NO Sharks in the Med !!!

The Boys are on summer break now : ) They had a great half of school year here ! They had to keep up some of their lessons at home because of the language barrier... they learned many new lessons : ) Most importantly they have made some great friends !!!

We have been really taking advantage of the beach and with this heat(mid 80's extremely high humidity)It's all I want to do!!! I love swimming in the med. NO Man Eating Sharks !!! We are even cooking our dinner on the beach... enjoying the sunsets,walks... and the breezy nights, unlike Phoenix, Haifa cools down at night... Whew

Dinner... Drinks... Friends...
Just a really nice night !!!And exactly what we needed since arriving back in Israel! We have been so tired , Jett lagged and turned around (coming East is proving to be much harder than going West ) After two days of falling asleep at 2 pm I finally had enough energy to leave the house... Our friends Mary and Greg invited us over for a Fathers Day Dinner Celebration :) Note to self... drink more wine next time at Mary's ! We ended up playing Charades (so much fun, who knew) We had a lot of laughs...You really have to get up and act in this game ! We included the kids in the game , usually the are off doing something else but being fathers day we kept with the family theme. The boys are already suggesting a repeat of tonight with their friends in Arizona so I think they had a good time ! I sure did!

Mason is the most turned around...He has been getting up at 4 am all week!

Portland Farmers Market

We are back in the States for Steve and Lynsies Wedding. Well... We didn't quite make it home (Arizona)! But we are in the States for a couple weeks ! I think of Portland as my second home anyway... We are in the country for Eric's brothers wedding in Salt Lake City-Eric is also going to work a little in Oregon (Combining a business trip with pleasure you could say)
Unfortunately, the timing couldn't have been any worse for my husband and it was all work! After hanging out in Portland for almost a week it became clear he would be caught-up the whole time, Plans changed and me and the boys (worthy travel companions ) drove to Salt Lake by ourselves -First stopping at Bridget's a good friend of mine who lives in Boise, ID ( happens to be the half way point to SLC from Portland) We stayed at her house on the way there and on the way back. Bridget's two boys are the same age as mine and when you factor in she lives on a ranch with something like 40 acres , quads and a dad who likes to play with fireworks you can imagine how much fun my boys had !!! We made it in to SLC despite countless thunder storms and down pours along the way : (

Best part of the wedding! Lynsie smashing cake all over Steves face : )

Me and Bridget

Pepperoni Pizza at Bridget's Yummy!!!(we can't get pepperoni in Israel!)

Leslie and Me

This is turning out to be a week for seeing old friends...I also have a friend in SLC , Leslie who I have not seen in years !!! Leslie has daughters, one the same age as Mason and it was so cute seeing the two of them interact, Right after we arrived Leslie's daughter meet the boys , then disappeared returning with a different outfit,bright pink lipstick and a little bow in her hair !TOO CUTE! It was a lot of fun visiting with them

We met up with Eric's entire family for several days ! It was awesome seeing everybody. Steve and Lynsie were married in a National Park in one of the canyons near Park City (the wedding was so beautiful) Turned out to be a great week... despite the crappy weather that never seemed to let up ! Eric ended up flying in the day of the wedding and back to work the very next morning-We have not seen much of him this past two weeks

Eric's three brothers wearing their gifts we brought them from the Middle East (Red is Jordanian and black is palestinian) Alcohol enhanced their appreciation for these

The Best man sent cubans for the bachelor party

Caden on the Zip-Line in Park City

The Family

Eric and the boy's

Eric with his three Nieces Sam , Corey and Paula

These are always a surprise to me . I seem to find out about this stuff at the last minute. Yesterday was a home front drill with air raid sirens sounding over the entire country.Wendi , Elodie and myself were hanging out in Jaffa (an ancient port city near Tel Aviv )We hardly even noticed the security drills ! We did hear the sirens but no one did any thing! Mostly because the drills were for awearness and not in remembrance . Particapation was optional (we keep shopping: ) Still it is always interesting to here the sirens air.

Taking yesterday more seriously... Caden and Mason were in school and spent most of there day going in and out of bombshelters . They also watched a 20-minute film on safety procedures. Reminds me of my elementary school in California, we always had earthquake drills and had to hide under our desks!

A view of Tel Aviv from the Old Port City Jaffa

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

Two more holiday's

Israel's Independence Day- And Memorial Day...

The last couple of weeks everybody has been hanging up flags. Getting ready to celebrate.Today is Israel's Independence Day-Yom Ha'atzmaut . Israeli's have a lot of pride in their country. Eric had the day off today so we meet up with friends and had a BBQ on the beach : ) We spent hours in the calm ,clear blue water. We are all just a little sunburned but it was worth it . It was a great way to spend any day of the week ! I am looking forward to many more days on the beach like today

Ahhhhhh... Life on the Mediterranean

As a bonus the IAF (Israeli Air Force) Had aerial demonstrations , performing celebratory maneuvers in the sky.

Yesterday was a jarring contrast , Memorial Day-Yom haZikaron . One of the most somber days on the Israeli calendar. Nearly every Israeli family has been touched by decades of conflict, either losing a relative or knowing someone else who has had a loved one die in battle.Israel came to a standstill in a solemn two-minute ritual while sirens rang out across the country (third time in a week we have had sirens) This time , I was shopping at the grocery store when the sirens rang, every one stopped what they were doing and stood there in total silence ! The whole nation having this two minutes together to think about what it is they are memorializing !

In the The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is The Lost City of Petra . I am embarrassed to say, I had never even heard of Petra before moving to this part of the world! Of course, I had heard of Jordan.

Petra is a place of endless wonder.Massive stone carvings jut out of the cliffs. The ancient Nabateans actually carved their buildings (over 2,000 Years ago) into the solid rock, with facades based on Greek architecture. We spent the day hiking and exploring the rich archaeological remains

The Siq

The Siq (canyon in Arabic) twists and turns, until abruptly, through a cleft in the rock, the first glimpse of the city of Petra can be seen

The Treasury

After hours of exploring , we made our journey back, knowing that we had just covered only a fraction of what Jordan has to offer….