End of Ramazan Celebration

IYI BAYRANLAR means, happy holidays in Turkish. Today is one of the biggest holidays of the Muslim culture. It is the end of Ramazan (Ramadan in English). The Turkish people have been fasting for 40 days! They are allowed to eat before the sun rises and after it sets. Therefore, at around 3:00 am, a real drummer starts his rounds through the village. He comes by everyone's house, drumming away. The drums are basically a "wake-up call" and the woman get up to prepare meals before the sun rises. This week is the end of the 40 days, so there is a lot of celebrating. Most stores are closed, everyone is heading to families. Today is called the "sugar" day. We bought a bunch of candy and let the girls hand it out. Why are they inside the gate? Well, the Turkish children get a little "grabby." They have been ringing the doorbell all day! Our doorbell sounds like a bird, so it is really annoying. Chance took Kaely and Londyn around in van with the moon roof. They popped their heads out and threw candy while saying, "iyi bayramlar! and 'shugar'!" Everyone got a kick out of it.

This morning our street was lined with Turkish carpets. We learned from last year and moved the vans before the chanting started. If we hadn't, there would have been no way to make it to school this morning. Around 100 men gathered and prayed, chanted, and kept standing up- bending down-kneeling- and back up. I went to the roof of our house to snap a couple shots. They are in front of the mosque, across from our house.

Disclaimer: The previous facts are from Angie's "exposure" to the Turkish culture. One better ask a Turkish Muslim to get the real history behind Ramazan. :)

Mascara Moment

Addie is at it again. This one is 1/2 my fault though. She was playing with my mascara and ended up taking it to bed with her during her nap. I didn't think much about it since the lid was on tight. A couple hours later, I went to get her, and was shocked. I didn't know what had happened as I peered in at the "black covered" baby. It was EVERYWHERE! All over her, bedding, and stuffed animals. She was just as happy as a lark though. Unfortunately, it was waterproof mascara and it took me a long time and a lot of different scrubbing methods to get it all off. These pictures are taken after I already scrubbed over 1/2 of it off. Imagine the before pictures. :) At least I know my mascara will last a long time. :)

1st Day of School- 2008-09 School Year

Okay... I know I am WAY late on posting these, but honestly, what else is new. Here are the girls their first day of kindergarten (Londyn), second grade (Makenzie), and fourth grade (Kaely). Did I just type fourth grade??? That is insane. I can't believe Kaely is in 4th. They all have fantastic teachers! I couldn't ask for more. They each love school and have good friends. Check out their first day at Incirlik Unit School. The home of the camels!!! :)

Addie is 14 months

Addie is really a little girl now. She is starting to talk and is very pleased with herself a lot. She is a stubborn one though. There is A LOT of personality behind that red hair. She refuses to let people do things for her. She squeals and pushes. One can't help but laugh. She says words in English and Turkish.

Addie's Dishwasher Fascination

This happened a month ago, but I just came across the pictures. Addie decided that she would see what she could get away with. When Chance and I left the kitchen, she tested her plan. She did it. She was pretty happy about it too.

Kaely's B-day

Kaely turned 9 on September 11th. She, as well as Kenzie and Londyn, had parties with the family in the states. However, Kaely also had a friend party on the 10th, since her b-day isn't exactly during the summer. She had 5 girls spend the night. They went swimming, went and got their hair and nails done at a Turkish beauty shop near our house, watched "Camp Rock" on the wall (using our infocus), and just had fun.

The biggest present she received was...... A DOG!!!!! I know I am crazy, but you have to admit, I win the mom of the year award for this. :) If you know me well, I DO NOT like dogs. However, Kaely has begged and wished for one for years. She wants to be a vet and adores animals. Our neighbor, nanny, brought up the idea over a month ago. She had a friend whose dog was having puppies. It fell into our hands, what were we suppose to do ? Anyway- check out the picture of Kaely's face. She had know idea and couldn't believe it. She named him Ginger Melek (angel in Turkish) Wilson. She is actually out walking him now. Crazy!!!!