11.25.2007

Masada and Ein Gedi

On Randy's last day in Israel we hiked Masada and watched Randy float in the Dead Sea. We left our house around 9 am and got to Masada by 11:30 am. It took us awhile to gather our stuff together, but we were ready to hike the mountain by noon. We climbed the mountain in 1 hour 28 minutes ~ with all 5 of us hiking. While we took the backpack for Sheridan, she ended up walking the whole way! She complained a bit about being too tired, but she was a real trooper and continued to climb. While Randy took an audio tour at the top, we took a few photos of the girls, and then we all headed down the mountain.

Our next stop was the Dead Sea. We found a small beach area where Randy was able to strip down and float for a few. He said he could have stayed there for several more hours.

On our trip back home we stopped in Jerusalem to have dinner with our cousin Katie. She wasn't able to break away for Thanksgiving, so we had to fit in a quick visit with Randy before he left. We ate dinner at her Kibbutz and spent an hour + with her, though we were all so crocked from the day that I'm not sure anything we said was coherent.

We just got back and are preparing for Randy's departure EARLY tomorrow morning. He crammed a heck of a lot into his 10 day trip and I think it was very successful. Lucky for us, we'll see him again when we head out to California in two short weeks.







11.24.2007

Trip to the Galilee

On Friday morning we left with Randy for a quick overnight, windshield trip of the Galilee. We drove up the coast and made a quick stop in Haifa to check out the Baha'i Gardens (actually, we only stopped for a photo). We then hopped back on the road and continued our way up to our favorite little horse farm in the Golan, Vered Hagalil. We checked into our room around 4 pm and after settling in, took a leisurely tour of the property. The girls played on the playground for an hour, worked up their appetites, and then ate a fabulous dinner at the restaurant a few hours later. After the girls went to bed, the three of us played a few exciting games of Scrabble.

Today after breakfast, Riley went on a pony ride around the grounds of the farm. She was on cloud 29. We checked out of our room, and by 11 am were on the road exploring southern Golan. Our first stop was at Mt. Bental where we saw the Israeli bunkers overlooking the Syrian border, and where we took new photos in front of our favorite sign. Our next stop was lunch at McDonald's where Matt and Randy ordered the largest burgers on the menu, the McRoyal, and ate their body weight in meat... and then picked at Riley and Sheridan's meals as they didn't finish theirs.

It was off to the tanks and a drive partly around the Sea of Galilee. What fun would a Perlman road trip be without a little vomit? Not long after we got back into the car Sheridan decided to indoctrinate uncle Randy into the Perlman family tradition, which is also known as the Katz family tradition, of puking everywhere while you're at least 2 hours away from home. Amazingly, Randy proved how grown he is by cleaning her up.

We're home now, recuperating from a long day in the car, and getting ready for our trip to Masada and the Dead Sea tomorrow. Stay tuned for more photos from Randy's last day in Israel.
















11.22.2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had our annual Thanksgiving dinner at our house tonight and hosted 20 people. Each family brought 3 dishes, while I cooked the turkey. The evening was made even more enjoyable because my maid and her husband watched the kids, fed the kids, and then cleaned up the kitchen. It was another wonderful holiday shared with family and friends.





11.20.2007

Riley the Dancer

Here's the last video of Riley's ballet class. I missed the beginning few seconds as I was rushing to find a spot to get a good view of her in the small room.

Randy in Jerusalem

My brother Randy is in town from San Francisco for his first visit to the Holy land. He arrived on Saturday evening and was warmly welcomed by his nieces. We went to Tel Aviv and Jaffa yesterday, and today made the trek into Jerusalem. We spent most of our day in the Old City walking through the different sections. Here are a few photos in front of the Western Wall.



11.17.2007

School Photos

Here are the girls school photos that were taken last Wednesday. I didn't take them this year, but I helped organize the kids for their individual and class photos, and stood behind the photographer making silly faces so the kids would smile.




11.14.2007

Riley's Duvet

I finally finished Riley's duvet. She actually picked out the colors and helped me organize the order of the fabrics. It came out even better than I had anticipated. She loves it and so do I.

11.13.2007

A Budding Baryshnikov??

Here's Riley at her 4th ballet lesson yesterday. She claims she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up. I'm thinking she needs years and years (and years) of lessons....


11.11.2007

Sheridan's Swimming Lesson

Here is a video from Sheridan's swimming lesson last Thursday. I was testing out the video feature on my new ultra compact digital camera. Enjoy!

11.10.2007

Excuse the Delay...

Matt was out of town for a week for the Secretary of State's 8th visit of the year to Israel, and thus I've been a smidgen absent from writing any updates.

Let's see... since our last posting:
  • Riley has only had 2 accidents at night - Hooray!
  • The preschool held a yard sale fundraiser last Saturday that made over $1100 - Yay!!
  • Sheridan is now wearing pull-ups and very slowly on her way to potty training - Oye vay!
We also had our first parent/teacher conferences at the preschool with the girls teacher's yesterday which were very enlightening. We didn't learn anything new about either of the girls, but rather received confirmation from both their teachers stating that the girls are polar opposites in their personalities. Riley's teacher told us that she's a very kind child, always wanting to please and do the "right" thing. Sheridan's teacher told us that we have a very "spicy" little girl. She's a very bright child, a master manipulator who knows right from wrong, but inevitably always chooses wrong. We couldn't help but laugh, and left the school knowing that we have a Pleaser and a Dis-Pleaser.

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