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!