We are going to Jordan! (Yes, the country).

So, we have some exciting news!

One of Renzi's clients is Four Star Debate, The Academy of Leadership and Liberty. Here is a quick link telling you what this client is doing this year...

This year’s Four Star Debate program promises to be an international learning experience of a lifetime for top high school students. Twenty-four U.S. students will pair up with 24 Jordanian and Middle Eastern students at King’s Academy near Amman, Jordan to debate whether the United States should support a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and Palestine. The camp will be held from July 1 – 10 and will include a visit from His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan.

5 weeks ago, Renzi brought it up at home about the opportunity to go along on the trip, but we quickly shunned the idea. How could we do that with an almost 3 year old and a 1 year old? Not possible.

Now that there has been some change in our life, it was brought up again about the trip to Jordan. Renzi was then asked to be a speaker one of the evenings and he asked if Jackson and I could go along.

So....this means....Renzi, Jackson and I are heading to Jordan (yes the country!) July 1st!!!! What an experience and what an adventure!!!!

We will be leaving July 1st from OKC and flying to Chicago...there we will hop on a plane to Amman, Jordan (15 hours!). We will be staying in Jordan until July 5th. Then we will be flying to Madrid, Spain until July 12th. I am sooooo flipping excited!!!

Have any of you been to Jordan? Have any of you been to Spain? If so, what are must sees? We are going to take the first few days in Jordan and try to see all that we can (or all that having an almost 3 year old will allow!) Here are the must sees...

Petra: a historic and archeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that has rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans. It is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourism attraction.

Dead Sea: The Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Isreal and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. Its surface and shores are 422 meters (1,385 ft) below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water with 33.7% salinity.

Mt. Nebo: is an elevated ridge that is what is now western Jordan. The view from here provides a panorama of the Holy Land and one of the valley of the River of Jordan. You can also see Jericho and Jerusalem from this ridge.

We have also thrown out the idea that we might make a trip to Israel, but I am a little concerned with doing so with Jackson. I worry about safety, etc. so we may make that a game time decision when we get there to see just how safe things are.

We will be staying at a really nice hotel in Jordan (I lobbied for the Four Seasons in Amman, but was quickly shot down by my husband. Boo! Now, I am currently lobbying for upgrading our seats on the flight to First Class. I will let you know if I win that one! :) and I am excited for Jackson (and Renzi and I!) to have these experiences and adventures.

We haven't done much research on Spain yet...but I am excited to start!

I just wanted to share this fun news with you all! It will be so good for our family to have an adventure and get away for a while.

Peace in the Middle East! :) hhahahahah, I am so funny.

Lee Anne