Da-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na Bat Cave!

Wow. It's been a really long time. But no apologies; life first, blogging second.


The past week and a half was a busy blur. Even one of the kids said to me today, "It can't be Thursday! We just had Shabbos!" With the arrival of the lift came lots (and oh boy do I mean LOTS!) of organizing and reshuffling the crew. New bedrooms were designated, lots unpacked, and smiles returning. B said to me last night, "Imma! Our house is live-able!" Good, B, cuz I wasn't going to put you out in the barn.


Another fond (at first, and then increasingly annoying) part of setting up a new house is the building of new IKEA furniture. There are two IKEAs very close by (eat your heart out R-people!) but we haven't gotten there yet. We DID however, find a bunch of brand new stuff in our old garage that we never got around to building and stuck on the lift. No, not because we were organized and well thought out; we had no idea what the boxes were. Simply because it required less schlepping to have the movers stick the boxes on the truck that for us to haul them to the curb! Lo and behold they were excellent saves! One really great dresser, and another unit like I had in my old playroom: now we have 2 ;) 


So after those were built and hauled where they need to be (I swear IKEA furniture gains 50 lbs once it leaves the box) LOTS of unpacking took place this week. We did stuff a bunch of stuff into Saba's machsan, and will stuff a bunch more, but hey, as B says, we are finally "live-able"!


Few trips we did this week: took whoever could fit into Saba's car to the zoo in Yerushalayim, which was a big hit. It's amazing how different the animals are here. Kids had a great time, but were HOT and cranky on the way home. Stopped at the mall for KFC for dinner, and tortured them by keeping it in the car until we got home (NO EATING IN THE CAR!). I had a terrible migraine and lost the rest of my day. We drank and drank and drank, but sometimes the heat just gets the better of me :(


Today I took everyone to one of our favorite family trips: The Bat Cave! No, not where Bruce Wayne hides out, but in Hebrew "Ma'arat Ha'Teumim" Cave of the Twins...inside there is a stalagmite that resembles a pregnant woman and it's a segulah that any woman who drinks from the spring at the bottom of the cave will become so fertile that she'll give birth to twins. No, this is not why we went.


There was also a treasure found in the depths of the cave from the time of the Bar Kochva rebellion, as it was used as a hiding spot for Bar Kochva's warriors during the rebellion.


It's a great rocky, 30 min hike that suits just about any age group. It does get hard with a large baby on your back, so this time BAW who had work to do, stayed with said large sleeping baby. We had an awesome time, even though the sun was strong!  I didn't bring enough water, so me and Uncle S were quite thirsty by the time we got back into the car. But all in all, lots of fun was had trying to get a rise out of the literally thousands of shrieking bats hanging on the ceiling of the cave above us. 


Can't believe it's Shabbos again! Have a good one! Enjoy your August!!