Spontaneous Trip to Yuval and Orit's House!

I planned on doing some 'work' in our Etsy shop yesterday.  Or to do my US taxes (we get a few months extension since we live outside the United States now) or take some photos of beads or make some jewelry or trim the garden or brush the dogs.  But none of that actually happened!  Instead I answered the phone early in the morning and told Guy's sister, Maayan, that I would go with her to their cousins house out in the hills of Jerusalem.

Driving to the area outside Jerusalem

Yuval and "Dulian" (as Maayan calls her - most other people call her by her real name: Orit) are a great couple with an adorable two year old named Shalev and another bundle of joy on the way this summer.  As it turns out, they were having a small get together to celebrate Yuval and Shalev's recent birthdays so it was a great day to make a spontaneous trip.

 Don't you just love Israeli stop signs? I do!

 The village that they live in really makes me feel like I am in Israel.  A lot of practicing Jews live there so there weren't many cars on the road (in observance of Shabbat).  I think there are a lot more 'religious' people living in and around Jerusalem than their are in our village or our area of Israel (only 40 minutes or so by car to the west of their place).  Also their are hills there and they have lots of rocks, tall pine trees and winding roads.  I guess growing up Catholic, when we studied anything about religion and stories from the New Testament, their would be photos in our text books that look pretty much like the village that Yuval and Orit live in.

  Bales of hay.  Lots of hay has been cut around the countryside recently.

And the sunset they get there is beautiful!  So the party was nice and had lots of great food including 'kubay' made by Guy's Savta Sara (Grandma).  Her food is legendary and everyone in the family is always amazed at how well she can feed all of us!  Savta Sara is getting close to 90 years old but you wouldn't know it when you watch her work in the kitchen.  Her eyesight is starting to fail her but her hands are still working pretty well.  She wasn't actually at the party but Yuval's dad was (Sara's son) and her food was definitely enjoyed by everyone! 

 Maayan's dog, Lolita, enjoying the wind from the back seat.

I surprised myself and didn't even drink one beer.  Lately I'm just a boring old 35 year old.  Nah, just didn't have the urge to drink.  I was too busy playing with all the cute little kids. 

Raja enjoying the celebrations.

One thing I really love about going to Yuval and Orit's house is their exceptional dog, Raja.  He's a big chow/shepherd mix and has the temperament of a Buddhist monk!  Seriously, he's the nicest dog I think I've ever met.  It's amazing to be around such a calm, loving and attentive dog.  When Orit was pregnant with Shalev, Raja was extra alert and was very helpful I'm sure when Orit was in labor at home.  She gave birth to Shalev in a kiddy pool in the middle of their living room!  She has a ton of respect for Mister Raja and so do all of the people that meet him.  He's a one in a million kind of dog!

Orit, Shalev and Ronit enjoying the birthday sing a long.

 

 Yuval, Shalev and Orit lighting the candles on their cakes.  Such an adorable family!

Yonatan showing me his chunk of chocolate birthday cake.  

 

Shortly after this photo was taken, Yonatan dropped his piece of cake (of course! that's what little boys do!) and smashed his hands into the remnants of the whole cake left on the table!  Everyone had a good laugh when they saw him do this.  His father, Elad, is Yuval's brother.  I think Yonatan and Shalev are going to get into some seriously sticky situations as they grow up together!

 

 Rotem's mommy kisses his foot after removing a splinter.  An adorable friend looks on. 

 

The weather was so nice so everyone was happily sitting out under the shade.  The kids had fun and eventually one of them got the bright idea to fill some balloons with water.  Luckily not too many people got soaked before a brave adult stepped in to stop the temporary chaos. 

 

 Maya sitting on her Grandpa Nissim's lap.

 

Maya  is 5 years old (I think) and is little Yonatan's older sister.  Her Grandpa Nissim is Yuval and Elad's dad, and Guy's uncle (his mom's brother).  He is really good with the kids and it is apparent that he really loves being around them.  Who wouldn't?  They're so adorable!

Sunset over the hills of Jerusalem.

 

Maayan and I were enjoying the day so much that we didn't have the energy to leave.  So we stayed until sunset and what a sunset it was!  It looked like the sun was just glowing on the horizon though you can't see it so well from the photo.  Such a beautiful place!

 

 Raja escorting Maayan and Lolita down to the car.

 

So Maayan and I finally got our butts off the ground after helping to clean up after the party (well, Maayan helped, I just talked!) and headed for home.  After descending the long and winding road we got to a big intersection where we spotted a pair of hitch-hikers (it's common to hitch-hike here in Israel) and slowed down to see where they were going.  It turns out they live in Yavne which is right near our village so we told them to hop in.  They were delighted to have a ride straight home as they had been hiking in the woods all day with big, heavy backpacks on them.  They both volunteered at Jewish summer camps in the United States for the past few summers and enjoyed it so much, plan to return again this summer.  We had a nice chat on the way home and the time flew.  

 

I was zonked by the time I got home and slept like a baby after my day with the family.  Guy spent the day here at home alone, mingling with our neighbors and enjoying a nice, long nap.  Because of his chronic back pain, he's not always up for spontaneous day trips.  Lucky for me I have his sister to take me away from the moshav on occasion!  Thanks Maayan!