New Country, New School

 When Matt and I first visited Jakarta back in May and saw the timeline of approvals to get his work permit, we were told that September was a good estimate for when we'd get here and get the kids started in school.  I (quietly) freaked out a little because the last thing I would want would be to move the kids halfway around the world and then have them jump into school late and be forced to catch up with all of the other kids.  After LOTS of prayer and some excellent work by the HR department, we got all of the needed approvals and arrived in Jakarta just in time to attend orientation and get the kids off to school on the first day.  They were a little nervous but pretty excited.  No cute first day of school signs this year so Alex grabbed the newspaper.

Even though the main gate to the school is a 10-minute walk, it's another 15 minutes through campus to the elementary school so we opted to use the bus.  They're actually nice vans with a chaperone and pick the kids up right in front of the lobby.  Because I wanted to make sure the kids knew how to get home, they rode the bus on the first day and I didn't walk anyone into class for the first time ever.  I was a little sad but the boys were totally okay with it.

Alex has an amazing teacher from the US.  She is adorable and full of energy and I think he loved her the minute they met!

First day of 4th grade!

 

His teacher sent first day photos of the class.  So far I've met families from China, Japan, America, Turkey, Netherlands, and Greece. I absolutely love the diversity!

 

 

 The elementary campus is a pretty big change from what we've known before!  Lots of outdoor space and greenery.  The kids get 2 or 3 recesses a day, so Alex thinks it's the best school ever.

The middle school track is bordered by local houses on the other side.  It's a pretty interesting reminder of living in Indonesia.  The middle school is also a cluster of buildings with lots of green space and pathways and the kids get two 20-minute breaks each day between classes.

 No uniforms here except for PE, so I think it's cute when Ben has it at the end of the day and comes home in his uniform.

So far, so good.  The boys are loving school and coming home exhausted but excited by all they're learning.  We're so excited for all that they're going to experience at JIS!

Singapore

We were "forced" to spend two days in Singapore so we could get our visas processed and updated in our passports.  I was actually a little disappointed it went so quickly!  

This little Singaporean was beyond excited to finally see some sights on the little red dot that he could remember.  We started on Orchard Road to see some of the beautiful landscaping and malls.

Next stop, Jurong Bird Park, one of our favorite places.  The Lorrie Loft is always so much fun.

These loud rainbow lorikeets also reminded us of Perth because we'd hear them fly in by the hundreds to roost in the trees in Cottesloe.

Matt's little friend was pretty opinionated and a bit aggressive.  Thankfully, Matt was his favorite person and the only one with bites!

 

The world's tallest manmade waterfall

We had to hit up Newton Hawker stand and unbelievably, the owner of our favorite stall was still there AND remembered Matt's name!

To make sure we all stayed awake, we went to the night safari as well.  I had never seen it so crowded!  But that definitely kept us up and ensured we slept well that night.

On Monday, Matt had some appointments so the kids and I went to Marina Bay.

Alex couldn't wait to see the Gardens by the Bay and of course...

...Marina Bay Sands.  He researched it and built a model for his Challenge class last year and has been counting the days to go see it.  Next visit, hopefully we'll spend the night there and check out the pool on top!

The kids were thrilled with all the escalators in malls and MRT stations, and especially loved having an MRT car all to ourselves.

Personally, I was pretty happy with a nice bowl of laksa and a lime juice.  Singapore will always have a special place in my heart!  (and my stomach)

Time to Go

All too soon, we found ourselves enjoying our last night in Texas.  Only one place to go in a case like that - Tex Mex!  We know of a Mexican place in Jakarta but it won't be anything like this:

One last dinner with our parents and grandparents.  We will miss them so much but technology should make this move so much easier than the first one.  I didn't get my first smartphone until we moved back to Texas in 2011 so even texting will make life so much better.

Naturally, we had to load up on Blue Bell as well.  One more thing we'll miss and look forward to seeing next time!

Friday morning we loaded up our 13 suitcases and four backpacks and headed to the airport.  No strollers or pack and plays anymore and two kids who can be responsible for their own stuff - traveling has gotten so much easier!  Our first stop was Singapore, where we would get our Indonesian visas updated in our passports.

These two boys were pretty excited for the flights...

...and even more excited when they saw their seats.  I think Ben spent the first hour of the 13 hours to Tokyo investigating every single button and switch.

Alex was a huge fan of the ice cream sundae cart.

After a few hours in Tokyo, we had another 8 hours to Singapore.  We got very little sleep on the first flight and we all crashed on the second.  Alex barely moved for hours!

Finally we arrived in Singapore around midnight on Saturday and piled into a Maxi Taxi with all of our luggage.  Thank goodness we didn't have one more suitcase because it wouldn't have fit!  Then it was off to the hotel and a much anticipated sleep in bed.

More Summer Fun

 We had a lot of fun in between all the work that needed to be done over the summer.  Alex worked like a madman on his birthday Legos, even though we had to disassemble most of them to move them.

Grumpy rented a pontoon boat on Lake Conroe so we could play on the water one perfect summer afternoon.  The kids couldn't wait to go tubing.

Huge smiles from everyone!

The kids got pretty adventurous and tried lots of different tricks...

 We even tried some kneeboarding and each of us got up but it was a pretty bumpy ride behind a pontoon.

It's hard to beat cool water on a hot day!

We also tried Top Golf for the first time with our friends the Malones.  The kids had never golfed more than putt-putt and they both did pretty well.

This guy has a great golf build...hopefully he can learn a real swing and not confuse it with his baseball swing.

Fun times for all the kiddos and the adults!

Ben spent plenty of time loving on his buddy, Maxwell.

Loving Some Cousin Time

We were so excited to get one last visit in with the cousins before the big move.  Ben was able to convince Carter to start jumping in the pool to him for the first time!

 

 I love the bond between these boys :)

1..2..3..JUMP!

The kids bought some silly string at the grocery store so naturally a big, messy battle was scheduled for the backyard, but first Ben wanted to "puke some string".  Boys.

I think it was successful!

The kids loved riding the golf cart to the pool and back.  Such a great way to transport wet little boys.

And naturally we had to update the group shot.  I sure wish we could slow down time a little bit.

Ben was so proud of his selfie with Carter!