On the move again....

If you are getting sick and tired of these posts I apologize.  I needed to change things up a bit.  I was boring myself!  This one will have pictures, as per your requests.  Lots of them.  All of our really ancient pictures are somewhere in a bin in the garage that is why I didn't include any in my previous posts!

This is a continuation of In the beginning (part 1), and (part 2) And then there were three

So there we were.... moving again.  This time to Lancaster California, but it wasn't permanent.  It was just basically for training and then we would be moving overseas.  OVERSEAS?  I thought moving To El Paso, TX was scary... now we were going to a foreign country?  Is this some kind of sick joke?  There are a few things you need to know about me.  I do NOT like change.  I do NOT like change and I DO NOT like change.  I also have a MAJOR fear of the unknown.  Oh well.... off we go...

California was a very quick 7 months, and then we were preparing for our travels to Cyprus.  I was really not excited at all about this move. I had a bad attitude.  I felt like I was sick and tired of following my husband around the world.  Remember all the things I loved about him when we first started dating?  Yeah... well I didn't love those things so much anymore.  I wanted him to romance me, I wanted him to shower me with affection.  But that just wasn't the way he was, and I knew that going into this marriage.  We were still pretty young, and both very immature.  I know this now but then of course I was always right... and so was he.  Kind of a problem.  A problem that would haunt us for a long time.

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He went ahead of us to Cyprus to find a place for us to live.  We were apart for about a month.  We would be living in Limassol.  I remember the week before I was leaving the anxiety really hit me and I was THIS CLOSE to saying forget it, I am staying here.  He can come visit us.  I was so scared.  But... I got on the plane.  By myself.  With a 4 year old and a 1 year old.  KILL ME.  It was the LONGEST 24 hours of my entire life.  I swear I had to hold my pee for 10 hours because there was no way I could manage two kids and myself in a little bathroom the size of a closet.  The one time I thought I could sneak away because both were asleep I literally shut the door and was about to squat when my son started screaming my name.  UGH.  When we finally arrived in Cyprus I literally said to my husband whom I hadn't seen in a month "Don't you even think about touching me, and if you EVER make me do this again I will kill you".  Little did I know I would be making this trip several times... alone... and he is still alive!  Go figure!  My kids actually got really good at traveling!  But then again they didn't really have a choice.

The first 5 or so months in Cyprus, I was pretty determined to be miserable. I HATED the food, hated the language (its all Greek to me), the smells, the inconveniences it all just sucked.   I HATED moving, hated starting over and hated making new friends.    It isn't that I was anti-social, I was just incredibly shy and I have to admit I was/am somewhat of a homebody.  I was the kind of girl that had a few very close friends and that was it, and I was okay with that.  Boy were things about to change, for the better in my life.  I decided that I could either sit around feeling sorry for myself or I could embrace this experience.  I could embrace this culture.  Little did I know that the next 4 years of my life would be some of the best I've ever had!  I met many locals, had a few great friends that were from England and us Americans that were there?  We became family.  I love them all so much.  I never knew until this point in my life how important it was for me to have strong women in my life.  I am very blessed to still call them some of my best friends to this very day. I could spend an eternity telling you all about how amazing our experience was.  The things we saw, the places we went, the amazing people we were fortunate to get to know but I know you have other things to do.  Here are some pictures, just a glimpse of Cyprus.  I had to make collages because I literally have THOUSANDS of photos from that 4 years of our lives. Oh and by the way.. the food... totally grew on me and it is now one of the things I miss most about that place!  I also miss my little princess speaking Greek, and the cute little accent she developed while going to school there.  She spoke Greek fluently, to her toys, to neighbors, locals at the grocery store and at school.  Since moving back to the states she has forgotten most of it. 

The kids with some friends, some of our first times at the beach... where we eventually ended up spending all of our summers and most of the rest of the year too!

Family time, hiking in the Troodos Mountains to see the waterfall, the Zoo, horseback riding

Some of MANY girls night out, and holidays!  I seriously LOVE these ladies!  Never had more fun in my life!

Sometimes we LET the guys come out with us!  Dancing, Karaoke, dinner, and also many poker nights!  

Rock Climbing (my favorite), Scuba Diving (conquering my biggest fear), and touring Greece with my husband!

My kids with friends, in school plays, and just having a blast!

Beach, waterpark, and snorkeling!  Pretty much sums up our 4 years!

Our trip to Germany.  My in laws met us there and we had such a great time!

This has been a long one but that is because in this 4 years of my life I learned so much about myself.  I feel like this is truly when I came out of my shell.  I never realized until this time in my life how important it was to have good friends.  Yes, I have had MANY great friends in my life but until then I think I probably took those friendships for granted.  I truly learned so much, and will NEVER forget this time in my life or the people who blessed it!