Spring Break, Beit Sitti, Jerash, and Early 40th

Part of my mom's visit was over the boys' spring break. They Ubered all over Amman, visited the Children's Museum, Royal Tank Museum, they went to the movies twice, and to an indoor play area. The boys and my mom had a great time, and Nathan and I were thankful for the time they got to spend together, and for her helping us during the school break! I don't have pictures of their week of fun, but lots of fun was had!

Over another weekend, a few ladies from work, my mom, and I took a cooking class at Beit Sitti, which means 'My Grandma's House.' We learned how to cook Jordanian specialties: maqloubeh, mtubbal, salad, and pita bread. It was a lot of fun to learn how to cook each dish with everyone, and so delicious eating the end result! They gave us lemon with mint when we arrived.

They prepped some of the food because it would have taken too long, but we cooked most of it! For the maqloubeh, which means 'upside down' in Arabic, you line the pot with cauliflower, potatoes, add the rice with an special spice mixture, add the chicken and broth, put the lid on and cook for 20-30 mins.

Then...dump it upside down! Mom was the lucky volunteer to do the flipping :).

All the cooks...the ladies :).

Up close of our masterpieces. The mttubal is mushed/chopped eggplant that is made by charring an eggplant over an open fire, peeling the outer layer of the charred skin, then slamming it with a knife on a cutting board until it has the mushy consistency. It was smokey and so good. The salad was chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, onions, with a delicious molasses dressing. The pita bread was so easy, flour, water, and sugar...high temp oven for a few minutes, then it's fluffy and done. I had 3 servings of food! They are supposed to email us the recipes, but we are still waiting :(. 

Another weekend, my mom, the kids, and I ventured to Jerash. We explored the  famous Oval Plaza, Roman Amphitheater, and Temple of Zeus. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being outside and seeing all the greenery and flowers blooming!

As many know, my mom and I share a birthday, and this year was my 40th, so mom wanted to celebrate early since she was leaving a couple of weeks before our birthday. She got a nice cake and firework candles (not shown), and my dad skyped in to sing us happy birthday! Happy early 112th birthday to us:).

It was fun having my mom here for the month, exploring new parts of Jordan, and we are very thankful for the time she got to spend with the kids and how much she helped us with them during a busy time. We love you mom, and look forward to our next visit.

Eliza Rose: Seven Months Old

Happy 7 months Eliza Rose! This has been a fun month watching Eliza learn how to do new things. She sits up well on her own, has enjoyed trying new foods, and she cut two bottom teeth.

Eliza's next doctor appointment is at 9 months, but we think she weighs around 20lbs. She wears 9 month clothes and is in size 3 diapers. Eliza eats 5/6 times a day, and like a variety of fruits, veggies, meats, oatmeal, and rice cereals.

Her sleeping has improved and she usually wakes once a night with the occasional sleep through...we are getting there! She takes one solid nap a day, and sometimes that's it. There's just too much going on for her to miss out on. 

Eliza loves watching everything her big brothers do, and they are so sweet with her! It won't be long before she is following them around and getting in the mix. Caleb wanted to take this picture to show he is 7 years old and Eliza is 7 months old :).

Happy 7 months Eliza, we love you! 

Long weekend in Aqaba

We took a couple of days off of work and headed south to Aqaba! The weather was warm, the water was cool, and we all enjoyed being by the pools and beach for a few days.  

Beautiful sunset on our first evening.

The boys shared a room with my mom, and they enjoyed morning walks before breakfast. 

The boys enjoyed the waterslide, which was good because it closed down for the rest of the trip. That pool was one of the not heated pools, and only Nathan and the boys swam in that one!.

Eliza was a little skeptical about the water the first day, but she had fun splashing around...to her defense, it was chilly, and this was the heated pool.

All smiles at the beach! Can you see her two bottom teeth popping up?

Meanwhile....

Eliza enjoyed the pool a lot the following day!

The hotel grounds were beautiful and they had a couple of restaurants near the pool. This was our favorite because the boys could hop in and swim while we waited for food to arrive.

View of the beach and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt across the way.

View from the pier of our beach and hotel.

The water was so clear, but really chilly!

Benjamin was surprised to run into a good friend from class named Bunny. She is a sweet British girl that recently moved here a few months ago. So, for the rest of the trip, where Benjamin was, so was Bunny :).

Caleb pretending to 'adult.' 

Enjoying one last day at the beach. Each day the weather got warmer!

Caleb and Benjamin practicing writing their Arabic numbers in the sand, 0-20!

We had great sunsets at night.

We were glad to have the fun weekend away together, and to show my mom another part of Jordan!