aqaba

our last days were spent in aqaba and was a perfect ending to an already super fabulous vacation! We spent two nights in pure bliss. We got to our hotel after our tour through the desert in wadi rum. It was right on the red sea and once again we were upgraded to a suite. This was by far THE nicest hotel I have EVER been in (and aaron has treated me to some very nice hotels in the past) We had our own living room, kitchen, a balcony that had a great view of the red sea and TWO bathrooms...who needs two bathrooms (seriously). After getting settled we walked around for a bit. We went up to the flag there (well because its supposed to be the second tallest flagpole in the world) and came across this old castle so we walked around there for a bit. Once we had enough we went back to just eat and relax. The next morning we headed out to do a little snorkeling. Aaron is really big into ocean stuff and even more so since we got that salt water tank so he was dying to go and being the awesome wife that I am knew just how happy it would make him and agreed to go. I am terrified of ALL things ocean. I think the ocean is beautiful and the things that live in it are great, but I will NOT ever go in it. I just hate the thought of not knowing what you are swimming with and...well I am scared of fish. I wont even put my finger in our fish tank at home its that bad. So we got all our gear and I (after a lot of persuading on aarons part) got in the ocean. I scraped my knee on some coral and felt like I couldn't breath with the mask on. freaked out and got out as fast as I could and was very content to watch Aaron swim around from the dock:) Aaron loved it though and was a happy boy even though I am sure he wished he didn't have such a crazy wife. We walked around some more that night and would see people just walking their camels down the street....it was AWESOME!!! we just continued to relax and it was great.... if we didn't miss our kids so much at that point I could have stayed there for a very long time!!!

We drove back to Amman and got ready to go home. We missed the kids so much and it was hard to be away from them for so long, but the trip was AMAZING and I absolutely LOVED every moment of it. Thanks to all of you that helped us out these last few months while aaron was away and while we were both gone. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! We have been truly blessed with such good people in our lives.

Also a little side note that I am really excited about.... Flying home (aaron and I flew separately) I stopped in paris ( my #1 on places I want to visit of course) and I asked for a window seat so that I could see paris as I flew in and out and I actually saw the eiffel tower. We flew so close and I got so excited I am sure I looked like a complete freak to everyone else on the plane. I was so excited that I actually walked out of the airport just to walk back in so that I had to go through customs again JUST so that I could get a stamp on my passport to prove that I saw the actual eiffel tower.... pathetic I know!!
driving along the red sea. on the other side is egypt..that will be another trip:)

watching aaron from a safe distance:)

the castle ruins. unfortunately this is the only one we have that actually shows the castle...I really am happy to be there... im tired of having to be the only one in ALL our pictures

second tallest flagpole in the world

the view from our room

wadi rum

After Petra we drove to wadi rum to take a jeep tour through the desert. On the way there we passed this bedouin man trying to get a ride along the rode. We drove passed him then Aaron got a guilty feeling knowing that bedouin's are supposed to be super nice or something like that so we turned around and picked him up. Crazy enough he just happened to be a tour guide and wanted to take us in his jeep and for a little bit cheaper than what it would have cost to go through the visiter center. At first I was a little worried since we didn't know him. He tried really hard to first go to his house to drink tea with his family. He didn't really understand that we really don't drink tea for religious reasons because EVERYONE there drinks tea all day long. I think we offended a lot of people turning down tea the whole trip. Anyway, after finally convincing him we just wanted a hour jeep tour and did NOT want to drink tea or spend the night (who knows how many times he told us his uncle had 2 goats and a lamb because "big occasion tonght" and we should eat with his family and spend the night...we were on our way! We first stopped at a spot where it is supposed to be the place where moses was trying to get water and tapped on the rocks and out flowed a spring. It was really neat to be in a place like that. We saw really cool mountains that just looked like the rocks were melting and A LOT of sand!! But still AWESOME!!! On our way out of course there are always some person that needs a ride and being the extremely nice people we were we sure did give them a ride. One just needed a ride back to the visitors center which was only about a mile in the direction we were heading, but the other who didn't speak any english (who i swear passed gas he entire ride and helped himself to our bottled water) needed us to go a little out of our way to take him to a certain village. On the way all I could think was that part in the movie dumb and dumber and the hitch-hikers and I felt the need to sing the mocking bird song. Then we were on our way to Aqaba to finally jut relax!!!

Petra

This was probably my most favorite place we visited. We got to our hotel late since we didn't leave Amman when we were wanting to (because we were looking for lost luggage at the airport) But the Hotel was AWESOME. Aaron did very well in getting us the very best this whole trip. I was a VERY spoiled girl the entire trip!!! We were upgraded to a suite (either because they were just really nice or because Aaron had reserved them under the school name and they wanted to impress us "business" people...either way we definitely scored big time with the hotel rooms) We woke up had an amazing breakfast and then walked to the Petra ruins (our hotel was right at the entrance) Petra was AMAZING!!! All I can say is I cant wait to go back. When we first got there there are people selling their goods and one guy talked us into buying a scarf for myself. Which at first I felt completely dorky, but it totally came in handy!! You just walk/hike through the mountains to see these buldings and temples and whatnot carved right out of the mountain. They were incredible!! I loved every moment of it. I should have Aaron write this post because he knows a lot more of the history and details of the place much better than I do. I just wish I would have taken the donkey ride up to the monastery. That hike was like the stair master from "you know where" and this is where that white scarf thingy came in handy. Its so hot, but the more you cover the better oddly enough. My face was so red by the end of the day. I couldnt walk for the next few days, but it was totally worth it!!! That night Aaron took me to dinner. It was called Petra Kitchen and on the way there Aaron tells me that you cook your own food and you dont know what you are going to be making until you get there. I was a bit skeptical at first...since I can be a bit of a picky eater. When we got there we were with 3 other people. We were given recipes of some traditional Jordanian foods and were shown how to make everything. It was SO FUN!! And the food was SO YUMMY!! I would have eaten there every night! We got to take home the recipes for the things that we made so maybe I will be making them again very soon for my family (anyone want to try??) We spent another night in Petra and then the next morning after another super yummy breakfast we headed to Wadi Rum....sorry these pictures are out of order but im too tired and lazy to fix it.
me

This was a little bridge that looks to be held up by this little teeny pole...of course I told Aaron to go stand on it for a picture!

can you believe that this was all carved out of the mountain?!?! and thats just a small portion of all that is there!!

our menu and our hosts that taught us how to cook at the petra kitchen


me pretending i know what im doing


almost to the top to the monastery...had to take a break...and this is where the scarf came in handy even if I look a bit dorky:)

the entrance

Jordan

We have had a very busy August. not to make a really long post and so I don't completely bore you. I am going to have to break it up a bit and not do everything at once. Aaron had received a state department scholarship to do an advanced arabic study in Jordan. He was gone for about 2 1/2 months. While he was there he learned that the last week there they would give them to tour the country at their leisure. So last minute and after a lot of debating we decided that I would go there to meet him for the last week and we would tour the country together. Thanks again Debbie for convincing me to go because I LOVED IT!!!

Aaron's mom agreed to come out to watch the kids. A BIG THANK YOU TO HER!!! And I left for Jordan!! When arriving in Jordan it was a huge shock to me and once I saw how everyone was dressed and that I didn't know a word that they were speaking I knew I was in for an adventure. I have never ever been outside of the country and moving to Georgia was a big culture shock to me so you can imagine how I felt at this point. At the airport there you have to arrive gain a visa exchange your money into Jordanian Dinars and get your bags and go through another security check before you can go and meet the people waiting for you. So I had to do all this without Aaron and his Arabic speaking abilities. Of course my suitcase didn't come and I had to make a claim and try to explain the color of my bag (next time I get a plain color bag for this very reason) and why I didn't know the address of where I was staying to this person that didn't speak much english...why they put these people in the airport I will never know. So needless to say I left the airport one bag short.

While Aaron was living there he got to know the family that owned the hotel where he had been staying so the brother had been nice enough to give us a ride to and from the airport. The ride home was crazy. They have lines on the road, but I have no idea why they even bother. No one follows the traffic rules and so it was an interesting car ride.

The following day we had planned on going to the Dead Sea, but being no luggage and not wanting to spend my entire vacation with only what I had in my carry on we spent the morning seeing some Roman ruins and going through the markets. then most of the afternoon back at the airport trying to find my bag. And after bugging them long enough they magically produced my suitcase...yea!!! We then drove to Petra. Good times!! The first day was a bit crazy, but the only minor incident so the rest of the trip was AWESOME!!!

a week to go

Our computer hasnt been working like it should lately. So I have been going for weeks now not being able to look at blogs or much of anything else. The only things that work are my email and facebook...awesome. So now it decided to work and im going to do a little updating

This might get a little long
and aaron left me with a really crappy camera so the pictures...well you will see...they arent great at all!

So these last few months have been an...adventure to say the least. We started our trip in Utah which was a lot of fun and was so good to see my family. We also got to see my parents new house. The down side of the trip was it decided to rain pretty much every day we were there. So no swimming for us (sure glad I packed all the swimming gear) And luckily i packed some jeans because it sure was cold...IT WAS JUNE and i was freezing most of the time! I had so much help with the kids and it was soooo nice. I stayed up late playing games with my family and sam (who is pretty much family) and I didnt realize that a game of monopoly could get so heated (nick). FUN FUN FUN!! While we were there Jonas learned to walk. The week we got there...so aaron missed it by just a week. While I was there I got to see my brother nick graduate from high school and also my other brother peyton got baptized as well. So it was so awesome to get to be there for all of that.

Jonas also found a love for the thinking chair (from blues clues) and you could most likely find him here. Sure wish we had stayed longer because the next few months just get better:)

July is a big month for us. The kids birthdays all come in the same week...i know and no we didnt plan it that way..although i think we could hold some kind of record. First came Emmas on the 21st. She is now 3 although if you ask her she is 7 (its always 7 no matter how many times you ask) We had their big combined birthday party that day. The kids loved it and i will just say this that icecream cone looking cupcakes might seem easy, but was soooo not worth it...or maybe i just made too many (there were 23 kids...and thats not counting the babies or the moms or my own kids)!! My friend Sherrie took pictures (i wasnt about to have a day such as this remembered with the camera i had..plus it can only hold like 10 pictures at a time and who takes just 10 pictures? So thanks so much Sherrie (her better than mine pictures coming soon)


She also took some pics of the kids. you can go here to check them out. She did such a good job and that proved to be yet another adventure. First while we were trying to get the girls into another outfit I discovered that Emma had stepped into poop and had gotten on a few of the clothes now. And of course I forgot the diaper bag!! So i used a blanket to clean them as much as i could. Then Jonas found more and decided to squish it in all his fingers (if you go look at the pics one of them shows it in his hand) and yes no wipes or anything. I had run to the car to search there and still nothing. So i went to the bathroom there to see if they had paper towels...nope. So i did the best i could with toilet paper. and tried really really hard not to throw up in the process...ANYWAY sherrie was such a good friend and ran him to the bathroom and tried to clean his hands (and forehead) off as best as she could with just the water and no soap or towels. Thanks AGAIN sherrie!! Maybe we will try again when Aaron gets back and do an actual family photo...are you up for it again sherrie? hehehe

So Jonas' first birthday was the 22nd. We spent the day at the pool. And it was perfect. I cant believe he is already 1!! I feel like it was just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital!! He is amazing. I love this little boy so much. I love the girls too, but Jonas just can find a way to melt my heart. He is so cuddly and sweet. Until it comes to food and he will fight you to the death if he knows you have something. But he will also let you know if he doesnt like something and will spit it right back at you. I have found all kids of yummy things in my hair and on my shirt lately:)

Then Abby's came on the 28th. We got all their check ups with the doctor done this day. Abby left with one shot and jonas got 3...happy birthday abby:) it was one of those days, but i felt i HAD to do something. It was of course her birthday and you only turn 5 once. So I asked some friends if they were willing to brave the craziness of my kids in a restraunt and they agreed. We went to red robin (or the balloon store as my kids like to call it) And abby loved that they sang to her (and emma) and brought her her very own ice cream. yea!!! success!! Thanks again davis'!!

Now we are just getting ready for Abby to start school. She will be in kindergarten!! I CANT WAIT!:) That same day Grandma Vi (aarons mom) is coming to stay with us. She will be here watching the kids while I get to go see aaron for a whole week!!! Aaron and I havent been on a vacation just the two of us since our honeymoon...so we are ready for a "just us" vacation. I am so excited!! I was really nervous at first because i havent ever left our kids with anyone but aaron and i, but im sure they will be fine and im ready to go!!! can you tell i have been with them by myself for a little too long (or am i just a horrible mom??) either way I cant wait!

We are ready to have our daddy back!! I think the kids might be just as ready as me. Since today the girls told me they didnt like me because i got mad at them (that was because they would not clean the playroom) and that they didnt want to be here with me and that they wanted to go to marios (a neighbor friend) to stay until daddy came home. did i mention that they are 5 and 3!! I cant say that it has been all bad. We have done a lot of fun things in the last few months. I have spent a lot of time with my kids and that truly (as hard an exhausting as its been) has been a blessing. They are so funny and I love them soooo much! Emma is Hilarious Abby is so smart and Jonas is so sweet and goofy. And we have been blessed with good friends that have helped me soooo much! Thanks everyone!!!

Now just one more week to go!!!

here are a few more pics of the kids. Abby loved her new goggles..or gobbles is what she called them. She wore them everywhere...even to bed!! funny girl. And then jonas i think got tired (literally) of me ignoring him and just crashed on the floor...while at the same time emma found a nice bed on the table in the playroom. silly kids!!