Baseball Tournament 2017

Teddy was invited to the Dubai All-Star team as a member of the white team.  We are so proud that he was one of four kids selected from the Braves to play on the All-Star team.  The boys played four games over the course of three days.

Hitting a big one!

He always has the right form!

The kids won second place and received silver medals.  We are so proud of Teddy who played so hard the whole weekend.

Easter 2017

Ski Dubai

Teddy and I took advantage of the small crowds on a Thursday morning during Spring Break and the services of our nanny, Beth, who watched Ripley, and we went to Ski Dubai.  We had a two hour ticket and got to ski down the hill about 6 times.  We had a blast but we weren't allowed to take my camera with us so we don't have any slope pictures.  Too bad!

Reading Together

These boys don't always get along, but the do love each other very much.  Here they are reading Harold and the Purple Crayon together on the iPad during our trip to Jordan.  So cute!

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Jordan Selfies

A few random photos from our wonderful trip to Jordan.  

At the Dubai International Airport (DXB) ready to take off!

At the Roman Amphitheater in Amman.

At the Roman Amphitheater in Amman.

Jordan - Amman Again

One last super cute photo of Teddy at a restaurant in Amman.  We had gotten a recommendation for it but when we arrived we realized they didn't have an English menu.  We were very thankful for Teddy because he was able to translate a little the menu to help us.  It turned out to be a great dinner!

Goodbye, Jordan!  Thank you for a wonderful vacation.  The Russell Family will be back!

Jordan - Dead Sea

Another bucket list item was to float in the Dead Sea.  It was our last adventure on our Jordan itinerary.  We wanted to save the best for last!

We stopped at the Amman Beach public access to take our dip in the water.

The water.  So salty!

Venturing into the water!

Getting ready to float!

Floating!  Mission accomplished!

It took some convincing, but we got Teddy to float too.

And he loved it!

Then Michael and Ripley went into the water.  

For the record, Ripley hated being in the water.  He screamed the entire time we were at the beach.  

Michael loved to float too!

Thanks to Teddy, we got a photo of Michael and I floating together.  

 The water was very stingy and we had to take a long shower to get the salt off of us.  We liked having a beautiful pool to enjoy after being in the Dead Sea.

And our little ham.  Looks like he is feeling better now!

Jordan - Baptismal Site

On our last full day in Jordan, we wanted to see the site where Jesus was baptised.  This spot along the Jordan River is a World Heritage Site and was one of the most amazing places that we visited on this trip.

The sign at the entrance to the site.

A map of the site.

Ripley and I seeing the Jordan River for the first time.  On the other side of the river is Israel.

The Jordan River and a church in the distance.

 This is the original baptismal site.  The Jordan River has migrated away from this site, but this is the place considered to be where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist.  In the distance is the John the Baptist Church.

The boys and I at the site.

 This is the original site of the St. John the Baptist Church.  All that is left are a few mosaics on the ground.

Down from the original baptismal site is a new St. John the Baptist Church. 

The spectacular inside of the church.

Even Ripley loved it!

Another beautiful mosaic.

The bones of one of the Monks who lived in the caves surrounding the Baptismal Site.

We had finally arrived at the Jordan River and the current site where pilgrims are baptised.  The other side of the river is Israel and we were able to see dozens of people being baptised in the river.

In the distance, pilgrims are being baptised in the river.  They are wearing white.

I bought a gift for my Aunt (who will probably read this and I want her to be a little surprised) and I dipped it in the water of the Jordan River.

Teddy wanted to drip the cross the bought in the river.

Attempting a family photo.

A very cool photo of a soldier waiting at the river.

One final photo of Ripley at the Church.