Mom & Dad's Visit, Part 2

(Joni) Click here to read the first part, then read on for the rest of our adventures with my parents.

On Saturday, we went to one of the huge shopping centers (Anatolium mall & Nata Vega Outlets) that also has a super-cool aquarium which we had never visited.

Forgive me that this picture looks a little off-kilter. It's a printed photo that I just took a picture of... Still lets you see how cute we are!

On Sunday, we took Mom & Dad to visit the international, English-speaking fellowship, and that was fun for them to see. Then, we went out to lunch with some of our dearest friends here.

Then that afternoon we visited our favorite park in the city.

We rode the Ferris Wheel too!

On Monday, Justin was surprised to get the afternoon off, so he took me out on a date while Grandma & Grandpa kept Elias! That was a win for everybody! (Here, American movies are played in English with Turkish subtitles, so we greatly enjoyed The Bourne Legacy!) While we were out, Elias had a great time with Grandma & Grandpa. Grandma snapped this picture of Elias & Grandpa playing on Grandpa's iPhone.

They called it the Turkish-English game. Really it was just the Google Translate app, but Elias thought it was hilarious when Grandpa's phone spoke in Turkish!

Then on Tuesday, we visited Anıtkabir, the mausoleum and museum of Turkey's founder and hero, Atatürk.

It's built on a high hill, so there is an amazing view of the city every way you look!

There is a cool walk leading up to the mausoleum with stone lions on either side, and Elias thought it was funny to put his hand in their mouths. Chomp!

Then Wednesday it was time for them to leave again. We had so much fun together that Elias tried to stow away in Grandma's suitcase!

We are blessed and grateful beyond measure to not only live in such a neat place as this, but also to have family who loves us so much to come visit and enjoy it with us! We had such a great time with them!