My Little Archaeologists

I've already mentioned that Matthew will be leaving soon, tomorrow in fact, for a two-week stay in Israel. (If you want to look up on the map where he is staying it's near a town called Tiberius on the western shore of the sea of Galilee, and the dig site is a town on the northern shore, next to Capernaum, which in Bible times was a fishing village called Bethsaida. The Gospels say that Capernaum was Jesus' adult home, and Bethsaida is where most of the disciples were from.) Anyway, over the past week we have slowly been collecting all the things he will need for this particular trip, because it's not a vacation! Five days a week he will be participating in an archaeological dig. Yesterday's purchase involved a water canteen which Elijah immediately thought was super-cool. He even went and dressed himself up as he thought an archaeologist would dress, complete with Daddy's hat and belt

He's so funny!

Never one to be left out, Sophia had to have a hat and shoes too, so they could continue their pretend play. I had been trying on an old bathing suit on her, which explains why she's wearing a rash guard! The hat and crocs were here idea. I told her she looked more like she was going to Mimi's house and the beach, rather than the Israeli desert!

I guess they had to do a little research before they left for the dig site.

Sophia showing Daddy where she wants to dig.

Every good archaeologist knows you should always pack the necessities. In this case, Magic Tree House books and hot dogs!

And if you get thirsty out there in the desert, a nice bottle of coke always hits the spot!

We're dropping Matthew of at the train station tomorrow around 4:30 PM. After he arrives at Grand Central (6:12 PM) he'll take a shuttle to JFK (8:30 PM) and take off at midnight. I suppose he'll arrive at his destination sometime around lunchtime on Sunday, though it will be evening there. [Note by Matthew: I will be landing in Tel Aviv at 5:15 PM Israel time Sunday night, which will be 10:15 AM EST. I'll take another shuttle to the Inn and arrive there at 8:30 PM Israel time, which will be 1:30 PM EST.] Please pray for his safety while he's gone and my sanity while I single parent our two crazy kiddos for two weeks!