Hello Jack!!

Katie and Jack right after she saw me at her door! She didn't know I was coming!!


"Kosher for Passover"

Jack's first time in Dairy Queen!!! Very important rites of passage!


Jack laying on my stomach!! =)

Passover in Kiryat Malaki

Lots of babies....

and dogs...

and food...

and of course, MATZA!!!!!

I like Ike!

http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_14766184?source=most_viewed

Special thanks to Rachel for sending me this WONDERFUL article!!!

Boker tov!

This morning was really funny, I slept late and when I woke up, I immediately went to see if there were new pictures of Jack (like always.) Although there weren't new pictures, Katie had updated her blog! http://noarmadillo.blogspot.com/ She put all the best pictures from the hospital, the photo shoot and Jack's first week at home. While I was looking at them, Roi's mom came into the room and starting going on about Jack with "mazel tov" and how cute he was and giving me kisses and then Roi's dad and aunt came to see the pictures with more mazel tovs and kisses. It was really funny, I had forgotten that I hadn't seen them for two weeks, so of course they wouldn't have seen pictures of Jack!

Anyway, it was quite the morning!! We ate breakfast and then I started studying Hebrew, which was also interesting because Roi's mom was helping me. She's fluent in Hebrew, but her first language is Russian, so at times there was some confusion. They were yelling around the house to figure out the correct translation. Then his mom would act out the word or try to describe it to me, and sometimes I really had no clue what she was doing. It was hilarious, but actually, I learned a lot this morning. =) I am just trying to speak in Hebrew, but sometimes it's really frustrating, Roi's English is so much better than my Hebrew, but the only way I will ever be fluent is to start speaking all the time.

Now Roi is at a math class and I am studying more Hebrew. Oy. =)

Not much...except JACK!

Jack in the hat that I sent him from Spain!! He looks WONDERFUL!!!!!!

I haven't been doing so much lately except googling over my new nephew! He's already quite handsome and I can't wait to get my hands on him, even if it'll be a while!

My friend got really sick, actually she's been sick, but it got very serious two days ago and so I went with her to Tel Aviv to Tel Shomer to make sure she got the best treatment in Israel. She's still in the hospital with stones in her gallbladder! I'm so grateful we went to the hospital when we did because who knows what might have happened otherwise!

Yesterday I tutored Eran some more with his English, he's fun, it's really just talking with bigger words than he already knows! He's doing a great job!

Now I am in Kiryat Malaki for most of the Pesach break. Roi and I are studying a lot and relaxing. His aunt is here from the Ukraine for Pesach.

I hope everyone is doing well!!

Kibbutz Keturah

After the hike we spent Shabbat on Kibbutz Keturah! We really learned a great deal about how a real non-privatized kibbutz is really run and operated. It was a really neat place.

I spent a lot of the day like this...

I have so much homework!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Canyon Ada

This shabbat we took a MASA trip to Kibbutz Keturah and Canyon Ada for a hike. It was really beautiful and very unique rock.


Matt in the canyon!



Me on top of the canyon!


Hila (our group leader) with her beautiful baby, Carmel.


The view!

http://www.ketura.org.il/

Happy Birthday Mom!

Jack, Katie, and my mom!! (Three generations!)

There are so many March birthdays! Today is my mom's birthday!! And now she is a grandma! I'm sure it's the best birthday present she ever received!! Happy Birthday mom! You are the best mom in the world! I love you!

Jack Maxwell Hurckes!

Jack Maxwell Hurckes was born on Thursday March 18, 2010 at 0944 hrs and weighed in at 9lbs 8oz. My nephew is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen a picture of! I can't wait to meet him!!!!!!!! Welcome to the world my little baby. (Or Katie's) I love you!

My nephew!

My nephew is on his way!! Katie is in labor!! I can't wait to be an aunt!!!

Happy Birthday Rick!

Today is Rick's birthday!! There are so many March birthdays! My mom's is coming on the 20th!! And the baby will have a March birthday too!! WOW!!!!

Happy Birthday Rick!!!! I hope you get the best present (your son!!!!!!!!!)

Happy Birthday Katie!

Today is my sister's birthday! She is 27 years old! Which is really crazy because it doesn't seem like long ago that we were swimming or playing tennis together or riding on the back of my parent bikes. Now, she's going to be a MOM in just a couple of days! She's going to be the best mom. I have no doubts whatsoever. (And I am going to be the best aunt!) ;-)

Happy Birthday Katie!!

Still hot

I thought it would have cooled off by now, but it is still really hot! Yesterday, I went to lunch at Humus Said with Loren and Yishai. Then I laid outside by the pool and read my articles for class. It was really nice and relaxing, then I took a nap because I think the sun took a bit out of me!

Beeba came over to Roi's for dinner, which was really good. He made mushroom Alfredo sauce and pasta. And we had tea and cookies. Beeba and Roi talked politics for a good three hours before I kicked her out so I could go to sleep. =)

Today is more studying, Hebrew and reading more articles. Then Roi and I are going to Rada's (his sister) house to see Eytan!!!!!!! and his parents! It should be nice!

Shabbat Shalom!

Summer?

Holy moly! It is hot in Beer Sheva. There is a heat wave this week and it's been in the 90s!! It's crazy in a way, especially because there could still be snow on the ground in the US. So I am pulling out the shorts and tank tops for the week before it cools off this weekend! =)

Puppy!!!!!!!!!! and school!

I volunteered to be a "foster parent" for dogs in Beer Sheva. They will give me a dog (and pay for the expenses) until someone adopts the animal. For me, it's perfect, because if I have to go somewhere for a weekend, the dog can go to a different family and obviously I don't officially live here yet, so I can't have a pet. It's really the perfect situation for me!

His name is פטל or Petel, which means Raspberry in Hebrew, (I was not his namer, obviously, because he would be named after a president. Which is funny because Roi started calling him Hussein after Obama!)

Here is a picture of the little guy!! ADORABLE!!

Spain overview!

I had a wonderful time in Spain last week! The trip was a whirlwind, our teacher really wanted us to see everything possible! The hard part was that we were always on the move! We hardly got to relax, unless it was sitting on a bus. There wasn't time to relax at a cafe and have tea, or just to wander the streets of Granada or Malaga. Also, our tour guide was a joke. He really should have been fired through the trip, or never hired in the first place. He did not speak English, he left two people behind in the old city of Toledo, made someone who keeps Shabbat walk back to the hotel alone while everyone else was demanded to get on the bus (because we would have easily walked with him if appropriate time was given.) Anyway, enough complaints, I had a great week with friends and was a large majority of Spain. I am excited to go back one day, especially with my mom because there is so much art that I did not get to see. But in Madrid, we did do a fast run through Del Prado. The Spanish art was beautiful, as is Madrid in general. The best part was getting a stamp in my new extra pages in my passport (because my other pages were all full!!)

Classes started on Monday - it was a bit overwhelming. Because I didn't take winter ulpan, I feel behind again, but the class is very advanced and I am really excited to be thrusted forward into Hebrew! I am also taking Geography of the Middle East - which will focus on minority groups in the region. Ottoman Society with Avi Rubin and Palestinian Society and of course, the dreaded historiography, which I despise. But anyway, I volunteered to do a presentation next Monday in Geography, we have to do one a semester, so I will get mine out of the way.

There are hundreds of pictures on Facebook from Spain, I will try to post a few more here though! Enjoy!

Madrid Airport and a few from Cordoba!

Beautiful airport