This is the REAL May blog, for some reason my March blog save under May in the archives on the right hand corner of your viewing page. I've done everything I can and can not change the months.
Anyways as usual May was a busy month for us. Jordyn graduated from her preschool (Ms Jeannette's where I work) and is moving on to kindergarten. Jaymee turned 7 and some of the ladies and I packed up and went to Jordan to celebrate a much needed break from kids, dogs and husbands. So sit back and enjoy...it was a very entertaining month!
Anyways as usual May was a busy month for us. Jordyn graduated from her preschool (Ms Jeannette's where I work) and is moving on to kindergarten. Jaymee turned 7 and some of the ladies and I packed up and went to Jordan to celebrate a much needed break from kids, dogs and husbands. So sit back and enjoy...it was a very entertaining month!
Jordyn Graduates Pre-school
Our new Kindergartener already...where did the time go?
Jordyn with Ms. Jeanette
Jordyn with her teacher Ms. Julie
Gabe and Jordyn...such good buddies
The best of friends(Jaymee, William, Gabe and Jordyn)
The day was getting long and it was hotOne of Jordyn's Graduation songs...this one is my favorite. We say our please and Thankyou's by Ms Jeannette graduating class of 2011. We are so proud of you!
graduation cupcakes (Yes I made them)
Graduation cake
Graduation cake #2Jaymee turns 7!
Jaymee's birthday15 of her closest friends joined us at the snack bar during lunch for pizza and cake. It was a lot of fun. That night we headed to Bahrain to celebrate her birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe...what a great birthday!
All about the horses this year!
Horse cake...she was very specific she wanted a white horse, with pink hair and purple rein...the things us mom's do.
Product shot! "Mmmm Tori your cakes are delicious, order one today!"Sex in the City 3 - Jordan
Now it is off to Jordan. What an experience and I couldn't have enjoyed it more! There was relaxation, there was LOTS of laughs and just plain old girl time. It was awesome. Thanks gals for a wonderful trip and I hope we make this an annual thing!
Night one
Lalani and Kelly our first night in Jordan
Myself and Heather
Stairs I fell down the first night, seriously completely fell then tucked and rolled down the stairs (If you are as experienced as me in the injury field you learn very early on to tuck and roll that way I protect my head! Not just a pretty hat rack peope!)...result massive bruise on my thigh that we watched daily turn many different colors and a nice bruise on my arm, but really for those of you who know me... you have to admit that was pretty mild compared to most of my injuries!
View from my room. Not too shabby to wake up to huh? 
Terrace on my roomThe Dead Sea
Dead Sea (Arabic al-Bahr al-Mayyit) is also called the Salt sea.
Have you ever wondered why its called the Dead Sea?
The name Dead Sea is derived from the fact that due to the salinity of the water it makes for a harsh enviornment in which animals and plant life cannot flourish.
Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David and became one of the world's 1st health resorts.
Due to the high levels of salt in the water, you are to remain in the Dead Sea for 20 minutes at a time, probably because you can become so dehydrated. or, the time limit could be because of the minerals in the water detox your system or, they just knew I was coming and because of Texas they were worried I had too many toxins in my system
Just floating
Floating in the dead seaThe only way I can describe the the dead sea water is its like a massive lake of baby oil. The water is very oily (which makes your hair and skin sooooo soft). But if one single drop of that water gets into your eyes it is so painful! Trust me it happend to me...does that shock anyone? I thought not.
SupermanKelly and I floating in the Dead sea
Heather and Lani floating
Looks like someone is holding Heather up, but they aren't. Funny thing about the water was that it was actually more of a work out to try and keep your feet down then to just float. In the end the most comfortable way to sit was cross legged...interesting huh?
Now its mud time. You are supposed to rub the mud all over your body and let it sit on your skin for 10 minutes than go and rinse off in the water, but of course I reacted to the mud and broke out into some nasty hives! (Told ya...its all the poison I put in my body in Texas coming out of my pores!) Once I rinsed off in the shower I was fine...a little itchy but got over it.
muddy
Mud time
(L: Kelly, Heather, Lani and me!)
Swamp creatures
(L: Kelly, Heather, Lani and me)
After a day of relaxing at the beach we headed out for a nice dinner.
Beautiful sunset picture
The three amigos
Dinner out with the gals
Dinner out with the gals
LaLani and I
Mmmmmm lobster
So what goes great after a wonderful dinner?
I really was not a fan of the taste, it was an apple flavor. It was quite smooth, but really left a nasty after taste behind.
But I worked through it
Holly Shisha baby!
Hookah anyone?
Ahhhh the innocence, sums up the majority of our weekend!
Yum, yum I think Kelly's done this before.
The walk back to our rooms. Wine! How I've missed you! (In case anyone was wondering, I made it back unscathed, just a mild headache in the morning)
The next day we grabbed a driver and drove into Amman to do some shopping
Going shopping
Going shopping
Mosaics made by "the children of the handicap"
I feel I need to explain that quote a little bit more. We were shopping at one of the "local" stores and the gentleman that kept helping us (okay boardline stalking, but a sales a sale right?)Anyways, we were looking at all these beautiful mosaic tiles. Some were the size of kitchen tables, and our buddy kept telling us these were made "by the children of the handicap." Don't know if it was a sales pitch or not, but that was one of the many quotes we all took back with us from Jordan!
Tree of Life
So this is the tree of life, bascially it shows the lion eating the deer, the deer becoming the soil that make the tree grow. Bascially the circle of life, very cool.
After doing some shopping we headed to the Ancient Ruins for some touristy stuff...it was cool
All us gals with Jordan in the background
collesium
Heather and LaLani enjoying the view of Jordan
Where else can you see abunch of kids playing soccer...sorry "football"? At ancient Roman ruins...that's where!
Ancient ruins
Citadel
Is also known as Al-Qaser or The Palace which dates back to the Islamic Umayyad period around 720 AD. To this day it is still unclear of its function, but the building includes a monumental gateway, cruciform audience hall and four vaulted chamber.
inside Citadel
Love this picture - Citadel
Heather and Lani floating
Looks like someone is holding Heather up, but they aren't. Funny thing about the water was that it was actually more of a work out to try and keep your feet down then to just float. In the end the most comfortable way to sit was cross legged...interesting huh?Now its mud time. You are supposed to rub the mud all over your body and let it sit on your skin for 10 minutes than go and rinse off in the water, but of course I reacted to the mud and broke out into some nasty hives! (Told ya...its all the poison I put in my body in Texas coming out of my pores!) Once I rinsed off in the shower I was fine...a little itchy but got over it.
muddy
Mud time(L: Kelly, Heather, Lani and me!)
Swamp creatures(L: Kelly, Heather, Lani and me)
After a day of relaxing at the beach we headed out for a nice dinner.
Beautiful sunset picture
The three amigos
Dinner out with the gals
Dinner out with the gals
LaLani and I
Mmmmmm lobsterSo what goes great after a wonderful dinner?
Its Hookah time
I really was not a fan of the taste, it was an apple flavor. It was quite smooth, but really left a nasty after taste behind.
But I worked through it
Holly Shisha baby!
Hookah anyone?
Ahhhh the innocence, sums up the majority of our weekend!
Yum, yum I think Kelly's done this before.
The walk back to our rooms. Wine! How I've missed you! (In case anyone was wondering, I made it back unscathed, just a mild headache in the morning)The next day we grabbed a driver and drove into Amman to do some shopping
Going shopping Going shopping
Mosaics made by "the children of the handicap"I feel I need to explain that quote a little bit more. We were shopping at one of the "local" stores and the gentleman that kept helping us (okay boardline stalking, but a sales a sale right?)Anyways, we were looking at all these beautiful mosaic tiles. Some were the size of kitchen tables, and our buddy kept telling us these were made "by the children of the handicap." Don't know if it was a sales pitch or not, but that was one of the many quotes we all took back with us from Jordan!
Tree of LifeSo this is the tree of life, bascially it shows the lion eating the deer, the deer becoming the soil that make the tree grow. Bascially the circle of life, very cool.
After doing some shopping we headed to the Ancient Ruins for some touristy stuff...it was cool
All us gals with Jordan in the background
collesium
Heather and LaLani enjoying the view of Jordan
Where else can you see abunch of kids playing soccer...sorry "football"? At ancient Roman ruins...that's where!
Ancient ruins
CitadelIs also known as Al-Qaser or The Palace which dates back to the Islamic Umayyad period around 720 AD. To this day it is still unclear of its function, but the building includes a monumental gateway, cruciform audience hall and four vaulted chamber.
inside Citadel
Love this picture - Citadelalign="center">
I am Hercules
Behind me is the Byzatine church remains thought to date back to the 6th or 7th century AD
Hercules's hand.
It was estimated that the statue stood over 13 meters high, making it one of the largest statues from Greco-Roman times. Temple of Hercules(who was renowned for his physical strength) was built when Geminus Marcanos was governor of Provincia Arabia 161-166 AD
Beautiful picutre of the ruins
Archeologists uncovered actual faces that were fossilized.
is kind of freaky....back in the day when a family lost their child they placed their body in a jar and buried under the "living room" so that the child could still be with them as a family
After our afternoon of sight seeing we headed off to a much needed dinner in town, but......
Took a wrong turn, but were welcomed with open arms at the local pub. Kidding, we all went in to Amman to go for dinner, but the restaurant wasn't open until 7:30pm and we already sent our driver off, so we decided to go check out this local pub, have a drink and little snack before dinner. Well they don't really specialize in "pub food" aka as we don't have a menu, all we have is beer. But they were so nice and I think a bit shocked that "women" were in the pub they welcomed us anyway. And this is what we got for a snack....
pub food
At least we reached our destination...the best Italian restaraunt..this was the place we were waitng to open when we found the local pub...it was worth the wait. Great food, Great wine, Great service and Great friends!
Some more pictures of Jordan
Camel ride anyone?
Farmer
Camels just wandering the street. It was really neat, along this boardwalk that overlooked the Dead Sea, people gathered a night and had picnics and vendors sold...um camel meat? Not sure, but it was really neat to see everyone gathering listening to music, chatting or kicking around a football (soccer).
Um...hmm chocolate cookies?
They're not Oreos they're stereos!
Sea Level
For those of you who are unfamiliar with excatly what sea level is...you aren't alone. Bascially it is the measure of the average height of the ocean's surface (such as the halfway point between the mean high tide and the mean low tide); used as a standard in reckoning land evelvation. Huh?
Any who....it was really neat to learn that each year sea level drops one meter.
SEA Level
We are at 402 meters below sea level...I knew I was feeling light headed...kidding.
Sea Level
Some fun pictures around the resort. We stayed at the Movenpick at the Dead Sea
Tea anyone?
This man stood at the front entrance (where all the restaurants and front desk was) serving tea or coffee. It was VERY strong tea!
They even named a place after me!
I thought of all my cold Canadian friends speciffically for the climatetherapy room. "Hi, my name is Tori and I am a recovering Calgarian...."
this reminds me of my favortie movie of all time...Mama Mia!
2000 year old olive tree
Pretty self-explanatory
Spa
Chillaxin' in the pool
Sadly enough our weekend had to end at some point. Thanks again ladies for a wonderful weekend, could have asked for a better group of ladies to experience Jordan with. Memories forever!
Cheers to our final night in Jordan
8:02 pm that was late for LaLani! Kidding Lani it was really 10:08pm...love ya!
Kelly ready to party
Here's Johnny!(from the Shinning...get it?)
There was a little window between the living room and the bathroom
Heather missing her husband Jay.
Well Like I said May was filled with lots of laughs, travels and milestones. Keep posted for the June blog! Miss you all and I hope it gets warm for all you Canadians and I hope it cools down for all you Texans! Miss you all, sending hugs and kisses across the ocean!
Love,
The Richards
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
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I am HerculesBehind me is the Byzatine church remains thought to date back to the 6th or 7th century AD
Hercules's hand.It was estimated that the statue stood over 13 meters high, making it one of the largest statues from Greco-Roman times. Temple of Hercules(who was renowned for his physical strength) was built when Geminus Marcanos was governor of Provincia Arabia 161-166 AD
Beautiful picutre of the ruins
Archeologists uncovered actual faces that were fossilized.
is kind of freaky....back in the day when a family lost their child they placed their body in a jar and buried under the "living room" so that the child could still be with them as a familyAfter our afternoon of sight seeing we headed off to a much needed dinner in town, but......
Took a wrong turn, but were welcomed with open arms at the local pub. Kidding, we all went in to Amman to go for dinner, but the restaurant wasn't open until 7:30pm and we already sent our driver off, so we decided to go check out this local pub, have a drink and little snack before dinner. Well they don't really specialize in "pub food" aka as we don't have a menu, all we have is beer. But they were so nice and I think a bit shocked that "women" were in the pub they welcomed us anyway. And this is what we got for a snack....
pub food
At least we reached our destination...the best Italian restaraunt..this was the place we were waitng to open when we found the local pub...it was worth the wait. Great food, Great wine, Great service and Great friends!Some more pictures of Jordan
Camel ride anyone?
Farmer
Camels just wandering the street. It was really neat, along this boardwalk that overlooked the Dead Sea, people gathered a night and had picnics and vendors sold...um camel meat? Not sure, but it was really neat to see everyone gathering listening to music, chatting or kicking around a football (soccer).Um...hmm chocolate cookies?
They're not Oreos they're stereos!Sea Level
For those of you who are unfamiliar with excatly what sea level is...you aren't alone. Bascially it is the measure of the average height of the ocean's surface (such as the halfway point between the mean high tide and the mean low tide); used as a standard in reckoning land evelvation. Huh?
Any who....it was really neat to learn that each year sea level drops one meter.
SEA LevelWe are at 402 meters below sea level...I knew I was feeling light headed...kidding.
Sea LevelSome fun pictures around the resort. We stayed at the Movenpick at the Dead Sea
Tea anyone?This man stood at the front entrance (where all the restaurants and front desk was) serving tea or coffee. It was VERY strong tea!
They even named a place after me!
I thought of all my cold Canadian friends speciffically for the climatetherapy room. "Hi, my name is Tori and I am a recovering Calgarian...."
this reminds me of my favortie movie of all time...Mama Mia!
2000 year old olive tree
Pretty self-explanatory
Spa
Chillaxin' in the poolSadly enough our weekend had to end at some point. Thanks again ladies for a wonderful weekend, could have asked for a better group of ladies to experience Jordan with. Memories forever!
Cheers to our final night in Jordan
8:02 pm that was late for LaLani! Kidding Lani it was really 10:08pm...love ya!
Kelly ready to party
Here's Johnny!(from the Shinning...get it?)
There was a little window between the living room and the bathroom
Heather missing her husband Jay.Well Like I said May was filled with lots of laughs, travels and milestones. Keep posted for the June blog! Miss you all and I hope it gets warm for all you Canadians and I hope it cools down for all you Texans! Miss you all, sending hugs and kisses across the ocean!
Love,
The Richards
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
