Istanbul not Constantanople. Seriously, if I never hear that song again, I will be good with that. A quick stop in Istanbul on our way to visit and pick up Uncle Adam. The kids can not wait to see him, and love that they get to visit him where he lives all the time. They have been reminiscing about our trips to Japan and Colorado.

They are constantly in awe of the differences between all of the places they have been. On the plane to Istanbul, we sat next to a little boy that lived in the US, but his mother was Turkish. He spoke fluent Turkish. The boys talked non-stop for the 10 minutes after they woke up until we deplaned. Of course they mostly talked about guns, target shooting, and video games, the universal language of little boys around the world.

The kids were absolutely overjoyed to see their dad. A week without him was too much for all of us. Poor Jeff had to wait two hours for us at the airport, until we landed after 1:00 am, but I was so glad he did. The kids were literally counting down the days and then hours to see him. We stayed at a nearby hotel for a shower (hallelujah!) and a few hours of sleep and a quick bite before hitting the airport for Cyprus.

One of the interesting things was the breakfast buffet at the hotel. Very fresh and tons of variety but extremely healthy. Fruit, yogurts, eggs, cereals, some pastries, but nothing like what we get in the US, especially the South. The kids raved about it, even as they chowed on interesting breakfast choices like Kalmata olives and cheese. My stomach is still killing me with all of that cheese from Amsterdam!

It's funny, Jeff really wanted us to dress to blend in, and we definitely have, but there is just no blending in with our family. Jeff could pass for a local in most European countries, and I even got stopped by someone asking for directions! However, our kids are another story. Their clothes may look the same, but with Narci's glasses and talking non-stop he is always attracting attention. Strangers will pat him on the head, ask him questions, etc. My brother Jared was like that as a kid. I think he was in lots of other people's vacation photos.

With Narci, I think he enjoys life so much that people are naturally drawn to his energy. People are always commenting about their own childhood, or making "to be a kid again" comments. Even when I was holding him, sound asleep, as we waited to board our flight to Istanbul, a family from Brazil was enamored with him. People have always been sweet with my kids, but with Narci it's a different thing, almost like people feel a connection with him. I don't know what it is, but it sure makes life interesting.

We'll be back to explore Istanbul at the tail end of our trip. We are hoping to see the Grand Bazaar, and the Blue Mosque when we return. Next stop, Cyprus! Hope we have time to make it to the beach!