Summer is near!

Spring is coming to a close and summer is near! October was a good month. Paul returned from offshore and we were so happy to have him home. All three of the kids wouldn't stay off of Paul his first day back. Grace gets a little jealous and was pushing David and Emily off of him. She is a rascal! :)

Victor flew in from Malaysia the weekend after Paul returned and it was so great! Paul had no idea he was coming so when he walked into the kitchen Friday morning, he was quite surprised. Paul and Vic went to rent some boogie boards and so we all went to the beach the first day. The water is still quite cold so it was so funny to watch them squeal and take the plunge. They got the hang of it and finally caught some waves. Of course David had no problems swimming. Kids are immune to cold water apparently. For Paul's b-day I got him SUP lessons. Paul had really been wanting to try SUP (Stand Up Paddle boarding), so he, Victor, Tim, and Lauren went out and took lessons in the Swan River. They really liked it and fell in the first few times but got the hang of it. There are conflicting stories of who fell in the most and least. It is a great workout apparently and they even have fitness classes on the boards. I am going to try it out very soon. Paul and Vic rented some boards on Sunday and took them out in the surf to try and catch some waves. We went to a protected area by a groin so the waves weren't too large but unfortunately the waves were a little too small but they had fun anyway. It is hilarious to watch them from a distance fall off the board when they lose their balance.
We also had friends over for dinner and cake to celebrate Paul's birthday. It was nice. I made pulled pork sandwiches. We hadn't had bbq in a long time. We miss Texas BBQ for sure. It was a great weekend and Paul really had a nice time. Thanks Vic for everything!!!
We just had an Australian Halloween and it was a little strange. They don't really do trick or treating here. Some people do it and some don't. Paul and I were on a mission to let the kids trick or treat and so Paul took the kids out anyway and went to a few houses. I think they got 3 pieces of candy in total. They trick or treat early as well! Before sunset. Anyway, the kids still had fun I suppose. David was the only one who knew the difference. At least we tried right? I told Paul that even if he is offshore for Thanksgiving, I am still making a dinner somehow. I don't want to lose any traditions being over here!
Then, just recently our friend Rudy who is temporarily in Malaysia as well flew over to see us. He actually lives right down from the street from us in Houston, so it is so bizarre for us to meet up in another country when usually he walks to our house. Welcome to the engineering world! It was a really nice visit and he was very happy to come to cooler temperatures and to eat some pork! ha ha. Thanks Rudy...
Paul is in London right now finishing up his Global Explorers program. He started it a year ago and this was the last trip. London is where the cooperate headquarters are so they met with all of the big wigs in the company. If you don't already know, Global Explorers is a program that Acergy created in order to seek out potential candidates that will be a future asset to the company. There are many cooperate positions that will come available as people will be retiring so they are beginning to look and see who might fit to fill those positions. About 2 people per region were chosen to be a part of this program and Paul was one from the Houston region. I am very proud of him and it is a great honor. So he has travelled to Scotland, Sweden, and now London. All 3 trips have been a lot of fun for him but also taught him a lot about himself and his work. It has been a good experience for him. His last day in London is today so he will be home tomorrow. Talk about a long trip for 4 days!! The last part of the program is to make a poster of yourself and tell the cooperates about yourself, your potentials, your successes, your future goals, etc. I am very curious to see how it went!! I am sure he did great. I am just so proud of him.
As of right now Paul has been offered to take a position in Perth on the next project which would last 2-3 years. He also has been approached to take a job in KL, Malaysia or Singapore. It has been a little overwhelming as these are amazing opportunities for his career but at the same time we have reasons to come home to Houston. We have to sacrifice with either decision we make. Paul's bosses and colleagues from the company strongly emphasize to never say "no" to opportunities like this and that he is crazy to go back to Houston as the industry is really booming on this side of the world. There isn't a lot going on in the Houston office, but that is enticing to Paul b/c he would be able to have some down time and reflect on where he wants to go with his career. It is a very difficult decision and we have to discuss it more. I am open to all of the options. For me, it has been an amazing experience to live overseas but I do miss home and family. It feels like Catch 22! I just keep praying about it and hopefully God will steer us in the right direction. We will keep you posted!!
The great news is that summer is near and in 2 weeks my mom is coming to visit and then Paul's parents come for Christmas. WE CAN"T WAIT! it is going to be so nice to have family here to share all of this with. I really look forward to it.
I posted pictures on picassa from October. Hope you are all doing well! We send our love from aussie land.

Laura