Lately...

We had some favorite friends over for dinner...

...oh how much I treasure those sweet ladies!

Our kids adore their kids as well...

We've played with the neighbors...

We went out to weekend brunch at The Cheesecake Factory...

We took a family trip to Messilah Beach, where the sign upon entry should have been a heads up as to what we could expect...

 ...it was unimpressive. 

Granted, it was only 4KD ($13.18) for all four of us to get in, and it gave us access all day, but it was dirty (we saw a bottle of motor oil and a diaper in the water) and just an all around weird vibe.
I was actually slightly relieved about this, because I'd been meaning to take the kids there for over a year and this made me feel better about not having made that happen before. Clearly, we hadn't been missing out on much.
We all agreed it was kinda just "meh", and we didn't need to visit there again.

We squeaked in a dental visit for the twins before we leave our dental insurance Kuwait behind...

...they were total champs, and again received a clean bill of dental health!

I had a dental appointment as well. Although, unlike taking the kids to Royal Hyatt Hospital (fancy, and far away) I just went to the next available International Clinic dentist for an appointment. 

Such a rookie move.

Let's all just be real for a minute and admit that seeing the dentist is rarely a fun experience even if she/he is pleasant...amIright?

Now add a very cranky man to the scenario who either didn't like me or didn't like his job, or both. My appointment was at 6:30pm, and by the time I left at 6:49pm he had made me feel appropriately guilty about not having my teeth cleaned in nearly two years (hey man, I'm scared of hospitals and clinics here...back off), "cleaned" my teeth, diagnosed me with four (FOUR!!) cavities, and repaired two of those four.

All in 19 minutes.

It was not pleasant.

And it cost me 34KD ($112.20) after insurance. 

When I went back a week later to have the other two filled, he said "you want anesthesia?"

To which I replied "yes please, lots of it"

He proceeded to fill a giant syringe, shoot it into my gums, and, just like the previous time, went directly to work.

Here's the thing about Novocain; it does not take affect immediately. 

I gripped the arm rests, closed my eyes, and reminded myself I am tough as he drilled into my mouth.

And just like the previous visit, when I'd wince or let out a painful squeak, he'd ask "you feel pain?" and I'd mumble "mmmhhhmmmm" and he'd say "I am sorry" in a way that the preschool teacher in me had to fight from pointing out he didn't sound sorry AT ALL.

By the time he finished, I'd paid my bill and was getting in my car, my mouth finally felt numb.

Three hours later, the right side of my face was still completely without feeling from under my chin to my eyebrow.

Oh, Kuwait...sending us off on such a high note =).

Speaking of working at preschool, we had our end of the year "graduation", and it was sweet to say goodbye to the kids and party with these ladies who have made me feel like a part of their team over this last school year...

I got some beautiful roses, sweet smelling perfumes, and this personalized coffee mug that says "thank you Ms. Kindra From Hla M" that I adore and will absolutely be making the trip back to Oregon with me...

The twins had their "last day" party in their class...

...it was great to be able to pop up and visit them and see everyone having such fun together. 

I know the twins will miss a lot of these kiddos, and I'm grateful for the friends they've made through school here.

Lastly, we've been trying to squeeze in some fun between all the errands and packing...trying to keep a balance so I don't become a giant stressball that everyone hates for the kids...

We're in the final stretch now!