My trip to Jordan

My favorite part of my trip was spending time with my sisters!...but here are some other highlights from my trip! I tried making the pictures so it would post 3 in a row, but it was causing all sorts of problems, hence the format of the pics.

Jordan River

There's Israel! It's divided by the Jordan River...
I'm standing in Jordan taking the pic :)

Mosaic depicting Book of Mormon Tree of Life,
done by a Muslim artist

Something about this CocaCola sign I loved

Camels just chillin off the road

Umm Qais with my fam :) View: Sea of Galilee &  Golan Heights (Syria)
Interesting site with ruined Roman city & intact Ottoman-Era village
It's also the location where Jesus cast out demons from 2 possessed men
into herd of swine, which then ran into the Sea & drowned. 

Mukawer: ruins on top of the hill are from King Herod
the Great, location where John the Baptist was beheaded. 

Roman road at Umm Qais  

The Wailing Wall. Not sure anyone was actually wailing though ;)

Souk in Jerusalem. We walked passed lots of
stores with their spices displayed like that!

Jerusalem. You know...just makin sure nobody does anything crazy!

Spot where Christ was crucified. A church was built on top of it and they really decked out the spot! I imagined it would be outside on the top of a hill....like it was about 2000 years ago :) For me it was a bit disappointing, for others it's a very meaningful spot to worship. 

Garden of Gethsemane, Olive Trees dated from 12th Century although testing on
some root material indicate some of the wood could be dated at 2300 years old!

Jerash is a very well preserved ancient Roman city
One of my favorite places I visited!

Jerash

Jerash. Love the detail on these Corinthian columns

The Dead Sea. Saltier than the Great Salt Lake...no brine shrimp even live in it.
Just rub some Dead Sea mud on & then soak in the salt water & all your woes will be gone :)

Petra!

Hey Buddy

ancient dwellings in Petra

Petra

Monastery at Petra

Last but not least, the city of Amman!  

ch-ch-ch-changes!

Here are a few of my favorite changes right now...

Autumn is amazing out here!

New car!! LOVE IT!

Avi's haircut! I cut about 5" off. The kissy face was all her idea!
and Hugo is already getting teeth! hard to see, but 2 front bottom teeth coming through!

Have you heard?

I just wanted to announce that our little family is moving to Akron, OH! Porter has been accepted to the Marriage Family Therapy masters program at the University of Akron! School starts in August...so I guess we'll be moving around then. We're really excited! Feel free to share grad school tips & advice ... and if you know anyone in the Akron area you should hook us up!

Hugo Porter Macey - Newest addition!

Hugo Porter Macey was born last Friday, Apr. 22nd and he is sooooo great! I can't stop kissing his sweet little face! He was 7 lb 4ou and 19 in long. Avilyn loves him and really has not shown much jealousy...yet. She's very concerned when he cries and she laughs when he makes "sounds" ...as she calls it. I've had lots of help around the house so I don't really know how hard 2 kids will be, real life just hasn't hit yet! Here are some pictures!

It was a long night!

Avi meets her little brother

Cute face!

Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping newborn?

I love his big eyes when he's awake!

Hugo with his Great Grandma Andrews! She's 95 :)

Easter day family photo

And a fun picture of Avi playing with her cousin Josh!

2010 goal update

Last year I blogged my 2010 goals & said I would update the next year how I did. I think I started out great & then stopped caring as much..isn't that usually the case? So here goes:

*2 triathlons - didn't happen
*4 20+miles family bike rides - didn't happen
*Learn to quilt - I "quilted" stockings this year. It was basic, but it totally counts!
*Scrapbook all my photo's until Avi was born - I didn't even try :(
*Weekly personal journal - didn't happen, but I put in reasonable effort :)
*Family History - uh...nope.
*Bear my testimony at church 1 time - did it
*Temple 6 times - did it, barely
*Learn to play 3 primary songs - this should've been so easy, but I didn't do it
*Back flip on skis - I did this! This was exciting for me! Am I lame if I post a video?? ps. I did this last winter season...not this year while I'm preg (people aren't too sure about me so I thought I'd state that ;)



*Tumbling goal - I came really close...I took a tumbling class & everything, but I broke my toe & couldn't continue my class...then I got pregnant :)
*Beat Porter in Dr. Mario on Level 20 - This was my greatest accomplishment ever!

Well, that's it! I had a lot of fun working on my goals! Even though I didn't complete them all, it felt good to have actual goals written down...I love lists & checking off things on my list :) I'm happy with what I completed and I'm excited to work on new goals for 2011! I won't post these as I'm sure this post is boring enough for everyone else.

well...

honestly I thought it had only been like 3 weeks since I last posted. I guess time is flying by. Here are a couple of our Halloween pictures:

at the pumpkin walk

Porter was Tobias from Arrested Development ...anyone
ever see the never-nude episode? Yes, those are cut off jeans.

I'm really mad at myself because I never took a picture of Avi in her Halloween costume! I can't believe I didn't do that! I keep thinking I'll dress her back up & take a picture, but haven't done it yet.
I also turned 26. For my birthday I took Avi to Toy Story 3 - my sweet sensitive girl freaked out twice and cried/hid in my shoulder. The monkey watch guard really scared her. Avi really is a character right now. Oh and potty training.... not fun.
Biggest news...which isn't really news anymore, but I'm pregnant! I'm 16 weeks right now (somewhere around 3 1/2 or 4 months). It was a strange 1st trimester dealing with the flu like exhaustion & keeping up with Avilyn. I feel like myself again though which is nice :) So many of my friends are pregnant right now which makes things fun!

One last family picture of us at the pumpkin walk.
Don't you love Avilyn's smile? She gets it from her uncle Ben :)

My 2 year old

Avi turned 2 Sept 3rd so I thought I'd write just a bit about her & post some pics. She is really a sweetheart...anytime I grunt or sigh whether she's beside me or in another room I hear here, "you ok, mom?" She's quite the talker - it makes our lives a little easier :-) She also will have full nonsense conversations with someone if they take the time to jibber jabber back - I can't tell if she does it for fun & knows it doesn't make any sense or if she thinks they're having a real conversation. She's still such a skinny mini and is only 21 lbs ... which is 1% for her age. This is a big improvement though as she was 18 lbs at 18months & hadn't gained any weight since she was 12 months. I feel like she should be a lot chubbier as we often veg out on the couch eating whatever goodies we can find! She definitely got her sweet tooth from her mom!

balloon theme cake ... I had a hard time deciding where to write the letters :)

Halloween tutu - Let me know if you want one for your little witch this halloween!


Dirt chip - gotta love camping!