So I have over eighty images from the last few weeks. Even though they didn’t officially take place on July 13 and 20, I will be splitting them across those weeks to make sure I preserve our holiday memories. These are very image-heavy posts so feel free to skip. With that, here’s part1 (part 2 here.):

Before our big trip to Bodrum, we went to Los Angeles for two days. The plan was that Jake would drive us all down, we’d spend two days there and then fly to Turkey just the three of us and he’d go back home. He would then come back down to pick us up so we wouldn’t have to change planes on the way back to San Fran. I think it was flawed in some ways and a good plan in other ways. Either way, it meant we had a two-day full-family vacation before our big vacation.

they couldn’t see anything since we didn’t put coins in. Not that it stopped them from having fun.

we went browsing at Santa Monica pier.

the boys were fascinated but most things.

but loved the video games the most.

oh and getting to pet this super-cool lizard.

we stayed in Santa Monica and we walked to have breakfast each morning. I snapped shots of the boys.

and really enjoyed being there.

the boys spent a ton of time in the hotel pool.

and we even got to visit our friend Jess and her wonderful family.

all in all, LA was great and I was not nearly as nervous as I was when I got on the plane with the boys though I was really sad to say goodbye to Jake. Our trip was mostly uneventful. After hours and hours on the first plane, we finally landed in Istanbul and then went through the visa line and then the customs line. Then we walked to domestic flights and went through another security check. And finally we could rest. My sister and her family were supposed to meet us there to take the same flight down to Bodrum with us, but we had a 4-hour layover and didn’t expect them until it got closer to the actual flight time. We rested a bit, Nathaniel ate a bite and then we found our gate (which was down a bunch of stairs which we had to go up and down several times cause of no bathrooms and I had to carry our carryons up and down and up and down and I was really wiped at this point.) then the time came for our flight and my sister was still nowhere to be seen. We got worried but figured maybe there was a change of plans and no one told us since we had no mobile reception in Turkey. So we got on the plane (some more stairs up for that.) and took off.

When we got to Bodrum, my mom and dad said that my sister, Yona, had been delirious worried about me and that they were actually at the later flight out of Istanbul and thought we were too so she was panicked when she didn’t see us there. All this meant that we had to wait yet another 1.5 hours for their flight to land and it was around 1am local-time by this point.

All this made for a relatively long day(s) to get there but also quite uneventful and painless in the grand scheme of things.

As I’d promised my sister, I brought my camera along and hers was the first photo I took. Isn’t she so beautiful?

and then my beautiful mom.

the boys were super-happy and got lots of ipad time.

and snuggle-up time.

they spent a lot of time playing with Yona’s kids.

David loved the pirate costume Yona brought him.

Nathaniel loved all the attention he got.

here’s my mom again.

she is much loved.

i love this shot of Yona’s son Jeff with Nathaniel.

and here he is smirking mischievously.

Jeff again.

i am much loved, too.

my sister’s other boy, Aksel, took this one and I love it.

this one, too.

here he is with Nathaniel.

David playing cards with Jeff.

and my sister and I. I love her so so much.

I love David so much, too.

my dad, who’s the reason we all went there. His wonderful birthday. So grateful for him.

Yona and the boys. I love this photo.

and this one too.

you can’t hear all the laughter when you look but I can still remember the moment I snapped the photo. That’s what I love about taking pictures. Getting to really relive the moments.

It was important that we take some of the four boys.

and i love these.

i just kept snapping.

and then my parents joined in too.

there was kissing

and laughing (and funny faces)

and tickle time, of course.

and then a few of us when we got back.

laughter here, too.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

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Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

Here are some snapshots from our week:

The kids have been playing in the backyard a lot.

this is a dream-come-true for me.

especially when they do it together.

i love seeing my boys happy.

or silly.

Nathaniel’s class had one final party before everyone dispersed for the summer.

he and daddy played a bunch.

building things.

very focused.

and super-joyful.

there’s also been a lot of posing.

and making faces.

gangnam style. (don’t even get me started.)

and origami.

i just love the creativity of this boy.

and this one! who made an origami psy.

nathaniel was being silly again of course.

i’m learning to accept that’s just who he is.

so just before i lose it, i decide it’s tickle time.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

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Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

Here are some snapshots from our week:

We went to a pick peaches and strawberries in Brentwood.

it was quite sunny.

but the boys loved it.

the little one spent some time being silly.

and making faces for me.

and finally a smile.

david took photos, of course.

strawberries were hard to pick.

but we persevered.

then it was Nathaniel’s last day at school so there was a party.

he got tattoos.

and spent fun time with play dough and daddy.

then it was photo time.

lots of laughter this time.

love these boys so much.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

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Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

Here are some snapshots from our week:

We went to Pacifica to checkout a greenhouse and have some food by the beach.

David brought his camera there and took tons of photos .

the buildings were wonderfully colored.

love Nathaniel’s face here.

David taking a photo of himself.

the flowers were amazing.

i took a mirror-shot.

and one of Nathaniel.

he liked running, of course.

we came home with a venus fly trap (or chomper as the kids like to call it.)

Nathaniel loves watching David play.

it’s a bad photo but Nathaniel’s putting his plaque in the book he donated to the school library on his birthday.

David reading his science fiction story to his class.

and my wonderful husband.

Nathaniel was being funny of course.

he made me laugh and laugh.

i couldn’t even tell him to be serious.

here is the only “serious” shot I got.

and tickle time of course!

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

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Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

Another set that’s all about Nathaniel’s birthday. Here are some snapshots from our week:

one of the neighbors couldn’t come to the little party we hosted so she came early to drop off a present for Nathaniel that required some construction. So the boys sat together and picked a song to listen to.

and got to work.

there was hammering.

and glueing. and laughing.

at night, we were invited to my friend Leslie’s son’s bar mitzvah so we dressed up all nice and got the babysitter to snap a shot.

then we celebrated Nathaniel’s birthday at the little park here by our house as we have every year since we’ve been born.

i snapped some shots of the boys.

david was awesome but nathaniel refused to look.

so i just kept snapping.

then it was time to blow the candles.

and the little champ did awesome.

and loved it.

the cake started like this.

and ended like this.

little boy loved his cupcake.

the kids played mini-golf and bean bag toss.

but Nathaniel just sat and ate his food.

and david riled all the kids up.

then Nathaniel went to the birthday party of another kid in his class and got some sunglasses in his goodie bag.

which he loved.

so i snapped and snapped of course.

that’s how you capture magic.

this is a terrible shot of it but he also got the clown to make him a cactus out of balloons. (in honor of plants vs zombies)

we received a bubble gun as one of his today.

let’s just say he loved it.

then it was time for family photos.

i tried to get them to stop laughing.

but Nathaniel was in top-form as always.

and would not stop laughing.

so i just gave in and laughed, too.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

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Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.

Here are some snapshots from our week:

We went to Creativity Day in the city last weekend. I took a photo right before we got there.

it started with bubble fun!

Nathaniel was shy but david had a lot of fun.

then it was lego time.

all three boys played.

then David was in a robot-making class.

he focused.

he got frustrated.

but then it worked like a charm!

and he loved it.

there was more playing.

even some silly putty.

we also went to David’s school cause it was his sharing day.

and he talked about our trip to Tiburon.

then it was Dino day so we went back to his school.

this is a poem he wrote about his dinosaur.

a peek into the diorama.

and his report.

they also put on a play.

David knew I was taking photos.

then family photo time.

Nathaniel would not stop playing with his feet.

unless we tickled him.

and here we go. so grateful for my life. i hope your week was lovely, too.

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Weekly Diary is a project for 2013. You can read more about it here.