Tulips and Easter

Since we got back so late Friday night, we spent Saturday relaxing at home and playing at the park. It was the opening weekend of the Tulip Festival, so we went to a local park to enjoy the tulips, listen to live music, eat a picnic lunch and for Owen to try out his new scooter.
Easter Sunday was a great day. We started the morning by making resurrection rolls. Thanks to Grandma, we had marshmallows to put inside the roll (representing Jesus' body). When you take the rolls out of the oven and open up the roll, the marshmallow is no longer there (representing the empty tomb and Jesus' resurrection). Owen was very excited to see that the marshmallow had disappeared.
Next we read the Easter Story from the Bible. Anne sent Owen these resurrection eggs to help make the story come alive. Each egg is filled with a symbol that helps tell the story, ie. a cup from the last supper, cross made of nails, a rock representing the stone in front of the tomb. Owen loved it and was shocked when the last egg was empty, representing the empty tomb and Jesus' resurrection. I'm so thankful for the creative tools that help my 2 year old really understand these spiritual truths.
Next we headed to the seaside for an Easter Egg Hunt.
Owen immediately remembered from last year that there were going to be jelly beans inside these eggs. Within seconds his cheeks were filled with candy.
This next series of pics is Owen's first encounter with Peeps.
Owen: Look at this dad, it's a baby chick. Can I eat it?
Dad: Yes Owen, you can eat it. It's called a Peep.
Owen: Mmmmmm! That's great!
Owen: You've gotta try this "cheek" dad! (cheek is a cross between a chick and a peep)
What a beautiful setting for an egg hunt!
As if he needed more sugar, Owen came home to find his Easter basket full of candy and stickers. His favorite part was eating the chocolate bunny's ear (just like in his Easter book).
That evening we attended an Easter Worship Service. All of the churches in the city joined together for a time of worship and celebration. It was a wonderful evening to remember that because Jesus rose, I can be confident that He defeated death and sin forever! I can have a relationship with my perfect Creator because Jesus took the punishment for my sins. How thankful I am for that!
We had a great time with my parents. Even though we don't get to see each other all of the time, it certainly makes the time even more special when we are together.

Cappadocia continued

A shepherd watching over his sheep
We hiked down into a valley and found several ancient churches carved into the canon walls.
Owen was quite the climber
Here are a few pics of the artwork still existing inside the churches
Owen and Grandpa watching the sun set over the mountains

Our trip to Mars???

We went to Cappadocia for a few days while my parents were here. It was the strangest looking place I have ever seen. You'll see the landscape in the pictures, so I won't go into detail of what it looked like, just google it. Basically these rock formations have been homes and churches for people for the past 2000 years. We explored huge underground cities and churches and homes carved out of the sides of mountains. You can google it to learn all about the area.
We flew out there and then rented a car. The drive was just long enough for Owen to get in a quick nap in Grandma's lap, which made Grandma very happy.
Our first views of the area
We stayed in an actual cave house while we were there. It was amazing. Our room was an old wine press. Owen got to sleep in a little cave bed. I've never seen such pure delight when he first set eyes on his cave bed. He wanted to go to bed right then and there. There's not much better in life for a 2 year old then sleeping in a cave like Batman.

Our courtyard and view from the top terrace. Taking a hot-air balloon ride is one of the more popular things to do in the area. So each morning we saw the balloons launch.
This is a random pic, but this scene was right across the street from our house. We couldn't help but think that this is similar to the place that Mary and Joseph stayed the night that Jesus was born.
Dinner at a fun restaurant. Owen loved eating on the floor.
Mom and Dad ate a dish served in clay pots that is famous to the area.

The next day we explored the ancient underground city.
Owen brought his flashlight so that he could "check out" every inch of the cave. He said he wanted to be an explorer just like Dora.

Hooray!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit! My parents came to visit for 10 days. We had a great time and even got to take a little trip out of the city. Here are pics from the past 10 days.
We started the visit off right with a trip to NumNums and Krispy Kreme. Of course Owen got his sprinkles.

Breakfast at the downtown harbor. This was my dad's first simit of many. A simit is kind of like a sesame bagel.
Owen's new favorite thing is to put sugar in our tea for us, my little cayci.

Our friends Serife and Huseyn invited us over for dinner and to watch the big Fenerbahce- Galatasaray football match. It was a special evening for my parents to get to meet our friends and it was great for us to get to meet many of their extended family members. The evening was full of great food and great conversation (none of which was in English)!
Monday morning, our best friends downstairs, Cuneyt and Derya, invited us to eat brunch with them. My parents loved the food and loved meeting this sweet family. We are so thankful for these friends. We have a lot in common with them and really enjoy spending time with them. It was a special morning.
Tuesday we went to the Sali Pazari. This is the largest weekly bazaar in our city. You can find pretty much anything you need. It's like an outdoor Walmart on wheels. We had a great time shopping for treasures, the green sweatpants not being one of them.

The Countdown

A paper chain to count how many night-nights until Grandma and Grandpa come!