Back in Jakarta

It is sure great to be home! We missed our house and our things a lot over the past several months and it was wonderful to be back to normal.  Feels pretty normal when one kid is trying to kill the other.

Even though our pool is much colder than the ones in Texas, it was so much fun to be back in it and have some fun afternoons playing together.

We are naturally staying home most of the time but I did have to run out to the mall a few times for some necessities.  Things were mostly normal but social distancing and hand washing/sanitizing were being encouraged everywhere.  That's great news for a country where hand washing isn't a given.

Other things haven't change - like the durian at the front of every grocery store.  Gross.

Our weekend fun has been golfing as a family because it's easy to isolate when no one else is around!

We've had two happy and very willing drivers!  The boys have started lessons with their old coach and they're improving every week.

I've enjoyed my morning walks while I'm trying to shed all the Texas weight I put on eating Mexican food and Blue Bell.

Alex wanted to make some more macarons and I happily obliged (just before the diet started!)

They use every bowl we have but they're so worth the effort.

The results were pretty delicious!

Ben also tried his hand at making beef jerky.  We've come up with a pretty good recipe and now have one less thing we need to bring back in our suitcases.

Matt and I enjoyed a date night for the first time in a VERY long time and it was incredible.  The rooftop at Hakkasan recently reopened and we enjoyed amazing food and views together.

Perfect place to be alone together!  And so wonderful to be reunited and starting year 4 in Jakarta together.

 

Goodbye, Texas

The boys and I moved into our final rental house (that makes 7 places we lived over 4 months for anyone counting) and it was a trip down memory lane for me because it was in our old neighborhood in the Woodlands.

We checked out our old house, Ben's very first home, and couldn't believe the size of the tree we planted so long ago.

We were in limbo for a while waiting to find out if we'd get approval to fly back to Jakarta.  It was stressful planning for either scenario and dealing with the emotions of each.  The boys were so torn with wanting to be back with Matt and wanting to stay in Texas, where life is easy and HEB is always just around the corner.

Finally, we got the good news that we could travel but it started the hard goodbye tour.  We never even got to see so many friends over the months but managed to keep a few families in our little circle.  We said goodbye to the Oswicks first and I only managed to sneak in a picture of our picnic.

Next on the list was the Hester family.  Our plans were changed because of Hurricane Hanna, which took a turn to the south at the last minute and clearly didn't give us the storms we expected.  We were able to enjoy a great day on the lake in their neighborhood.

My very oldest friend and my "twin" brother, so we had an early birthday celebration together.

The storm damage from the hurricane...ha!  Alex was actually really disappointed because he wanted to experience a hurricane.

Then I had to get down to business and somehow pack, toss, or give away everything we'd accumulated over the months. It was a challenge not to buy too many things but to also make life comfortable as we bounced from house to house.

We only had four checked bags because we had a cooler (our deep freeze in Jakarta died, along with all our US bacon and sausage!) and a guitar, but I worked some packing magic and fit in all the necessities.

A quick and quiet birthday in the midst of covid tests, doctor calls, and last minute shopping.

All too soon, it was our last day and we were feeling sad about leaving.  Instead of our usual big meal with all the grandparents, it was just the three of us at Mama Juanita's and the only meal we ate out together in a restaurant the entire time we were in Texas.

It was weird but a fitting end to our time as the 3 Amigos running around the globe together.  Man, I love these boys and will remember our time together fondly while the world was upside down. Most every evening we cuddled together on the couch under our blankets and watched the Goldbergs beginning to end.

We said our goodbyes to each of the grandparents and got our last hugs.  While we were so thankful to have spent time together almost every week for months, it was sad that we didn't get to do the normal things like watch a movie or share a game.  The summer was stressful for sure, but also wonderful at times.  

We were so grateful to be in business class again because after a 4-hour domestic flight to Seattle sitting directly next to a stranger, I needed some space for my sanity.  We also learned that 36 continuous hours wearing masks can be challenging.

The start of a beautiful sunrise over Taipei.

A little caffeine for me in the lounge, a little snapchat for Ben.

The boys were not too thrilled about our Hello Kitty plane to Jakarta, but the Indonesians were all putting it on their instagram!

The food on our final 5-hour flight left a little to be desired.  We went a really long time between hot meals since everything was closed in Taipei, but at this point in a trip, it doesn't even matter.

The lovely Jakarta skyline....welcome back!

It's always hard for us to define exactly what qualifies as home, but this summed it up perfectly for me.  If my little family is all in Jakarta together, we're home.  When we left back in March, I really though we'd be back in a month or two.  I never expected that it would almost be August when we returned and I've never been so happy to sleep in my own bed again.  I hope to never fly my kids around the world again during a pandemic and I'm so, so happy to be reunited with Matt because together we can face anything.

Sleeping in my own bed was the best, but this was a close second....closing the door on all the EMPTY suitcases!

Pool Time

It's not easy to find a rental in Houston in July with a pool but I scoured websites for hours and finally found a house available for 12 days.  We made the most of every one of those days and thankfully only had rain once.  Ben created several custom floats and gave me a sun shade one day.

Alex perfecting sitting upside down under the water.

We all enjoyed the tiny frogs that used the frog escape float...so cute! and so much better than fishing dead frogs out of the pool.

We had to return to Katy for doctor appointments and the kids were happy to see their friends again.

We also drove by the first apartment Matt and I shared back in 2002.

We spent many happy hours playing and relaxing in the pool.  It was really a great yard with plenty of shade later in the afternoon.

The boys got massive tacos, because who doesn't love tacos?  Taco wars were a favorite activity.

The hottest week of the summer so far, so we couldn't have been happier to be poolside!

The best part was that Stacey and her kids were coming for our second week there and I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate than with a cookie cake!

They loved making whirlpools in the hot tub...

He doesn't like it, but I love this picture of Ben.  He looks so grown up to me.

Piggy back rides for Carter!

These crazy boys would game together all morning and then play all afternoon.  

Stacey and I decided this was really the best way we could have spent time together this summer.  Low-key, kids nearby even when it was adult swim, no germs!

Grammy and Grumpy joined the party one afternoon with.....drum roll....another cookie cake!!  I think we have an addiction.  With four boys, it was gone by the next day.

We had fajitas delivered and couldn't have asked for anything more.

Not everyone got tan over the course of the week, but we all had a wonderful time together.

We wrapped up our last night playing Jackbox together and laughing for hours.  But, as all good things do, our time came to an end because the house was leased to someone else and we had to move to our next house.  This time the goodbyes were real and they were a lot harder.  But our hearts were full of happy memories and good times together.

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Alex was really hoping to get to spend his birthday with Reid this year so he was extra excited to wake up at their house.  We had Chick-fila on the 4th because his birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so he basically had cake for breakfast.  Seems like a win-win.  We facetimed with Matt so he could join us for candles and birthday spankings. (originally, we had planned all the flights so Matt wouldn't miss another birthday but covid changed all that, of course)

Alex enjoyed opening his gifts and getting some birthday money.

He wasn't excited that we had to leave on his birthday but it was the only was to get the reservation on the house with the pool and I felt like it would be worth it.  He got to ride in the front seat and choose all the stops.  We had lunch from Waffle house and even added our own chocolate chips because they were out.  Alex decided that 12-year olds should be able to spend 4 hours in the car without ipads so he talked and napped the whole way!

We stopped by Grammy and Grumpy's on the way to the next house because they had an important cookie cake for him.

We also realized that Alex won't be the shortest one in the family pretty soon!

We checked into our next AirBnB in Champions and it was a pretty depressing afternoon.  I hated that for Alex's birthday, but we were sad to have said goodbye to the Frenches and bummed to adjust to another new house.  We hauled in all of our stuff, moped for a little while, then ordered some pizza and went for our first swim and things felt better.

Happy 12th birthday, Alex!  I know it didn't all go the way you would have chosen, but you were a real trooper and made it work.  Can't wait to see where this year takes you and we look forward to all the laughs you have in store for us and the new ways you will grow and learn.  We love you!!