Picnic!

alright these pictures are terribly out of order...but we went on a picnic with two great families on thursday. we went to the river where one of them owns a plot of land and has turned it into this great little picnic pavillion, complete with steps down into the river, a stone oven for baking bread and a beautiful view of the mountains.
this is Fala...isn't she beautiful?
yes...that is Tim...holding hands. i tried not to be too jealous, but can't you just see how awkward tim feels. he has held hands a lot with men since we have been here, not sure if it is any easier for him or not.
these are sheep kabobs...the kids scarffed these down...shhh...don't tell them it's sheep! =)
here we all are, with a cool breeze blowing off the river. it was an amazing afternoon and evening.
this is the stone oven for baking bread, he uses that pillow to put the flat dough on and stick it to the side of the oven, then they use tongs to peel it off when it is done. SOOO good!
here they are pressing out the dough.
this is the little pavillion area.
annie and the sweet little girl...whose name excapes me right now. they were so cold from swimming in the water. those little pink shorts the girl is wearing are actually her underwear. i call them pantaloons. it's what most of the women wear under their moxis...i totally need a pair...keeps your thighs from sticking together in the heat of the day.
all the kiddos in the water!


after dinner, we got tea and a drum and all sat in a circle. we played a couple of our songs and then they wowed us with their beautiful singing to the drum! the kids loved it. notice annie dancing in the back and then jesse using a cooler as a drum and toby waving a squeegee in the air! we didn't get home until 11 pm, but it was a wonderful night...it's what it's all about. i think the most poignant part of the day though was something i did not get a picture of. but it was driving to the site and passing several mass graves. they were just plots of land with large pointed rocks sticking out all over. they are graves of people who lost their lives during saddam's chemical warfare. it was horrifying. i have been reading about it lately and i just cannot grasp that while i was living as a pre-teen and teen...while it was awkward and there were many tears over zits and being unpopular, there were people right here living an absolute nightmare! there are stories of women having to choose from their small children which two to save, as they only had two arms to carry two to safety up the mountain to fresh air. this is unfathomable! only One can heal these hurts....