The Israel we know and love!

In the meantime here is what we were busy with before we left.......can we go home yet? 

We got the keys to our place on July 1, it is wonderful and we love it. Yes, you can hear the waves from our patio or if we leave the window open.   I was waiting to post in case it was too good to be true....sometimes I wonder if maybe it still is....

                                                 
                                                  We really miss our friends, Lisa and Elizabeth.

                                                   

So when you have an empty house and you have nothing but clothes it means that there is a lot of shopping....I know this sounds like a woman's dream, and it is, but I have never started completely from scratch....there is a lot to think about!!!

                                    We have spent many an hour at this store...for now I am very done with it.
                                                            However, I am sure we will return....

Any guesses on what these big rolls are??  Yep!!  Our mattresses!!  Ikea is very efficient.  The directions = unroll and let sit for 72 hours.  Done. Had I went without the children I could have fit them in my little car.  I'm not kidding you.

                                               The kids are very happy with this little set up.

I'm not a big mall shopper, but this mall is cool.  This is the Dizengoff mall in central Tel Aviv, it was right by our temporary apartment.  Someone referred to it as the vanishing mall, which is an accurate description.  It spirals around from the top all the way to the bottom.  It also crosses the main road and does the same thing on the other side.  If you see a store you would like to go into, you had better do just that, otherwise you will never see it again.  At least this has been our experience.  :)  You could be lost forever in this mall.  The first day I was there I found this playground for the kids and 4 trips later I have yet to find it.......

After a weary morning of shopping, we stopped at this stand.  This mom wanted a burger!!  Of course the kids wanted a hot dog, we never eat hot dogs.  If you click on the picture you can see that it says "Veal sausage India" surely this is better than the american hot dog......I'm trying not to think about it. :P

I'm still trying to allow a little fun for the kiddos between shopping craziness.  Look at all these bikes.

The rocky beach by our house is great for beach combing.  Sally loves this, we have found so many cool shells, tiles and sea glass.  Hoping to make a mosaic with a friend nearby.....this was our first jelly fish encounter!

Our friend Eric came to visit!

At the end of a busy day, we are always look forward to watching the sunset.  The pictures never do it justice, but this view certainly makes us grateful again for all that we have.

                               
                                                  My porch sitting pal...I love that she has an appreciation.

 

Just for fun.  So at 8am on the morning I had an appointment at the Visa Bureau, I pulled out of the garage and this was happening.  The driver saw me pull up and continued to park and set up for their concrete pour.  They told me 5 maybe 10 minutes, which means more like 20. What else do you do other than take a picture and try to laugh it off.  Our life in Israel.....nothing is ever simple and smooth, but oh how we love it.