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Over a foot and a half of snow fell in Mevaseret Zion triggering electrical outages, road closings and trees breaking!

From Thursday night, Dec. 19 to Friday night, Dec. 20 – we had no electricity and then on Sat. night the electrical post in front of our house caught fire resulting in no electricity for all of Rechov Kramim (our road) for nearly 24 hours!

Some highlights:

1. Taking in Orthodox family of 7 for 5 hours while their car was stuck on the only road leading to Jerusalem. Kids fighting. Yehuda, the Dad, (driving with kids to see the historic snowfall and getting stuck in a snowbank) and wife, Mazal, using Ruth’s Kohl’s jacket to keep warm! Yehuda wore my socks and his wife slept in Ben’s bed for a long nap after being up all night.

2. Ben and Daddy rescue a man whose car was stuck in front of the house. Ben and Daddy shovel his car out of the mess.

3. Daddy calls Yoram Shimon, the Mayor of Mevaseret Zion, to expedite repairing the electrical outage!

4. Famous Eglash talent show in evening with no electricity: Ben plays guitar, Gefen is the MC and Ela performs her great dance routine.

5. Shabbat dinner in candlelight and then an hour later electricity comes on and we all applaud!

6. Eating noodles in candlelight.

7. Kids fighting.

8. Kylie [family dog] enjoying the snow.

9. Catelina [Kylie's cat pal] taking refuge in the house.

10. Washing machine kept on going off as electricity continued on and off.

11. Wearing “ziplok” bags over shoes for protection from snow!

“Tooth Fairy” Revealed – for many years when an EGLASH child lost his tooth, the next morning anywhere between 10-20 shekels could be found underneath the pillow. This all changed when ELA “revealed” the “Tooth Fairy!” For over a year previous to this incident, GEFEN would ask and question Daddy on who was really the tooth fairy. She would say it was Daddy, but Daddy would always deny it. This changed when ELA woke up at 6:30 am the morning after her main front tooth fell out.The night before she placed the tooth in a plastic bag and put it under her pillow. When she woke up , she yelled that her tooth was still there! Daddy rushed into the room and told ELA to look again as the tooth fairy secretly put a 20 shekel note under the pillow and took the tooth. Daddy told ELA to look again and ELA discovered the 20 shekels! But she looked at Daddy and said, “ You did it, you’re the tooth fairy!” She demanded that Daddy empty his pockets… and sure enough, the tooth fell out and Daddy was revealed as the tooth fairy!

“HOLIDAY IN THE SUN, Pesach 2013 in Taba”… Some Highlights:
BEN – snorkeling along the Coral Reef and seeing exotic fish; not playing “Mind Craft”; giving dollar tips to hotel staff & not allowed to play the “Game of Life” as he was punished for running away!

ELA – snorkeling in the pool as well as 30 seconds in the sea, losing the “Game of Life” [Granma Judy had bought it this past winter for the kids]!

GEFEN – skipping in line at the omelet station, winning the “Game of Life”, getting free drinks at the pool, & being in a bad mood at the Karaoke Bar until the Russians started singing. ELA said they all sang like “Kermit the Frog!”

MIKE forgot the suitcase at passport control, played golf for four hours and had two pars!

RUTH – brought home room cards from the hotel & hit her head on the wall fire extinguisher!

“All in all a great trip!”

Kylie – Uncle Simon and Aunt Mimi and not remembering

GEFEN – On a beautiful Saturday morning we all left our house and went on a picnic to Nataf, a beautiful area near Male Hacahmisha. We went with a few other families. On arrival we got a picnic table and staked out our area. Gefen asked if she could get something from the car and Daddy gave her the keys. A few minutes later she came back and said the keys are in the back seat and the car is locked. We proceeded to attempt to unlock the car and Daddy called the towing service to see if they could send someone out to unlock the car. Since Daddy’s insurance coverage didn’t cover this problem and it was too costly, Mummy and Nir (father of Ela’s friend, Mayan) went back to the house to see if Shoshi (upstairs neighbor) was home with the family key or to try to break into the house to get the extra car key. Well, they arrived at our house and proceded to the back and to try and find a way in. Nir said he’d check to see if the front door was unlocked. Sure enough, it was “unlocked”! Yes, Daddy forgot to lock the door when we left the house! So this was an ironic situation where Gefen locked the keys in the car and Daddy forgot to lock the front door!

ELA – is doing great and really progressing with her reading skills in English and Hebrew. She is reading various books just for fun! She continues to love dancing and singing and recently dressed up as Queen of Sheba for Purim. She loves the game, “Life” which Granma Judy bought for the kids.

KYLIE – (Family dog) is now an official Eglash after being with us for over 2 months! Kids love her and she is very adorable! However, she’s still small and not 100 percent potty trained!

BEN – We had a bit of a scare with Ben this week when Daddy took him to the emergency room after Mummy was told by our family doctor that he could be having an appendicitis attack! After 5 hours in the emergency room and an ultra sound at Hadassah they ruled out appendicitis. However, the medical staff decided to monitor him overnite. Daddy slept with Ben overnight in the Emergency room! Ben was great and did not cry when they took his blood sample. Not long after leaving the Emergency room Ben was preparing for Purim. He bought a Morphite suit in Milwaukee and it was a fabulous hit, so unique, to say the least! He enjoyed wearing it while shopping, etc. and getting great feedback and so much attention (lots of “double-takes”). Ben is also obsessed with Mindcraft!

[Original stories by Daddy Mike, edited & slightly "enhanced" by Papa Norb.]

BEN’S MOST FAVORITE, EXCITING EVENT: Papa took Ben to Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park & purchased an all-day pass, including bike rental, helmet & body protectors! Ben rode 3 different times in one day, equivalent to 3-1/2 hours! Papa had to be with him each time, as a minor’s guardian [Papa read the newspaper & several chapters of a mystery between snapping pics & videos when he could track the speeding Ben!] Ben enjoyed many restaurant & homecooked meals compliments of Granma and Papa, including favorites Culvers’, Hibachi Grill (where he only ate fried rice and eggrolls) and Granma’s hotdogs. Another of Ben’s highlights was visiting [with Granparents & Auntie Laura & cousin, Eden] the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry & touring on the captured WWII Nazi submarine. Ben also spent a lot of time with his best American friend, Ryan Haines where they went ice skating, bowling, had a sleep-over and went sledding at Kletsch Park in 15 degree weather, along with 3-1/2 year old cousin Eden who had a blast! We [Dad & Ben with Granparents] also had two wonderful Shabbat dinners with Ben leading the Kiddush very loudly & beautifully. Ben willingly accompanied Papa to a few minyonim at Temple & participated in the Alenu! The final lunch was at the Cork ‘n Cleaver where we had a sampler plate of very salty onion rings, mushrooms and washed down with Mountain Dew. Ben loved it.. being spoiled by his loving Granparents! He said one of his favorite moments at Granma’s was having ice cream every night & bagels & hot chocolate prepared by Granma every morning. Further funtimes included a surprisingly beautiful & interesting visit to the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Museum , willingly pitching in with Dad & snow shoveling Papa’s driveway, playing Mind Craft and buying a blue MGP Pro Scooter. The metal scooter was disassembled & packed into a suitcase for the long trip home. A TSA agent at Mitchell Field Airport inspected the suitcase and said parts of the scooter could be used as a weapon, but still let it through… fortunately! Dad says Ben has been a great travel companion who sleeps regularly and loves to watch the movies on the long flights. [Granma & Papa thoroughly enjoyed having Ben for the exciting, busy & wonderful 10 days!]

Daddy Mike says to Ben’s Granparents: “Thanks for a great time!”

[Narrative by Mike Eglash, coach & father of Ben.]
Getting ready to go to Ben’s football practice. Today is an actual game between Ben’s team, Jerusalem and Hashmonaim near Modi’in. We arrive at usual evening time and the players are split into two teams – older and younger. Ben starts off with the younger squad of 4th, 5th and 6th graders. I play quarterback for the younger Jerusalem team against the coach of Hashmonaim on the other side. Ben plays for more than ½ of the game and then joins with the older kids. During that time I throw him 3 balls and one of them for a 40 yard touchdown strike in the middle of the end zone. Ben goes on to play with the older kids and scores a touchdown and blocks a few passes as a defender. I continue to play with the younger kids and in the 3rd quarter, after taking a snap, I pull a muscle in my back! I’m in pain but can’t let the kids down, so I continue on like an “ injured Jonny U [Unitas]” and subsequently throw three more TDs and take the team in the final second to a TD! But, we miss the extra point and lose 32-31!

Now I am in bad pain, but gradually improving! Looking back, it was worth it…

On Sunday in Yoni’s game in the Harry B. Davis Basketball League, he had a personal high. Yoni scored 50 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists! It was a great game and his life-long friends, Jonah and Ben, were also his teammates in the 96-40 victory. He also went 3 for 4 at the 3-point line.
[Yoni, age 14, is the highest scoring grandchild, basketball player thusfar. We expect many more highscoring performances in the future! Mazal Tov, Yoni... very proud of you!]

FRIDAY NITE, 11/16/2012:

Getting ready for Shabbat. Ben checking TV reports of rocket attacks. Ruth in NYC on business trip. Daddy, Mike preparing bbq of steaks, roasted potatoes and salad. Worked all day cleaning yard with Peleg, a teen friend of ours. Ben was volunteering with Ethiopian kids at Absorption Center in Mevaseret. Gefen getting ready for sleep-over at Zohar’s house. About 4:23 PM, Shabbat siren sounds off to signal everyone that Shabbat has begun. Everyone is home now. Usually the Shabbat siren can’t always be heard, but perhaps my ears are a bit sensitive today! Then 20 minutes later another siren is sounded and Ben yells that everyone should go into the “miklot” (safe room)! I go looking for Ela and find her in her room playing with her Barbies. She starts running and crying into the safe room with Ben, Gefen and then myself. We stay there for a few minutes till the siren sounds off. Kids are a bit scared and nervous!

We have a talk about the situation. Ela says she wants to sleep with me in my bed tonight. I agree. We then set the table for Shabbat dinner. After I cook the food on the bbq and set the table we start talking about the situation and how the kids feel and what’s happening at school, etc. Then Ben chants the Kiddush and Motzie and then recites a prayer for the State of Israel, its citizens and IDF [armed forces] and then we all held hands to say a few words about how we want quiet and to be safe. Kids were amazing. After dinner I took Gefen to her sleep-over and Ela insisted that she come with me. She asked if it’s safe to be in the car and if a rocket can hit a car. I said she would be safe. So when we arrive home, the little dear did not want to leave the car. She wanted to stay in the car until I convinced her it was safe!

TUESDAY, 11/20/12:

Siren went off again around 2:15 pm. Ben claims he saw the rocket in the sky on his way to the bomb shelter in school. Gefen was on school bus, but the bus driver kept on driving. I was having lunch at Pinati (humus and schnitzel restaurant) in Mevaseret with business partner, Eric. We thought the siren was from a police car, so we kept on eating our humus! Crazy! Two rockets landed outside Jerusalem! Called Ruth to see if she was OK and she said she went into safe room in our house for awhile and then looked outside to see if she could see the rocket. Picked up Ela at 3:30 from her after-school daycare she attends. I asked the woman in charge what they did with the kids (25, between ages of 6-7 years). She said they took all the kids downstairs to a secure room when the siren sounded. She went on to say that an hour before the siren they “practiced” with the kids. I believe this helped, as the woman said that none of the kids cried. Many were nervous.

At 5PM we went to see Ela’s Torah recital at her grade school. She was terrific, sang songs and enjoyed herself. Ben was at Tzofim (Israel Scouts) and then joined us for Torah recital. Ela was amazing, singing her heart out. The kids sang, “Am Yisrael Chai” and the parents joined in and applauded. We were so proud of Ela.

At 8PM word comes in that Rishon LeTzion was hit with two rockets causing severe damage to a house with a few injured. We were concerned about Marcie and everyone. Ben is on Facebook with Michelle, Laura, etc. Spoke to my parents, Brian and everyone concerned!

Kids go to bed at 8:30 PM. I go shopping while Ruth is working on articles for a newspaper. 10 PM – word of possible ceasefire! Let’s see what tomorrow brings…!?
[Written by Daddy, Michael, with editing by Papa Norb]

[As told by Mommy, Laura!] EDEN has quite an imagination for a three year old. Every night before she goes to sleep she asks her mommy and daddy for a story. Not a book-read story, but a made-up story in which Eden supplies the characters. They typically involve fairies and princesses as well as kids from her class at JCC. Eden is always in the stories also as either the fairy or princess herself. She also often dictates the story, almost telling it herself, but insisting that her parents do. On another funny note, Eden uses “potty” words a lot and thinks they are very funny. Her favorite “knock knock” joke is: “Knock, knock. Who’s there? Poop, Fart, Tushie, Pee.” We have to work on the joketelling a little bit! [An amazing 3-year old, from a "Papa's" perspective!]

GEFEN – awoke at 6:25 am (first day of school after long Sukkot break!) and came in to kitchen with a big smile. She said she had a dream that she was at Camp Interlaken (Wisconsin) and there was a small tornado and a big one. She and two girls went outside and played with the small tornado (held it) and since it was little and only “moved” around a small amount of dirt and leaves. Then, all of a sudden, Spiderman appeared and killed the big tornado! [Wow... what an imagination!]

BEN – also known as the “BMX Kid”, spent almost all of Yom Kippur (except when he was in Beit Knesset) bike-riding around Mevaseret with friends… doing “bunny hops” and daredevil-type tricks!

ELA – The kids got a new hamster and called it “Pinky”. ELA loves her dearly and the girls play with her often. Daddy took the girls to the Jerusalem Zoo and spent 4 hours walking around and observing the animals. ELA took a map with her and followed it closely so she could see all the exhibits. Her sense of direction comes from her Mother’s side!