Packing our bags and going to Israel...

Don't be jealous.

Ok - you can be a little jealous.

We're going to Israel this week for a 2-week vacation for a family member's bar mitzvah.  My whole family is going - so this is a massive 2-week vacation with my whole family.  My husband couldn't be more thrilled.  :=)

No really - we are psyched.  This is our first real vacation in....years....and we're going with the kids, plus we're going to ISRAEL!!!!!!  Really - is there a better place to go?!?!?

(ok - totally not counting Florence or Paris...)

Anyway, that's why there haven't been posts from me lately (been busy with work and such), and there won't be posts from me for the next two weeks (unless I surprise you AND myself).  But here's a question - I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have for fun "field trips" or activities to do with the kids...we won't be renting a car so activities have to be easy to get to, but so far I've only found activities that are open on Shabbat so that won't do, but if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks!!

My cousin is famous!!

Sorry if you don't understand Russian, but my cousin made it to a news spot on a Russian station while he is traveling through the country.  He's Sam at the end of the story (and the guy on the screen you see before you hit play).  Neat-o!!!

FYI - the report is about a new trend in tourism - "couch surfing" - where people stay in strangers' homes while traveling, and it's not so much about saving money as much as it is about learning about other cultures and really embedding oneself in a new culture and environment.

Weekend getaway

This weekend we went to Austin, our first "vacation" in about 2 years. It was much needed. I use the term "vacation" loosely because we did shlep the children with us, which meant that we were still doing the parenting/fulfilling someone's needs thing, just in a different location. We left town Thursday night in order to quietly get there, spend a night, and wake ready to explore Austin. Friday was packed! After breakfast, we went to Zilker Botanical Garden (where we determined that it's not so stroller-friendly, at least not in the unpaved parts), rode the Zilker Zephyr around the park, and watched the swimmers in the Barton Creek Pool. We picked up lunch at the world-famous HEB with the kosher deli and in the afternoon went to the Austin Children's Museum. We listened to some live music in the lobby of our hotel before heading to our room to enjoy Shabbat dinner.

Shabbat day was filled with walking around our hotel's area. It was incredibly hot. I'm still sweating (just kidding) (I took a shower since then).

This morning we packed up and headed home. We thought maybe we'd go to a coffee shop that had a children's story hour in the morning, but we nixed that and headed home instead. We were so happy to be home!!

Here's one thing we discovered: we are NOT fans of the Sleep Number beds (you know, the ones hawked on the infomercial?). It's like sleeping on an inflatable air mattress, except less fun. I would recommend to steer clear of those.

Happy father's day. My hubby - he got vomited on twice today (by the same child). What a lucky, lucky man...