle to keep their commitments. He's very thankful for Elder Valentine and the hard work they've put in together. They recently had an "emergency" transfer because they got around 20 new missionaries arriving mid-transfer. He's excited because he got a Mandarin/Cantonese speaking Elder from HongKong I believe.(bonus that he is a good bball player) They'll be doing all the Chinese teaching that happens in Wales. It should be a great new challenge to keep up with that as well as the other friends they've made. We sure miss this guy but are so proud of the work he's doing and the growth he's worked for. This has been a really interest...

Here's the goal, this is the beautiful part of hiking a wadi in the summer in Oman. Cliff jumping into cold clear water. There is often a temperature change just from being in the wadi where there's water and sometimes greenery. It's still blazing hot, don't get me wrong, but sometimes there's shade and you can be wet.  Wadi Al Arbaeen is known as a more technical hike. Climbing over large boulders and through shrubby areas. Matt said he felt that our family could've done it-don't know how true that is but I look forward to giving it a try. The jumps and water call to me. Musts for hiking wadis are grippy, comfortable water shoes. I've done it in my chacos several times but with my wide feet, I usually end up with swollen feet, and shrinking shoes from becoming wet and then drying over and over. They followed this falaj for quite a way in the beginning. They go along the cliffs and are often shaded so it's pretty easy going. I'm glad they were ab...

  Our HHE shipment arrived. We were so excited. I had a feeling things would go down like this but in reality, things were so much more difficult than I would've dreamed. It was a pretty horrible week but I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. It always comes. The piano is what we were most nervous about when unpacking all our things. Our movers were very thorough, very careful, very communicative and even kind. I love meeting people here. There were 2/3 Omanis and 5 Pakistanis.  They unpacked all my kitchen boxes and would've put them in the shelves. I made the rookie mistake of not packing up the welcome kit from the Embassy so not only did everything on the counter need homes, everything in the cupboards needed to be packed up, Dishes in the refrigerator, trash cans, towels and rags and so much that we've been thankful for was suddenly a HUGE burden and no room to work or feed my family. The kids were so excited about seeing their things again but the entire ho...

Beaches are everywhere in Oman. Beautiful turqoise beaches, cliff beaches, stone beaches, sandy beaches, really, every kind and I have only seen a handful. The kids and I have been wanting to do some paddleboarding and thought this would be a good spot. Matt was supposed to be home from his work trip but was running late so I just loaded up one board and the 3 youngest children and headed out for the 6 minutes drive to Al Qurum beach. The water is fairly shallow, fairly calm due to the shelter from those rocks. It's loaded with shells of all kinds and sizes. I didn't take a lot of pictures because we were too busy having a lovely day.   Elise and I spent a lot of time together alone while Brig and Senn were exploring the rocks on the paddle board.  This was her miniature shell collection. We also went over to see the colorful fish that swim around those rocks, do a bit of climbing and scaring crabs. Sennia loves paddle boarding as much as Luke and I do but she doesn't lov...

This was a fun day. We went back to the Natural History Museum the next morning while it was open. It's a small building, certainly not the Smithsonian but this story wouldn't happen at the Smithsonian.  We made our way through the museum learning about the geology and zoology of Oman.   There are a few endangered such as the Arabian Oryx. The local goat herds have eaten their food sources. Oman does have a sanctuary for the Oryx that I would like to visit someday if we can afford the tickets. I don't know how much, just herd it was pricey. The kids said their favorite exhibit was the whale/fish exhibit. Many large fish and aquatic mammals migrate through the Gulf of Oman. Side note: I really dislike mask photos.   I love the shells in Oman, we've found so many. I thought it would be nice to have the poster above to help us identify them all and remember their names. I asked at the front desk if they had a gift shop or a place they knew of where I could purchase a po...

I attempted to take the kids to the Natural History Museum but unbeknownst to Google and myself, it closes at 1pm. They generously suggested we tour the gardens instead. Gardens might be a little generous for what they have there but still, we want to learn all we can about where we live so we looked at what they had. It occurred to me that the MIGHT have a Frankincense tree because Oman is the land of Frankincense. The Frankincense Trail began in Oman. Sure enough they had a couple in this garden! This find was so exciting to me, I considered the museum fail a big win! "The finest and most highly prized frankincense resin is produced by the  Boswellia sacra species , which grows in Oman. Oman has a reputation for producing superior-quality frankincense trees that deliver the highest-grade resin, the resin reserved for royalty." A quote about Omani Frankincense by Young Living Essential Oil company. Here's a beautifully worded quote about Omani Frankincense from another A...