Headed to America!

 It has been almost 2 years since we have been to the US, and we were given permission to go back for an extended visit in mid March. We were supposed to be in the US for a couple of months this summer between Jordan and Turkey, however between being asked to remain in Jordan for an additional 4 months, the Jordanian airport closing for many months, and the uncertainty of being in transition during this time, we went directly from Jordan to Turkey. It was a happy day to be able to come to the US again to see family. It was a snowy morning when we left Ankara and headed to Istanbul for our flight that afternoon.

Ready to travel!

Despite the strict mask wearing in the airport and on flights, things seemed much more normal than when we traveled in the midst of the pandemic in August.

We had smooth travels and spent the night in Atlanta. The next morning, we drove a few hours to Chattanooga, and spent a couple of nights there before heading to IL. We arrived mid-day and explored down by the river. It was a very walkable city with lots of old bridges crossing the Tennessee River and plenty of parks. Despite the grey and cloudy skies, the temperature was pleasant and much warmer than we have had the past few months.

As expected, we all woke up pretty early the next morning due to the time change, so we just got out early to play and found a breakfast place that opened early.

Next we went to the zoo, and ran into the Oscar Mayer wienermobile at the entrance.

The zoo was pretty empty, maybe because it was a weekday and most kids were at school.

The kids enjoyed the animal exhibits and lots of places to climb and play.

Peacocks roamed free there. 

They even had a pettting zoo.

After the zoo, we went to the Chattanooga Choo Choo, which is former rail road track transformed into a park and a hotel. I don’t have any pictures, but we played in the park and saw a few train cars, then headed downtown to explore some more.

We found another park with animal sculptures and played there for a while. After a 10+ hour day, everyone was tired and we all fell asleep by 6pm.

It was a fun couple of days to explore a new place....next stop, southern IL!

Out and about

We took advantage of our freedom to roam, and we explored a bit this past week. One day after school, the kids and I went to the forest across the street. It is very large with many trails, and a great place to get some energy out. 

Getting ice cream is always a treat, but this is the first time in almost 4 months that we could sit at a table and eat it there. 

One morning Nathan and I had routine blood tests that we had to fast for, and afterwards we went out for Turkish breakfast at a nearby cafe. It was delicious!

Another day the kids had a holiday from school, so we went to the aquarium. The boys went with Nathan once before, but this was Eliza and my first time and we all enjoyed it.

Another afternoon I went to a new cafe that recently opened behind our house to study Turkish. I have enjoyed taking classes since we got here, and it was nice having a change of scenery to sit, and a delicious latte to go with it.

This girl...she slept with braids in her hair and it was wild 80’s style in the morning. Pure cuteness.

Finally, we all went back to that new cafe one evening for an early dinner, after playing in the park. I guess eating out is what we missed, because we did more of it this week than we have in a long time, haha!

And now, Ankara has apparently dropped back into the high risk category, so it looks like we will be transitioning to a free day on Saturday but lockdown Sundays for the foreseeable future. But it won’t affect us because mid next week we will be heading to the US for several weeks, and look forward to seeing our families, after not seeing them for almost 2 years, and exploring the US as a family!
 

Back to School!

The day has finally arrived where the kids can go back to school! Last week they started twice a week, and  they were excited to go back. We had a mild scare this weekend where the government announced all schools to be closed this past Monday, and would decide that night if schools could re-open (Turkish schools were to start on 1 March, but theirs started one week earlier). Based on the news we were seeing, and Turkey being very conservative with COVID, we were not optimistic. But to our pleasant surprise, they re-opened, which is the right thing to do, kids need to be in school! The past year, the kids have only been in school in-person for 1 month, so we are excited they have an opportunity to go back, even if only a couple days a week.

In other exciting news, the other restrictions are finally being partially lifted! The government made a color-coded system assessing risk levels, and Ankara falls into a category where places can begin to re-open. Since November, we have been on weekend lockdowns where can could not go outside of our neighborhood (though admittedly our neighborhood is large and has plenty of space to play and us to be outside), kids curfews where they could only be outside the neighborhood between 1-4, and restaurants and all stores were closed on the weekends. We are most excited about school re-opening, no weekend curfews, and kids being able to go out and about when we want. We don’t get out much, but when we do want to, it is nice to know that we now can. Happy Tuesday!

 

 

More snow fun!

Last week we got a couple more days of snow. It ended up being about 6-8 inches in total, and the kids had lots of fun playing in it!

Another day the boys found a big mound of snow, and they worked hard to dig a tunnel to reach each other. 

The boys like playing at a place they call the hills. Especially when there is fresh snow to jump and slide in.

After a few days, they still managed to find some fresh snow to slug through.

And they had fun going very fast on the slide because of the snow and ice.

I think this may have been our last snow for the winter, but we will see what happens in the coming month. We definitely have enjoyed this winter season!

 

Be Mine

Happy Valentine’s Day! I like to think everyday is Valentine’s Day, but we do enjoy celebrating the day. Every year, Nathan brings me flowers. Since we are still under weekend lockdowns, he brought them home on Friday after work:). 

On Valentine’s morning, we had cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast, which is definitely one of the kids’ favorite weekend treats.

During the day, we played inside, Nathan and I exercised outside, and in the afternoon Nathan took the kids out to play. Eliza dressed herself, she loves stripes, and pink, haha! And Nathan miraculously got her to wear this adorable vest she got for Christmas and refuses to wear for me. Daddy definitely has the magic touch with Eliza and her clothes.

We ordered from our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner - Quick China...it’s sooo good!

On Monday, Nathan had the day off for President’s Day. Nathan took a walk through the snow in the morning, then he did school with the boys while I took Turkish class. In the afternoon, Nathan and I went for walk in the forest together. It snowed all day and was so pretty. Afterwards we got coffee and walked some more (because we can’t sit down anywhere to drink it because restaurants and cafes are still closed for dine-in). 

Hope you had a great Valentine’s Day too!

Time is fleeting

It is hard to believe that it is has been almost one year since we have been living in this COVID stage of life. It has definitely been a different kind of year, and one that I would like to move past for many reasons, but one that I will always cherish. Despite the challenges we have encountered (which are really only inconveniences in our situation), the lockdowns and curfews we have been in and out of, and the ups and downs of remote school and it possibly re-opening, I will look back on this phase of life where everything moved at a slower pace, the qualitative time we spent together, and have many fond memories. The time will come soon when the kids will be back to school, I will start working, places will open back up, and we will be out and about again. Until then, I will enjoy each day with these sweet faces.