Christmas day cont.!!!

Managed to finally get out of bed. We opened presents, went to church, spent the whole day putting together steam engines, hair pins, and eating too much chocolate :) we finished off with a wonderful christmas dinner complete with Christmas Crackers. Such a good day!

The next day we met up with a few friends to play showshoe baseball. It didn't exactly work out how we had planned especially with 45 mph winds so we played showshoe olympics with facefirst snow angels, races, spinning games, and more! So much fun!

Since then we have been havin some game nights with friends, playing in the snow, and getting Andy on skis for the first time! He did so well and only fell twice! He's definitely getting the hang of it and has a new favorite winter activity. Just wait until we get him on a dog sled!!! We're going skiing again tonight and tomorrow morning :)
Tomorrow afternoon Juaquine and Mandi (brother and sister-in-law) are going to arrive from Fairbanks for the weekend. That means another Christmas! It will be good to see them since I haven't seen them since our Alaska Wedding. I cannot wait to see them again. We're planning a double date and some fun times hanging out drinking tea. Isaiah and Lily are quite excited aswel :) Only 16 hours!

Christmas!!!

It is finally here! I'm laying in bed begging the clock to say it's 8am! My little brother set the time for everybody to get up and for some crazy reason he picked 8!!! What sort of a kid is he!? SO here I am bored out of my mind, nothing is new on facebook, pintrest has even lost my interest, I just want the next 30 minutes to be gone so Christmas can really start!!!

Yesterday was tons of fun. We went and played outside in the snow for a few hours sledding, making snowmen, building forts, having snowball fights, and throwing my little brother down hills :P Spent the afternoon lazing around watching A Town Called Panic. It was really funny! then the rush ensued about 3:45 when we realized we needed to make a 4th trip to the store, had to get everybody dressed for church at 5 practice our songs we were performing, make dinner, clean the house, and look pretty all in 1.25 hours! It was a bit crazy to say the least. The christmas eve service at my church was fun. So many cute kids performing christmas songs, a poem, the Christmas story from Luke, and lots of visiting with friends. We came home to our "traditional" Israeli Christmas-eve dinner. with olives, cheese, meat, avocado, different types of salad, and much much more. We sat on the floor and had loads of fun.

After opening up our one christmas-eve present, drinking some mulled wine, and skyping Andy's family we crashed into bed about midnight :)

The beginning of our Alaskan Adventure!!!

Traveling in Alaska is never boring...NEVER! We got to Glenallen about 4pm very excited about getting home in time for dinner. We start leaving town and see a sign saying Thompson pass is closed. This happens every now and then when avalanches are prevalent or if there has already been one down and they are clearing it out. So this was one of those instances :( We went out for dinner at the Caribou, a restaurant in Glenallen...the only restaurant in Glenallen :) We met up with a few friends there who were in the same situation as we were. After a few hours we heard the pass was opened and we were able to drive all the way to Valdez!

We got to Valdez and Andy was surprised at how much snow there actually is here...that is putting it lightly. He was more astounded :D There was about 5 or 6 feet of snow on the ground and the last few days it has been snowing constantly!

We have made the most out of the snow and all put on snowshoes to collected our Christmas tree :) It has just been snowing and snowing and snowing. I have grown up in this little crazy town and still am amazed with the amount of snow we get every year! Andy learned what a

snowblower was and has throughly enjoyed it :)
Our house finally looks all Christmas-ified with the tree in it. We decorated a gingerbread house today, went christmas caroling, and played in the snow for a few hours. I'm feeling the Christmas feeling :)

Alaska Day 1

We are currently driving through the mountains of Alaska! We just had to stop and wait for a moose to cross the highway!!! It feels like I'm driving through a winter wonderland almost too good to be true. The snow is all stuck onto the branches of the trees, the mountains are completely white, the lakes are all frozen and covered in snow machine tracks and moose tracks.

The trip to Alaska was far too long and much too eventful. We went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 1:30am to start driving to Edinburg. I slept for an hour on the flight from Edinburg to Paris and when we arrived we found out that all the security personnel went on strike. They would stand outside the barriers to security with megaphones and signs yelling and changing...slight unnerving :s So we went upstairs to find out that we had to go through security to board our next flight...the line was about a mile long and had thousands of people standing in it...and our flight took off in an hours time. So I found a guy named Ollie and a woman named Elaine (see picture)

who were both on the same flight to Salt Lake City. We stood in line and would take turns finding French workers who were not too pleased to have people asking them questions. We finally figured out that all the planes were delayed and at the last second the workers would yell out a destination and you would shove your way through the masses, get to the front of security, then have to run to your gate and barley get to your plane. None of the connecting flights were still valid. Everybody's schedules were totally thrown down the drain. So...talk about stress. I kept with Ollie and Elaine and we were able to figure out the system and get on our plane ok. The 11.5 hour flight turned into a 13.5 hour flight. So that was no fun but we eventually made it to Salt Lake city where my 7 hour layover had changed to 5.5 hours. I took advantage of the free internet, starbucks, and restaurants. It was an ok layover. I slept the next 5 hour flight to Anchorage where my dad and Andy met me. The weather was too bad in Valdez for planes to fly out so my dad drove to Anchorage to pick up Andy and I from the airport. Andy arrived at the airport several hours before me and was quite surprised to see my dad waving at him in the airport :)

So we spent the morning doin some errands around Anchorage including a huge shop at Sams Club and Fred Meyer (oh how I have missed you!). We are currently driving to Valdez. I'm slightly bummed that we're missing a day with my brother, sister, and mom.

But visiting with my dad has been amazing and Andy is able to see one of the prettiest places in the world all snow covered! It is such a different place in the winter :) I am so ecstatic to be back at home especially in the winter. There is so many things we have planned in order to give Andy a tride and true wintery experience <3

Dundee day 5-6

Shepherds, angels, innkeeper, mary, joseph, and some wise guys :P The nativity at CBC was absolutely hilarious. The kids all mimed a recorded play so the kids were free to focus on their acting. If you could look past the shepherd who kept putting his crook around his neck, the angel with her wand up her nose, and the wise men who almost fell off the stage it was a very well done play. Complete with a dance party in the stable :) We got home and were having a nice relaxed sunday-lunch when Linda asked us if we had our passports...such an obvious question that she almost didn't mention it...we didn't. We had been so busy getting ready to go to Dundee that we totally forgot that we were going from Dundee to Alaska...meaning the UK to the USA...you need passports to do that apparently :P So Andy was a gent and spent his afternoon on a train going back to Glasgow just to get our passports. What a good guy.

While he was away I went to a frozen lake with Mike, Linda, and Tom. The almost-visa-fiasco was just about too exciting for us. Just thinking about what would have happened if we hadn't remembered before going to the airport :s So that made Monday much more relaxed when we realized there was nothing else vital that we hadn't forgotten :) Monday was spent packing and just general hanging out. It was pouring down rain so it made it feel better staying inside with the first day not having sun. Off to Alaska on Tuesday morning!!!

Dundee day 4

Mike had his car being worked on in a place called Dunkheld. So Tom, Sam, Mike, Linda, Andy and I all piled in a car and made the car ride to a touristy village that looks exactly like the town out of Hot Fuzz!!!

It was so funny walking around the place. The whole place is filled with knitting shops, flower shops, some antique shops, and a few quite posh clothing shops. There was also a cathedral that was quite cool.

We walked into the cathedral and there was an organ player practicing for Christmas eve :) It was so beautiful with the river running next to the green grass covered in frost.

We all went to a coffee shop for a cinnamon latte and some chocolate icecream. Had a nap on the drive back, had some dinner, and then read a bit followed by a few scrubs episodes! It was a lovely Saturday with great weather and lots of fun. Only 3 days until we fly to Alaska!!!!!

Dundee day 3

Today was great fun. It was so sunny outside, beautiful weather! We slept in quite a while, cleaned up a bit to get ready for the Watercress Line playing later that night at the Hayes's house. Andy, Mike, Linda, Sam, and I went for a

walk at a place called Combrie. It is a lake with a playground next to it and lots of trees. The lake was almost totally frozen. We talked a bit about tossing Sam onto it to see how thick the ice actually was :P

So we got some coffee in us and went back to the house, cleaned up, got food on the table, and started welcoming people over. There were probably about 50 people in the Hayes's downstairs!

We put logs out on the porch and lit them on fire so the kids jumping on the frosty trampoline would have some light.

It was such a good time with the food, banter, and music. I got tired and went to bed about 11pm but I heard the fun didn't stop until about 2am! So good time, it's the weekend and tomorrow is looking like a very relaxed day with really great weather once again :)

Dundee day 2

Today was loads of fun! Since Andy was studying and Mike (Andy's dad) only worked a morning shift he took me over to St. Andrews to take Sam for a walk along the beach. The weather was beautiful with a pretty sunset and slightly chilly.

We went into St. Andrews city center and had a walk around the shops looking at all sorts of girlie things. I think Mike is enjoying having a daughter eh gets to spend some time with (after raising three rowdy boys:P) We ended with a coffee and icecream in an Italian shop. It was so much fun just hanging out. Imiss my dad so much and it just so happens that my dad and Mike are all too similar that when they meet it is going to be a major "dad fest". So it was so much fun to hang out with my '2nd dad' for an afternoon :)

That was about it. We went home, I made some homemade marshmallows in preparation for a gig night friday at the Hayes's house. Thought I would add a treat to the incredible spread that Linda (Andy's mom) had already made. Had some tea then watched some scrubs as a family. Good day!

Dundee day 1

Got to go on a walk with Linda and Sam (the dog) along a frozen lake. It was quite muddy so the bright orange wellies helped with the calf deep mud holes :P We opened some Christmas gifts and had a lovely night sitting around drinking tea. It was a really relaxed day. Definitely a good start to Christmas vacation!

Malta Day 4

Early early early again! We decided to spend our last day enjoying the crazy wind that was blowing malta across the Mediterranean sea. It was really exciting! We went up to the gardens and watched across the bay at the fortified walls getting beat down by the huge waves.

We walked around the city a bit more enjoying the random British sentiments and the Italian and African influence along with a bit of pure Maltese tradition. We also got to tour the official house for their rulers. It was HUGE!

It was really fun just to sit around relaxing. oh, and we found cats....lots and lots of them. They were very cute and we took many many pictures of them. I have one of me chasing Charlie around. We used to be friends but he doesn't like me anymore :(

We got some pictures of Dunkas pool that I'm fairly certain that it was harboring rare disease.

So the last day was lovely enjoyable time together undistracted then we hopped on the plane and flew back to Glasgow. What a good holiday!!!

Malta Day 3

We slept in until 8am...I cannot believe I can say that! We packed up our swim suits, some lunch, and loads of water. All prepared, we hopped on the bus up to the top of the island where we could catch a ferry over to the island of Comino. We arrived at the blue lagoon just in time for lunch. We walked around the entire island in close to an hour.

We stopped off at a gunning tower. Each level was quite tall and they used to use rope ladders rather than the very steep stairs that are there now.

We walked along the cliffs back to the blue lagoon and completed our walk around the island.

We found the water absolutely amazing and played in the waves in the Blue Lagoon for a couple of hours before the boat came to give us a lift back to Malta.

On the bus ride from the top of Malta to the bottom I got to sit down next to an old Malteeser :P Lol, She grew up in Malta and was 80-something. So she has gone through a ton of history complete with the bombing raids that went on almost daily for years. She was really interesting to talk to and every time we went past some of her favorite spots or historical places she would tell me all about them :) What a nice lady. By the time that we were done with our bus ride the waves have gotten so big and the storm so strong that the waves were coming up onto the road! The lady we met said it rarely is that drastic. The entire night we listened to the thunder and watched the lightning. It was really exciting. I love tropical storms!!!

Malta Day 2

We started our morning at 7am!!! We thought it was 8am which is still terribly early but with the time change we started far too early. BEFORE THE SUN ROSE!!! We walked all along the port for about an hour making our way back to Valetta which is the capital city/oldest city.

We meandered around until we found the city gates where we could enter into the old city. It was incredible with the fortified walls and everything. It was quite odd with all the British influence. We got to see a video about the history of Malta about various countries attempting to takeover the island. So when we were walking around the city seeing the cannons

and the gardens we could envision everything happening right before our eyes. We even got to experience the Maltese horse drawn carriages

which are quite popular there. While we were walking through the city center we wandered across the changing of the guard and so we got to hear an incredible marching band and see all the military guys marching around with swords and bayonets

After we had seen most of the city we chilled out on benches enjoying the incredible sun. We finished our day about 8pm when we were completely exhausted from a full day in the sun :)

Malta day 1

Finding the hostel:

Got to Malta, got a bus into Valetta Bus Station and followed the directions just as our hostel (Dunkas House) website told us to. So we get onto a crowded bus and a lady came up to us and asked if we were on the right bus. She said the bus numbers had changed and that she thought we were on the wrong bus. We are not sure how she could have known that we were on the wrong bus but we do know for sure that God was watching out for us :) So the lady got off and showed us the correct bus. We hopped on the bus and watched for the KFC that the directions told us to get off. So we got off at KFC and started walking, took the first left and found a church as the directions told us to look out for. The hostel was meant to be across the street...and with our deductive skills we quickly realized that the hostel was definitely not there. So this random guy stopped us on the street asking if we were lost. He had no idea that there was even a hostel anywhere around there.

So he took us to a bar where we met up with his two other friends and the lady who ran the bar...it was basically the sort of place that every tv show attempts to duplicate but never comes close. The banter is magnificent!So basically this guy bought us drinks while his friends tried to figure out where Dunkas House was. They finally ended up calling us a cab and we were in totally in the wrong place because the directions were archaic and very inaccurate

. It was hilarious hanging out at this bar with these random strangers who were so kind to us. Once again, God was keeping his eye on us. We finally made it to Dunkas house and were greeted by a girl in pajamas who showed us our room complete with plywood door and bed with sheet...that's basically it :P The girl was friendly and we got such a good night sleep after traveling.

Fun times :)

Malta for the weekend?

So the biggest even that has happened in the last 24 hours: INTERNET! Finally! So we have taken full advantage of it and booked a trip to Malta!!! It is an island halfway between Italy and Africa. We were able to get cheap flights, a place to stay called Dunka Guest House. The advertisement went something like this "Whats life if we cant party?
Dunkahaus is brought about by Dunka, a young sailor who loves to go out clubbing and have a great time together with dunkahaus Guests of course!" Soooo I think it will be a place to remember. There is a beautiful view from the guest house that you can view to the right :)

It is going to be about 75-80F while we are there so I am bringing my bathing suit! We are going to visit forts and lay on the beach and enjoy the fact that we have 3 full days in an incredibly sunny and wonderfully incredible place. MALTA HERE WE COME!!!

Cliff jumping to a sunken ship

Yesterday we went cliff jumping next to a sunken ship that we swam over to. It was...exciting? BEtween thinking seaweed eats people and not being able to forget that sammy the seal and all his family was swimming in the same water as we were...I was very "excited" Is one way to put it. I jumped off the cliff first in order to show Andy how to do it (joke, his family does it all the time but he thought it was too cold so I had to show him how Alaskans jump in freezing water) then we braved the black water together to go to the sunken ship. Exciting times!

WE also went for a hike up into the mountains to a place called "the fairy lochs" and found a crashed WWII airplane! It was really neat and soo beautiful. We finished it off by collecting old broken fence posts and prepared an absolutely massive bonfire on the beach (to be used later).

After all of our arobic entertainment of jumping, swimming, climbing, and fence post collecting we went back to the cottage, got all dressed up and had a romantic candle lit steak dinner with "mood music". We left the dishes unwashed and went straight to the beach where we lit off the bonfire and watched the sunset (we would have eaten cake but somebody's cute 3 month old puppy came up and ate it! hehe). It was absolutely amazing. What a good end to the day.

Today is back to book reading, sun soaking, and flat hunting (boo on the flat hunting). It would be great to know where we are living next week but hey, all in Gods timing right? Yeah, we're just gonna keep working away at it and hopefully God will bring one about for us. Keep praying! :)

Tomorrow we are off the the Isle of Skye (supposedly the most beautiful place in Scotland, wikipedia it!) for some swimming, hiking, making fires, and two nights of camping. Should be fun times.