New friends & a trip to tim tam

Last post I talked about Sukkot, but what I didn't know at the time is that Sukkot lasts for a week. This past Wednesday was the last day of Sukkot and we got invited to our very first dinner in a sukkah.

Yuval and Zim are a really nice Jewish couple we've gotten to know through our friends Brian and Anastacia. Yuval does p.r for hapoel (Luke's team) We been invited to their home a couple times and really enjoyed ourselves. They are so warm and welcoming.

*Notice Cole, sneaky sneaky

The dynamics in that family are hillarious. Zim (the mom) is warm, friendly and a great cook. She's American but moved to Israel as a teenager. Yuval (the dad) is outgoing and goofy. He always talks to Cole with a Donald duck voice. They also have 3 sons and a big extended family who are just as entertaining.

I'm thankful we have people who've taken us in, while we are so far away from our own families.

Yuval told us about an indoor play place in Jerusalem for kids. We went to one in Tel Aviv and Cole had a blast, but we didn't know they had one here in Jerusalem. Yesterday we ventured out with our new navagation system to find this place. The navagation system was the best idea ever. We can now explore the city without the risk of ending up in the gaza strip. The drive was supposed to be an 20 minutes, but we left at rush hour, so it ended up taking us an hour. Driving in Israel is like nothing I've ever experienced before. These people are aggressive on the road. Luke loves this, I hate it.

The crazy long drive was worth it because Cole was lovin' life at this place. We were sitting there watching him play. He had a huge smile on his face, and was squealing with delight. In those kind of moments you realize you will do just about anything to make your child happy. You want candy for dinner? Ok! You want to stay up in till midnight? Sure! His smile melts me. I am in some serious trouble.

The play place is called Tim Tam. It was filled with crazy kids and it smelled like a mix between dirty socks and wet diapers.

There is nothing more attractive (to me) than my man with my baby. Plus, he got a haircut and was looking good... don't you think? If there wasn't so many kids in that place I would of rolled around with him in the ball pit!

After Tim Tam we stopped at a toy store and bought Cole a new toy. Actually, that’s not true. After Tim Tam we immediately headed for the nearest anti-bacterial soap dispenser and scrubbed our child from head to toe,.... and then we got him a new toy. What a good day for our bubba boy!

He must of wore himself out because he slept for a whole 10 hours last night. If he will sleep that long, I will take him to that sweaty, smelly place every single day. I haven't slept 10 hours straight since before I was pregnant. For those of you who have never slept 10 hours straight, let me tell you.... it's glorious.

sukkot

Luke got yesterday off for Sukkot, which is another Jewish holiday.  For Sukkot, they build Sukkah's, which is a man-made tent of sorts. The walls can be made out of anything but the roof must be made of organic material like branches and palm leaves. They gather in the Sukkah's to pray and also to eat a large meal. The purpose of building a Sukkot, is to experience how people lived back in the day. From what I understand, the meal is somewhat like a Thanksgiving, with the purpose being to refect on the many blessings of the year. It must not be completly mandatory to actually build a Sukkah, because we went to the park today and we saw people eating their meal in camping tents:)

I found a little written about Sukkah's, (or booths) described in Nehemiah chapter 8.

Luke had a tournament this week. He got MVP of this first game. I was reluctant to take Cole, but I really wanted to go, so I gave it a shot,. I’m glad I did because Luke played great and it was so fun to watch. Cole actually did way better than I expected. The arena is loud, really loud. There are fans banging on drums the whole entire game. It’s a really intense atmosphere.

We got to sit right behind the teams bench. Cole got really excited when he would catch a glimpse of Luke. He would wave to him and squeal, it was really funny. Every time Luke made a shot the cameras would film Cole and I, we got to watch it the next day which was fun. He looked very confused seeing us on TV. Cole loved watching the cheerleaders dance, and they also loved Cole! The cheerleaders are hilarious/ridiculous. They always dance with props. (drumsticks, and hula hoops etc)  Their outfits, dances, are so bizare that they deserve there own blog post. I will get some pictures of them next game. 

We are off to the grocery store. The stores have been closed for 2 days for the holiday and will close again tonight at 4 for Shabbat, (or Sabbath, Saturday) We have been surviving on pita bread and cheese.

If you want to feel closer to us here in Israel, get some middle eastern flatbread and hummus. (Trader joes has both) Its a staple here. 

I'm pretty sure I've ate my weight in hummus already...

Yom Kippur

Hello friends. Thanks for keeping up with us here in Israel. Luke and I decided it was for the best that the blog went private so we could  freely speak our minds about our experiences here. When we were in Italy,  we had a some Italian fans find the blog. They left some mean comments because they felt as though I insulted their country with a few things I said. I just want be honest and tell it like it is over here, without the fear of being stoned by Israelis.

Speaking of being stoned...starting tonight it is Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of the year for Jewish people. (it actually lasts 26 hours) The day is for fasting and prayer. Nothing is open..nothing. They don't use their cell phones, watch television, or do anything that requires electricity. You are also not allowed to drive. There are lots of people out and about walking everywhere. Supposedly if you are caught driving, people will stone your car. I think we will be staying in tonight!

The team put us up in a decent apartment. The location couldn't be better.  It is across the street from a large park,  a two minute walk to Luke's gym, and a 3 minute drive to a large mall. The mall has an H&M, Zara, Nike Store, Toys R US, Office Depot, a mcdonalds and Sbarro pizza.  When you're walking through the mall, you almost forget you are in the holy land.  It feels modern and normal. I'm quickly learning there are many shades of Israel.

Our apartment is in West Jerusalem, which is a 15 minute drive from the Old City. We are in desperate need of Garmin. We've gotten lost countless times. Thank goodness we've found our way back before we ended up in the Gaza Strip. 

So here is the outside our home for the next 9 months.

Our place is considered  large compared to most  apartments in Jerusalem. We have 4 very small bedrooms, and a sunroom we turned into  Cole's playroom  It's no castle on Mt. Baldy, but at the end of the day, I'd be happy living in a cardboard box as long as my boys were there with me.

The decor is....not my syle.   Check out the painting above our bed in the master bedroom. 

We live on the 2nd floor, but often take the elevator because Cole loves pushing the buttons. He knows which one to push and gets a huge smile on his face when the button lights up. It doesn't take much to keep this kid happy.

Some of Cole's current favorite things are  remote controls, cell phones, playing with daddy's shoes, empty paper towel rolls, and my new rolling pin. He also loves to climb into this little cubby in our kitchen.

He loves to take anything out of its package. He loves to swim in a sea of diapers. 

I guess I should also mention that as of Monday he is WALKING.  He has also slept through the night the last two nights in a row.  Fingers crossed that one continues...

Luke is doing really well. Its the end of his "work week" and he is feeling very exhausted.  He has declared Yom Kippur his new favorite holiday because he was in desperate need of these two days off.   He had a practice game this week and was the leading scorer with 20 points.

Ladies & gentlemen...the guys still got it.

Today I ran out of coffee and really wished I could hop in the car in my pajamas, throw some sunglasses on and go get some drive-thru. Israelis copy a lot of American things, but they haven't quite figured out how glorious drive-thru coffee is.  Does anyone have an insider connection with Starbucks? Can someone tell them there's a housewife who desperately needs one in Jerusalem?

our new normal

Well, we've been in Jerusalem for a little over two weeks now. I am just starting to feel like I'm finally recovered from jet lag and fully adjusted to the time zone change. Its amazing how long it really takes to get back to "normal".

It's still crazy we live in Jerusalem. Believe me, I never thought I'd say that.  I knew that Luke's basketball career would take us places....just never imagined it would be here. It is really amazing living in a city that means so much to my religion. It's surreal visiting places I've only read about in the Bible.

Garden of Gethsemane

 
 I know that life here will not always be easy. Living thousands of miles away from everyone you love is never easy.  But life is an adventure, especially our lives. We are going to do our best to soak up the experience and make the most of our time here in the Holy Land.

In other news...Cole is the proud owner of 4 new top teeth! He now has 6 teeth! With each tooth he gets he looks less like a baby, and more like a little boy.

He had a rough couple weeks because all 4 of those top teeth came in at once!! Now that they are in, he is back to his normal happy self. I think he likes it here in Israel. He is taking a couple steps by himself, but hasn't quite mastered walking yet. He loves to dance and he smiles all day long. He is looking more and more like Luke everyday. I still think he looks a lot like my older brother Adam too. He pretty much looks like Luke & Adam's love child.

We are so happy that we have a park across the street from where we live. Cole loves to go and watch the big kids play. You can tell he wishes he could run and jump like they can. Luke had the day off so we spent an hour playing in the sunshine. People were out BBQ'n and it was a gorgeous day. I could definitely get used to the weather here.

For a native English speaker as myself, Hebrew has got to be one of  the hardest languages. But Luckily, here in Jerusalem, they provide you with pictures too.  Clearly this sign is saying that dogs are welcome to poop in the park. right?

And now its naptime for all 3 of us.

a year in pictures

Cole's birthday is next Saturday. but I wanted to make a tribute to him before we left to Israel ....TOMORROW!!

Dancing machine

Israel part 1

Random fact about me: I love fortune cookies. No matter how stuffed I am from fried rice, I always make room for one at the end of a chinese meal. Today was no exception and my fortune cookie read, "you will find your horizons suddenly broadend"

I though to myself, "fortune cookie, you have no idea."

Last week Luke signed a 2 year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem. Am I nervous? Yes. Am I excited? YES.

BUT more than anything I am SO happy and proud of my husband for overcoming his hamstring injury. He is the most strong willed, hard working person I've ever met. An average man would of given up. But not Luke. When he wants something he goes for it and he always makes it happen.

In my wedding vows I said I would follow him anywhere. Those vows held true, first to Italy and now to Israel.

Our new adventure starts in September. Stay tuned,,, more info to come!

Until then I'll leave you with this cute video of Cole "throwing" a ball.

And oh yes, he's coming too!