Turkey Days 7-8

Sunday in Turkey was amazing for the primary reason that it was when we got to experience our church literally in its infancy in this amazing country.  The muslim religion completely dominates Turkey.  Not only that, but because we are such a trusting people ready to see the Church grow, we are ready and willing to hand over responsibility and trust to people that are barely learning the ropes of the Gospel.  Such is the case in Izmir and Turkey in general.

In Izmir the Church WAS actually growing.  Unfortunately, there was a man with the name of Hussein (what is it with that name????) who worked with the Church and even for the Church to translate and help with the temporal needs of the Church in Izmir.  He became very trusted and he made a lot of money (not a good combo).  Long story short, he took advantage of his situation and when he was caught and ex-communicated from the Church he did what all people that have had power and money do best, he started bad-mouthing the Church and everyone associated with it!  He even threatened the lives of other members to keep them from going.  So that's what Mom and Dad come in to.  UGLY!

Well, cutting to the day, it was great coming over to see the apartment transformed into a very small church.  Mom had Church music playing and there were chairs set up for those that would be attending (we had our fingers crossed that ANYONE would be there).  It looked great.  Connor prepared the sacrament on a small table.  We had guests about 30 min before church was to start.  They were actually new people that Mom and Dad had never met either.  They had come from France (she was French and her husband is a Turk and her nephew spoke French as well).  Dad conducted as Branch President and I quickly realized that he is typically the ONLY priesthood holder at church every Sunday.  He does a great job!  And Mom, well she does everything of course besides conduct and do the sacrament.

Connor blessed the sacrament and Preston then passed it.  I was very proud.  We had Ethan (he is currently living in Turkey, but had lived in California and spoke English) as well as Yigit and Suatt (the twin investigators) who came about 30 minutes late.  It was fast and testimony meeting and it was awesome.  It was so interesting to speak in English and then have it translated into Turkish and French all at the same time!  The Spirit was very strong and it was really amazing to see my youngest (Adin and Mia) be so touched by it.

After church, we had one of Mom's great meals and great dessert's with EVERYONE that had attended.  We then spent HOURS talking and trying to understand each other, but it was a great experience for everyone.  It was also very tiring and frustrating trying to understand each other.  After a couple of hours there I finally coaxed everyone but Dad to get out of the apartment for a walk to see Izmir for our final night.  We walked a long way on the pier and ate at a very nice restaurant as the sun set on our Turkish adventure.  It was sad that Dad wasn't there, but now we know that he truly was hurting and that walk would have been impossible for him.

 While they couldn't actually understand each other, they did speak the same language of computer games (international language).

The twins and us!

 One of the famous Izmir landmarks.

 No beach, but ocean water.

Dad is missing from our sunset dinner.

The next day started a VERY long journey home.  We had to get up at 4am, say good-bye to Mom and Dad, catch a taxi, check all of our luggage in at the Izmir airport, fly to Istanbul, walk a million miles to check in our luggage in Istanbul only to find out that we were there too early to do so, ate at a Burger King, checked in our luggage, waited for our flight, boarded the plane (it wasn't even close to as nice as the one that we flew in), flew a VERY long flight from Istanbul to New York, went through customs, went to another terminal a million miles away, caught our flight from New York to Denver in which we couldn't recline our seats, and then finally arrived in Denver dead to the world.  The entire trip took 26 hours from the time we woke up that morning in Izmir until we actually stepped through our door.

Was the trip worth it?  You bet it was!  We all learned so much and we had an experience that we never would have experienced had Mom and Dad not been there.  I am very proud of Mom and Dad.  They are doing great work there in a difficult situation.  They are homesick, but they continue to serve despite being WELL out of their comfort zone and with a broken foot to top it off!  We skyped with them today and each of the kids admitted that it was a great vacation that will go down in our Grizz-Weaver memories!

And the sun had set on our Turkish adventure...

Turkey Day 6

Day 6 was our ONLY non-scheduled day.  Mom and Dad were so worried that we would be "bored" during our trip that they did MY kind of vacation with EVERY hour planned except this day!  (By the way, they did an AWESOME job!)

We woke up when we wanted to and then we headed to the pool at our hotel for some relaxation poolside in the Turkish heat.  Dad wasn't enjoying just hanging out at the pool so he headed back to his place while we swam with the kids.  Connor went on a 16 mile run (yes in the heat with NO water).

 Me and my 2 youngest doing what they love best!

After a few hours of roasting in the sun, I decided to call Dad and see what the plan would be for the rest of the day.  Little did I know, he was fast asleep enjoying some semi-alone time (Connor was actually there recovering from his steamy run).  My phone call woke him and he jumped up way too quick.  He then experienced what is referred to as Orthostatic Hypotension.  There was even LESS blood running to his brain than usual and Connor said, "He hit the ground like a rock!"  We didn't know it then because he's tougher than your average bear, but he had broken his foot at that time (I take full responsibility).

We went over to their place and then did an Izmir tour (sans Mom who was shopping for dinner).  Izmir is a great city.  We really enjoyed our time checking it all out.  It wasn't until we had already walked about 2 miles that I realized Dad was limping.  When I asked what happened he just said, "Oh, it's nothing I probably just pulled something when I PASSED OUT!"  Yes, that's my Dad!

 The famous Izmir clock tower.  You'll notice all of the pigeons.  Adin and Mia chased them ALL over right after this picture!

 My two most favorite girls EVER!

After walking (and limping) all over the boardwalk surrounding the bay in Izmir we caught a bus and headed to the absolute pinnacle of Izmir to see a centuries-old castle overlooking the entire city.

This is a picture that I took while standing on a wheel well above everyone looking at Alyson between Connor's arm.  The reason I took this was to remember how we honestly had EVERYONE in this bus engaged in a conversation with Dad explaining that he was "Byuk BABA" (Big Daddy).  The ENTIRE bus was FULLY engaged in the conversation and laughing like crazy.  It was awesome!  Dad was incredible and they absolutely loved him!

So, I put this picture in just so you could see the steps that Dad was climbing with a BROKEN FOOT!!  This was inside the castle climbing to the top turret.

Looking out over Izmir from the castle.

 From up here we had a great view of Ataturk's own Mt. Rushmore.

One of the highlights of this day was seeing these ladies cooking the bread (seen sitting on top of the oven on the left).  They literally had a fire burning in this oven and were cooking bread.  They gave us each some (it was INCREDIBLE) and refused to take any money at all for it.  Pretty cool!

All-in-all, it was another great day in Turkey that was finished off with a meal with Ethan (Turk that had lived in California) and one of Mom's awesome meals!  

Turkey Day 5

This was the "kid" day.  We got up early so that we could catch a big bus (with TV's in the seats and everything).  But, when we got to the big bus station in Izmir we found out that we had actually missed the bus that we were supposed to have been on.  So, we had to wait for then next bus.  We found some seats at a little cafe and had some drinks and watched all the cats roaming around.

Even in Turkey, the Coca Cola "light" kept us going (Preston loved this).

We did get on the next bus and it was a very nice one at that.  We then made our trek to a resort town called Kusadasi.  It sits right on the Aegean Sea and is definitely an attraction for many Europeans.  The mixture of languages here was amazing.  There were Turks, Irish, Germans, Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch.  It was amazing hearing all of the different languages mixed together.  The only thing that I didn't see were other Americans.  Crazy.

We were lucky enough to have the bus driver drop us off at the bottom of the hill leading to the Adaland Water Park.  They claim it to be the "best water park in the world."  I was attracted to it for the opportunity for Connor, Preston, and Adin to swim with the dolphins.  After we got through the typical chaos of entering ANY water park we signed up for the dolphins and headed straight there.  I wanted Mia to do it as well, but she did not and so she didn't!  The boys LOVED it!  By the way, the dolphin trainers were from America and from the Dominican Repulic.

 Connor dancing with a dolphin

 Adin and his dolphin dancing.

 Mia watching...

 Preston!

 Connor!

Adin absolutely loved this!

The funnest ride at the park was racing Dad, Connor and Preston on this slide at the end of the day!

Here we are at the end of a fun-filled Turkish vacation day!

Turkey Days 3-4

We slept in a little on the third day, but the beds were so uncomfortable that we actually WANTED to get up.  We then made another trip to the Grand Bazaar to negotiate a few more deals.  We didn't do much else there in Istanbul before we made the journey to the airport for our flight to Izmir.

Once we landed in Izmir, we rode a train and then another bus to get to Mom and Dad's place.  I was pleasantly surprised at how nice of a place they have.  It is NOTHING like my apartment's on my mission that's for sure.  We stayed there for a little bit and then headed to the hotel where Alyson and I would stay for 5 nights.  We had already done the train and the bus and so it was time to walk.  It was a very nice walk as well.  Izmir was a very nice change from Istanbul.  It also has the added benefit of a beautiful centralized park with a running track that is 1.2 miles around (perfect for my boys).  We finally arrived at our hotel after a pleasant walk.  It was a very nice hotel, the Swissotel.  In fact, I would rank this hotel right up there with any that I've ever stayed at.  The kids changed into their swimming suits right away and went for a dip...

Adin and Mia LOVE the pool!

We just stayed there at the hotel for a few hours and then wrapped up the day with a nice dinner by the pool that night.  The kids were beat, but they walked back to Grandma and Grandpa's and crashed out there while Alyson and I got to go to our quiet hotel room.  

Day 4:

We got up early and walked to the train station for our ride to Ephesus.  Alyson and me were the most excited for this part of our trip.  We were prepared for a nice hot day seeing the ruins.  I have to say, it did NOT disappoint!  After eating some of Mom's snickerdoodle's on the train we arrived near Ephesus.  

 A Doner!

The storks that greeted us when we arrived in Ephesus.  We had to explain how storks deliver babies.

The kids wanted a Doner (Turkish sandwich) right away (my kids absolutely loved these!).  After our good lunch we made a short journey in taxi up to the ruins.  We hired a guide (a very nice and intelligent Turkish man) and were in awe for the entire time.  This place was once the 3rd largest city in the world!  They have only uncovered 15% of what they believe lies below the mountain.  It was really amazing and hot!

 Preston chilling out below one of the famous arches with Medusa above.

 Yes, a community toilet!

 They took advantage of the only shade in Ephesus!

Hercules himself holding up the pillars!

We spent about 4-5 hours in this ancient city, but it was very much worth it!

 The library was really cool!

 Take a close look at this picture and you can tell that one of these people was less thrilled about Ephesus than the others despite the awesome scenery!

We left Dad and Mia and went back to see some more.  This was obviously taken looking down from the dwellings onto the city.

After we bought a few trinkets at the shop we made our way back to Izmir (we had another Doner of course).  We found a great restaurant close to our hotel and ate while Connor went on a one of his many runs.  Once again Mom and Dad took the tired kids back to their place while Alyson and I went to the hotel to rest up for the next day of adventure in Turkey!

Turkey Days 1-2

As I am writing this, Dad is going through surgery and Mom is likely stressing out waiting for him.  Our prayers are with both of you today!

Our trip to Turkey was AMAZING!  Not only was it a great vacation, but it was a great spiritual experience, and a great educational experience for our entire family.  It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it!  Over the next couple of days, I'll try to detail our great trip.

Day 1:

It all started out a little rough.  We were only one hour out of Turkey when we lost one engine and had to make an emergency landing in Bucharest, Romania.  It was NOT fun visiting another country.  We just wanted to get to Turkey.  The Romanian's were rude and it cost us a day of our already too short trip.  It was already going to be a 19 hour trip and this only extended the misery.  Oh well, at least we got a Romanian stamp in our passports right?  We took NO pictures of our little miserable trip to Romania.  I wish that I would have taken a picture of our room where they packed ALL six of us in!  That was pretty funny, but we weren't in the mood for any pictures at all.

Day 2:

A Turkish flag by the Bosphorous.

The men washing their feet before entering the mosque.

Some street candy!

Alyson bought a beautiful plate here.  Unfortunately it broke on the way home:(

The night at the Mosque.

This was supposed to have been day 1.  It killed me to be off schedule!  We landed and after passport control I was attacked by a little lady that claimed to be my Mom (see Dad's blog).  That was great to see the both of them!  It just felt awesome to see them both.  The kids were thrilled as well.  We immediately started our first of MANY different forms of public transportation.  We, with our 7 large pieces of luggage, got onto the light rail and were soon joined by many curious Turkish people.  That ride took a while itself.  We were amazed at the different sites as we were moving along and could not understand a thing around us.  After 2 light rail trains we were close to our destination (that's all you get in Turkey is close or not so close to your destination).  As we were crossing the busy street I almost got hit by a bus while the rest of the family was paying attention.  We then walked a few blocks to our hotel.  It was actually a very nice place with paper thin walls and VERY hard beds.  We then went to the roof to look out over Istanbul.  My first impression was that I could not believe how many mosque's there were.  It was like our churches in Utah!  While Connor was running on the treadmill, we got lunch on the hotel roof.  First Turkish food experience was good.  The kids loved that my sea bass still had the head and then they loved teasing their Mom with it.  We then started another little journey through Istanbul.  Another light rail, some more walking and finally to the spice market and Grand Bazaar.  It was pretty cool and MUCH nicer than the Latin American mercado's that I had experienced.

Mia made the first purchase in Turkey of a fan with this old man who was more than happy to take a picture with her!  I was pleasantly surprised at just how nice the Turks were!  So kind, sincere and happy.  Mia used this fan the entire trip!

We then made our way to the two famous Mosques in all of Turkey.  The Blue Mosque and the Haya Sophia.  Our first glimpse was pretty impressive especially with Mom and Dad smiling along side their grandchildren.

We then walked to and into the Blue Mosque.  You can see that Mom and Alyson had to cover their heads in respect.  Dad had to wear a skirt as well.  We got into the mosque JUST before they kicked us out for their prayer time (that is an experience in itself).  Pretty amazing to be honest.

After being in the Blue Mosque we went outside for some great pictures and some candy that was made right there on the street that was actually pretty good.  We enjoyed the views of the two mosques.

We then made our way with a lot more walking to see the Whirrling Dervishes.  I would NOT do that again.  It was interesting for about the first 15 minutes of whirrling around and then I was done.  All of my kids fell asleep during the show.  We then walked some more and viewed the mosques in the dark with the fountains in front changing colors it was pretty spectacular.  We then had another Turkish meal and then made our way back to the hotel.  I was dead, but my oldest son wanted to get another run in outside (it was 10 at night).  Of course, I couldn't let him go out there by himself and so we went for a late run through the streets of Istanbul all by ourselves.  5 miles through those streets was actually quite the experience!  Just another memory for the books I guess.  Finally, around midnight Turkish time I was in bed listening to the kids next door still up and very animated.  I think I finally crashed out around 2 am.  Day 3 had already begun!

The Grouch Slouch

You can tell when Jane is unhappy just by her posture. This hat was just the icing on the cake.
Back in April we went to Salt Lake for General Conference. The day before conference (Friday 4/6) was Jane's birthday. She was thrilled to go skiing since her first experience here in WA was great. However, Brighton didn't have the "magic carpet" conveyor belt that she was expecting, so the day was a bust. She took off her skis and walked down the bunny slope. So this was her punishment as she sulked in the ski shop.

Preston is the SAME rank as Connor NOW!

Yes, Preston has earned his Life Scout (the same rank his older brother Connor has had for 3 years)!  Congratulations Preston!  He's only got to wait 6 months, do an Eagle project and finish 5 more merit badges and he'll get his Eagle!