Awards and Recognition Day

Why the long title? My kids participated in plenty of things this year, but no certificates came home.  That's OK!

Morning community awards "family" photo

Nicholas with JV Volleyball

Rebecca with Varsity Volleyball

Jonathon with Academic Games

Rebecca with Varsity Soccer

Rebecca with Varsity Basketball

Senior Prom 2016

WWW 2016 - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Last year Rebecca and Nicholas went to Vietnam for their Week Without Walls trip.  This year they returned to Chiang Mai, Thailand - 13 years since their last visit.

Making friends with the local wildlife.

Elephant kisses.

Yes, they are.

Enjoying the rain.

You only celebrate your 20th Anniversary once.

This year was different. All the stars and planets were aligned and we decided that it was well worth the cost to take some time just for the two of us.  The kids were sprinkled around the world (US, Thailand, and down south here in Jordan), Ian was off work, and I am off work.

"But," you say, "you've had a bunch of trips this past year or so that were just the two of you!"

In that, you are correct. Those were "let's see something new" and "oh, there's a cool thing happening" or "hey, we have free tickets."

This one was just for us with absolutely no expectations of doing anything, only to celebrate being together for the past almost 22 years, and married for the past 20 years. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed being together.

Quiz night success.

SOFEX 2016

Being a senior in high school means that the last few weeks of school really aren't school. Exams are done early due to AP and Capstone requirements. Week Without Walls just happened so there are no big projects still looming. Really, Becca's last day of actual school was roughly 2 weeks ago (and the boys don't finish until 8 June). So when an ad came in the newsletter looking for someone to staff the USA Security and Defense pavilion Exhibitor's Lounge for the Special Operations Forces Exhibition (SOFEX), Becca applied.

For three days she made coffee, offered cookies, cleaned up, ran errands, handed out pamphlets and schedules, and provided a smiling face to the lounge. On the third day, we got to join her and see what it was all about.

With that badge, she can make any coffee you want.

Rope? What rope?
They even turned on the lights for him.

At the end, Becca was palmed an AUSA coin from the general who runs the program that pulls these pavilions together, and when asked her thoughts on it, she was honest - some moral and ethical confusion lingers between the "security"/"defense" and the selling of war.

She made a good amount of money for those 3 days, got rides with the organizers in the mornings, and had her lunch paid for. Confusion aside, it's one of those things that looks kinda interesting on a resume. 

For Sale

Folks, we're really trying to sell our car. So if you know someone in Amman looking for a great family car, or someone coming to Amman looking for the same, give us a holler!

2008 Dodge Durango SUV, Duty Unpaid, ~65K miles, red exterior/tan interior, 5 CD changer, sun roof, high clearance, automatic, power windows and side mirrors, rear window wiper, foldable 3^rd row for tons of trunk storage, roof rack. Outlets in 2^nd and 3^rd row for charging Gameboys and laptops. Remote keyless power door locks.

Bought in Amman from previous Embassy employee, great car with V6 engine has the power to handle hills, snow, and more. Pre-nicked so you never have to worry about Amman traffic and parking.

$10,000

Contact Ian at imhopper@gmail.com with any questions.

Available 9 June 2016