Fall Break Part 1 - Swan Valley

For our October break, we were all pretty excited when we decided to visit Perth.  Matt had made two trips back since we moved in May 2011, but the kids and I hadn't been there in 8 years! Our Garuda flight was about half full of JIS families and faculty and we were all thrilled to trade the dirty Jakarta air for the amazing Australian skies.

We arrived late on Saturday afternoon, made a quick but blissful run through the grocery store (before it closed at the shockingly late hour of 5:30pm), and checked into our AirBnB just before sunset. We decided to spend our first two nights in Swan Valley to catch up with some friends and enjoy delicious wine and food.

Our little cottage under the gum trees was charming and cozy.

Just across the street we were already in the vineyards!

An amazing first dinner at Feral Brewery

Lovely sunrise over the vineyards on day 2 

The front of our cute little cottage

Cooking and doing laundry were both pretty fun for me all week! But I had forgotten how cold the houses can get there.  A lot of places aren't fully heated and we were wishing we'd brought some warmer clothes.  Living in the tropics has definitely thinned our blood.

We enjoyed all the wild cockatoos and parrots again.  I had forgotten how different the birds were in Western Australia.

We had two Galah parrots protecting our backyard.

Our favorite winery! We tasted and purchased a few bottles for the week and to bring back.

After a lovely lunch with Dave Upton and his wife at Black Swan, we had a pretty competitive game of mini golf on a picture perfect afternoon.

Alex brought home with win on the last hole!  He was pretty excited.

We spent the rest of the afternoon tasting wine, chocolate, cheese, honey, and all kinds of treats.  When the kids got bored of us talking, they had plenty do to outside.

On Monday, we packed up and headed out of Swan Valley through Caversham on our way to Cottesloe.  We couldn't resist a stop at our favorite wildlife park and found a beautiful fairy wren waiting at the entrance.

We spent time with a wombat...

...and a kookaburra.

The huge kangaroo feeding yard was always our favorite place!

Everyone loves a happy little quokka!

The koala area had changed a lot but was pretty great because each family got a few minutes alone with one of the adorable little guys during lunchtime.

Caversham was even more fun this time around because we actually got to see ALL the animals! No one had to rush home for naptime or carry a diaper bag.  We were off to a great start but the best was yet to come because we were on our way to our old home in Cottesloe.

Bali Getaway

Matt bid on a weekend at a villa in Bali at a silent auction and we were pretty excited that we won, not realizing that it was for adults only.  We took it as a sign that it was time for the two of us to have a weekend away and let the boys hang out at home with our maid Tina and go to sleepovers.

Since we had no kids with us, I let Matt talk me into golfing at Bali National and it was a great experience.  I wasn't thrilled about giving up a beach afternoon to golf, but this got me off to a good start...my own locker with a name card.  I like feeling special!

The course was really beautiful and it was just the two of us (and our caddies) so we actually had a wonderful afternoon.  The golf was terrible but the company was terrific.

The ocean view was gorgeous in the distance.

I haven't been on many courses, but this one was by far the prettiest I'd ever seen. 

This was a fancy course, meaning no motorbikes on the fairways, but you can always count on some enterprising locals to sell used balls somewhere along the course.  Matt needed about 18 new balls :)

My caddie was so excited to get selfies together...again, feeling like a celebrity! But really, there aren't many women on the course.

After I survived the 18 holes, I was rewarded with the first glimpse into our villa for the weekend at the Bale.  It more than exceeded our expectations.

Straight from the bathroom into our private pool...

I loved how they served breakfast.  You could either go to the restaurant by the community pool for the buffet or just call and ask for whatever looked good and have it delivered to your private garden.

Lunch by the shared pool wasn't too shabby, either.

Our package included a romantic dinner, which was a fun experience in our private garden.

On Sunday morning, I got a text that our flight was delayed a several hours until 4:30pm.  I tried in vain to get on a different flight but with all the seats booked, we had no choice but to spend more time in Bali.  Wow, it's tough when your couples' weekend get extended! And a big shout out to Garuda for telling us first thing in the morning so we could change our plans for the day to make the most of the bonus hours.

Matt got to surf, I got to spend more time at the beach, and we both saw a very active sea snake.

We had time for a relaxing lunch on Kuta beach.

Then we finally packed up and flew out right at sunset.  I love seeing the volcanoes of Bali in the distance.  The timing worked out fine because we were still at home in time to see the kids before they went to bed.  A little time away is so good for the soul!  The kids loved being semi-independent and told us we should go away more often.

Back in Jakarta, I noticed a few funny sights - like the airport employee sitting directly over the "dont sit here" sign...

...and the poor cicak (gecko) that didn't survive painting day in the parking garage.

Alex's Sports

The middle school has an excellent sports program for the kids.  Each sport lasts one quarter and all the kids get to play, no matter their skill or experience.  It's a great way for the students to give new sports a try with their friends.  I was really happy that Alex decided to play some basketball for the first time and he had a wonderful experience.  All of his good friends played as well and even though they were on different teams, he looked forward to practice twice a week.

JIS organized a tournament with the British school and the Singapore school so we went early on a Saturday morning to watch Alex play.

After some time to warm up, he was ready to play!

Sadly, Alex's team was mostly beginners and faced a pretty experienced team from the British school.  The kids still cheered for those 3 points like they won the game, though!

We didn't get to stay through the second game because Alex also had a tennis tournament the same day.  Turns out they were running 90 minutes behind in the matches so he could have easily played some more basketball, but we got to watch his friend Annabelle finish her second match. 

Alex was feeling pretty confident but he was thrown off by a smaller court than usual and he was matched with a pretty consistent opponent. 

Alex played hard and was mounting a comeback, but the 20-minute match ended and he lost.  He was pretty disappointed because it all but eliminated him from advancing.

He played much better for his second match and easily won, but because his opponent lost to the first boy as well, both Alex and this opponent were out of the tournament.  It was still a great experience for Alex and he's anxious to give it another try.  

ANZA Under the Sea Ball

The charity balls in Jakarta are always a great time and the Australia New Zealand Association (ANZA) always knows how to throw a fantastic party.  This year's theme was Under the Sea, so our table decided to dress as pirates.  Not technically under the sea but close enough.

I thought my pirate Matt looked pretty great!

The whole gang minus Troy, who unfortunately was caught up at work until late. L to R - Paula, Brice, Norma, Zach, Craig, Pam, Matt, me, and Andrea

All the ladies!

We were so impressive that the photographers wanted pictures with us as well!

Inside the ballroom, there was a wonderful dinner, plenty of laughs, and lots of selfies.

A few makeup touch-ups, too! (one of the guys was pretty upset that you could still see the eyeliner the next day...ha!)

Brice always goes all-in on his costumes and this year was no exception.  He was one funny pirate.

The band played for hours and we spent the rest of the evening on the dance floor.

Paula and I even found the yellow submarine!

Great times with my love

It wouldn't be a real ANZA ball without at least a little shadow dancing, too!