Springtime Fun

Okay, so maybe spring isn't really a season here, but I'm trying to grow my own bluebonnets and pretend! Rainy season is still lingering so my patch isn't growing all that well, but I still have hope.

We've been enjoying the outdoors and had a beautiful afternoon and evening golfing at Royale Jakarta. I think it's the prettiest course around.

We had a pretty significant rain delay and had to rush to finish our game before it was too dark to see the balls.  The bonus was that we got to enjoy the pretty sunset from the course.

I had a wonderful time celebrating birthdays! Sadly, Matt was traveling for work and missed a wonderful meal at Meatsmith and a pretty fun night at the private A/A bar karaoke room. Happy birthday to Shane and Jenny!

The fun gang that sang our hearts out together for several hours.  I was exhausted and hoarse the next day!

And since we were all going separate ways for Easter, we had an egg hunt with friends a week early.  It was a great combination of leftover halloween candy, some Christmas goodies from the embassy, and fresh candy from the US.  The kids loved it!

Alice has a great yard for an egg hunt.

And then the all-important sorting and trading.  I think everyone came out pretty well.

Big Smiles

It was a pretty happy day for Ben on the way to the orthodontist to get his braces off!

Look at this beautiful smile! I'm happy for all the orthodontic work to be finished at this house and I'm so grateful that the timing worked out so the boys could go to appointments together. They were so lucky to get their braces on and off during mask years so a lot of people probably never even saw them.

Moms share smiles for other reasons - like a grown up sleepover at the Ritz! Farrah graciously used some vouchers to get us all rooms for a good ole fashioned sleepover.

 

Brian stopped in to say hi while we were having dinner and was not sure what he'd gotten himself into! We had so many laughs and such a great time.

We also had a pretty awesome Mardi Gras themed pokeeno, courtesy of Kayla, who had just returned from Louisiana and even brought back a real king cake. The good times were rolling!

Bali Spring Break

It was a little tough to decide how to spend spring break this year because no one knew what was going to happen with Omicron, which was at its peak in Jakarta in February, and we didn't know how much travel was going to be affected.  After discussing several possibilities with our friends, we finally went with our old standby - Bali.

We wanted to stay in Canggu with the Richardsons and McCulloughs, and it turns out the most convenient place (with pretty amazing deals) was with our old friends in Villa Kedidi, this time including Villa Kakatua as well. We were really excited to rent out the entire complex and so happy to see the same lovely staff from last time.

Everyone was scattered out between the two villas and Matt and I decided to stay in Kakatua this time for a change of scenery.

The lovely moms!  I'm so thankful for these sweet friends and loved every minute we spent together all week.  They even know and respect quiet coffee time in the morning! Although I don't think any of us read nearly as much as we expected because we could never stop talking.

The whole gang together! We watched the sunset every night from the beach or a rooftop somewhere and were thrilled to see that the crowds were growing a little because Australians were finally returning to Bali. We were sad that Mark couldn't join us but he was too busy at work to get away. Such wonderful families and great kids that all got along so well.

There was a lot of surfing throughout the week and Ben and Macy even joined Matt at 6am several times.

Michael Jackson was a new addition to Batu Bolong beach!

We all did some individual pursuits throughout the week as well in different combinations.  Our family wanted to catch the Sunday brunch at the W hotel and it was a tasty afternoon with beautiful views.

The kids spent lots of time in the pool, clearly preferring the big pool at Kakatua and encouraging the adults to use the pool at Kedidi.

But the adults could not be moved!  Plus, all the snacks were in the fridge at Kakatua, so it was the natural place for everyone to hang out.

The staff rearranged the living area in Kakatua to allow for us to have big family meals all together.  It was noisy and wonderful!

Alex had the upstairs bedroom with the balcony and started performing unique poetry in the evenings for all of us.

We had a few dinners on the JI rooftop, which never disappoints. (Alex has perfected his look from the Rock)

Lots of time at the beach! It was shockingly clean for March and endless fun.

The quick walk to the beach made it perfect for everyone to come and go as they pleased.  Really the only way to make things happen with 12 people.

Traffic was only occasionally a problem out front.

We had a meetup with more friends at the Double 6 hotel and enjoyed the sunset on their rooftop bar.

The whole gang together!

Brian and Alice figured out how to use the elevator when you've forgotten your mask!

The Plantation Grill was delicious and we were one of two tables there that night.  It used to be a difficult restaurant to book into!

We even found Julie and Ryan on the beach and helped her celebrate her birthday!

Jenny stayed next door for two nights and we had to make time for Spring Spa together.

We discovered a fun British pub with shuffleboard but no fish and chips?! Habis!

Brian took all the kids rock climbing one afternoon and let the crazy monkeys burn off their endless energy.

Four of the adults even made time to go golf one morning (which really turned into a full day with lunch and traffic) and it was a great outing.

The moms took the kids to Waterbom on day and I think about half of the people there were from JIS.  I met the new middle school principal for the first time!

We also took them to do the toughest escape room and I'm proud to say that Alice and I helped everyone escape in near record time.

These kids had fun when we went out...

...and when we stayed home! We tried to keep screens to a minimum and think we had a nice balance of board games, interactive games online, and mindless youtube.

Thanks for another wonderful week, Bali! Sunshine and sand and friendship and laughter and a lot of wonderful memories made.