Road Trip: Olympic Challenge

We decided to alternate the days between short day trips to see surrounding sites and staying back at our hotel.  On this day, we stayed at the hotel and went to their regulation-size soccer field. It was beautiful, as you can see, surrounded by mountains. There were two competing professional soccer teams staying at the hotel, as well. They evidently had their matches early in the morning, then came into the dining hall in cleats.

 We had a great time kicking Big Ben's new football, playing Ultimate Frisbee (CC and I were on a team together. We did allow our children to score one point on us, but otherwise beat them soundly), and Frisbee Golf.

It was so much fun. It's good to set aside time to play, don't you think?

And of course, what soccer field or hotel in Turkey would be complete without some sheep or goats showing up near it?

Road Trip: Waterfall

 On our second day, we decided to drive to the Dudan Selale (waterfall) we'd heard about, but  never seen.

It was a public park, not really the intriguing exploration of ancient cities we like so much, but a fun-for-a-day alternative. The waterfall was very pretty and loud. We could also walk into a cave behind the waterfall and see it from behind.

There was clearly some type of candy involved here.

Road Trip: Rocky Beach

Our first day, we took the kids to swim in the hotel pool. It's an act of love, trust me. Turks believe making the pool warm will breed bacteria. Everytime we take them swimming, I have to remind myself someday I'll look back on this and laugh. It is so.very.cold. I get in, splash, laugh, hold my little boy who doesn't know how to swim. And just as soon as everyone has noted that Mom did indeed swim with them, I curl up in a towel on the side and begin the yearly thaw. We also walked across the street to the beach. Miss Middler picked me this flower and took my picture.

The beaches in Southern Turkey are mostly rocky with some coarse sand. I do love the rugged beauty of it. You can turn and see craggy mountains all around. It's gorgeous. The Mediterranean Sea is also cold. It's about 60 degrees out, so you can imagine the temperature of the sea water. But my girls dive right in. I tell myself there has to be some health benefit to this...perhaps so shocking their immune systems that it will ward off colds for months? I know we look odd.

After all, we do live .....here....

I never ever dreamed Big Ben would have any interest in getting in the water. He doesn't like to be cold or wet or both at the same time. But as soon as we got down to the water, he literally took ALL his clothes off and headed for the ocean. My eyes flew open, I told him we are NOT European, we are AMERICANS. I finally managed to get some underwear on him. And off he went again. My photo of this is so adorably cute, but alas, it's a public blog. He will thank me one day for not posting a picture of him in Scooby Doo hand-me-down underwear. He didn't stay in the water long, but I was impressed with my little Polar Bear Swimmer.

As for me, I happily stretched out and enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine, the smell of the ocean, and the laughter of my children.

Road Trip: A Snowy Drive

 On the day we celebrated Christmas (Christmas Eve), I woke early to put the breakfast in the oven and light the tree and candles before the kids woke up. I was so happy to look out the window and see that God had sent us snow. It really wasn't even cold the day before...just mild and rainy. It was like a little Christmas gift from God to us! The next day, Christmas Day, we loaded up our things, shut down the house, kissed the kitty goodbye, and left for a week out of our city. We have discovered that getting away from school and our home city periodically seems to help us survive here better. If we lived in America, we'd be visiting family. But this helps ease the blow of being so far from home. This is a view of the mountain surrounding our neighborhood.

 We headed South, but saw much much more snow on our drive down than we got in Ankara. We climbed in elevation and saw some beautiful snow-covered mountains. Thankfully, our roads were all clear.



 We got to Antalya just after the sunset. Just in time to wear our new pajamas from Mimi that night!

 And then the next day the girls all wore their new jackets from Grandma. The temps drop quite a bit during the latter part of the day, the jackets came in handy all week.

 And we certainly didn't miss dinner that first night. Most hotels down here are a set price for the room and 3 full meals per day. My kids love the idea of going to a buffet and getting whatever they want, as much as they want. I am certain we get our money's worth!

And Finally....Christmas!

And finally....we made it to Christmas! The Campbell traditions were carried on this year. We began the morning with CC on his guitar, playing "Away in a Manger" to wake the youngest Campbell, something we've done since we just had 1 baby. The youngest Campbell complied by sleeping in late, after a big night of staying up late to party. Then we opened stockings, stuffed to the max and waiting in front of the fireplace.

We then spent some time praising God for this wonderful reason to celebrate, then began our Christmas brunch with a birthday cake for Jesus. Three candles represent the Trinity. We all sing, we all blow them out. Big Ben asked if God was getting presents. I told him the amazing thing is that on His own birthday, He gives the present: Himself.

 We received some wonderful gifts from our family back home. It brings such love and warmth to us, it's well worth the luggage space to bring it back in the summer.

My kids aren't perfect. But I can say that every Christmas and birthday, they impress me. They are so thankful for everything they receive. I pray that contentment and thankfulness stays in their hearts. This year I was impressed at how happy they were in receiving their Dollar Tree gifts from siblings. Due to the complexity of shopping in Turkey sometimes and the fact that none of them actually 'need' anything, we suggested they pick up gifts in the summer for each other from the Dollar Tree. They were thrilled to see what their sisters and brother picked out for them.

It was a fun day of surprises. These electric car tracks from the 70's are still alive and well in Turkeyl!

CC got me some winter snow boots and a new calendar. I got him his annual tradition of a bag of yummy trail mix from Walmart, as well as a t-shirt that says, "Papa's Pit Crew" with the names of all the kids on it. Hope ya'll had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Countdown: Christmas Eve Eve Party

Our tradition in Turkey has always been to host a big party on December 23rd for any staff and staff kids who are staying in country for the holiday. We had such a great time with the 4 families and 2 singles who joined us. Here's the kids' table.

Big Ben had a big time roughhousing with all the boys at the party.

 I made 2 big lasagnas, and the guests brought the sides. Our yearly tradition is to play "The Name Game." Each person thinks of a name, fictional or real, but not their own. Everyone else has to remember the list of names and try to figure out who is who. It's fun, especially because adults and kids can all play. Miss Middler won third place with Andrew Johnson. Twinkle Toes won first place with Michael Card.

Then we all watch a Christmas movie. The kids get to stay up til the end, turning in late that night, anxiously awaiting our family Christmas celebration the next morning.

Christmas Countdown: Shopping?

CC decided to load all the kids up in the car and take them Christmas shopping for me. They were so excited. Everyone got dressed quickly, loaded up purses, whispered secrets. I was given several hours all to myself, it was heavenly! I had CC drop me at a mall, and I did last minute stocking stuffers and treated myself to lunch out. I really hardly knew what to do with myself. I found myself commenting in Turkish to other shoppers about clothing or prices.I think I told 6 different Turks that I have 5 children.  I even called a friend to say, "This is so weird! I'm all alone!" and had a good laugh. I was SO curious about the kids' day with their dad, that I sent a camera with Twinkle Toes and said, "Get me some pictures of all the fun things you do and see!" I was envisioning some shots taken in front of a big lit-up Christmas tree at a mall. Or maybe in a clothing store. THIS is what turned up on the camera!!

Where exactly did you take them shopping, CC? Comments, anyone?