February trip to Jordan

Another amazing thing about Kuwait National and Liberation Days are the fact that both days combine to provide a nice four to five day weekend each year.  This is an awesome time to travel and enjoy some international adventure!  This year we flew to Amman, Jordan to check out some of the amazing history there and hang out with our dear friends Jon and Jessica Bess!  Jordan is filled with rich Biblical and other fascinating historical sites and we enjoyed our trip there very much.  It was also an amazing blessing to spend time with the Bess family, including adorable little Amelia!

Here are just a few pictures of amazing Jordan:

The pictures above are from our first day when Jessica drove us to Jerash, a sprawling ancient Roman city that has some of the best ruins in all of Jordan.  It was a fun and awesome day of exploring!

This next group of pictures is from Bethany-Beyond-Jordan, the site that most historians agree is where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.  This was a surreal visit and we were moved by our time walking around the site.

Joe definitely did walk down to the "alleged" exact spot where the baptism is believed to take place!

That would be it, right over our shoulders!

This beautiful orthodox church sits near the baptism site on the Jordanian side of the River Jordan

Joe had to dip his hands in the Jordan River!

If you look closely you can see drops of water that Joe sprinkled on his head/face

We were so close to Israel that Joe couldn't stand it!

The next group of photos below are from the two days we spent at the Dead Sea.  There truly is no other experience on earth like floating in the waters of the sea.  As crazy as you imagine it would be, it is even more extraordinary to experience it!

Legend says that the Dead Sea mud is very good for you skin/ overall health

Lindsay and Jessica floating

The air is thick and stuffy so far beneath sea level!

After leaving the  Dead Sea we drove through the Jordanian Mountains up to the memorial site of Moses, visiting the peak where he was shown the promised land by God.  Amazing!

We then had a wonderful lunch at the Dead Sea Panorama restaurant with our good friends.  The overlook provided extraordinary views of the entire Dead Sea and Israel on the far border!

Joe representing Texas Sports Development worldwide!

Jon, Jessica, and Amelia Bess

According to Lindsay, Jessica, and their oldest friends these are the greatest cookies ever!

This is a shot of some Christian pilgrims being baptized in the Jordan River from the Israeli side

The highlight of an amazing long weekend in Jordan!

Kuwait National and Liberation Days

One of the coolest things during the entire school year is the celebration of the Kuwait National and Liberation Days at the end of February!  This is an amazing time when the entire month of February is dedicated to celebrating Kuwait as a free nation and their liberation from Iraq after the invasion and occupation during the gulf war.  The entire country is filled with patriotic fervor and is awesome to see.  It is like a month where Kuwaitis feel about their nation the way Texans feel about Texas always.  It is really cool.  Here are some pictures to show you a glimpse of the fun way Kuwait celebrates the occasion!

New Years in London!!!

Joe decided to plan a stop in London on our way back to Kuwait to celebrate New Years Eve and Day London style!  This was his Christmas present to Lindsay and he also told her that we would probably run in to Prince William and Kate Middleton while we were there.  Here are some pictures from our trip to London, now officially one of Lindsay's favorite places:

Joe standing beside our hotel, which also happens to be next to St. Paul's Cathedral!

Somewhere under a bridge in South Bank!

Tower Bridge Selfie

Big Ben selfie!

Lindsay posing in front of the royal women's bathroom at Kensington Palace

New Year's Worship at Westminster Abbey was amazing!

High above the city while riding on the London Eye

Lindsay freezing in the middle of Tower Bridge

Big Ben!

We were only in London for a couple of days, but thanks to some awesome tips from our good friend Tim we were able to see nearly all of the major attractions.  This was also due to the greatness of the London Underground system, which is truly a marvel.  The highlight of the trip (which was full of highlights) was the fact that we actually did see Prince William!  As we were walking on to the grounds of Kensington Palace, we were stopped at the driveway by a guard so two cars could pass.  The first was a beautiful Jaguar coupe and the second was a Range Rover with none other than Prince William himself.  We were able 10-15 feet from the car as it cruised by and he looked at us and the other couple that was standing next to us and waved.  Lindsay still can't believe it.  Joe wasn't that impressed, since he told Lindsay all along to expect a glimpse of a royal while we were in London.

We also saw platform 9 3/4, of Harry Potter fame, as well as the amazing New Year's Eve fireworks over the river.  We ate delicious fish and chips and enjoyed exploring the city.  Lindsay can't wait to go back to visit some friends that we have from Gaelic that are moving back to London this summer.  We will definitely be visiting them sometime down the road! 

Christmas break back home in 'Merica

Highlights from our Christmas break visit to Texas, Michigan, and Indiana:

Pappacitos with dear friends the Chavez and Breslin duos!

Joe was able to have lunch with about 20 of his favorite students and a couple of colleagues from HC!

Grandpa Edwin jamming out on Christmas Day!

Iam and Addison Carr, so adorable!

Iam = awesome!

Adorable Hadley with Uncle Joe

Three beautiful kids!

Go Colts!

The Carr kids

It was a whirlwind trip that had us spending five days in Texas and six in Indiana/Michigan.  We were able to enjoy delicious Tex-Mex with friends and family multiple times while in Texas and we had an awesome Christmas day in Michigan.  We were excited when we found opened our Christmas present from Lindsay's parents and saw that it was two tickets to the Colts game that weekend where we would be joined by Lindsay's brothers.  The Colts won big and the game was fun and, despite the frigid temperatures, we even tailgated before the game!  Our visit home was quick but we enjoyed it and are excited to return to both Texas and Indiana this summer.