Chilly Here and There

The last couple of weeks have been more chilly and cloudy than usual. Nov - January is typically the rainy season, but this year we have not gotten much rain, until the past few days. Here are pictures of the cloudy skies this past week. This is a lookout (aka rock throwing hill) right around the corner from where we live. If you look at the specs at the bottom, those are a bunch of sheep with their shepherd. One of the sights I love seeing around here:).

We went to a birthday party last weekend and it was a crazy hair trolls theme. Benjamin got his hair done, but none of the other boys wanted to, only the girls!

 This was a nice clear day that I took the morning off with the boys and we walked to a park close to our house. Caleb has mastered the fire pole.

 And Benjamin can now do it too!

This slide is crazy. You can't tell but it's bumpy,  has low sides, and is super fast.

 We took a day off work while the boys were still on break this week, and went to the Dead Sea for a night. Caleb said he was going to get in the sea with me, but it was too cold and windy, and we both passed!

 Love this picture :)

But it was not too cold for the boys to swim in the pool the first day! Notice, nobody else was in the pool!

 The boys like the hot tub too...though it was not hot enough for Nathan and I to get in!

 The boys took a liking to Leila, the pool cat. There were several stray cats around the pool area, but this was their favorite and she enjoyed the attention.

 At night, we we got ice cream and walked around for a bit.

If you wondered it if rains at the Dead Sea, the answer is yes! That's what we woke up to the next morning. The rain cleared, but it was chilly and windy so no swimming the second day. Despite the weather, we still had a fun time at the sea, and are thankful its so close to where we live.

 Last night we awaited a snowfall...that turned out to be sleet, hail, and mostly rain. It looks like a small amount fell, from what I could see on the trees. So, of course, the grocery store was packed last night and many places are closed today in anticipation of the yucky weather! So, we will enjoy a day inside today and maybe church this evening. Happy Saturday!

Crazy, Spicy, and Forresty

We had a fun long weekend last week. Thursday was the boys last day of school, before starting a 2 week break. The last day was crazy hair day...check out those mohawks!

Over the weekend, we had a spicy party at our house with some co-workers. The men in our office are pretty serious about their spices, Nathan included. Check out the smorgasbord of hot sauces to pick from....tens of millions of scoville heat units on the high counter (away from the kids)...if you like spice, you probably know this means HOT!

One of our friends made a variety of chicken breasts with various spices - ghost pepper, habanero, reaper, and one with everything. 

I made a mild crock pot chili, so people could add their spice of choice to their bowl. I caught three out of the four men sweating from eating so much spice, ha!

We had the day off from work for Martin Luther King Day, and we decided to go hiking at a forest that is about 30 minutes outside of Amman.  The boys loved it and hiked for a few hours without having to carry either one of them! They had so much fun exploring, climbing up rocks, and enjoying the beauty. We will definitely be coming back here a lot over the next few years.

After we explored for a while, we pulled out the camping chairs and had a picnic. Say cheers!

Then we watched a shepherd bring his flock down the hill. We saw him a few times on different hills during the afternoon.

Out for more hiking.

The boys found a wall to mine for gems, and Caleb said he wants to be a miner when he grows up :).

It was a fun day had by all, we will definitely be going back to the forest again!