tales from a far-land

On Saturday, February 3rd, one of my oldest friends married her best friend, Michael.  I cannot believe that I have known Melinda since my sophomore year of high school when we became close friends on the set of The Music Man  and have continued to grow our relationship ever since. Here we were then: And here we are today: As many tenured friendships, ours has also been full of ups and downs, but I am so happy that we have been there for each other through life's big events.  Melin, I am honored that you included me and my entire family in your wedding day.  We are so happy for you and Michael.   May the joys you shared on your wedding day be the beginning of a lifetime of great happiness and fulfillment.                            

Josh and I had decided at the beginning of the year that 2016 would include a trip to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure (DCA).  At the ages of five and six, we finally felt that the kids were old enough to go on a vast majority of the rides, they would be able to manage lots of walking and the erratic sleep schedule.  So, in April, while attending a charity gala, the opportunity arose for us to bid and buy a VIP experience at Disneyland/DCA.  We did it!  This package included the hotel stay at the Grand Californian, park hopper tickets and a VIP guide for six hours.  What a way to experience "The Happiest Place on Earth"! We decided to use this fabulous package during the kids fall break in October.  We kept the whole trip a surprise until the first day of their fall break.  So, Saturday morning, they woke up to a gift informing them that we were driving to Disneyland.  The excitement wasn't exactly at the level we were hoping for, bu...

Last day of the trip!  And since it was, we were all given the opportunity to sleep in a little bit. However, most of the Goldstars have kids, so we do not know how to sleep any more.  So, instead, we all went for a nice little walk along the coast of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Sea.  It was a beautiful morning. We also had a little time before the bus departed to visit the rooftop of our hotel to relax and take some photos. We all boarded the bus for our last educational excursion of the trip -- the Old City of Jaffa.  It amazed me that I was standing on land that was more than 4000 years old.  How cool!  After walking through Jaffa, we all stopped for lunch.  We all wanted to enjoy our last falafel and shwarma of the trip.  By far, this was the best falafel and shwarma of the trip! After lunch some of our HMI members headed back to the hotel to rest/pack, while the rest of us followed Raz on a tour of on e of the oldest neighborhoods...

Day seven was a very long day.  Probably the longest and fullest day of the trip.  We started very early traveling to Tsfat to learn about spirituality, art and the Kabbalah.  The day progressed from there and included a jeep ride, a mountaintop view of Syria, wine tasting, and ended with a bonfire and dancing.   The craziest part of this day was peering into Syria from Mt. Bental and seeing bombs exploding in a Syrian border town.  It was literally about five to ten miles away from us.  I was so thankful to be living in a country where we are not dealing with the reality of bombing on a daily basis. One of the funniest moments on this day occurred at the bonfire when Greg and David were strongly encouraged to get up and do the watermelon dance for all of us.  We all really needed a good laugh by this point in the day, and we much appreciate their willingness to not be offended by our laughter.

Our fifth day in Israel can be summarized in one word ... picturesque.  Not only were we able to view the beauty of southeastern Israel, but we were able to connect more deeply to it as we hiked through and floated in it.  Day five was truly one of my favorite days of the trip.    

Day four was filled with tunnels and walls.  We started in the City of David and took the tunnels to the Old City.  We also explored the Western Wall tunnels.  They were all pretty amazing, but once again, I enjoy the history of it all. As for the Western Wall, when I visited I delivered all of the prayers to the wall.  One for me and one for my friend, Lee.  The wall was so full of prayers that in order to put a prayer in a crevice some of the prayers would fall to the ground.  It was a balancing act to get all of the prayers to stay within the wall.  I have mixed feelings about the Western Wall.  I loved being able to have a connection to G-d like so many women before me. However, I was irked at how crowded and non-inviting it can be for women.  The women's side of the wall is very small as compared to the men's side.  It just made my experience at the Wall much different than Josh's. I guess I am all for equality and the Western ...

Experiencing Shabbat in Jerusalem was one of my favorite days.  Jerusalem is so ancient and yet so beautiful.  My absolute favorite part of this day occurred standing on the rooftops of the Old City. Raz was educating us about the history of Jerusalem when all of a sudden he was interrupted by the religious sounds of Jerusalem -- the Muslim pray to call started, the Christian church bells began to ring and all of the prayers and songs for Shabbat could be heard all at once.  I gave me goosebumps. What an experience!  Below is a video so that you can share in the sounds that we heard that day.

In February, Josh and I had the opportunity to join eighteen other couples from Phoenix on an nine day trip to Israel through a program called  Honeymoon Israel .  The mission of the trip is  is to create a community of inter-faith couples who are committed to exploring and learning more about living a Jewish life.  It was one of the most amazing trips that Josh and I have ever experienced together.  No words could even describe how incredible of a trip it was for us.  The trip strengthened both my marriage with Josh as well as our connection to the Jewish faith.  It allowed both of us to come to a better understanding of what Judaism is to each other and how we can raise our kids in a Jewish home by supporting each others wishes and desires.   I had *so* many favorite moments of the trip.  Here are just a few: Relationships!  This trip not only strengthened my relationship with Josh, but I also feel that it deepened my relation...

Last Saturday, Madilyn celebrated her sixth birthday with a "girls only" tea party.  At the party, the girls colored, had their nails painted and make-up applied to their face.  They also had the opportunity to dress up their stuffed animal with a hand-decorated tea party hat.  A game of "hot teacup" was played and dance party broke out.  The party ended with the ceremonial singing of "Happy Birthday" and cupcakes.  Overall, I think that all of the girls had fun.  What difference it makes when girls are able to just party on their own.  It was one of the most serene yet "girly" birthday parties I have ever seen. Happy Birthday, my sweet Madi!  I cannot believe what a beautiful, spunky, smart, artistic, inquisitive, loving and happy little lady you are becoming.

This year's Christmas was by far the best yet for our kids.  They are at such amazing ages.  They *truly* believe in Santa and all that surrounds the magic of the holiday.  Our morning started off very slow.  Our kids are just not those kids that wake up super early to open presents.  In fact, once again, Josh and I were the ones waiting on the kids to start the day.  Finally, at about seven o'clock, Aiden meandered down the stairs to see his Santa gifts waiting for him.  After he realized that he couldn't open any of them without his sister, he ran up the stairs to wake her so the gift opening could began.  Present opening went much quicker this year and the kids were very excited about the whole process.  Plus, they really wanted to see if Santa listened to their gift requests.  Santa did deliver the presents that they wanted.  Aiden wanted a Spider Man skateboard.  Madi wanted a Chocolate Pen.  Both kids were very ex...

This past Saturday, Aiden celebrated his fourth birthday at Let It Roll Bowl in Phoenix with family and friends.  What a fun party! The kids loved bowling.  It was a little chaotic, at first, but the kids, eventually, started to take turns and bowled their little hearts out.  In between frames, the kids enjoyed popcorn, pizza and cupcakes.  We will definitely take the kids bowling again soon.  Everyone had such a good time!

Two weekends ago, the Farrell-Landers family took a mini-vacation to Loveland, Colorado, to spend time with family.  It is very strange to believe, but both Josh and I have family in this little northern Colorado city.  This trip was a great opportunity for us to spend time with everyone. It was a whirlwind of a trip.  We flew into Denver on Friday afternoon (after being stuck on the tarmac for over an hour in Phoenix), rented a car and started our journey up to Loveland. First stop we made on Friday was to Fairgrounds Park  to allow the kids some time to expend some energy. We visited this park the last time we visited Loveland and it is one of the coolest parks we have ever visited.  This park has everything -- age-appropriate playgrounds, covered picnic areas, a splash pad, and a paved trail along the Big Thompson River.  The kids had so much fun while the adults had some time to chat and catch-up.   After the park, we headed over to my aunt an...

Last Friday, Madilyn had the first of many graduations she will have in her lifetime.  She graduated from Anderson Preparatory Academy.  No more preschool for her.  She will be starting kindergarten in August. It was a very touching graduation full of caps and gowns, laughter and tears, an adorable slideshow and technical difficulties.  But most of all it honored a classroom of five year olds ready to embrace the next chapter in their lives.  I cannot believe that my little girl is growing up so quickly.  Everyone warns you how fast they grow-up.  I guess I never imagined the years would pass by this quickly. Madilyn Rae, we are so proud of you!  "Oh, The Places That You Will Go" and we are excited to be a part of all of your adventures. Pomp and Circumstance Singing "I'm On My Way" Singing "There Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

Holidays are a time of joy and love, family and friends.  The Farrell-Landers family is very lucky to have our holidays filled with exactly that recipe.  And this Easter was no different.  We enjoyed our day watching children hunt for eggs, toasting Bloody Marys and Mimosas and consuming "egg-cellent" brunch foods on the patio while discussing the latest and greatest on-goings in each others lives.  We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful spring day.  We hope that your Easter holiday was just as special as ours.

On the Saturday after Madilyn's fifth birthday, she invited some of her friends over for a Rainbow Art themed party.  At the party, the children were given an artist smock upon arrival to assist them with their transformation into little artists.  Then, all of the guests were divided into four groups and assigned a starting art station.  All of the kids would eventually visit all of the stations to create different art masterpieces.  There was an easel painting station, a paintbrush person making station, a chalk art station and a necklace making station.  It was a ton of fun to watch all of the kids creative juices flow as they created all of their masterpieces which they would eventually also take home as their party favors.  After all of the stations were visited, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Madi and enjoyed some cupcakes.  And of course, the party could not conclude without Madi opening her presents.  The party was a huge success and I think ...

Christmas was so much fun this year -- a little chaotic at times, but nonetheless a fun time.  The morning started out very quiet.  Josh and I awoke, enjoyed some coffee on the couch, listening to holiday carols while we waited for our children to wake up.  Finally, maybe with a little help from me, the kids awoke and the gift opening began. This was Aiden's year.  He was super excited about everything.  He loved opening the gifts.  He wanted to pass out the gifts.  He wanted to throw away the wrapping paper.  He wanted to assist everyone in opening their gifts.  He just wanted to be a part of the entire process.  It was so adorable. Madilyn, on the other hand, was excited about some presents, but very nonchalant about other ones. Anything that involved her baby dolls were a big hit.  She would get very excited about it and want to to start playing Mom and Dad immediately, After we concluded our own family Christmas at the hou...

This past weekend we took the kids up north to enjoy the snow and visit the North Pole via the Polar Express.  We had so much fun!  The kids are a perfect ages to enjoy both activities. Christy and Brandon joined us on our adventure this year.  Neither of them had ever taken the Polar Express, so we invited them to join along.  Aiden was really excited (or maybe it was all of the candy) to go on the train to meet Santa.  Madi also seemed pretty excited..  Both kids colored him pictures to give to him on the train.  On the train, we all enjoyed cookies, hot chocolate, the reading of The Polar Express , a visit from Santa Claus and the singing of carols. Sunday morning, on our way down the mountain, we stopped in Munds Park at the Farrell cabin so the kids (and Josh and Christy) could play in the snow.  They really wanted to build a snowman.  And so they did. What did they name him?  Olaf, of course.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed t...

As a last hurrah of the summer, we decided to spend the last week of August in Coronado, California. We enjoyed our time last year in Coronado so much that we wanted to return again this year.  We rented a cute three bedroom house on Avenue E and spent the week lounging on the beach, enjoying time with friends and taking time to relax and unwind.  Our rental home was only a couple of blocks from the beach so this became a daily destination for our family.  The kids never tired of playing in the sand, combing the beach for seashells or wading in the water. Halfway through our trip, we joined Andrea and her kids for a day at  LEGOLAND .  It was our first amusement park adventure with our kids.  The day started off rocky.  On our drive up to Carlsbad that morning, Aiden threw-up all over himself and his car seat.  We had to stop near La Jolla to get everything cleaned up and to get him some Tylenol.  We continued on our way not knowing if Aide...

As you know, Aiden is obsessed with super heroes right now.  He couldn't decide what kind of party he wanted.  One day his answer would be Batman.  The next day would be Spider-Man.  Then, he would want a Superman party.  Finally, after three days of getting the same, consistent answer, Aiden decided on a Spider-Man birthday party.  For weeks, Aiden talked about his Spider-Man party. However, what Aiden didn't know was that a "real" Spider-Man would be visiting his party.  Spider-Man was awesome!  He played games with the kids.  He created balloon animals or swords for the kid.  He posed in photos with the kids.  And he even sword fought with the kids.  Most of the kids were pretty excited to interact with Spider-Man.  For days after the party, Aiden continued to ask if Spider-Man was going to come back to our house. We are guessing that means he enjoyed the party.

Our kids spent the 4th of July week at Grandma and Papa Farrell's cabin in Munds Park, Arizona. The time was spent cruising around in Papa's golf cart, helping with chores around the cabin, racing tricycles around the cabin's deck, taking walks to the bridge, coloring pictures for Grandma, visiting Grandma and Papa's friends, and participating in soccer camp. Soccer camp went very well this year. More smiles than tears.  Each kid participated in their own class.  Aiden thoroughly enjoyed his class full of two and three year olds.  Each day, he put his heart and soul into every practice.  He would fall down and just get right back up and run full force to get the ball.  Madilyn may have enjoyed playing soccer with her fellow four and five year olds, but I think that she enjoyed building flower castles in the field more than running after the ball.  She may not be the next Mia Hamm. The culmination of the week was when the kids were asked to stand on one ...