Hello friends - after all our recent travels, January has been a month to relax at home and catch our breath a little. This is the coolest time of year in Bangladesh, so it's actually quite pleasant to sit or stroll outside, and at night it can get downright chilly. Of course now that January is drawing to a close, the refreshing coolness is leaving us behind and the usual heat is starting to build up again - slowly at first, but the pace will accelerate as we sail through February.

The kids are settling into their routines again. Tasman is still loving his Pre-K class, goes on playdates with friends, enjoys showing us his favorite dances and songs, and is an all-around entertainment factory. He'll be turning four very soon, so check back for pictures from the party with our next update. Atlas is our little dynamo, and can most often be seen digging out his hat, slapping it on his head, and banging on the front door to be let out to play.

Adham's work at the Embassy has been particularly interesting lately: last week he got to accompany a visiting VIP from Washington on her visit to the leader of the opposition and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Crystal has her usual duties around the house and with the kids, and most recently has been doing research on our options for where to go after Bangladesh.

That's right, even though we're not quite at the halfway point in our Bangladesh stay, it's time for us to start the bidding process. The State Department has already published the master list of available jobs, so we're debating the relative merits of where to spend our next two-year tour. We don't want to jinx anything, so we won't go public yet with our top picks from the list. Stay tuned though - a month from now we should know a lot more.