novruz 2012

 The Williamses delayed their Novruz celebration until we could all be together.  So on Saturday, March 31st, we gathered to celebrate the New Year!

 Grass, eggs & vodka!

 Alma's first Novruz!

 I brought bread!

 We battled each other with hard boiled eggs to try to be the one left standing with an uncracked egg...

 Jacque feeling a bit guilty for beating a 5 year old??  ;)

 He's such a good sport!

 The winner!

 Getting the fire ready...

 Jesse broke out the umbrella to try to keep the fire burning, but the rain ended up delaying the fire jumping by a little bit.

 Finn jumped anyway, even though the fire was going out...

 When the rain subsided, we went back out & resumed the fire jumping!  Cedar's turn!  "Ağırlıgım- uğurluğum bu odda qalsın!" (all my troubles fall into the fire).

 Jacque

 Stu

 Katrina

 Kenton

 Jesse

 Carolyn

 And Alma!

 Playing in the fire.

Under supervision, of course!  :P

novruz

Every year since their return from Azerbaijan (for the PeaceCorps), Carolyn & Jesse have invited us to their Novruz celebration. It's the first day of Spring & is Azerbaijan's New Year celebration. Check out the 2010 & 2009 celebrations!

On Sunday, March 20th, the Williamses prepared their favorite Azerbaijani foods to share with us!

The yummy spread!

Plov! Always a favorite. :)

A tasty, cold potatoey/eggy salad (didn't catch the name) & yummy yogurt/spinach/herb soup (didn't catch that name either) :)

Bread & Meat! Finn was a big fan of the meat & even had seconds. :)

And of course, Bahklava!

Jacque helping Finn with his puzzle, while waiting for the feast to begin.

After dinner, Jesse put his Boy Scout skills to work & built a small fire in their driveway.

I love this picture of Jacque & Cedar. They both look like they're having a great time! :)

Stu & Kenton, humoring the girl with the camera. ;)

Finn trying to wait patiently for the fire to get big enough...& possibly doing the potty dance?? :P

The first to jump over the fire! This year, he got to do it by himself - no help! He even practiced saying the traditional saying, "Ağırlıgım- uğurluğum bu odda qalsın!" Which essentially means, all my troubles fall into the fire, so we can start the New Year with a clean slate.

Kenton & I helped Cedar jump this year. Last year, we carried him as we helped Finn jump. What a difference a year makes...

Kenton's turn. Cedar & Finn were never far from the action & Cedar was definitely making me nervous a few times. But he knew that the fire was HOT & was steering clear every time.

A blurry, but cute, Jacque!

Carolyn in a blur, with a curious Finn watching.

Jesse...& Cedar! :)

Carolyn & Jesse helping Finn. Finn definitely jumped more than the traditional 3 times. He was having too much fun to stop!

Thanks for another great Novruz, Carolyn & Jesse! Always a good time...always delicious food!

novruz

Carolyn & Jesse hosted the 2nd Annual Novruz Celebration: the Islamic New Year that is celebrated in Azerbaijan. They made some of their favorite foods (plov, cutlets, dolmas, & bahklava, I think) from their time in Azerbaijan for the Peace Corps.

We played the egg-cracking game. Stu's egg cracked my egg, but this year Helen won! :)

Then Jesse built a small fire for us to jump over.

Jesse, Brian, Carolyn, Jacque & Helen

Mama & Finn being silly, waiting for the fire to get big enough!

Our little family getting ready to help Finn jump over the fire.

Jump!
We all say "Ağırlıgım- uğurluğum bu odda qalsın!" before jumping over the fire & we do this 3 times. It means "All my troubles, fall in the fire" so we can start the New Year with a clean slate. We had a lot of fun guys! Thanks for another great Novruz!