Evan, told this week that he couldn’t play a certain computer game because he couldn’t read:  “Yes I can too read!”
“Really?  Then what does g-o spell?” 
“Rabbit.”
Close.
 

I can’t even begin to list the number of reasons this picture cracks me up.
 
(Click pic to enlarge)

Sunday, June 25, 2006
It’s hard to believe that this is our last day in Istanbul.  Tomorrow most of the group flies home while Julie and I fly to southern Turkey and then ferry to Greece for a week of vacation.
Things I’ll remember about today: 

Trading t-shirts with several of the Lebanese students and coaches

The quietest bus […]

Saturday June 24, 2006
Another day of Sportsfest competition, and a trip to my favorite manti restaurant with Julie and Hande and Zeynep.  This is the place Hande and Zeynep and Damla and the 2 Murats took us to the first night Eddie and I met them back in December.
After visiting some friends at their apartment, […]

Friday June 23, 2006
I’m an idiot.  This morning I realized my passport was gone.  Lost, stolen…who knows.  I had it yesterday.  Then I didn’t.  So after watching our guys lose to a Lebanese team in basketball, we went to file a police report before going to the US embassy.  Thankfully, Murat was around to help, […]

Thursday June 22, 2006
We’re settling into life on campus, which has undergone quite a change in the last 2 days.  Sponsor tents and volleyball nets cover the large quad area, and yesterday and today groups began to arrive from all over the world.  Especially friendly are the Lebanese students, which represent 3 or 4 different […]

Wednesday June 21, 2006
Today our group moved from our hotel to the dorms at Bogazici University, where we’ll spend the next 4 nights.  The dorms are…well, they’re dorms.  Late tonight Julie and I went down by Kennedy Lodge, this beautiful old house on campus that has incredible views high above the Bosphorous and looks exactly like what a house […]

Tuesday June 20, 2006
Another good day with people going in different directions.  I took a group to Bogazici and we met our friends and guides and some new people and played Ultimate before heading to Cafe Bu for a late lunch. 
On Saturday Ali had called to work out the details of the offer he made to treat our group […]

Monday June 19, 2006
The calendar says we left home a week ago, but so much has happened, it seems like we’ve been here much longer.  Our group split up today and went different directions.  I took some to Bogazici, where we met some students and played a little baskeball.  For lunch we ate at the school…the mildest Cajun chicken basket […]

Sunday June 18, 2006 
This morning we went to church at a beautiful little Dutch chapel.  The service was wonderful; ‘How Great Thou Art’ has never sounded better.  The worship leader was a molecular biologist (that’s an interesting combination).  He showed some photos from space and talked about the cosmos and the magnificence of God’s creation. 
I got separated from Julie […]

Saturday afternoon June 17, 2006
During our trip to Istanbul in December, we met some great students who showed a couple of us around, took us to eat, went to the Picasso exhibit, and just hung out with us while we were there.  We’ve kept in close touch through email.  Two of them are in Washington […]

Saturday morning June 17, 2006
All of our group went to Bogazici U today to play Ultimate Frisbee at the stadium.  Our original plans included some other activities in Izmir, but their cancellation gave us the opportunity to spend a couple of extra days in Istanbul.  Andrew and Ricky were playing soccer and met a man who played […]

Friday June 16, 2006 
Everyone loved Ephesus, and today made up for yesterday.  It’s amazing that it’s so well-preserved, and I think I enjoyed it even more this time than on my previous visit.  On the trip home, on the ferry, a guy pulled up a chair next to me and we began to talk.  What […]

Thursday June 15, 2006
An early start and a long, mostly miserable bus ride to Ephesus.  They sent us the long way, and the ”6-hour trip” took almost 12 by bus and ferry.  We did get to see another of the 7 churches of Revelationâ€â€?Thyatira.  Not much to see but it was interesting since it was on the way, […]

Wednesday June 14, 2006 
Our group got together this morning on the top floor of a building with beautiful views of the old city.  We met everyone, then split up into groups to do different things for the afternoon.  John and Keely joined our UCF group and we went to Marko Pasa for lunch (side street on […]

Tuesday June 13, 2006 
I hate getting off the plane early in the morning in a place seven hours ahead of Eastern time.  I never sleep on the plane and then have to stay up the whole day before going to bed.  This trip was no exception.  Couldn’t sleep, so I watched Pink Panther on the plane and […]

Monday June 12, 2006 
My third trip to Istanbul in 14 months begins today, and I’m excited about taking Julie and a group of students to experience one of the greatest cities in the world.  We’re going to Turkey to participate in Sportsfest, an “intramural Olympics” competition hosted by a university there.  Previous trips have set […]

Taking a cue from my good friend Nick, I’m going to re-write parts of my journal from our recent trip to Turkey and Greece June 12-July 2 and post it here over the next few days.  Our time in Turkey with students from across Florida was all that we’d hoped it would be and more, as […]

Beginning today, the first Friday in July, I’m going to start a weekly post of some of the strangest/funniest/most random things said by one or all of our three kids either during the current week or over the years.  Given the ZOO home that we live in, I’ve easily got enough material to go til the […]

Today, thankfully, was the last day of our annual Wet’n’wild passes, so we took the kids to what may be my least favorite Orlando theme park.  I haven’t been often, but depending on the day, it ranks either just before or just after a visit to the dentist.  I’m actually waiting to hear back on a […]