Tiyul #4 - Ra'Naana/North part 1

Noam (Yiftach’s cousin’s husband) who so amazingly picked us up at the airport and took us to Jerusalem, offered to come pick us up again in Jerusalem (1 hour each way) and bring us to Ra’naana before we left for a few days together. It was wonderful and saved us the journey on the busses.

We left Saturday night around 5:30 PM and went to Kfar Saba to his cousin’s birthday party! Hadarya didn’t do so well as she slept the whole way to in the car and then was surrounded by so many people she didn’t know. She kept fussing and crying and it was getting late, so we left and Tamar (his cousin) took us to her parents house (Dod Gil and Doda Nomi) to spend the night. Savta Ruth had just arrived a few days before.

Hadarya walked into their house as if she’d been there a million times and had a ball! She took to Nomi and Gil as if she’d spent days and days with them. She played with the toys they had for Zohar (Hadarya’s cousin who is 5 weeks younger) and laughed and giggled and enjoyed their company for over an hour. Then we changed her into her pajamas and she watched Elmo laying down in our bed for the night. Yiftach then took her out for a nightly stroll to put her to bed. Going to bed has been an issue as she will only go down in the stroller. He was incredibly successful and was able to transfer her into our bed.

We were blessed with an entire night’s sleep until 8:30 AM!!! She woke up 3 times and asked for milk and told us to STOP when we tried to pat her on the back. She drank and went right back to sleep. It was great. We hope tonight in the North will be a repeat. : )


Ra’Naana – Sunday Day

We spent a wonderful morning walking around the main street of Ra’Naana. Yifach found a pair of sandals that he loved and we hung out on the street with Sunny and her boys. Sunny and her boys live in San Diego and are visiting her mother who lives in Ra’naana. It was so much fun to see them! Lunch at the best falafel in Israel was a must and Ruth had joined us by this time. It was sooo delicious! My favorite part is actually the fresh lemonade with fresh mint. Refreshing. We then went back to his aunt and uncles and played with Zohar for a couple of hours before heading out of town. We were waiting for the car to get fixed. The girls laughed and played and had a blast together. We even took them to the park. I didn’t think it through that sand will stick to sweaty bodies very easily and within a short time they were covered. We carried them home and did a quick bath before getting in the car for a 3-hour drive.

The girls were great on the drive, especially for leaving around 5 PM, and sitting in the car for so long. They slept for quite a bit and had a blast running around the supermarket when we stopped for supplies. They each had a chocolate milk and just couldn’t get enough of running around after each other. We arrived in the middle of the mountains near the border of Lebanon to the most exquisite cabins.

Sunday Night - Hadarya pulled an all-nighter, sleeping that is, after going to bed late around 10 PM. She woke at 5:15 for milk and fell back to sleep until 9:00 or so. Maybe later! We had a lovely breakfast on the balcony with gorgeous sight to see.