Okay, so this is my first post.  I got the idea from a friend who moved to Israel a couple of years ago and started a blog.  Her blog was so helpful to me and I imagine to others who have since moved, that I figured i would give it a go.

Anyway, hello to my friends and family and anyone who may be reading this post.  I’ll catch you all up.

August 18th we got in a van from Camp Moshava and went straight to the airport.  We met Eric’s sisters Atara and Ayelet there and his father.  We said goodbye to them and hopped on the plane.  10 hours later we were in Israel!!  The flight was good.  The kids were well behaved.  There were tons of noisy kids on the plane but luckily it didn’t bother our kids and they watched tv and slept.  There were Sheva Brachot on the plane a couple of rows ahead of us.  They broke out the guitars and everything!

So because we took a Nefesh B’Nefesh flight, we had most of the paperwork done on the plane.  They came around with these computerized tablets and had us fill them out and we were done!

When we landed there were cameras all over the place.  We landed, walked down the stairs of the plane and took a bus to the old terminal.  There were soldiers there and people clapping and singing.  It was extremely moving!  My grandmother, great aunt, cousins Avivit and Avi and their baby Shelly and Miriam were there.  I even bumped into some friends from home as well as from camp.  It was great.  BB was there at the ceremony and gave a speech.

After the ceremony and the hoopla, Eric went to fill out some paperwork which took some time.  By this time the kids had had it.  They were still pretty well behaved but they started the complaining.  Eric eventually came down and we got our 10 bags and off to the taxi we went.  Through Nefesh B’Nefesh we get a free ride to the place that we are staying/living.  So there was some confusion between the taxi companies and there was a bit of a fight over us but we eventually got into a cab and got to the Spiegelman’s house.

Now, for those of you who don’t know why we are staying by the Spiegelmans, it’s a long story.  The short story is that we had a place to live but the guy decided 4 days before we left that he wanted to sell it and not rent it.  He finally agreed to rent it out to us but by that time we decided to just come and stay here and go look at the house and others and make a decision when we got here.  So we’ve since made a decision and we are going to go with that house.  Pictures will follow as soon as we move in.  We aren’t entirely sure when that’s going to happen, though, because it’s still a bit of a mess from the construction and there are things that aren’t finished yet that will hopefully be finished this week.

Anyway, to continue, the day that we landed we basically took it easy.  We got settled and took naps and then went for a walk around the yishuv and to the park where the kids played for a little bit.

The next day I called my grandmother and she and my grandfather picked up Eric, Talia and Ben and dropped Eric off to get a rental car and the kids went swimming and shopping with my grandmother.  The rental car was a huge accomplishment and we decided that would be enough for the day.  Meanwhile, I was in Chashmonaim with Keren and we went to look at the house since I had never seen it.  Then we walked to the Macolet and bought some yogurt and milkies and gum.  On the way I saw a pomegranate tree!!  You don’t see that in America just walking down the street!!

Anyway, later on Eric came to get me and we went to my cousin Avi and Avivit’s house to pick up the kids.  We wound up going out with my grandmother for dinner and the kids fell asleep in the car.

The next day, Thursday, first thing in the morning, Eric went out and got our kupat cholim done!!  Another huge accomplishment.  We decided to celebrate by checking out the new mall in Modiin.  We made a big deal about being able to eat in the food court.  By the time I read the whole menu at the Burger Bar, which is where I was eating, I no longer had an appetite.  I thought SOMETHING would be in English but it was all in Hebrew.  Anyway, I mustered up the energy to figure out what it meant and I ordered a very yummy burger.  By the time I can to the table with it, Eric and the kids had finished their meals, and Keren was ready to eat too!  We bougth the kids some candy and bumped into Michelle Kaplan (Michelle Fischer) and talked for a little bit.  She said she would invite us one day for dinner.   That was sweet.  It was nice to see a famliar face.  The rest of the day we hung out around the house.

Friday morning Channa and three of her kids came home from camp.  We greeted them and then headed out to meet Savta, Avivit, Avi, Shelly and Aunt Yisraella at the pool that my grandmother’s friend belongs to.  Then we went back to Avivit and Avi’s house for lunch.  Before we left Avi Schonbrun came to say hi to us since we hadn’t seen him yet.

Friday night we ate by a nice couple (a little strange though) with a whole bunch of kids.  We stayed there until 11:45 at night!!  They wouldn’t bench and let us go.  I guess they enjoyed our company too much.  It was crazy!!  Because we got home at midnight, the kids slept until noon today!  We got up and ate lunch and then played a little.  In the afternoon friends of ours from camp who are staying in Chanshmonaim by their parents came over.  It was great because they have a little girl who Talia played with so nicely in camp and I love the mother so it all worked out well.  Then for seudat shlishit we went out to this couple with the most gorgeous house!!!  I felt like I stepped out of Israel and into an American house but not just any American house, a really really beautiful American house.  It was really stunning.  The people there were really nice.  They were older than us.  We had a nice time.

So over all, Shabbos was very nice.  I was sorry that I didn’t get to shul but as long as we aren’t held hostage at someone’s house next Friday night too, I should be able to get there next week and meet some people.

So this first blog turned out to be a really really long one!!  I had a lot to catch up on.  Hopefully I’ll post once a day and this way they won’t be as long!!  Next time maybe I’ll add some pictures.