Moadim l'Simcha

If one day of chag instead of two is not enough to convince you, how about an extra day of Chol HaMoed? Can you say "Vay-cay-shun!"? On Sunday, we joined together with Ariel and Josh (credit with the idea!) and Lori and Seth and headed to Gan HaShlosha/Sachne, a national park up near Beit Shean. It was a beautiful day, perfect for swimming in the warm spring water and barbqueing. Lucky for us, the whole country did not have the same idea. We made great time on the way there, and found a perfect spot in the shade. The kids had a great time in the water, and especially with the Blacher's inflatable boat. The boys and girls group took turns using it. We were impressed with Josh and David's grilling abilities - sorry, mangal abilities. It was just a beautiful day in a beautiful spot, and a good time was had by all. The traffic on the way home was a little heavy, so we went a different way, basically driving parallel to the Jordanian border and then crossing through the country. I was nervous about the route, but it was fine. We drove kind of high into the mountains, and had an amazing view of the towns far below. We could also see the lights of Jordan very clearly. What stuck out, though, was the length of the stretches where there was nothing. It is amazing in a country this small, how there can be so many areas that are "the middle of nowhere." We arrived home exhausted, but happy.

On Monday we took the kids to Machane Yehuda. While some people frequent it for regular shopping, we have not been there since 2000. We had a fun time, bought lots of goodies, and generally felt very Israeli. We did not, however, buy a still gasping fish out of water. We walked into town for lunch, and then headed home.

Today, Tuesday, was arts and crafts day. I took the kids to the creamics painting place in nearby K'far Rut, and we all enjoyed maing projects. Here's hoping they all come out in the end. Later David and I took Dani and Lola with us to Rami Levy, and had a relatively smooth shopping experience. We later barbequed in the sukkah, and now we will see where the rest of the week takes us.

Moadim l'simcha to all!

Dvora