The Final Supper

Team Liz had time for just one more meal before they boarded their plane back to Israel. Thanks to Marti & Jeffrey, we shared dinner at their house with Liz's cousins, Debbie and Randy and their daughters Allyson and Melissa. Liz's other cousin Robert and uncle Ira were also part of the dinner.

Uncle Ira, Saul, Robert and Randy listening intently.

Marti, Deb & Liz.

Marti and Jeffrey enjoying hosting dinner.

Dinner at Toby and Sam's

Team Liz arrived in Brooklyn to enjoy dinner hosted by our dear friends
Toby and Sam! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Michael, Mark (Saul's brother), Quincy (the black furball, I mean dog, in Mark's arms) and Josh enjoying dinner together.

Saul and Toby after dinner.

Susan and Liz after dinner.

Jeffrey's Birthday

Team Liz left North Carolina and headed to NYC.
We spent a very short but fun-filled 30 hours in NYC.
Our first stop was Liz's Mom's apartment.
We ate some appetizers, wished Jeffrey and Jessica a happy birthday and
then headed to Brooklyn.

Jeffrey, Jessica and Marti (Liz's step-father, step-sister and Mom)

Jeffrey and Matt (Jessica's husband).

More eating and merry making

Christmas Day and the day after Christmas were filled with family, gifts and of course lots of big meals. Liz's brother Jonathan and his wife Ginny joined the festivities on December 26th.(To see more photos click HERE.)

How many Jews does it take to change a light bulb on Christmas? Saul, Jonathan & Ginny.

Saul experiences the joy of both Chanukah & Christmas!

Liz's sister Tanya showing school spirit with her new NYU gear.

Liz's step-brother Danny overwhelmed by gifts.

Thanks to Jonathan & Ginny, Saul is now the proud owner of his very own Darth Tater - that's right a huge Mr. Potato Head filled with smaller Mr. Potato Heads all with Star Wars themes. You know you're jealous!

Christmas Eve

This was the first Christmas that Liz & Saul had the opportunity to celebrate in NC with Liz's family. Our family does a number of wonderful traditions including: dancing, enjoying a large dinner with as many family members as are in the area, roasting a whole pig for said dinner and of course toasting to the year that has passed and hoping for a happy and healthy new year. (To see more photos click HERE).

We will spare you the upclose photos of the roasting pig - but the box with coals on top of it contains said pig.
This box is called a "chinese box" and apparently is a cooking method to slow roast just about anything.
The pig took over 6 hours! Elisa, Danny (Liz's younger step-brother) and Louis are shown in this photo.

It was a sunny and beautiful Christmas Eve. The weather was so nice that folks were playing golf!
This picture taken from Liz's family's back porch.

Digna, Paul and Tanya (Liz's step-mom, step-brother and sister) in the kitchen before dinner on Christmas Eve.

Liz's dad Jeff, opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate the evening.

The Eighth Night of Chanukah

Team Liz headed to North Carolina to spend the holidays with Liz's family.
Saul's parents, Judy & Carl, drove all the way from Florida to join us for
the eighth night of Chanukah.
We are so thankful to them for coming all that way.
(To see more photos from our entire trip to the U.S. click here -
you will not need to sign in to view photos)

Jeff (Liz's Dad), Liz & Judy light the menorahs.

Like father like son - Noah sitting on Paul's (Liz's step-brother) lap after dinner.

Carl, Saul & Judy rejoice at being together for Chanukah.

The Fifth Night of Chanukah

Our dear friends LeAnne & Abe were kind enough to host an intimate and rocking fifth night of Chanukah party (Dec. 19, 2006) in their home here in Jerusalem.
They made fabulous latkes; dreidels were spuns; wine was drunk and outrageous brownies were consumed!
Oh yeah and the kids came out in costume for a wild rumpus and the adults sang some songs!
(To see more photos from this evening click here - you do not need to sign-in to view the photos.)

Liz & LeAnne in the kitchen.

The wild rumpus.

Sarah, LeAnne, Scott & Saul singing songs.

Hannah Madeline was Born!

Team Liz is very excited to announce the birth of Hannah Madeline Loges.

Hannah's mom, Samantha, is Liz's step-sister. Liz is now a step-aunt twice over!

Samantha, Hannah and Brian.

The Ladies Go to the Sea

So Liz took a day off from her studies at the Yeshiva and rented a car with some girlfriends and headed out of town to the Dead Sea. Luckily the Dead Sea is only a one hour drive from Jerusalem. The distance may be short, but the environment changes dramatically. Before you know it you are not only well below sea level but you are surrounded by desert and beautiful mountains.
Definitely a way to rejuvinate the soul after many hours inside a Yeshiva!
Here are some photos from our journey.

LeAnne and Clary in the Dead Sea.

LeAnne & Liz in the car before we leave Jerusalem.

The beautiful mountains of the Judean desert.

Marti & Jeffrey in Israel, Part III

On Wednesday we explored other areas in and around Tel Aviv including Jaffa Port, Rothschild Boulevard and Shuk HaKarmel.

Marti & Jeffrey in front of an Eastern food store in Shuk HaKarmel.
The name of the store is "balagan" which became Marti & Jeffrey's new favorite Hebrew word (see below).

The big surprise of the visit was that this morning (Wednesday) all the transportation unions in Israel went on strike. What this means practically is that at the moment Marti and Jeffrey may be stuck in Israel. All borders are closed and the airport is not open. Their flight is 10:30 AM on 11-30-06 so perhaps by then the strike will be concluded...we shall see.

After spending 24 hours trying to get out of Israel the word "balagan" took on a very real meaning. Simply, balagan means "a mess" more specifically it means what Ben Gurion Airport looks like the day after a strike of the transportation union ends and their are thousands of travelers trying to get on the first plane out of the country!

We are happy to report that Marti and Jeffrey were only stuck in Israel one extra day and arrived back in NYC safe and sound!