This is Kurdistan??!

this is the place we stayed at. okay...so now that i look at this picture it doesn't look as awesome as it was...maybe it just felt awesome compared to where we live. there was green grass everywhere and flowers and the rose bushes and this place if you can see through the dust...was on the edge of a canyon! amazing! so it was worth the worms and the bleeding to get to this point and i was so thankful we were there! we had such an amazing time! but i woke up that morning only to discover that i was getting the cold tim had and another unmentionable infection...i will spare all my male readers the details...but my lovely, fearless leader erin went to the pharmacy for me to ask for the cream necessary to solve this problem and the guy behind the counter, much to her chagrin bellowed out the word, "vaginal"...yet she stayed strong and brought it to me! now that is a true friend! thank you erin! later in the day, i also managed to stub my toe hard enough to break it or crack the bone, i am not sure, i just know it turned several different shades of purple! but at that point, my JOY was uncontainable and nothing was going to get me down, besides it almost seemed laughable at all things that were trying to get me down...i couldn't just cave in at that point! the worms may have thrown me for a slightly dramatic display of emotion...but who isn't entitled to a little break down every once in a while??
here's the little house we rented along with paul and erin! again...i couldn't get over the grass. we would just sit in it and lay in it and walk barefoot on it. it was cool that day and breezy and so PERFECT! look mom...there really is green in iraq! i didn't realize how much i missed it until we came here.
this is our view down into the canyon!
and these are two of my most handsome boys!
and an attempt at an awkward family picture...

but a cute pic of erin and annie on the edge of the canyon! we are such fearless hikers!
my sweet annie girl...perched and picture perfect...what you can see is the grease stains she managed to get on her dress...all over...from the playground equipment...that's my girl...rough and tumble while looking cute in a dress!okay...this is a roller coaster/alpine slide...in iraq...i know a little scary to even get on it...but it was SO much fun! we could control how fast or slow we wanted to go! it whizzed down the track and was so exilirating! we ended up doing it 3 times! the kids loved it!

sweet erin made me my birthday cake and the boys blew out the candles before i even had a chance...but that's alright i didn't need a wish this year...i already had the perfect day!and we managed to capture some of that whimsical, perfect feeling in this pic of us overlooking Kurdistan! it's stunning and we GET to live this life! what a priviledge!

My Enemy...the WORM!

this is a worm that lived in my cupboard...i don't know how long he lived there...but he was NOT welcome! i loathe him. i despise him. i am thoroughly and utterly disgusted by him and cannot think what possible good he could be on this earth. he along with several other dozen of his buddies decided to take up residence in MY cupboards! he obviously did not know who he was dealing with! i happen to be a neat freak and neat freaks do not take kindly to villainous worms living in their cupboards. in fact, they find it insulting to the very core of who they are! i discovered these freaks of nature at 10 pm, AFTER the bloody massacre of jesse's ankle, which was after a bonk on the head he received earlier in the day and he passed out from, and after i had made chips from scratch, salsa from scratch, lemon bars from scratch and several other things getting ready for a little getaway...so i was already grouchy about having to do a lot of work and my nerves were frayed from jesse's traumatic events...but the worms sent me into a blithering nervous breakdown! tim had to run out to get some crocs out of storage and left me to pack...he came home to this...
what you can't see in this pic...is me in the middle of all the stuff from our cupboards...armed with windex and paper towels, crying hysterically...and cursing the worms! he quickly surmised the situation and realized that i needed to leave the kitchen. he proceeded to clean it all up for me and bomb the cupboard! after i had a good cry and threatened packing up and leaving a few times, i decided i should take a pic, because of course this would all make a good blog!
we figured out that the worms are some kind of moth larvae, because we apparently didn't get all the cocoons they managed to make in the cupboards, because today i found 3 live moths and 5 more cocoons. no worms thankfully...but i am constantly on the look out. i have had scorpions and cockroaches and ants...but worms...i think that is a bit much! it's hard enough being a neat freak in a dusty town...those worms do NOT want to mess with me!

A slide, an ankle, and a gash

so it all started when tim decided to be an amazing dad and build the kids a slide for our basement...so we can have "recess" during home school without getting mobbed by all our neighbors...he and the boys have worked on "the project" as they termed it for several weeks...it was finally ready for a trial run...emphasis on trial...because we still hadn't worked out all the kinks...the first few times were great. and then we moved it against the wall, since it turned out a lot bigger and steeper than originally intended. which was the fatal mistake for jesse's ankle. just big enough gap for his little foot to get caught between the wall and jagged piece of plastic.
after i freaked out...we got him all cleaned up and decided it was NOT worth a traumatic trip to the hospital here, which would involve a lot of dirty things, including no anethesia if they determined he might need stitches. we decided to go for a gnarly scar instead.
poor buddy was not happy about it though...
but he quickly figured out, sometimes it's fun to be lame or sick! you can get your mom to make pancakes for dinner, prop your foot up, let you eat on the couch while watching TV, while your brother and sister have to sit on the floor. also good for getting carried anywhere you want and lots of sympathy. i think he rather enjoyed it in the end!

Crocs!

over the last few days we have received two giant truckloads FULL of crocs! the company decided to make some donations and we got to be the lucky recipients. we are so excited! Fortunately we got a TON...unfortunately many of them are size 13, turquoise and brown lace up crocs...we are fairly certain no one here has that big of a foot...but we are confident they can be used by someone, even if not for their feet...we were thinking possibly a canoe or a paddle of some sort...perhaps to carry a load of water somewhere...just a few ideas!
this box blew open to reveal lime green crocs...not bad, however jesse could fit his entire leg in one!
i was able to give away a few pairs to my neighbors already...they cannot believe that americans pay $25 for "water closet" shoes...that's what they think they are.
but who doesn't look good in a moxi with a pair of "blueberry swirl" mary jane crocs??
oh wait...there is one person here they might fit, our tall and fearless leader Paul...actually he is a size 12...but once your feet are that huge who can tell the difference?? =)
we hope to have more fun pictures to come of being able to pass these out...hopefully without utter chaos. unfortunately we did not get very many children's sizes...a few, but mostly for 9 or 10 year old children and up! nonetheless it was quite fun to get such a huge shipment and we had quite a time going through the boxes and organizing them and exclaiming, "oh another size 13 orange and brown all terrain croc..." it made for a fun afternoon for all of us!

Just for Fun!

toby with his blanket on his head...
tonight at dinner we had fun with the camera and took silly pictures and practiced silly tricks! it was hilarious to us...
annie learned a new trick tonight...how to pinch your nose closed and hold it close while sniffing! very fun...she and i laughed for a long time doing this over and over!
jesse playing our new Wii game...Sports Resort...sword fighting! tim has to hold onto his shirt while he wildly swings the remote, otherwise he inches closer and closer to the TV.
jesse, just chillin' on daddy!
little Lavine is growing and getting sweeter every day.
Tim and the boys working on "The Project"...the slide that is nearing completion. the boys love helping measure and mark.

Burn, baby, Burn!

so our upstairs neighbors who are americans as well, brought in a team called "Burn" this past week. They did some work around the area, but their main purpose was to bring the music of the father to flow over the land. it was great to have them. here they are gathered in our basement for their first time.
this beautiful woman, Tammy, had never travelled out of the U.S. before and she brought her flutes and came without her family to bless us. annie was enamored with the beautiful sound the flutes made. Tammy graciously spent some time with her and taught her a few things.
here they are performing at a local compound..they were even broadcast on national TV.
everyone loved the music....well maybe not that guy in the front left. it went from waving hands, to dancing, to pushing back the chairs and dancing all over the room. people made many comments about how this music had a different feel to it.
thank you Burn team, you are greatly missed already!

Look Out World...here comes THE MOXI!

alright...so this is a blog all about ME! oh yes...this is me in my MOXI! a foxy moxi is a term the other foreigners have coined for it... and i must agree! it's really a versatile garment. long and much cooler than jeans. also...my neighbors wear them all day, every day, even at night and i believe change them every couple of days or so. mmm...don't worry, if i sweat in mine i toss it in the laundry. this is my "yelling at the 100 kids in my yard" look!
as i mentioned earlier..it's quite versatile...if you are working at spraying your driveway off, which we do every other day or so, and the length is too cumbersome, simply tuck it up under your undergarments. perfect look for any occasion! i personally think it's a really saucy look!
here i am modeling said look from a different angle. if you want, i can have one made for you and sent your way. just give me the word!

School is Fun!

Thursdays are our Fridays here and that is when we do our science experiments. here we learned about water and it's skin and we got to make bubbles and even try to blow them through our hands.
we also made our own wands with a little piece of wire!
but the best part is having Daddy come home a little early to do the experiments with us! he gets into it just as much as the kids and takes over! look at those little home school kids all intent on learning...who says home school kids are weird??!!
but really...to get to read a book with your kid is so rewarding. Toby is taking off in his reading too. unfortunately he has the same performance oriented disease we all have...boo...he gets so mad at himself if he gets it wrong! poor little buddy...
one of our favorite times every morning is read-aloud and snack time. look at those healthy snacks...apples, oranges and nuts...i am such a good mom, not to mention teacher. can't you just see the expression with which i read in that look on my face?! right now we are finishing up Charlotte's Web. i have read it many times, but i have found it so endearing this time and all the kids LOVE listening to it. Home Schooling has become one of the things i greatly treasure here. our neighbors love to find excuses to interrupt us during school so they can just watch us in action. they all know when the experiments are now too and try to come for those too.

Miscellaneous...

this is a random sign...we love the attempts at english here. this one was particularly funny. we aren't even sure what it means, but it makes me laugh. our fridge also came with the instructions "do not put the child in the cabinet" and "this is intended for family use, please do not use for anything else..." very cryptic. not sure what else it could be used for....
jesse and toby on the way home after a long day. some times jesse just can't make it without a nap...toby was unaware of jesse on his shoulder for about 10 minutes while he was watching the movie in the car and suddenly he realized it and shook him off. jesse bobbled around for awhile and ended up back on his shoulder. so sweet.
after a shower and jammies at night...it's great to have a sister that can read their favorite stories like..."what was i scared of" about a pair of spooky, pale green pants that are empty...
just another day outside digging in the dirt...getting completely filthy!
tim and the boys working on a slide. tim is trying to construct the kids a little slide that we can put in our basement. we can even have recess now during home school! can't wait...there are also plans for a set of monkey bars too!

a fun day with friends

these are our new friends that live in the big city...they came and spent the night last weekend. in the morning they all got up and worked very hard coloring some pictures.
then we set out for a little hike. the kids all climbed this peak! i was worried about scorpions, but never saw any...although we did see a coyote run off into a burrow.
here they are blissfully running up the "scenic" trail...these pictures are very iraqy to me. so brown.
a hike wouldn't be complete if the boys didn't all engage in throwing rocks over the edge!
here they all are...minus one...he wandered out of the pic at the last minute...but 5 out of 6 kids is not so bad. from left to right they are jesse and jonathan in the front, toby and annie and peter in the background. andrew didn't make this shot...but he is the one throwing rocks in the orange shirt in the previous pic. they are all almost the exact same ages as our kids. we have arranged a couple of get togethers so the kids can all play. it's been great fun!