At the end of each year we've spent in Jakarta, we try to spend lots of time with the people we love there and enjoy some of our favorite food before we leave. In normal years, it's full of end of the school year events and farewell parties...this year was much quieter! We definitely needed some wings from the American Club with the McCulloughs.
We had a fantastic dinner on the rooftop at Chao Chao with the Odars and Mackinnons.
The nighttime view of Jakarta is always beautiful.
Cleaning out the closets is a must...like the 26 x 30 jeans Ben wore once that will never fit again!
And finally, the last day of school and the laptops closed for the year! So disappointing to finish online having never had a real school day in person but these boys were really troopers.
I think they grew JUST a little this year!
We packed up everything, said our goodbyes to Matt, and headed to the airport for the 1:30am flight to Doha. Had to get our customary picture with the ondel ondel.
Because we were originally booked on Eva, changed our schedule twice, and then they cancelled their Jakarta flights altogether, we had to come up with an alternative route to Houston that was not going to cancel. We were really excited that business class on Qatar was affordable and available this year! It certainly makes the trip a thousand times more enjoyable.
First time through Doha...it looked very hot and very brown. The airport was wonderful. It would be fun to see the city one day when the world is normal again.
On the 16-hour flight to Houston with my delicious wine and free PJ's...no complaints from me!
Welcome to Houston! This is the point where we get REALLY excited.
First stop - Chick-fila!
So good to get real hugs this year! Happy to be reunited, and not just on a driveway. And we were thrilled about our first cookie cake in 10 months.
Our first stop on Saturday morning was to Kroger to get the all-important Pfizer vaccines.
This was such a huge relief! Knowing we'd made it back to first world medical facilities and getting vaccinated after avoiding Covid for more than a year.
Next on the menu - Tex-Mex!
And more hugs! So thankful to be close again and have all of our loved ones vaccinated as well.
Next most important on our to-do list, get Ben's learner's permit at the DPS. He did his 30-hour online course while finishing up school online and worked so hard to have everything completed on time.
And then even more hugs and laughs with the cousins. We had a pretty amazing first week in Texas and couldn't have asked for much more to make our summer!
Okay, maybe a second cookie cake wouldn't hurt...
