learning, loving, living » Trips

antalya, turkey

sieni — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:50:37 +0000

A weekend was not enough to enjoy the splendidness of this place! the resort had it all–beautiful deluxe room, free food (all we did was eat, eat, eat), kids club, playground, swimming pools galore, spa and massage, Turkish bath, beautiful beach, plus numerous activities to keep you going thru the day…hopefully we’ll return again and spend a month! I know it doesn’t look like it in the pics, but there were HUNDREDS of people–tons of families and kids from Germany and Holland, which is a good thing because it really gave it that “holiday” feeling with people having a great time around you.

Naw Ruz greetings to you!

sieni — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:06:09 +0000

time away

sieni — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:50:12 +0000

Recently Tara and I returned from 3 weeks visiting family in the States. We were in Portland, Maine, and it was the perfect time of the year to visit. The leaves were changing, and every possible colour could be seen for miles and miles on stretches of road. My parents came from Samoa, together with my sister, Ioana, who flew in separately from San Francisco and surprised the heck out of us! We stayed with my grandmother, my dad’s mom, and visited with cousins. It was sooooo wonderful.

It would have been the second time I travelled alone with Tara, and the first since I weaned her, so I packed a bunch of crafts and stickers and crayons and coloured paper and little toys in sandwich bags for the plane, thanks to an idea I saw on the Crafty Crow. They were a hit! and kept her in her seat THE ENTIRE TIME. While I was nervous about landing at JFK airport and going through immigration and customs and lines with a toddler, I was surprised, actually shocked, at how nice people were! Everyone helped us: from the immigration officer who was so polite, to the couple who paid for my trolley when I didn’t have the right change, to the person who lugged my bags off the carousel, to the customs officer who didn’t even look at the food I packed, to the check-in counter who took take care of everything when I was suppose to self-check at those new machines. And the whole time I had Tara strapped to my chest in the Ergo, and mind you, she’s not a little baby anymore. I said so many thank you prayers that day.

Here are pics from the holiday

Playing in the yard

Food my parents brought from Samoa:

Everyday Tara would take walks with her papa

Dad, Tara, mom, Gram, and Ioana before buffet dinner

Visiting Maine’s wildlife park

Picnic at the fort

Freeport was shopping heaven–outlet area for big name brands–attracting tourists from all over

Mom enjoying her Maine lobster

Tara with her cousins Ryan and Adam at the corn fields, getting ready to go for a hay ride

Joining the hunt for a pumpkin for Halloween

Playing in the corn box

summer lovin’

sieni — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:24:07 +0000

A year has gone by

sieni — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 10:46:33 +0000

Not really since our last post although it feels like it… but since Tara was born! To celebrate, we visited and offered prayers of thanksgiving in the Shrines of the Bab and Baha’u'llah. We are so grateful and blessed to have her in our lives, our little bunny. Tara hasn’t started walking on her own yet, but will wrap her hand tightly around your fingers while she walks beside you. Her vocab includes mama, mam, dada, pup pup (for doggie), duh (for duck), nah nah (for no), and once in a while Aba (for Allah’u'Abha). She picks up her hairbrush and starts to brush her hair (the brush being backwards), her hair clips will follow, she attempting to put them on the top of her head. Brushing teeth comes naturally as everything goes in the mouth. The phone goes near the ear followed by “dada” sometimes. She absolutely LOVES animals–cats and dogs especially–pointing and grabbing their skin, poking their eyes, squeezing their tails. Of course we take the opportunity to teach her to be gentle. Tara is also sooo ticklish, laughing and squealing infectiously, clapping hands when happy, and dancing to Samoan tunes. Recently she has started to show awe with “wooow” and “whoooaas” at pictures in books, cats on Hillel, the moving fan on the ceiling. A week ago we returned from visiting the grandparents in Samoa and the aunties and friends in Brisbane. Below are some pics from our time in Brisbane, and also from our first week back in Haifa. Pics from Samoa will be up shortly, but don’t hold your breath.

Tara and Saba’s shared birthday cake

Nasime and Bauback boxing on wii

and more wiiing

Our visits to the Shrines

After the Holy Day commemoration for the Martyrdom of the Bab

ah gawd Naeem’s finally married! :)

sieni — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:18:27 +0000

Hard to believe We just returned from a weekend away in Prague and Hluboka for the marriage of our dearest cousin Naeem and his beautiful bride Maryam. Oh my gosh, where do I begin to describe this radiant couple?! Absolutely beautiful and smiley and loving and, as Nasime said at their ceremony (she was the MC), absolutely perfect for each other The wedding itself was beautiful as all weddings are, but this wedding was sooo enjoyable to be present at. So relaxed and fun and humorous, the setting delicately decorated and romantic. It was truly an international affair with guests traveling from all over Europe, the States, Samoa and of course Haifa to attend. There were also many familiar ex-staff from the World Centre which was so lovely to see. The wedding lasted about 10 hours from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. (I knooow!) at a lovely hotel in Hluboka called the Park Hotel. The couple entered the ceremony under a canopy of what looked like to be coconut leaves/ferns held by their friends and family; the seats were covered in fine Samoan mats; and the rings placed in a Samoan kava bowl with rose petals. It was so heartwarming to see Samoan elements mixed with European. The temps inside the ceremony area also reached about 30 degrees celcius despite the freezing cold rain outside. The ceremony was simple and dignified as most Baha’i marriage ceremonies are, bringing together a blend of prayers and Baha’i Writings in several languages and musical instruments. The reception was a formal sit-down buffet dinner (such good food!), and Shamim (groom’s bro) and Neysan (bride’s bro) entertained guests as the MC’s with funny stories of the couple. Naeem and Maryam had no plans, no idea of what programme the reception would entail, this was left up entirely to their siblings, cousins, and friends There were songs sung by friends; powerpoint presentations of the couple; videos of their friends sending their best wishes from Haifa and Australia; an Island dance performed by Sham and Sahar (groom’s siblings); Samoan siva performed elegantly by Nasime; Neguin (from Spain, yes our orientation Neguin! singing her infamous blue-eyes like the sky, brown eyes like the ground song; Samoan taualuga; couple’s cuuute first dance; cake cutting; and of course dancing the night away. Naeem melted a lot of hearts when he surprised Maryam with a song “Earth Angel” on the guitar. He introduced the song as one dedicated to “the most beautiful girl in the world looking at me right now” aww! haha, auu stob your faa-cheesy. Sorry ladies! The lady I felt sorry for that night though was my poor Tara. Kalofae si au kama. Too much excitement and noise and not enough sleep time. Ok, here are a few pics for now cos I know you’re all DYING to see them and for me to zip up. These are just a few of the thousands upon thousands taken, but they will all soon be up in our gallery so you can check back laterz.

more pics from the US of A

sieni — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:40:52 +0000

The lighthouse, Portland, ME

With Gram, Henri, Tara and I

Tara loved her first snowfall

Meanwhile a crazy islander in the snow–no masagi to the snowing

mmm America runs on Dunkin’!

The younger generator and the older generator

The damage done at Christmas–don’t you just love family that celebrates Christmas?

Someone’s seevae kosokoso foot prints

Some pics from our time in Amreeka

sieni — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:32:39 +0000

More pics from Samoa vaycay

sieni — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:23:37 +0000

Tahereh’s formal night

Youth deepening night at Ruth and Khosrow’s

Mom’s pretty garden

Mom and dad on the way out to a wedding

A friend’s, Rachel, 21st

Some of the fam bam after the Temple service

Gotta love those seis!

At Matareva beach with the youth to kick start the Giachery Youth Empowerment Project, YEAH!

Erika, me, Pattie and Tara joon

A quick photo op at Aggies’ hotel

Frowning at dad’s office

My cousin Tia on TV, ha!

Celebrity shot! Bronze, far left, Samoan Idol?

Beautiful home visit from Sailimalo’s family

Cluster meeting and the michi michi

Cousin Fue, moi, sis Ioana, and mom after Temple service

Sunday toana’i

Tara’s first ponytail

Family shot

Another week in paradise…

sieni — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 03:45:12 +0000

Saba has returned from Auckland after a business trip and Khosrow arrives later this week. While he was away, Nasime joined me in the night duties of our dearest Tara. Meanwhile Tara has fallen into a great sleeping pattern at night. She has been waking up once for a feed, and last night for the first time slept straight from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. when her grandmama came to take her to dawn prayers at the Temple. On Friday she recieved her TB immunization and coped with it very well. She didn’t develop any fever thankfully. (Nasime just asked me to send her love to whoever I’m writing to, so here’s tha luurve!) On Friday night she and I stayed up all night glued to the TV wondering whether the Miss SP pageant will air live. It didn’t of course. What we did end up settling for was a Bond, James Bond marathon on cable. On Saturday night we joined family and friends at Seafood Gourmet again (ahh, can’t get enough of the place!). On Sunday after the service we headed to Lalomanu beach after the Temple service… beeeoootiful place. The Temple service was a special and beautiful one for the Birth of Baha’u'llah 189 years ago. Saba will shortly be returning to Haifa to get back to work. In the meantime we’re enjoying watching Tara grow. Her eyes are still blue, and she loves to interact with people, go on car rides, the sound of running water, staring at the crib mobile Nasime made for her, and being cradled on her tummy. And yes, pics should be up shortly Enshallah.Â

Update

sieni — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:09:36 +0000

We’ve been enjoying our time here in Sa… pics will be forthcoming. Momon (Saba’s grandma and Tara’s great-grandma) arrived last week from LA which has been so nice, and Uncle Pattie arrived yesterday from Auckland now that his school year is over. Last week we attended our first Feast in over 2 1/2 years (we actually hosted it), and it was Tara’s first ever. It was Arbor Day, a public holiday, on Friday, so it was a long weekend here. We went out to lunch with mom and dad and met up with almost all of the Tiapapata community It’sÂ weird to go back to Saturday-Sunday weekends again. We didn’t attend the Sunday service at the Temple because of rain so Tara and I got all dressed up but nowhere to go, so we stayed home and watched cable. I haven’t had the chance to meet up with my school mates yet (Nyd and Erika, if you’re reading this, I haven’t forgotten you! wanna see you guys). The big buzz in town is the Miss South Pacific Pageant, which will be held this Friday. Tomorrow Saba and Khosrow are off to Auckland for business. Saba will return early next week so he can spend more time with Tara before he heads back to Haifa at the end of the month. Tara and I are going to stay in Sa longer and will head to the States with my family mid-December, returning to HaifaÂ in January. Tara is growing up beautifully… she’s chatting and giggling with her aunty Nasime at the moment while I type this up. This morning we took her to the doctor to discuss immunizations, so this Friday she gets the TB jab (sob). Meanwhile I’veÂ still beenÂ stuffing my face with oka and talo and luau and fa’i and McPinati’s. Gotta go feed now.

In Samoa…

sieni — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 01:33:05 +0000

It’s been so wonderful being home and spending time with the parentals and Nasime joon. Tara is slowly adjusting to the time difference and weather. So far we’ve been to Seafood Gourmet (yummm, a craving I had while preggerz), the Temple service (every morning Ruth takes Tara joon to dawn prayers at the Temple while her mama catches up on sleep), the beach, and the funnest Magic Circus of Samoa yet (what laughs! my fav. was the Tarzan of the Jungle performance), and, yes, I’ve been eating oka, luau, talo, and fa’i (yummmm). [Note to the Ishikawas: Meels, can you email me Michal of Tipat Hilav's phone number immediately?]

Suuushi galore

sieni — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 02:07:32 +0000

On our last night in Aussie, we went to an all-you-can-eat SUSHI BUFFET! (Bahareh, I thought about you the whole time). Amaaazing. I ate so much I never thought I’d say I’ll never touch sushi again. Last night we transitted in Auckland for 6 hours where we went out and visited Uncle Patrick and more family and friends. It was so wonderful to spend that time with them. We are in Samoa now, YAY! and it’s so beautiful to see our family together with Tara. Because the internet is slow here, pics will beÂ veeeeery slow to upload. In the meantime, I can practise my writing skillz (as long as no one QC’s it).

Pics from Melbourne

sieni — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:54:59 +0000

We’re on the Gold Coast!

sieni — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:35:07 +0000

It’s been so wonderful for Tara joon to spend time with Aunties Nava, Sahar and Ioana. Here are some random shots of our time here. Today we’re off to Melbourne for a day to visit more fambam.

Yesterday…

sieni — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 08:03:41 +0000

We had a family-get togetherÂ lunch at Mark and Julie’s apartment. It was so good to see the family again and for them to meet Tara. Doesn’t the dessert Aunty Kaye made look delish?

This is Saba checking the bottom of the car after he went on the wrong side of the road and ran over the road island to get back on track…the car was fine, and we were too. Something to laugh about now.

Visiting the Rameshnis. Such a wonderful visit. Isn’t Chiko adorable in this pic? He was so intrigued by Tara joon, and he of course remembered Saba.

Nap time with Aunty Sahar and Ioana

Today Saba, Tara, Ioana, Sahar and I headed down to the Gold Coast to visit Aunty Nava. It’s so nice for us to spend time together as a family and for the three musketeer aunts to spend time with their neice. Pics to follow of course!

what we’ve been up to…

sieni — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 00:35:06 +0000

Bundabergs galore!

VisitorsÂ

Yummy Yum cha and taro pearl tea!

Play time

We’re in Brisbane

sieni — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 09:51:48 +0000

36 hours of traveling later, we’ve made it to Brissy safe and sound. Tara was a great flyer and just lost it a couple of hours from landing here. She, like her mama & papa, is a little out of sync with the time difference, but it’ll only get better with time. Singapore Air never fails to disappoint and took very good care of us. While Tara slept I managed to watch “Click” (hmmm, uh, yeah movie), half of a Bollywood flic, and the beginning of another movie. The food just kept coming and coming. We spent a couple hours at the Sing airport where we showered and shopped. Here to meet and greet us at the Brissy airport were Tara’s beautiful, squeelly aunties, Ioana and Nava. It’s so nice to be with family again.

(Thinking of a title, but it takes too long to come up with one)

sieni — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:57:17 +0000

So today we went to Tel Aviv via train to lodge Tara’s emergency passport and her actual one at the Australian embassy. She was such an easy-going traveller and loved the vibrations and noises around her, which knocked her out for almost the whole ride there and back; this was a good test to see how she might hack our vaycay trip. When we reached Tel Aviv, it was pouring pouring rain, and there was a huuuuge line of people waiting to catch taxis outside the station. Israelis are so helpful because upon seeing that we had a baby out in the rain and cold (they were prolly wondering what the heck are these parents thinking?! [don't worry she was bundled up and warm and covered]), they started their custom yelling, and it turned out that they were yelling for people to make way for us to take the next cab. So nice. Saba returns tomorrow to pick it up, 12 hours from our departure. Can you feeeeeel the excoitment???

yaay

sieni — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 15:05:59 +0000

Our tickets have been issued! so long trip ahead, here we come! Our itin takes us to Zurich-> Singapore->Brisbane->Auckland->Apia. Now for that emergency passport…

okeeeeeeeeeedokes

sieni — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 13:21:20 +0000

Ok so we’re suppose to be flying out in FOUR DAY’S TIME to go home sweet home. BUT we have no tickets (flights are completely booked out on the way back) and no passport for Tara (have to apply for emergency one). Let’s see how this one pans out…

Trip to CZ with Kevin, Cara, and Nas

sieni — Wed, 03 May 2006 16:10:24 +0000

During our recent trip to the Czech Republic, we experimented a lot with the digi cam with this feature that takes 3 pics a few secs apart.