Ivana, Petar and Mika Arrive

Anita's Sister and her family came a week ago. We took them up to Jerusalem and figured out the last few Stations of the Cross by hanging close to a tour group. This photo is what is thought to be Jesus' tomb.

I also took Mika Surfing on an ideal learning day. We got him up on the long board a couple of times.

For the weekend we drove to Jordan to see Petra. Its 150km as the crow flies but I think it is 800km of driving or more because you have to run south to the Red Sea to cross the border then back north. Petra was amazing and I took the film camera but forgot the digital camera in the car at the border. We are still waiting to get the pictures developed so these pics are from Mika's camera. It was an amazing site but very hot (over 95F by noon) and lots of hiking. Not so easy with the kids. The second morning Anita and I went and left the kids with Ivana and Mika (thanks a bunch). It was some very rare alone time for us and we used it to cover a lot of ground in Petra for 4 hours. We went at 6am and we were the only ones in Petra for hours. It was great!

On the way home we stopped in the Dead Sea. Only Mika and I floated. It was hotter than any bath I would have considered taking. It takes no effort to float. The water feels more like mineral oil than water.

"Just look at how super cute I am!" says Everett. He is quite the walker and carriers around everthing he can. Hanna wants to ride the scooter (Hebrew translation - coconut) by herself. Ella has taken an interest in her bike. Hopefully the training wheels come back off soon. Everett also wants to skip walking and go to bike riding.

We checked out Stalactite Cave up by Jerusalem. It was very cool, one large room. Found when a stone quarry blast exposed a hole in the wall. Being in the cave kind of freaked out Ella some.

We had a week of ups and downs. For the ups we have grass in the yard! We also got window screens for the house. Anita's sister Ivana with her man Mika and little man Petar arrive on Sunday morning 12:30am. On the downs I did an 85km Mt Bike race with 7 starters in the Elite group and finished first in the 30+ age group after 3 flats (I was 4th). My bane was my desire for a light bike and removing my slimed tubes and then punished by a long lost relative to the goathead. For the 3rd flat I had to ride a couple of km back to the car past the start finish line to get a new wheel and because of the lanaguage difference didn't know I was DQed for this. I really didn't need the suffering of the last lap and it was pointless in the end. To be DQed from a race is also a first for me, like taking a Road bike to an Mt Bike race the weekend before. I also got a speeding and parking ticket on different days. I'll get this Israel thing figured out before we go home.

Pool is Open! Yeah!

We got the pool operational and girls are swimming twice a day. Ella is full on swimming back and forth arcoss the pool, she jumped in and took off. Would have never known it had been months since she last swam. Makes up for the heart break her daddy feels over her complete rejection of her bicycle.

We still have a dirt yard but are hopefull of landscaping.


Everett is full on walking where ever he wants to go. Now he wants to climb everything he can. He also got his second hair cut ever. He bolts for any door that is open as fast as he can. He wants to be out in the dirt.

Here is another great daddy story. I signed up for a bike race Saturday. Hoped in the car after oversleeping. Rush 1.5hr drive south and come around the corner to the start line and see all these Mt bikes. I took my road bike to a Mt Bike race. I had a non racer help me with entry translation and didn't catch it. I also foolishly assumed that the calander link from the road bike race site was for road races only. What can you do but laugh, I would have never though I would ever do anything so idiotic.


2 weekends ago it was lag-bom. The holiday where kids are encouraged to pillage wood from everywhere they can get it and then have big all night bomb fires. They put them where ever they can, many of them packed in one right after the next on the road sholders and every other random place.

We also drove up to Jerusalem and saw the tomb of Mary Magdalene. It is down a long set of steps underground and inside the room (cave) there is a small old brick wall with doors Ella's size you go through to see her tomb. In the same location is the oil press (Olive Grove) where Jesus used to meet with his deciples. In this place is a church built on the site where Jesus was betrayed by Judas.