I am practicing my spanish for Barcalona : ) What a party!!!!!!!!!!!! Last night we made dinner for 18 people 30 if you count the kiddos!!! That is a record for me - The food came out better than my last dinner party-thanks to a taco shop in Ein Hod I stumbled across- I picked up some awesome corn tortillas and made enchiladas - in Israel I have to make a lot of my sauces from scratch too-There is definitely not a mexican section at the grocery store...turns out enchilada sauce is very easy to make !

Most of our friends here are on foreign assignment like us but my friend Tali is from Haifa and as we sat on my patio she told me how 36 scud missiles from Saddam Hessian were landing all over the canyon we were looking out on! I explained to her that the American Patriot missiles were intercepting them... She stopped me and laughed assuring me that the Patriot missiles were only adding to the chaos and for one month Haifa was very involved in a war they had nothing to do with (Tali's dad is also a Holocaust Survivor) Conversations with Israelis are always so interesting !!!

I think every one had a good time-Eric and I sure did- enjoying the Pastis a little to much(thanks to Jeremy)Turns out I am french: ) and as a result feeling little hung-over this morning!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully a jump in the Mediterranean sea will help us : )

It's funny - All the papers that come home from school with the boys are in Hebrew-It is very challenging to keep up! We really rely on friends to keep us informed and up to date on after school activities , fieldtrips ect...I don't read the local paper either (I can't- it's in Hebrew ) I never know what going on !!!Luckily we have met some awesome people here

Yesterday after school we were at the beach with friends and they asked if we were doing the Haifa 10 K- We love this stuff and my boys are both good runners. We were able to sign then up last minute . The boy's did the 2.5 kilometer run - it was a lot of fun and a great way for us to get involved with the community here - Caden and Daniel did 1.5 miles in 9 minutes !!! After the event the boys went back to their school on a bus so, Eric and I walked home (only 3 miles) and watched the runners doing the 10 K come in -Cheering a few friends along the way

This says...Haifa Run for Health awearness

This was the fourth out of five holidays in May and by far the craziest ! Lag BaOmer in modern Israel is a school holiday. Youngsters light bonfires organized by their class in open spaces in cities and towns throughout the country. I witnessed complete chaos last night! Picture kid's KIDS making bonfires under loose supervision! I'm talking 5th grade boys throwing everything in the fire making it bigger and bigger! Cadens class tried to burn a couch! In front of my house there must have been at least 25 going .

Eric and just sat in our lawn chairs and watched it all happen.It took everything I had not to yell at the kids-The other parents didn't seem to mind, I would have been the only parent to care that the kids were running around with sticks on fire , dragging wood off the flames and in general just playing dangerously! Trust me... smokey the bear would never approve off this

A couple weeks ago I noticed city workers clearing the brush at the edge of the bluff just for this holiday that marks the temporary victory over the Romans. The holiday became a symbol emphasizing the struggle for national liberation and freedom and let me tell you it is celebrated with wild abandon

My patio at 11pm

Our friends suggested a scenic drive over to Ein Karem . It is a beautiful artist village near their house in Jerusalem. The small quaint streets are lined with cafes and art gallery's ,wine bars and cute shops... While we were walking around I thought to myself hmmm...this place would be perfect for a romantic evening out or maybe breakfast sometime on a gorgeous sunny day (Eric, if you are reading this ...it is a not so subtle hint! ;)

The town is hidden in the hills and surrounded by a forest of olive and cyprus trees with flowers and gardens everywhere! It is also a pilgrimage site for Christians. According to tradition- (bear with me here) This is where Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, miraculously became pregnant and where he was born. We went to the church of the Visitation and the Church that was built over the birth place of John the Baptist, According to the bible during her pregnancy, she was visited by The Virgin Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus.

There was a rock in the church where John the Baptists parents hid him from king Herod. Also some very disturbing paintings showing the slaughtering of babies by King Herod's men. The church, is also known as the Church of the Magnificat (Mary's song in Luke 1:46-55), in commemoration of the answer Mary gave her cousin Elizabeth in the Gospel episode of the Visitation. Her hymn to the glory of the Lord is inscribed in 41 languages on one wall of the church.

Ein Kerem could capture the heart of any visitor !

Shabbat Dinner with friends in Jerusalem

Our friends Ronan and Sara invited us to come down to Jerusalem for the weekend .They also have boys the same age as ours, we all had a great time, Dinner was amazing !!! Sara's Mom is from Morocco and the traditional friday night Israeli meal had many Moroccan offerings.
Before heading over ,we got an early start and decided to explore the ancient city of David. The tour explained how the the city of Jerusalem was created and how King David united the twelve tribes of Israel by building a capital city.

Going back more than 3,000 years outside the Old City we walked through the ruins of King David's Palace and the original Jerusalem . The Gihon Spring is located here and was main source of water for Jerusalem and one of the reasons for choosing this area ,the other reason was the proximity to the first temple

The people who lived here before it was captured by David had a secret tunnel to gather water ( in the Book of Samuel it states that David conquered Jerusalem from its prior inhabitants by sneaking up the water shaft and launching a surprise attack on the city from the inside) We went through the hand hewn tunnel (Warren's Shaft ) as well as another tunnel built years later (Hezekiah's tunnel )where we walked through the water (sometimes waist deep) The 25 minute walk in the spring with flashlights in hand was definitely the most fun we have had at any of the ancient sites we have explored. Our guide read the story from the Old Testament describing the siege to us while we were inside the tunnel. It was very cool !

Haifa is a port city and there are a couple of cruise lines that offer Mediterranean cruises to Italy,Greece, Spain,France and Turkey ...We scored a great last minute deal to Cyprus.

With it's beautiful beaches and many historical and archaeological sites I was really excited : )

Not knowing much about Cyprus ,I turned the weekend cruise into the geography lesson for the boys (in fact, they are now doing a big project on the Mediterranean Sea and the countries that surround it ) Together we learned Cyprus is the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite and was the Apostle Paul’s first destination as a missionary. Cyprus is still a very divided country with a U.N. buffer zone and part of the Island is being occupied by Turkey. We were on the Greek side of the Island.

With limited time and tons to see ,we were looking forward to the 3rd century Roman Mosaics of Paphos , an archaeological Site which has UNESCO status . We had two full days on the island but not realizing May 1st is a holiday in Europe everything was closed : ( As disappointing as this was, settling for A day in Aya Napa was really nothing to complain about ! Nissi Beach in Aya Napa is truly one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen ! Full of young vacationers from the U.K. and Europe, Eric and I knew instantly we had just stumbled upon paradise . We spent the day swimming in turquoise water and the boys went parasailing -So much for learning (except, the lesson that bikini tops are optional in Europe! Hello)

We were able to see some sites in Larnaca where the ship docked. There was a Medieval Castle and a 9th century Christian Church where the tomb of Lazarus was found. The cruise was fun ,we had lots of family time, and played countless hands of Uno! It turned out to be a great value with the food and entertainment (I am not sure that any one needs 4 buffets a day though) I would love to come back to Cyprus by plane

Aya Napa