On Sunday afternoon (which I kept thinking was Monday all day), each kid tried a chug. Gymnastics for the girls and Basketball for Elan. Of course, we needed to stop for ice cream first. (Amalya is smiling big for the ice cream which has chocolate in the bottom of the cone, as well as to show her 2nd loose tooth!! She is hoping to lose it on the first day of school...I guess it makes a cool first impression). As we walked down the hill, we could see across a valley to other parts of Jerusalem. Amalya said, "I can see so many parts of the land. Ever since we were on the plane, I've been seeing everything in Jerusalem. It's good."
Back up the day slightly, and we were shopping for school supplies and groceries. The thrill for me was when we were running out of time to get home (groceries coming by mishloach), and we were going to take a cab home to save time. Elan noticed how close we were to home (a little less than a mile), and said, "Why don't we just walk? It'll be just as fast." I swear you could hear the orchestra swell with inspirational music as I enjoyed this moment of family transformation (from suburb-living family to city-living family). Even Amalya was game for it. Did I mention that mentsch of a boy helped carry the school supplies as well?
So, Amalya's art teacher didn't show up...we'll try again next week. Mira tried soccer with her friend, Livvy (a feisty girl who took on those Israeli boys with gusto!), but it was not for her.
Too competitive, too many boys, and gymnastics was more fun (although it was also just her and 3 boys...hmmm.).
Elan tried basketball at the matnass (JCC close to our house) as well as the league at the YMCA. The YMCA crew was very hard core. Word on the street is that the coach makes the kids cry, but they love it. Sniff, sniff, I smell future therapy bills! Fortunately for logistical purposes, Elan enjoyed the league (more intramural in nature) closer to home. He's hooking up with another friend there. Elan also tried soccer, because we were there at the right time, there was a friend doing it, and there was ice cream involved. There is a possibility of American football as well; we're going to an open house next week. Imagine coming all the way to Israel so Elan can play football on a shomer shabbat team. We'll try to work it out. Jewish mothers let their kids play tackle football right?! I've already started to worry. Ceramics and art (for Mira) are the only chuggim left to try. I couldn't talk her into trying the yoga chug. She's says I'm obsessed enough with yoga for the both of us. Probably right!
Among other exciting news, we broke our first item in the apartment. Fortunately, an inexpensive wall clock is easy to replace!!!
Insert the appropriate Brady Bunch quotation here: ________________. If you're stuck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhRcY-uBo0We now have basketball rule #1! You might notice the time on the clock...9am! This is when I am usually checking my email to see if anyone will tell us what is going on in their lives!!! Get it?!
Amalya got new sunglasses and slippers...she was so excited, she wrote a song and dance. She informed me that this was not the full-length version. Spoiler alert: you might want to be related to Amalya to fully enjoy this performance. Drat...I can't get it to upload. Looks like the video is by special request. You'll have to email me and I'll send it. It is 8 seconds of pure genius.
Here is the current favorite extra-curricular. I gave in to the Club Penguin mania.Loren and I had our first big date (does that count as an extra-curricular activity?!). We walked down the block to an Italian restaurant. Great foccacia, great wine, and hooray for Reut the babysitter!! It only took 1 glass of wine apiece to relax after three weeks of settling in. The rest of the bottle was just for fun!
Love, Becca
