It’s hard to believe that Benjamin is 9 years old, the time has gone so quickly! Benjamin is such a joy to be around, he has a great sense of humor, and he keeps us on our toes! He is a hard worker and puts his heart into whatever he is focused on, he loves being productive, creating, drawing, building, and organizing his things in new and different ways. If you know Benjamin, you know he loves learning about, earning, and saving money. Benjamin loves to play outside, and he has especially enjoyed him and Caleb having a group of boys to run around with in the neighborhood. Benjamin likes collecting and trading Pokémon cards, he continues to be quite the dare devil, and is always looking for new challenges to take on. He is a very special boy an we had a fun day celebrating him.
This year his birthday fell on a Friday, and he wanted Alvin and the chipmunk cupcakes, so we ordered some for him to bring to school and more for home that evening. We ordered dinner from his favorite restaurant, Quick China, then had cupcakes and opened gifts.
Caleb and Eliza were excited for Benjamin’s birthday and couldn’t wait to wish him a happy day when they all work up that morning.
Benjamin got nice gifts from family!
Part of which which was money....a perfect gift for Benjamin. He had a list ready of things he wanted to buy, anticipating he would get money for a gift, haha!
His siblings were exited to give him a Pokémon tin with cards, Pokemon socks, and a Pokemon sweater.
This sweet 9 year old had a busy day and put himself to bed for a good night sleep.
The next day, we all went to his and Caleb’s favorite trampoline park, that they went to this summer in camp.
Perfecting the back flip!
We are so proud who you are and love you very much! Happy 9th birthday Benjamin!
Last week we escaped for a long weekend and went to Bodrum, a city on the southwestern coast of the Aegean Sea. Bodrum is known for its beautiful beaches, and we were looking forward to a few days of relaxing and enjoying the beach. We left Ankara on Friday morning and had a quick one hour flight to the coast.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted with this beautiful view.
Checking out the hotel and waiting patiently to go to the beach.
Such a beautiful view
The hotel had a private beach, and there was hardly anyone at the hotel. The weather was beautiful, it was sunny every day and in the mid-80’s. The sea was a little chilly, but it did not seem to bother the kids at all.
And when you needed a break, you could relax in the cabana.
We ate dinner at the hotel that evening and watched a pretty sunset.
Then caught the rest of it from our porch.
The next day we ate a delicious Turkish breakfast at the hotel.
The kids missed two days of school, and Caleb still had work some school work to do, so after breakfast he and I went back to the hotel to finish some work, while Nathan took Benjamin and Eliza to the pool and the beach.
The kids love the beach and it was nice to have a calm cove for the kids to easily play in the water.
What a great way to take a nap....
The second night we walked about a half mile to the closest and seemingly only restaurant near our hotel, for dinner, and we were the only people there. Turks generally eat late....dinner at the hotel started at 7:30pm, and we were usually close to falling asleep not much later than that, after a full beach day.
We all had full bellies and headed back to the hotel for sunset.
The walk aback to the hotel.
We made it back to hotel right as the sun was getting ready to set.
Enjoying a pretty sunset while the kids played on the beach.
On our last full day, we celebrated 12 years of marriage. It has been an exciting 12 years doing things I never would have never anticipated when we got married! After 3 international moves, 3 kids, overcoming challenges, and celebrating many achievements, I couldn’t be more thankful to have Nathan as my partner in life, and our children by our side. We didn’t go on a date or get any pictures, but we spent the day with our favorite people, and it was a great day!
This day, the boys (and Nathan) enjoyed jumping, diving, and flipping into the sea from one of the docks, while Eliza went ‘fishing’
Nathan is such a fun dad and always challenges the kids to try new things.
The enjoyed lots of dock jumping.
These two are such good buddies!
Pretty girl :)
View of the hotel from the dock
One last beautiful sunset.
After sunset, Benjamin accepted a challenge by Nathan to do a flip into the sea after dark. This kid is a dare devil, and he happily accepted the challenge.
The next morning we had a mid-morning flight back to Ankara. It was such a pleasurable and fun quick weekend get away, and we are excited to explore more of Turkey in the years to come.
