our last weeks in ankara

here are some photos that tell the story of our last weeks in ankara.  it was such a bittersweet time as we wrapped up our life as we knew it & prepared to begin a new chapter in the us.  so thankful for the friends & family who helped us through it - especially ben's aunts & dad, who took such good care of us & our boys.  the weather was hot right up until we left on october 11th.  the extended stay hotel where we stayed after our pack-out was terrifically old & turkish & there were a number of asian families (diplomats) staying there, also with young children.  the staff adored emre.  ben's dad lent us his bmw to transport emre around town after we sold our car & i loved driving it.  my former boss gave me a hell of a time after we announced our departure & we were dealing with the stress of that on top of closing up our apartment and the office.  these are the things i remember about that time.

one last brunch with nilay & kids (beautiful evie & devrim)

discussing with emre the time frame of upcoming events (we had a calendar we went over nightly) - also, the last evening/dinner in our apartment

packing out (they really did wrap everything individually.  it was amazing.)

our container - see you on the other side!

getting some baby love amidst the chaos

emre the champion, taking it all in stride (inside our hotel room post-pack out)

tears as we say goodbye to the apartment that was our home

one last oktoberfest at the german embassy, ankara

one last birthday cake from ben's folks with my name mis-spelled

at least one of us didn't have a clue about any of the changes taking place

bon voyage dinner compliments of our sweet friends lisa & tom

one last brunch, being spoiled rotten as usual

brudders

sleeping babe at dinner (we ate out most nights while living at the hotel)

we mostly ate at restaurants with playspaces - oh how i miss turkey's child-friendly restaurants & wait staff

breakfast at the hotel.  how we started every morning in those last weeks.

displaying a sign for 'feo's' 1st birthday

daily walks to the starbucks around the corner, so mommy could get good coffee & emre could enjoy a milkshake

one last hair cut with the 'cut cut abi'

last night at the hotel with the awesome aunts who took such good care of us & our children

ercument abi & aylin teyze visited us & kept emre entertained on our last night

forced smiles as we all hide our tears exiting turkey