Thursday, July 29, 2010

It's just a nice place to raise your kids up.

Yom shishi, 15 Av 5770.


What are your kids doing this summer?

Mizrachi update:  Soldier Boy is raising his adorable baby girl with his bride, and building a business.
Photo credit: her loving Baltimore grandfather, head of KF Productions

Photo credit: same as above: KF Productions
 It is a landscaping and hauling business, and he is very proud of it.  We are proud of its "Yiddishen ta'am."




Stunt Man has decided that he is quite comfortable with his place in the Paratroopers Brigade.




The guard duty shift is long; 
the backpack is heavy; 
the workers are hungry.  --  Pirke Samba"s





Thank G-d, the parents remembered to fill the fridge.






I often say of teenangels that they come home, lift the fridge up, and pour its contents into their mouths, and then announce, "Anything to eat around here?  I'm starving."

Teenangels and soldiers have this in common, with one small difference:

There is not enough food in Israel (or perhaps any other developed country) to feed a soldier who is home on leave.

I'm not discouraging you.

But forewarned is forearmed, as they say. Note to Israeli parents of pre-teens:   Taking out stock in Oreo and Bamba may not be a bad idea.





Yeshiva Bochur has been traveling in the Golan with a good friend from his childhood, Moshe-from-Chernovitz.  They have risen at dawn each day [Ed. comment:  REALLY???], working the fields of organic farms, getting their arms lacerated by the leaves surrounding zucchini vines, which they have soothed with the cooling waters of various waterfalls, after which they drank  the waters of the holy Kinneret... 


Sports Guy has been at the Kinneret all day with his friend Noam (aka "Fish" -- don't ask).  They have been kayaking, swimming, fishing, burning...  (He did use sunscreen, Tante Shalomis.  It just wasn't waterproof.  What can one do?)

And their big brother SamJam is moving with his beautiful family to greener pastures...


Photo credits: ShellDIL  (Don't worry.  That's not their house.)
Meanwhile, the kids of Neve Daniel have been keeping themselves (and their parents) busy.


Mountain climbing is not an uncommon sport for intrepid little Israeli settler kids...



What really makes us nervous about letting our kids go bunjee jumping?  It's the possibility of smacking their little kepis on the ground at high velocity, right?  So -- leave it to Israelis to come up with a solution:  Horizontal Bunjee Jumping.  You heard it here first.
 


It was very cute when he hit the back wall.  But he was not concussed.  No parents were hurt in this filming.











Someone asked us if we are going on any tiyulim (trips) this year.  We just looked around at our neighborhood:  kids playing on wonderful and brightly-colored fairground equipment; boys swimming and climbing and kayaking; parents with never-before-imagined free time on their hands...  (That would be us -- not the parents of the little kids running around in these photos.)  Now I hear Jerusalem is in line to receive the biggest ferris wheel in the world.  My only question is, "Where the heck they gonna put it?"

Well, if nothing else has inspired you to want to live in this lovely country, maybe the ferris wheel will do it.  And if you already want to live here, don't worry: the thing is supposed to hold something like 800 people at once.  I'll save you a seat.

What are your kids doing for summer vacation?  Tell me!  I'm anxious to hear, because I miss you.

9 comments:

in the vanguard said...

Nice neighborhood. Great for the kids. Shabbat shalom, y'all!

Sheyna Ariel said...

Love Love Love all the pictures!!!!! Well..you already know what mine is doing..dont you?? :)
Just dont forget..even though you have "free time" your job is not done! ") We, your kids, even though are older and some are having our own kids still need their Ema :D
And good job on the new layout of the blog, love the colors!!!!

Anonymous said...

Don't mind if I do share! Our oldest is in Yerushalayim studying performing arts with Rachel Factor and touring "The Land." Today they were in Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea and midnight tonight will climb Massada! "Middle Child," known here in RBS A as "Ha Sandveech," has been entertaining her cousin from New Jersey, letting him lean on her as they walk around the corner to buy gum! (Okay maybe its not so far to get there, but then to think of walking home...) Going to the Stalactite caves and stopping by the roadside to collect carob fallen from the trees, learning cake decorating with girls who speak English, Hebrew and Spanish-Mi mama habla Espanol!,going to weddings-overlooking the Old City of Yerushalayim or in moshav gardens. Little One is B"H in camp! She comes home for a bite at midday and then is out distributing "iglooim to a dozen or so of her closest friends of the day! She frequently needs to be carried in after the sun has gone to bed because the "other kids" are still out biking, running and playing-and Ima! I still didn't give Ilan, Elisheva, Sorah, Yoel and Hadas an Igloo! Abba and Ima shlepped the crew camping in Ramat Hagolan-We have been camping twice now in Israel and rapidly becoming experts on the do and don'ts. Loving it in "The Land."
M & M

Keren Hening said...

Let's see: Guinness is sleeping outside or inside, depending on where he is. Merlin and Beau are occasionally raising a ruckus whenever my neighbors are hanging out on their porch talking really loudly. Ima is keeping all three boys in line when necessary.

Indoors Winston, Zelda and Coco are all eating my house - literally! They're grazing on the drywall corners, the baseboards and part of my teak desk. Ah, well, such is life with rabbits!!

Oh, my kids? You wanted to know about my kids? Well, if they ever call and talk to me, I'll let you know.

Karen

sparrow said...

What a delightful post! We don't have children, but it is always fun to watch the lives of our friends' kids. Your grand-daughter is a peach!

Leora said...

Everyone has such big smiles! I liked the line about stock in bamba and Oreo. Of course, I'd be trying to convince them to eat pea soup, kale and brown rice...

Baila said...

Gorgeous pictures of your kids and your neighborhood kids.

My kids? Big one is in America, but--be still my heart--misses Israel. Middle is in camp here in Israel having a ball and little one, who just became a teen is running around like an Israeli doing some great things.

I'm terrified of heights, but I'll meet you at the wheel if you'll my hand when we're up high--it'll make for some great blog fodder...

Miriyummy said...

I can so hear you kvelling from here!

rutimizrachi said...

Thanks, Gang. The comments made me smile; and the updates were really interesting!