Pictures

So what have we been up to lately?  It's great to read about life here but everyone really wants to see the pictures, right?

I got a waterproof camera for my birthday and we've had lots of fun with it at the pool.  Underwater pictures are tough to take!  Don't expect to see any of my glamorous shots on here...

 

The Kristal hotel had a great pool and we spent a lot of time playing in it.  The only problem here is that the water still gets cold...it always seems to me that the tropics should make it hot!

After just two days of school, the kids had a day off for Indonesian Independence Day.  It's traditional for kids to compete in games and win prizes.  Our kids tried their best but didn't win anything.  They did get to try a traditional rice cake in this contest, but apparently it wasn't worth finishing when the race was done.

 

The popping of the water balloons was harder than expected but it made for great entertainment.

 

Happy Independence Day, Indonesia!

 

Hard to see, but we also spent quite a bit of time like this in the hotel - sitting on the couch watching TV or playing on devices.  It was a great place but it got rather small after a month.

 

Interesting sights around the streets - these tiny streets exist and motorbikes still navigate through them.

Yep, I don't see any problems here.  

After just a few days' use, this power strip blew out the breakers for half the building.  We learned quickly to ask for the warranty.

Yum...there is a Din Tai Fung here!

We'd been warned about the pollution here and I knew some days were much worse than others but the pictures can tell you much better.

Clear day!  Notice all the high rises in the city.

 Stay inside today.  On the very worst day I've seen, you couldn't clearly see the shorter tower in this picture.

 

Some of the sunrises were pretty amazing from our hotel room.

 We did join the American club here, mostly to have a place to relax and let the kids run around.  It's nothing fancy, but the menu is good, the beer is from America, and it's completely laid back.  The kids have a play area with foosball and a TV and we have a gym.

Not only do malls have some "Ladies Only" parking, this one has "Exotic Supercar" parking...ha!

Ben initially didn't want to learn another instrument, but we didn't really give him a chance and he chose the violin.  Now he's pretty dang excited and we can't wait to hear what he learns!

 We wanted to explore a little one Saturday and I'd heard about a pretty amazing bird market in the city, so we had to check it out. It was pretty fascinating and had thousands of birds of every size, shape, and color.  I don't know half the birds we saw, but I recognized finches, love birds, owls, woodpeckers, parrots, and lorikeets, just to name a few.

 

Ben and a myna

Matt thought this guy was awesome.  

I loved this cat sleeping in the middle of hundreds of birds.

It wasn't limited to birds - we saw squirrels, sugar gliders, and even some bats!