I have been a very very bad blogger. I have written three different versions of explanations why I have been so. But I have decided not to bore you with my whimpering and just jump back into the swing of things.

After our stay in Hawaii, Ofer and I spent in total about 3 1/2 weeks in Israel. We were fortunate to have been offered a place to stay for the entire time we were there by Ofer’s Uncle Avi and Aunt Riki. Not only were Avi and Riki hosting Ofer and I, they also opened up their home to Ofer’s brother Asaf, his wife Pamela and their three children Elan, Benjamin and Johnathan. Needless to say Avi and Riki are shoe-ins for a top humanitarian award.

The moment I walked through Avi and Riki’s door I was family. They saw to it. We had our own room upstairs, they gave us fresh towels, they taught us how to use the coffeemaker, they stocked the fridge with fruit, yogurt and home-made shakshuka and they gave us a key to the house. They allowed us to say ‘thank you’ three times then they cut us off. No more thank you’s...we were family. I really couldn’t say enough to thank the two of them for hosting us for so long. We all had long family talks, they took us to some of the most interesting and beautiful places in Israel and they made us truly feel at home. I have to admit I am enjoying this whole acquiring a larger family thing. Shayna likes being engaged.

Every day on our Israel trip we went on some new excursion, swam in a new beach or visited a special place to Ofer’s family. It would be tough to chronicle all of the experiences that we had but I will mention some of the highlights.

Avi and Riki live in a beautiful beach town called Nahariya. Nahariya is a suburban town about 40 minutes north of Haifa. From their home it was just minutes to the beach, coffee shops, restaurants and even a zoo.

Ofer was born in Haifa and moved to the US with his family when he was 11 but has since wanted to live there as an adult. I visited Israel when I was 16 and 26 and always wanted to live there for a few months to improve my Hebrew and learn my way around the country. Ofer and I saw it fitting since we both love Israel so much that we should end our 19-month journey in Israel. Ideally we will find an apartment in Tel Aviv for a few months next September or so. Because of this plan we weren’t making ourselves crazy trying to see everything in Israel that we wanted to see. This time was really to be spent with family.

Ofer and his brother’s family live on separate coasts and even though they get to see each other every few months this was going to be the first time in ---- that they will have this length of time together. As I mentioned Asi and Pamela have three children. Let me be more specific: three boys. Let me expand on that: three boys under the age of 5. Ofer and I were studying them closely and taking notes on how to handle such a job with the love, grace, joy, discipline and the teamwork that they employ. Asi and Pamela are a beautiful match. Not only are they an incredible team raising their three boys they clearly have so much love and adoration for each other; they are one of those couples that genuinely enjoy each other’s company. I couldn’t be a luckier girl to join a family that has relationships like that. (And we promised we will be trying to bring those boys cousins in the not so distant future).


One of the first things we did on our trip was visit Ofer’s Grandparents on his Mother’s side of the family. Safta Silvia and Saba Haim. They live in the most posh senior citizen home I have ever seen. It was gorgeous. Silvia is a spitfire. In fact I know that if she and my grandma got together they would have us peeing our pants with laughter even though they hardly speak the same language. We tried to spend at least every other day with her. Over the course of the three weeks not only did she give Ofer and I truly heartfelt marriage advice that brought us to tears she walked with us on the beach, she came with us to the mall and she made sure that we never left her room without our fill of coffee, juice or cake.

Haim was living upstairs from Silvia in a section of the establishment that had more hands-on care. Unfortunately he had a fall about 5 years ago and hasn’t recovered the way that we all would have wished. It was so touching for me to see Ofer with the two of them. He was incredibly loving and connected. He must have told them each ‘I love you’ at least 20 times each time he saw them. This was, of course, the first time that both Silvia and Haim saw Ofer with his new fiance. It was also the first time the first time that they had seen Asi and Pamela in the past 11 years and even more incredibly it was the first time that they had ever met their 3 great-grandchildren. Days after we left Israel Saba Haim passed away. We all felt so fortunate to have spent that time with him.

Early in the trip Avi and Riki threw a party at their house to gather together a lot of the family in the surrounding areas. At least 30 people must have been there. The largest population were cousins of Ofer’s who were mostly between their late 20’s through their 30’s and most with kids. We were a very busy house. We all celebrated Jonathan and Benjamin’s 3rd birthday, Ofer and my engagement, Ofer’s cousin Anat’s engagement and generally us all just being in one place. It was an amazing sight to see.

Once again, I can’t even say how welcomed I felt into the family. One of the most striking things about it was the bond everyone seemed to have with everyone else. I grew up in Northern California with my relatives a 6 hour drive to some and 6 hour flight to others. Although I never felt a lack of family with the incredible community that my parents created for us, it was striking to see the connection everyone at the party had together. They had all grown up together, they watched each other get married and have children and now their children are starting the whole process over again. My impression was that this is more common in Israel than it is in the states, or at least on the US coasts. It definitely gave me a view of a different kind of childhood and family experience that I had never quite seen to that extent.

Ok I’ve written a lot so here comes a list of things we did together with the family and some things Ofer and I did on our own. We visited a zoo next to Avi and Riki’s house, held bunnies and fed ostriches and goats. We drove to ----- and was shown the border between Israel and Syria. We swam in the ocean in Tel Aviv and ate the most delicious watermelon I have ever tasted. We got an incredible tour of Jerusalem complete with an amazing light show that we very highly recommend. We had a bonfire, watched the sunset and slept on the beach in Caesaria. We walked around Haifa and I was lucky enough to see the house Ofer grew up in and the school he attended before he left for America. We also had amazing visits with different groups from Ofer’s family who also opened their doors and hearts to us in a way that I will always cherish. And much much more.

The land of milk and honey and hummus did not disappoint.