Cousins!

My mom, Rebecca, and Sara Kate are here visiting for a week. Selah is only 7 weeks older than Sara Kate. They are both about 1.5. They have enjoyed going to the park and playing together, sometimes nicely, sometimes not so much. The visit has been really great and has afforded us a needed break, before we embark on a trip to the eastern part of the country and then our vacation to Finland after that. We will try to keep up with the bloggery.The cousins in a rare moment of stillness.

Ama and Selah on the couch

The Texas two-step. Click on the Our Videos link on the right to see the video.

A civilized meal together

Pool Fun

We don't have a pool at our apartment, but our friends do. Selah enjoyed dumping a bucket of water on her legs and tentatively walking in the baby pool with mom or dad.

Selah & Kaden play nicely

Can we go to the pool already!

She's ready to go to the pool today. Summer is here. It's been getting hot. I broke down and turned on our air conditioner the other night. It felt wonderful. At night we just sleep with our windows open and fans on, which is usually good, until the national soccer team wins on a last minute goal at 11.15 pm and Laura feels like she's in the middle of the stadium when the whole city, watching their respective TVs, erupts into synchronized yelling and honking. I, of course, slept through all of it.

The Hiawatha

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon cruising the Bosphorus on the Hiawatha. This boat, owned by the US Consulate, is allegedly the oldest boat on the Strait. 100ish years old. I haven't been able to find the exact history of the boat, but regardless, we had a great time on it (her). The occasion was some friends who are moving back to the US. We cruised up toward the Black Sea for about an hour and swam near the shore. The water was a beautiful blue-green. It was a little nippy, but refreshing.

Tepreş!

We just returned from a fun trip to Eskişehir. We had a great time meeting new people and attending the Tepreş festival. We learned a whole lot about the culture and made some great friends. Selah slept well in her pack and play, but only would eat crackers and carbs the whole time. Now that we are home she is eating better. We've got several more trips coming up, so we will keep the blog updated. For more pics click our Flickr link on the right side.trying (poorly) to do the dance

the lovely dancing ladies of the dernek

Ayküt and Önder

More dancing

Gentlemen in the village.