Maldives

After the craziness of Jakarta, Matt and I were so excited to celebrate some time together in the Maldives.  Free Heineken was a great start on Silk Air!

  

After four hours over open ocean, the barrier islands were a very welcome sight.

 

We were picked up in style from the Male airport and a 30-minute ride took us to Kuda Huraa and our resort.

 

I doubt there are any "bad" islands in the Maldives, but I was beyond excited when we pulled up to this one.  No roads, no cars, no sidewalks...just white sand, palm trees, and golf carts if the walk is too far.

Our first home was an adorable little beach bungalow just a few steps from the ocean.  It was still nice relaxing in our own pool and cabana as well.

The beach was picture perfect and because every bungalow has its own pool, we rarely even saw other people out there.  It felt like we had the island to ourselves most of the time!  Except for the beach attendants who would bring us cold drinks and clean our sunglasses.

Many a happy hour was spent reading or napping here :)

We also enjoyed the main pool (also nearly all to ourselves) and the fish just on the other side in the ocean.

This was a cool eel that hung out and enjoyed our pizza crusts.

One of the beautiful sunsets.

I loved visiting the sea turtle rehab clinic at the resort and learning about all the different turtles.

We moved to an overwater villa for the second half of our stay.  The inside was beautiful but we spent every waking minute out on the incredible porch.

When we ordered room service on the convenient cordless phone, we never even had to get up to open the door.  We quickly figured out where the rest of the guests were spending all their time!  It was so hard to leave the peace and serenity on the deck.

Our own pool overlooking the perfect water.

The top item on my bucket list - jumping off my own porch to go snorkeling.  We went several times a day because we would find different creatures at different tide levels.  We did take a boat out to see sharks, rays, eel, and countless schools of fish.

Paradise!

Just what the doctor ordered - some R&R before we went home to begin our international relocation.

This was my favorite friend off the porch - a huge sting ray that hung out all afternoon.

Black-tip reef sharks were common but thankfully small and shy.  On the other side of the reef, we saw some that were much bigger and a little more curious.

It was not easy leaving such an idyllic place!  But I'd never left the kids for two weeks before and I was anxious to get home to see my babies.  That helped make it a little easier.

We made the most of a long layover in Singapore on the way home - one massive pepper crab at East Coast Seafood!

On the Road Again

Shortly after Ben's birthday, Matt and I took off on a two week business trip and vacation.  For many months, we've felt the calling to another overseas assignment and God has steered us toward Jakarta, Indonesia.  Our time there was very busy but very productive and exciting.  It's a crowded city of over 10 million people and an unbelievable amount of traffic. I was a bit wary after reading and talking to some people who hadn't had good experiences there, but the locals are very friendly and helpful, the international school is incredible, and the housing looks very nice.  Most of all, it's a great opportunity for Matt and our family. 

So, almost 6 years to the day that we moved into this house, we will be packing it up again and embarking on another expatriate adventure.  We are so excited to see what awaits us on this 3-year assignment and we are looking forward to being back in SE Asia!  It's going to be hard to leave but Texas will always be our home.

Ben's Birthday

Ben kicked off his birthday weekend with the 5th grade party at Main Event.  Ben, Greydan, and Austin couldn't wait to go play some laser tag and drink way too much Mountain Dew.  You only celebrate the end of 5th grade once, right?

 

After the party, Jack and Drew (who still attend our old school) joined us the rest of the boys for a sleepover and nerf battle.

The next morning, we took them to do a little indoor kart racing.

The boys got the racetrack all to themselves!

The moment that Alex passed Ben to take the lead and he never lost it!  That is one competitive kid.

All the boys were happy after the race (but Jack didn't get to come because of his baseball playoffs).

On his actual birthday, we started the day with some frost donut holes, because everyone knows that's the kind quality food that will help you grow to a ripe old age.

A little McDelivery for lunch and my last time to have lunch with my boy. :(

After school it was time for presents!  He got a bluetooth record player and a soundbar for his bedroom.  We may never see him again.

Happy birthday, sweet boy!  We have enjoyed every moment of these 11 years with you. May God continue to bless you each day.

May Days

May is always full of events, anniversaries (15 years for us!), and birthdays.  We kicked off this one with the glow run at school.

 

Casey helped us get in the spirit for Cinco de Mayo!

Alex had his first piano recital after a year of lessons and the boy killed it.  He even took a nice big bow at the end!  His precious teacher Miss Vicki was a perfect match for him and she taught him so much in one year.

The whole group came out to enjoy Alex's performance.

The following weekend it was Ben's turn on the guitar and he played an amazing duet with his teacher.  The guitar is tough, especially on tender little fingers, and Ben impressed me so much with his passion and dedication.  I hope he continues to love it for life.

Mr. Sebastian was his second teacher this year after Ben's beloved Mr. Stefano moved back to Italy.

Duckling season is the perfect time to get out the camera...

...and the food!

Alex got to attend his Challenge field trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and I got to ride the bus.  Again.  At least this time we weren't all three to a seat because those seats aren't made for adult bums.

The first activity was a tower-building challenge with spaghetti and play-doh.  Alex's creation was not particularly strong but it was tall.

Tall enough to win him second place in the competition!

Afterward, we enjoyed all the regular exhibits at the museum, which was great fun for me because it's probably my favorite place in Houston.

At the same time, Ben was on a field trip to the nearby junior high and I was happy to see his picture in the weekly newsletter.

All too soon, another year has come and gone!  I didn't get pictures of Alex and his teachers, but I did get one of Ben and Mr. Kowalski, who was a wonderful teacher for him this year.  It was great having a strong male role model for the 5th grade boys and we loved our year with him.

These pictures just kill me.  Where did the time go?  Why do they keep growing so quickly??  Here's to another successful year, the end of Ben's elementary days, and a wonderful summer ahead.

R.E.G.R.E.T.

For better or worse, I've been giving the boys haircuts for years.  They always complain but they love being done in 10-15 minutes as opposed to driving and waiting somewhere.  Recently, Alex decided he'd help the process along by doing a little cutting of his own before his turn in the chair.

He wasn't so sure about his choice.

 

When he finally showed me what he'd done I laughed so hard that big fat tears were rolling down my face.  I thought we were past the years of kids destroying their hair with scissors!!

This is the face of a boy who regrets his decision.

Thank goodness for clippers and a good summertime cut!  It didn't turn out so bad after all....but it will make for a good story for the rest of his life!