Aquariums and Forrests

The boys love daddy time and a couple of weeks ago Nathan took the day off  and they went to the aquarium.

After the aquarium, he took the boys to Calebs favorite bookstore, Arkadaş, which means friend in Turkish. Everyone had a good time and reported a fun day.

Another thing we have been enjoying on weekend afternoons is walking through one of the nearby forests where Nathan runs.

Lots of space for the kids to run and play, and have pinecone fights!

We are thankful  for these nice places to easily explore near our home.

First Day of In-Person School!

On October 12th, the boys started in-person school every other day! They had home school for the first seven weeks, and the government of Turkey has been very slowly brining students back for in-person instruction. The school is split into a green and gold group, so half of the students go three days one week and the other half go two days, and then they swap the following week. This is definitely not what we planned for when we arrived, but we are thankful that they are able to go back in some capacity to meet some friends and get to know their teachers in person, and regain some sort of normalcy.

Caleb is in the 3rd grade in Miss Page’s class. 

Benjamin is in the 2nd grade in Miss Wakefield’s class.

Before getting on the bus in the morning, the boys enjoy feeding the kittens by our building.

They reported a great first, day and were very excited for the next day that they will attend! On homeschool days, we feed the cats on the way to Starbucks.

At Starbucks, there are a couple of stray dogs that they have befriended, and they enjoy puppy breaks in between doing work.

The boys focus well at there, and think it is fun to do school outside of the house, so as long as they remain focused, we will continue going. 

I am also going to school! On the days the boys are in school, I attend Turkish classes and am really enjoying the learning. The language is challenging, but I have a great instructor and am excited to learn more as time goes on.

We are happy for this positive change of in-person schooling, and look forward to the boys being able to attend more often sometime soon.

 

Altin Park

Last weekend we explored another park in Ankara. There are many large parks spread throughout the city, and they have walking trails, play areas, restaurants, and various activities. We are thankful that even during a pandemic, we can enjoy so many things around here. The first area we stopped at was the Smurf village. The boys didn’t remember watching the Smurf’s, so we may have to re-introduce them to this childhood classic.

The color of the changing leaves is beautiful!

We stopped to play at a playground.

Then we rented paddle boats and rode around the lake.

The last stop in the park was a giant trampoline. Eliza really wanted to jump too, but it was for 4 years and older, and she was pretty upset to not join her brothers. But it was starting to get chilly and the sun was going to set soon, so we hopped in a cab and headed home. It was a fun afternoon exploring a new park.

 

Eight is great!

Happy 8th birthday to Benjamin! Benjamin is a child with many special gifts. He is equally left and right-brained, loving math, learning about how things work, art, music, creating and building things that come to his mind, sports, and money. Benjamin is self-sufficient and often quietly takes care of what he needs. He is free-spirited, compassionate, and an animal lover. He is a great younger and older brother and can easily adapt to either role. Benjamin and Caleb are good friends, and they love spending time together, playing, watching movies, and being silly. He is also very attentive to Eliza and her needs, and enjoys playing with and helping her do things.  

We celebrated Benjamin’s birthday two days later. We planned on celebrating on Friday, but in true Benjamin style he wanted to save his cake and gifts one more day so he could play with them on Saturday day, so that is what we did. This year he wanted a Super Mario Brother’s cake, and we have a nice cake shop close to the house that will make any cake that you show them a picture of. It’s quite impressive!

Happy birthday to Benjamin! Eliza was not a fan of the sparking candle.

Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too? It’s your birthday!

After cake, Benjamin opened gifts. He received a marble run and Starry Night painting from us and legos and a remote control car from his brother and sister.

He also received online art lessons and a kids digital camera from family. Lots of nice gifts that are perfect for his interests.

Working as a team to build the lego set later in the day.

It was a fun day celebrating Benjamin. We are thankful for the sweet boy he is and for what God’s plan is for his future. Happy 8th birthday. We love you, Benjamin!

A trip to Altınköy

On our anniversary day, we took a 30 minute cab ride to a place called Altınköy, which means Golden Village. It is an open air museum that has examples of traditional Anatolian houses, crafts, exhibits, and farm animals. The government built the park so the Turkish youth would have examples of what the architecture, traditions, and culture used to be like in Turkey in the 1930’s-1950’s. 

The taxi dropped us off at the back entrance of the park. It was much bigger than we expected, and we enjoyed lots of walking in the beautiful weather.

After about a mile there was a steep downhill and the start of a stream, which we walked alongside for a while.

We stopped at a playground and the kids enjoyed a little play break, then we continued on.

There were multiple paddle wheels in the stream being pushed by a terraced water system

We saw a suspension bridge, but could not figure out how to access it.

We finally got to the main square and village. There were examples of an old mosque, school, printing press, coffee and tea shops, and grocery stores. 

We ate a traditional flatbread pastry called gözleme, and ordered a variety of different types filled with cheese, potatoes, eggplant, and spinach. They served it with Turkish tea and it was a hit with everyone.

We also saw several brides and grooms taking wedding photos in the park. Can you spot the bride’s dress?

This part of the park had a large playground and a really fun swing that multiple kids could ride together and swing back and forth like a pendulum.

Of course Eliza wanted to get in on the fun too. 

Afterwards, Nathan and I got Turkish coffee and the kids ate ice cream. This sign says village coffee.

It was fun way to spend our anniversary with everyone and to explore a new part of the city.

 

11 Years!

This year we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary! Nathan is a faithful, loving, and dedicated husband, and he is an engaged and devoted father.  Over the past 11 years, we have lived in the United States, Kuwait, Jordan, and now Turkey. We have 3 beautiful children, and we have explored many different places around the world. We have encountered and overcome challenges, helped each other and endured through stressful situations, and supported each other to accomplish many goals. I couldn’t think of a better person that God chose for me, and I thank him every day for this man.

Nathan and I went on a date the night before our anniversary to a steak restaurant. We do not get out on dates very often, so it was nice to celebrate our anniversary out. The restaurant had a nice view and the sky was beautiful at sunset.

Happy 11 year anniversary! I love you very much and am excited about what adventures the future has in store for us and our family.