Coby's 26th Birthday!

 For Coby's birthday we woke up early and then walked to a breakfast buffet. The breakfast consists of tons of different olives,  many different cheeses and then amazing sauces to put on breads.  The bread there is very different then what I am typically use to. Anyways we had a very delicious breakfast and then we traveled to meet up with Coby's roommate, Cafer. It was raining most of the day and was overcast, but it was a beautiful day. Anyways, Cafer took us to visit this beautiful area.  He took a couple pictures of us together to be kind.   It turned out we both had the same phone so we could use it easily. 

 Above is a picture of Coby with Cafer.  He is such a cool kind man.  He works as an accountant and he works 70+ hours a week.   After we looked around he took us to where Coby use to live and then  he took us to a very fancy park.  We walked all around it and enjoyed the breeze.

 While at the park Coby got a  call from the missionaries. They called us all the time.   After that we walked around the city and went out for lunch at one of the adorable quaint restaurants.   We did a little shopping and bought Coby some clothes and Kara went shopping too.  The clothes are just so cheap; it is amazing.   Then we got dinner and started to look for a place that made birthday cakes.   We found this delicious one.  After finding it we did a little grocery shopping and we also had dinner at one of the restaurants across the street from Coby's apartment.  Such yummy food!   Kara and I were buying small items to take home to our family and Kara's friends. 

 Then we came home and celebrated Coby's birthday.  After celebrating we all worked on our talks for church the next day.  We were all speaking in sacrament meeting and Kara was singing a solo. 

More of Turkey

 Day 5 or 6 we decided to take a boat ride of the Golden Horn tour.  The Golden Horn is a major inlet of the Bosphorus  Sea and it is shaped like a a horn. It separates historic centers in Istanbul.  The boat ride to the area we were going to was around an hour and a half.  When we started it was fairly warm, but as we kept going it became increasingly colder.  I was freezing by the time we arrived.  After we were off the boat I immediately bought another sweat shirt and gloves.  I am sure the local shops appreciated that it was a cold day as many were buying items for cold weather.   We immediately started hiking/walking to the top of the area (it was very steep).  It was raining the whole way up and extremely cloudy as you will see by the pictures.

 It was disappointing it was so cloudy as we were up high where we could have seen the Black Sea and enjoyed the awesome view from the tower. 

 Once we got to the top of the castle we could see that most of the places we wanted to visit were closed off for excavating. We were sad, but one of the guards took pity on us and allowed us to go to the area they were excavating in.  I was quite surprised and a little leary that he was letting us in an excavating site.

 It was once a beautiful structure and the remnants of it still are today.  
After quite down the hill I needed to use the restroom.  I had to pay to use this beautiful bathroom.  A little girl around 6 helped me to the facility and then since I made a face of disgust when I saw the restroom she showed me how to use it as she didn't think I understood. I understood all too well.  

After quite down the hill I needed to use the restroom.  I had to pay to use this beautiful bathroom.  A little girl around 6 helped me to the facility and then since I made a face of disgust when I saw the restroom she showed me how to use it as she didn't think I understood. I understood all too well.  

 The above picture is a delicious bread they serve at practically all of the restaurants. 

 This is a bean soup that they serve at most of the restaurants.  I really grew to love it.  It is so yummy!

 People watching on the boat is incredibly entertaining in Turkey mainly because the body language and the manner people take care of their children is so different than what we are accustomed to. It is amazing to see the differences we all share in certain cultures. 

Once we arrived back into the heart of Istanbul we walked around a lot in the happening area for most young adults.  They have gorgeous shops and the nightlife there is amazing.

 Kara and Coby goofing off!

 Many different sites to look on during our boat ride home. 

A small glimpse of one of the beautiful bridges that takes people from the European side of the city to the Asian side.   Once we were in Istanbul we walked around.  After we had eaten dinner we went up to the Galata Tower.  It was incredible to walk up and to take the stairs. It was a gorgeous view of the whole city, but it was still a cloudy day so some of the pictures look very blurry mainly because it was. 

 They light up the bridges so people can see them from afar. 

 One of the lovely mosques from up high.  They certainly light up the city.

 After being on the tower watch we decided to take the stairs down.  We were practically the only crazy people that would attempt this so we took plenty of time to take pictures on our way down.

 After the bridge we took a few pictures and then we went home after a fun filled cold day exploring.  Coby is an excellent tour guide so he made the day very fun!

Spencer's Birthday and other things so far this month

We celebrated Spencer's 24th birthday the Sunday after his b-day.  Anne and Meli also joined us.  Meli left to go home to Germany on Mother's day.  We are certainly going to miss her and her sweet personality.  Hopefully, someday we will be lucky enough to see her again.  Here are some of the pictures from Spencer 's birthday.  For Spencer's birthday he requested I make Pulled Pork sandwiches, so we had that and salad, french bread, and veggies. 

 Homemade German Chocolate cake I made for his birthday. My mom use to make this cake when I was a kid.  I loved it then and I love it even more now. 

Me and Meli. It was so fun to have Meli over and talk and giggle together.  She is a fun girl to talk to and she has a very positive optimistic personality.  She is loved by our family! 

 Kara with one of her awards.  She has been very busy this month with play practice, her last improv show, and studying and taking AP tests.  She is so grateful she is done with them. 

 Kara was in a one act play Friday, (May16th) She played Gloom and it was all about not accepting changes well and how we sometimes cling to beliefs or thoughts that aren't healthy for us.  She had described the play to me and it didn't sound like a play I would like, but I was pleasantly surprised.  She did a great job.   The week before that was her last improv performance.  It is such a hard work to be on an improv team.  I never realized all it entailed before, but basically you need to be prepared at any moment to have knowledge and be funny regarding any topic that is thrown at you.

 Yesterday Kara and I went to Westminster college for a whole day student Orientation.  Kara was offered scholarship money for her Science fair project  to Westminster so we spent the day at an orientation.  Westminster is a beautiful college. It is fun to explore the possibilities of different colleges with Kara.

 On Mother's day we had a nice time with the kids, we just missed Coby. The above and below pictures are with my kidlets!   I am grateful that they have become amazing people.  I love them all so much.   I got some very thoughtful gifts from my children and my hubby.  On Saturday while I was at activity days Matt spent the day planting flowers and doing some deep cleaning of our home. It was the nicest surprise!  He is always so thoughtful.  Then he took me shopping for a beautiful gift.  So thoughtful and kind. My children have a great example of what a husband and father should be