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10000 W O'Hare Ave, Chicago, IL 60666, USA

At the airport heading on our new journey!! So excited!!

On the plane ready to go !! Love you! I look forward to sharing our adventures.

I look goofy but, whoo!!

Just so you know, we are 8 hours ahead. Feel free to call on WhatsApp or email us. We love you guys!!

Hey guys! She right now we are STILL in the air!! It’s 4am cst. This is what it looks like to this late in the air.

He is actually sleeping 😁

So we found this cool airplane bed for Jana and it’s working out pretty good.

Just chilling

So check out these cool headphones. Lol.

For the nerds like me. This was our route.

So why are we just flying over Germany Jens!!🙄 #nextvacation

Food: So we had some good food on the plane!!

Airplane food: white fish with rice and veggies, bread, Caesar salad, chocolate mouse, spring water, and soda. Yum

So, Abdels’s family came to get us and gave us this bread as a snack on the way to Iribid, Jordan. It’s olive oil, salt, pepper, and I think it’s Oregano, and Italian seasoning. I have to ask about that. Anyway, it is so goooood!!

Don’t Ayrial look so happy😂 Extra grace.🙄

Man, this is going to be a long journal. So… .. we still have not made it to the house and it is 8pm here. It is a long ride from the airport to Iribid. So. During this rides we have had Toledo random police stops. The first one I was looking at the cop funny because he kept looking in the back at me with the flashlight. After we pulled off Jens looks back at me and tells me my bra is showing 🙄 I looked down and almost my whole side was showing. Ugh!…pervert cops😂. Jana was sleeping on me at the time.

Ok, so after that, I’m getting a little curious because this dude driving us starts slowing down then speeding up. I’m like what is going on we have been driving FOREVER!!

So at the second random police stop our friends met up with us. So I HAD to go to the bathroom. So Ayrial and I go in the bathroom. And to our surprise

So. God knows I am NOT about to squat AGAIN! Lol. I had to do that in Vietnam. The other toilet Ayrial didn’t get because she left so fast. We were dying laughing 🤣. So the other one, there was a mini rinse thing like the one on you sink….yeah. Anyway it’s done, and yes, no tissue.

So the traffic reminds me of Vietnam. Cars everywhere and driving literally in the middle of the road while people walk. We are by some shopping district or something.

And no. Not at the house yet. Abdel’s mom cooked dinner for us.

Ok. So we settled in an apartment. Not the one reserved before we came. Long story. We can share that later.

Surprisingly we woke up at 2pm!

Went to eat.

Food: so it’s about 4pm . This chicken is chicken Shwarma! So good.

is Shwarma

House tour.

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عمارة النخيل ٤ (رقم البلدية ٦)

It is 12:39 pm here. This is crazy because I am not sleepy. We had some chicken from the mall for dinner.

The mall was pretty cool. It’s big. I am trying to use the picture translator. It is pretty cool. This is a receipt that translated through the program.

Good Morning

It is 9 am here. I guess I can’t call nobody. Lol! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

So we went to a cafe today at another mall walking distance from our apartment. It was really nice. We had a good spread of food.

So this guy came and cleared our spaces to set our plates! Jana looked at him like why are you touching my stuff. Lol. It was hilarious. He literally set our plates in front of us.

This is a three chews dish. Mozzarella, Houlloumi, and cheddar cheese.

French toast

Hummus from Beirut

Steak…. Still sizzling! Yumm

Squashed apples=apple juice.. she didn’t like it. Lol

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55، Ras Munif, Jordan

We are on our way to Jared’s an Umm Qais. In the road we passed a lot of trees. These are olive trees!! We actually have one outside our apartment too. This is the season to harvest the olives to make olive oil.

We visited Arjun castle. This was a fantastic history lesson. All the places you Lear about in the Bible you can see from here. Jerusalem, Galilee, Jordam river, Israel, Elijah) cave where Jeses fasted for 40 days)

This is my new husband😁according to Jen’s. Lol.

We had fun dressing up at the castle.

Then (yesterday) we went to Jeresh to see the Roman and Greek ruins. Didn’t realize how much was here.

We had a great tour guide! He gave us so much history of the place.

So yesterday we kind of chilled. Jana is officially a beast!!

We went to this really nice restaurant to eat dinner and when we tried to take the phone where she was watching Nlippi of course she started crying and screaming nonstop. Lol. Yes, it was embarrassing. I left and went into the hall with here where she echoed. Lol…. So we left..

Then 2 minutes after we got home…

Poor baby was tired. This time change is really hard for her.🥰

So Ayrial is officially a nut case. She opened her pop, which by the way was the old school pop tops.

She started drinking and we were like wait! Let me see that.

The girl was drinking the pop with the top still on it 🙄 Do our kids really not know that this is supposed to come all the way off? 😂 My child is special.

So today is a day of rest. Everything is closed! So we rested as well. Lol. Yesterday was their Friday technically. The only place open was the supermarket.

It’s evening now and we went to a small market.

I have no idea what I am eating. Its bread with spinach in it and of course oregano.

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Abdali Mall

So one thing I forgot to mention. You can smoke everywhere here! In the grocery store, mall, bus, restaurants. Everywhere!

I come home everyday smelling like smoke🙄

So.. yesterday I went to the store by myself to get some salami. I didn’t know how to ask for a half of a pound. So I asked for a kilo!

This is not even a half of a kilo!!

So apparently a kilo is 2.2pounds! Lol! I had to tell him no more! Lol. SMH. \240He looked at me like you said a kilo.

So Jen’s left last night for his business meeting in Oman. We all couldn’t go. \240He is living like a king at th W hotel. They are two hours ahead of us.

The room is gorgeous!!

Miss him already. Meanwhile, The munchkin is taking up the whole bed.😂

So today we went a little shopping 😉 With Abdel’s wife Raeda and his sister. I \240bought some authentic Jordanian dresses for Jana, Ayrial and I. Jewelry is really cheap here. A silver necklace with my name written in Arabic was 15 Dinars. That’s about 18 dollars.

Streets are very small. People and cars use them!

That’s Abdel’s sister behind me.

Oh we had some elotes Jordanian style. It was really good. I couldn’t take a picture because I had to hold on to Kana for deer life 😳. It was good to me but Ayrial didn’t like. Then too what does she like 🤪. It had cheese and paprika on it . Jana loved it! Then too what don’t she like🤣 anywho. On to another day.

I miss my husband but he is making pathways for us to be able to come back….next time we all going to the W hotel….I’m not bitter😉

It was kind of cool. I spoke to mom, Taura, Dad, and Fran and we were all in different time zones. It was nice to hear about Taura’s adventures in Mexico. They are coming home the same weekend we are. Maybe we can meet at the airport Lol!

So we visit the Holy Land today. So inspiring! We were at Mt Nebo where Moses died after parting the Red Sea.

This is a stone used to cover a cave during the times of christ

This is a representation of Moses staff that turned into a serpent

We are at the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. We are at the lowest part of the world that you can go. Our ears actually popped going down towards the Dead Sea.

This is where Jesus was baptized. I definitely felt his presence. I began speaking in tongues

Jana. Lol

So it was so hot. I sweated in places I didn’t know I could. Because it is the lowest point of the earth it is like a valley therefore hot like the desert.

This is place is called Bethany- house of believer, worshipper

There were 5 churches built around it. Each represents the different denominations of Christianity.

This area Marked the beginning of Christianity

There’s an old site which is here and a new site where people can get baptized. This is because the river has moved from the original spot since Jesus’ time.

Ayrial at the Jordan River❤️

The officer has a rifle

This area is Guarded by the military. Before getting to the site we had to go through a military checkpoint.

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65، Jordan

Nice way to end a day

On our way to Petra. A 4 hour drive from Irbid. Staying at the bubble hotel. So excited!

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The Treasury

The trip to Petra was so amazing! Long but amazing. Petra was breathtaking. We got to ride donkeys and camels! Thank goodness because it was a long way. We saw the treasury, caves used as homes, a tomb, and the city. So amazing! \240The view was amazing. Mountains everywhere. Sooooo many people asking you to buy from them. It was just like in the movies!

Ayrial was so happy to finally ride a camel…but her butt was hurting afterwards 🤣

Jana had a good time.

Sneak peak of Treasury

Treasury building

This trip was very important to Jen’s. His Dad had visited this exact location in the 70’s. From the time I met him he said he wanted to go and visit where his dad did. His father passed away many years ago.

Theater

Man, this climb though. SMH!

She literally fell asleep on his head and then laid on his back like this.😂

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Wadi Rum Desert Camp

Then we headed to Wadi Rum to the bubble hotel. Not what we expected but nice. The food was great! The ride there was crazy! I thought I was in an \240Indiana Jones movie!!

The movie The Martian and Aladdin with Will Smith was filmed is this exact spot.

Our guide made a fire in the sand for tea as the sun set.

The ride there was crazy and exciting at the same time!

Bubble tents

All you see is stars!

Where dinner was cooked

Chicken potatoes carrots and no ions. Plenty of salads and hummus on the other side

Everyone had to eat at the same time

Inside of bubble

Huge mountain right next to it.

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Dead Sea

So we are on a 4 hour drive back to Amman to go to the Dead Sea. I wish I could sleep on the ride.

The water was VERY nasty!! And salty. You could not sink if you tried! Believe me. Jen’s tried. Lol.

I wish I could take the mud with me. My skin was so smooth afterwards

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Dead Sea

So the Ead Sea was so interesting. First I forgot my swimsuit at the house😜 so I had to wear my sun dress. The water was soft, smooth, and oily. Like a natural moisturizer.

It was a different kind of hot. You are really hot in the sun and cooled on the shade. Weird. In the pics Jen’s was literally floating. You cannot swim underwater at all. Believe us he tried of course😅

Jana floating too!

We tried the mud

We tried the mud. Jens put it on his whole body. I could only put it on my legs, arms, and face. So you have to be careful not to get the water in your eyes. Of course Jana did and the guard there had a cool bottle and sprayed her face to clean it.

Any way. The mud was thick yet very smooth. I wish I could have put some in a jar an brought it back. My skin was very smooth afterwards. Because of the salt an mineral content I still got ashy and as white as Jen’s Lol!

So It’s Friday. Our last day and so happen to be the day of rest here. Which is exactly what we are going to do…besides pack.

So we finally tried McDonald’s!

Y

The crazy thing is. They also sell fried chicken!!Lol. Yeah. Ok.