Sampai Jumpa, Jakarta...hello, Houston!

At the end of each year we've spent in Jakarta, we try to spend lots of time with the people we love there and enjoy some of our favorite food before we leave. In normal years, it's full of end of the school year events and farewell parties...this year was much quieter!  We definitely needed some wings from the American Club with the McCulloughs.

We had a fantastic dinner on the rooftop at Chao Chao with the Odars and Mackinnons.

The nighttime view of Jakarta is always beautiful.

Cleaning out the closets is a must...like the 26 x 30 jeans Ben wore once that will never fit again!

And finally, the last day of school and the laptops closed for the year! So disappointing to finish online having never had a real school day in person but these boys were really troopers.

I think they grew JUST a little this year!

We packed up everything, said our goodbyes to Matt, and headed to the airport for the 1:30am flight to Doha.  Had to get our customary picture with the ondel ondel.

Because we were originally booked on Eva, changed our schedule twice, and then they cancelled their Jakarta flights altogether, we had to come up with an alternative route to Houston that was not going to cancel.  We were really excited that business class on Qatar was affordable and available this year!  It certainly makes the trip a thousand times more enjoyable.

First time through Doha...it looked very hot and very brown.  The airport was wonderful. It would be fun to see the city one day when the world is normal again.

On the 16-hour flight to Houston with my delicious wine and free PJ's...no complaints from me!

Welcome to Houston! This is the point where we get REALLY excited.

First stop - Chick-fila!

So good to get real hugs this year! Happy to be reunited, and not just on a driveway. And we were thrilled about our first cookie cake in 10 months.

Our first stop on Saturday morning was to Kroger to get the all-important Pfizer vaccines.  

This was such a huge relief! Knowing we'd made it back to first world medical facilities and getting vaccinated after avoiding Covid for more than a year.

Next on the menu - Tex-Mex!

And more hugs! So thankful to be close again and have all of our loved ones vaccinated as well.

Next most important on our to-do list, get Ben's learner's permit at the DPS.  He did his 30-hour online course while finishing up school online and worked so hard to have everything completed on time.

And then even more hugs and laughs with the cousins.  We had a pretty amazing first week in Texas and couldn't have asked for much more to make our summer!

Okay, maybe a second cookie cake wouldn't hurt...

 

Ben is 15!

Ben just wanted to grill some steaks and hang out with the McCulloughs for his birthday.  Sadly, they were out of town on his real birthday so we just started things a week early! We grilled and enjoyed some homemade cookie cake. (sorry the icing turned out pink instead of red, Ben!!)

He just requested that we didn't sing happy birthday and make him blow out candles.  Sorry, buddy, that was a no-go.  Can't skip the singing!

His real birthday fell on a Saturday this year, and he just wanted to hang out at home and play some video games with Matt and Alex.  Done and done!

They had quite the setup and did some serious gaming.

I had to cut them off when the cupcakes were delivered for some more singing!

We did make him go out for a nice dinner at Vong Kitchen. Our plan was for him to enjoy his first tomahawk steak, but this is Jakarta, so naturally it was habis...out of stock. Thank goodness, Le Burger is next door and he got the burger that he loves.

It is hard to believe that this boy is 15 years old!!

We love his kind heart, his inquisitive mind, and his unique passions!  He is one amazing kid.  Happy birthday, Ben!

 

Idul Fitri Holidays

We have never been in Jakarta during Idul Fitri at the end of Ramadan, because it has been during the summer previously.  It moves up by a week or so each year, so this year there was a 6-day break from school and a domestic travel ban, so our plan to go to Hindu Bali fell through and we were looking for ways to pass the time in Jakarta.  Turns out a lot of things were open this year and it was a fun long weekend. 

Alex spend some time with Landon and Alex.

Ben spent a lot of time with the birds!

We started letting the birds with trimmed wings wander around the backyard.  Only the green male lovebird can fly, but he won't leave his girlfriend so he never goes too far. 

Mostly, they hang out on top of the big cage.  The parakeets and cockatiels don't even want to go out.

Or, in the case of the green lovebirds, the couch is the favorite place.  The girl will spend most of the day tucked inside chewing up whatever leaves or paper she dragged inside.  

It sounds like Jakarta is usually a ghost town, but with strict rules about traveling, most everyone seemed to still be around.  It was fun watching the neighbors do fireworks.

We checked out a few fun places with friends.  First stop was kart racing in a parking garage.  Turned out to be pretty fun and we only lost one gas tank and one wheel.

The carts were a little cramped and bumpy but pretty fun.

Alex was pretty excited to win his heat! Two of the carts were clearly faster than the others but he ended up with one of the best lap times for the day.

The next day, we visited Snow World...who knew this even existed?!

It was actually really cold! After two hours, I was wishing I'd brought my own gloves and a real coat. The snow was just ice, of course, but it was a treat to get thoroughly cold in the tropics.

The kids did some sledding...

...and tried some skiing...

...and Alex loved the Zorb ball.  Ben happily gave Alex his ticket so Alex could go again with Tate.

It was a really nice break from everything, but it made it even harder to get back into the last 3 weeks of school!  We knew we were in the home stretch to summer, though.

Good Eats

We decided to have a pizza competition with two other families and each order our favorites.  They would be ranked on delivery time (ironically, the closest one was the slowest!), presentation, and taste. We were all pretty excited and hit "order" on our go-jek orders at the same time. When they all arrived, it looked like maybe when gone overboard!

(I got a practice photo with the trophy, just in case...)

Turns out, we did pretty well on the pizza!  

Black Sheep was the winner in all categories, except for speed. But really, we were all winners because it was all delicious.

The following weekend, we did more eating, but without the kids this time. We did our favorite tasting dinner at Komunal 88, which never disappoints.

Their food is always delicious.

Sadly, Brian had to work on a submarine recovery in Bali and couldn't join us, but he did make the news, so we excused his absence.

He did make our first group golf outing, though.  Our families played back to back, which was a lot of fun! Golfing during fasting month was awesome for us because the courses were so empty. Not so great for the caddies...but they're amazing at being out in the heat without drinking all day.