Yom Kippur #2 9/14/2013

I wont put any info about Yom Kippur since I already have it on last years post. 

However, Yom Kippur is still my favorite holiday here. Yes it is probably because you get to ride a bike on the freeways or that the world is so quiet without any cars driving it just seems so peaceful. No matter the reason, we always have a blast this holiday. 

(Michael got tired so we towed his Bike LOL)

Yom Kippur landed on a Saturday this year and so church was canceled. The Branch President gave permission to have the sacrament passed in our friends home so a couple of families meet there and had a little meeting and then lunch.

It was so hot we about died biking home at 2pm but we still had a great time.

Jonathan's New Look

Jonathan came home from school last week saying that he couldn't see the board at school. I asked if he could ask the teacher to move him to the front of the room, he said that he was already in the front. 
So I printed out a home eye exam test. He could barely see at 15 feet what he should have been able to see at 20 feet. We told him that he needed glasses, Jonathan said "No, I can see fine it's only when the teacher uses red markers that it is hard to see." But, I told him that he probably doesn't realize how much he couldn't see clearly, it probably just seemed normal. 
Chris took him in for an eye exam yesterday and they confirmed that he does indeed need glasses. We picked out his frames and they said the glasses would be ready the next day. We went after school today to pick them up and the Dr. had Jonathan just hold the glasses in his hand while he tested him with a eye chart. When the Dr. asked if he could read one of the lines Jonathan said no that he couldn't tell any of them, he put on his glasses and quickly read off all of the numbers and the ones on the next 2 lines also.
On the walk back home Jonathan kept exclaiming that he couldn't believe how much clearer everything was. He said "I can see everything now! Mom, your face is even clearer now." So glad that we realized early on that he was struggling. 

Chameleon Fun

The other day as I hung up our wash on the line, I saw this little guy. So I ran in and grabbed an ice cream tub and kept him till the kids got home. I always thought that Chameleons were green, but I guess not always. They have the cutest feet ever and he was so much fun to hold and watch. We wanted to keep him but Chris said that he would die so we let him go outside. We had a ton of fun with him for the day though.

Jerash, Jordan 9/8/13

Jerash a Roman city founded by Alexander the Great. They still hold a Jerash festival in the summer where they have festivities including chariot races and gladiator fights. To bad we couldn't have timed it right so that we could have seen the festivities while there. 

However, Jerash's ruins were the most impressive that we have seen yet, they were massive!!

The South Gate.

Two munchkins sitting on a pole. :)

Picture of the South Gate

A picture to show how huge Jerash is.

Another picture to show the enormity of this place.

The Oval Plaza

A picture of the enormous North Theater.

Olivia and Daddy standing in front of the entrance to the North Theater.

Olivia laying in one of the many stone coffins lying about. 

Guess she died happy with that big smile on her face.

Olivia taking a picture of all of us at the South Theater in Jerash. Joanne and her daughter Emma were our friends that took this trip with us to Jordan.

Madaba, Jordan 9/7/13

After Kerak we drove to a city called Madaba known for mosaics. We were tired and ready to check into our hotel. After pulling in we decided to leave everything in the car and check in first then come out to get our bags.  Seconds after shutting the door we realized that Chris had set his car keys down next to the car seat to unbuckle Tristan. My purse was still in the car, where we had stashed it so that I didn't have to carry it around the castle. 

The hotel called a locksmith unfortunately he had already left for the day, and wouldn't be able to help till morning. Chris and one of the Hotel staff got a metal hanger and went to work on the lock, with technique Terry taught him. 

Heavenly Father was watching out for us yet again and within 30 minutes the car was unlocked.

This is the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George that has the famous Madaba Map in the floor. The map was rediscovered in 1884, but it dates back to the 6th century AD. It is one of the oldest depictions of Jerusalem. 

Bummer for us the church was having mass and we couldn't wait the 2 hours till it was over. We had to just look in through the door at the church and take a picture of the map's photo that was located outside. 

If you can read the index;

 1. Jerusalem, 3. Dead Sea, 4. Jordan river. etc.

Kerak, Jordan 9/7/13

In a city called Kerak, we had fun exploring the Kerak Castle. Jonathan was super disappointed that I forgot to bring along a flashlight. The castle had many dark tunnels and rooms to explore especially in the dungeon. It was torture to Jonathan not being able to go in every nook and cranny.

Camel Trek in Wadi Rum Dessert, Jordan 9/7/13

The next morning after we camped in the Wadi Rum we got to take a camel trek back to the village. We thought we were only taking a 1 hour ride through the dessert and it ended up being a 2 hour ride. After about 30 minutes we started to realize that our Gringo Butts were not used to being bounced around for that long. 

Also not having any stirrups to put your legs in made them have to just dangle which didn't help with blood flow.

We were quick to discover that the one leg over technique helps to relieve one side of your rear end.

When the baby fell asleep after about an hour I realized that it was extremely hard to hold on to him and not get bounced off the camel. 

(should have worn the baby pack)

Now that we have done it our consensus is that 30 minutes is about the max that anyone should sit in the saddle of a camel. But, we are so glad that we got to do it!

Wadi Rum, Jordan - Jeep Trek 9/6/13

I love to be in a place where there is a necessity for a sign like this!

And obviously it is needed!

Our first day in the Wadi Rum was awesome. We did a full day Jeep tour and it was a highlight of our trip. We drove through the desert and stopped at different sights and then after the sun went down they drove us to the Bedouin Camp to sleep.

The guides were so wonderful with the kids. They let the kids drive the jeeps and race through the sand.

This stop was interesting because there was a small underground stream that feed the vegetation and gave some green to the dry desert.

Another stop was a hike through a narrow canyon.

When we got to this next stop the guides said this is the second biggest sand dune in the Wadi Rum, Go hike up it!  So our kids took off and started up, then the guide said it is easiest if you go at this other angle it's less steep. 

(Thanks but a little too late)  

Chris volunteered to go after the kids, poor man caught up to them and then had to piggy back Tristan up the hill at an awful incline. In 98 degrees none the less.

Jonathan made it up in less than 5 minutes and then yelled for us to hurry up. By the time that we all made it up he said he was going to run down and then come back up. Which he did as we all tried to catch our breaths.

We all took a second at the top to breath. Chris is smiling in this picture but don't let it fool you. It took him a good hour to stop feeling like he was going to puke. 

The Mushroom Rock

At one of our stops we took a lunch/nap break to pass the heat of the day. 

Tristan perfected his Jordanian Squat while on this trip.

This was my favorite stop, a huge natural arch that you can climb to and stand on. It was extremely scary to climb to, but the guides were awesome and helped the kids the whole way. Chris was nice enough to backpack Tristan up and help drag me to the top.

This was at the top of yet another sand dune, Chris almost revolted when told to climb and check out the view from the top.

But it was worth the climb.

As we watched the sun set our guides made a delicious bread that they cooked in the ashes of the fire. I was very hesitant to eat bread cooked in ash on top of sand but it was very yummy.

This is a picture of our Bedouin Camp. After our long day we slept like babies, and didn't even worry about camel spiders.