The Laughlins

Yesterday, Mark and I went to the beach (in Netanya) with Amanda, Hayley, Chris, Daniel, and Seth. We had tons of fun playing in the water, chicken fighting (Mark and I won), water fighting (Mark gets the prize for flailing the most), and throwing a cheap ball...and of course, catching waves. The only bummer of the trip was that Mark lost his wedding ring in the Mediterranean Sea. We looked for it for at least 45 minutes, but he wasn't sure where he lost it...oh well. We'll buy him a cheap sterling silver replica this week until we can get another one. It was a fun day though, but it was REALLY HOT!! Even Mark, who put sunscreen on, was sun-burned pretty well. Here are tons of pictures (as always). I promised the gang that I would put them up, and I might put a video later, so you can tell who each person is :)

Here are some pictures from all over town, mostly at night. Mark and I went with our ulpan classes to see a play at the Chan Theater, and it was the first play that Mark has ever liked. He even wants to go back to see another one sometime (and that is really saying something). They had screens on either side of the stage with English "subtitles," but they went through them quickly (and sometimes got behind), so it was hard to catch everything. Plus, it is a lot different to watch a movie with subtitles right there on the screen. With the play, you have two options: watch the play or watch the screen. Anyways, it was fun, and the next morning I woke up with songs about missiles in my head. "Tilim, tilim, tilim, tilim..." There are some pictures of Mark and I walking around the park near Yemen Moshe and the Cinemateque, as well as a few from the City Center.

Today was our last day of intensive summer ulpan classes!! We had our final tests today. Mark took the Bet Level test, so hopefully he will pass so that he can start Gimmel at the end of October. I signed up for Ulpan Milah in the City Center, where I will be finishing the Bet Level class (two nights a week - about five hours a week). This will be a big change from doing ulpan for five hours a DAY. We are both very happy that we did the intensive ulpan for our first summer. It gives us a very good base to build from and the necessary exposure that we needed with speaking and listening as well. Mark registered for his classes this week, and he is starting to get re-excited about taking classes that he is really interested in. He does have to take a Biblical Hebrew placement test in mid-October when we get back from the U.S.

We are going to the beach at Netanya tomorrow, so I will have more pictures soon. After this weekend, we leave for the U.S., so it might be a while before I am able to post again (since I don't have the Internet access that I would need to post pictures). To my ulpan class - much love. It was a fun summer :) I'm sorry that I missed the group picture :(

Yesterday, Mark and I were freeloaders on an IBEX trip to the beach in Ashqelon. We spent a lot of time battling waves, filling our swimsuits with sand, and even visiting some archeological sites near the beach. We visited some ruins from the Roman period that included many tall, granite pillars as well as statues of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders, Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and others. We also visited the archeological site in the northeastern part of the park where archeologists discovered a city gate from the middle Bronze period. Its vaulted ceiling is significant because it is one of the oldest arches discovered anywhere in the world, and one that reaches to the ceiling level of the gate. Mark and Seth decided to be adventurous and went in for a closer look of the remains...while I rested on the beach :) For more information on Ashqelon and links to many other informative websites, check out this BiblePlaces.com link.

Hello everyone. I have added some new features to the site today. I changed the template (because I like change every once in a while), but the basic set-up is the same. I also added another feature to the sidebar on the right that now includes "Music Links" where you can listen to different MP3 songs from bands that are listed under our regular "Links" category. In addition(thanks to Nate Murray), I added the "Link to this post" feature, which shows up at the end of each blog entry. This allows you to link my posts to your personal websites or elsewhere. Mark and I finish the Intensive Extended Summer Ulpan in one week!! We are very excited!! I will put pictures up soon of our last trip to the zoo with our ulpan classes.

As promised, here is the latest update on Hayden. Mark and I are excited to see him and Melinda in a few weeks.

"The occupational and physical therapists have been working with Hayden to help relieve him from laying down all the time. He has little braces for his hands if he is clenching his fists too much, and little spongy (looks like thick pipe insulation) things he can squeeze. They also brought him a carseat-type devise that can be set at different angles to help him clear the build-up in his nose and throat and give him some time during the day to be in a different position. Hayden really tried for the first time last night to suck on his pacifier. He did okay, but spent a lot of time biting it to help keep it in his mouth. He difinitely has memory of a number of things and I really think he will continue to come around as time goes by. I will try to get a few more pix up today or tomorrow. Thank you all for continuing to pray for us and keep us in your thoughts.
Love,
Melinda"

Sorry that this took a while. We just finished our mid-terms this week, so we have been staying busy! CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW to watch a fun video of our trip to the zoo last month!!

Mark and I have mostly been working on Hebrew lately, but we did get out a little bit this weekend. Yesterday we went to a delicious Italian restaurant called the Foccacia Bar. I could only find one picture on the Internet:

Anyways, we went with our friend Sara; Mark and Sara got salads, and I got a grilled pesto chicken sandwich. It was very delicious and a very cute little place.

Today, Mark, Seth, and I took a tour of the Western Wall Tunnels in Hebrew. We didn't understand a lot, but it is good practice for us. We might do the tour again in English sometime, or maybe in Hebrew again in about a year or so :) Anyways, it was a fun tour (and nice and cool underground). CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW to go to the main website for the tunnels. You can read all about them and take a VIRTUAL TOUR, which is excellent!! There is a short VIDEO FOR EACH STOP on the tour!