Halloween Weekend

Well, Mommy was so silly to think that the kids might not be able to celebrate Halloween here in Indonesia.  There were Halloween decorations and costumes available at the stores.  All the locals seemed to know about Halloween.  Our apartment complex even put on a Halloween Party for the kids in the complex.  We had a full weekend.  Saturday night we were invited to a Halloween party at a friend’s house.  Doss drove us down to Pondok Indah…that was quite an adventure. It took us 2 hours to get to the party.  Without traffic it should have been a 15 minute ride.  We had a great time at the party so I guess it was worth it.  Sunday night we took the kids to the apartment Halloween party. There were games and movies for the kids as well as refreshments and goodie bags.  The apartment management had also organized trick-or-treating for the kids.  Monday both Joseph and Audrey had Halloween parties at school.  Mommy went and handed out treats.  That evening we went to another friend’s house for party and more trick-or-treating.  The kids said they were so happy!  Mommy and Daddy were glad the kids had lots of fun this Halloween.  The funny thing is, we’ve never done this much for Halloween ever when we lived in the U.S. Who would have thought Halloween would be such a big thing here in Jakarta, Indonesia!

Princess Audrey


Joseph wanted to be a soldier for the party Friday night.


Katelyn was a princess too!


Daddy usually doesn’t dress up for Halloween…this time he was an “e-male”…silly eh?


Mommy dressed up as a gypsy…you can’t see the layers of skirts and scarves.


Dancing at the Friday night party!


Sunday night Audrey decided she wanted to be a ballerina…the other 2 wore the same costumes.


Our apartment complex put on a fun party for the kids…cool decorations!


Fun and games!


Looks like Joseph has a fan…love his face!


Early childhood classes Halloween group photo…Audrey is the black and purple witch on the left.


Listening to a Halloween Story at school.


Joseph’s Halloween party…he was a cowboy this time.

Halloween party monday night…this time Joseph was a clone trooper…good thing we brought lots of dress up clothes to Jakarta.





Tired from all the Halloween festivities.

We had a great Halloween.  We hope you did too!

3 Years Old!

Our little Katelyn is 3 years old today.  Time sure flies.  She had a little birthday get-together with her playgroup friends on Thursday.  Today some friends from church had us over for lunch, and we celebrated Katelyn’s birthday again.  She is so excited to be three!  Mommy and Daddy can’t believe how quickly time flies.  Our baby isn’t a baby anymore.  She’s starting to act like quite a big girl these days.  She talks up a storm and has quite an independent little spirit.  She’s oftentimes feisty and stubborn but also still cuddly and sweet.  Happy BIrthday Katelyn! We love our little Nunu!

Nusa Dua Beach

The kids had fun at the beaches in Bali.  Nusa Dua beach was a 10 minute walk from the hotel.  The kids rode with Daddy on the motorbike.  Mommy took a leisurely stroll down to the beach.  Joseph and Audrey had a blast playing on the beach.  Katelyn never seems to get into it like the other two. 

Through the gateway is the road leading to Nusa Dua Beach.

Week in Bali

Daddy was gone for most of the month of September so Mommy was really looking forward to spending a week in Bali with the entire family.  We went with some friends from church.  On their recommendation, we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott hotel that just opened this year.  The Courtyard Marriott was a beautiful hotel. The kids spent a lot of time in the pool and at the Kids’ club….a fun place where parents can drop their kids off for a couple of hours of playtime.  Mommy spent a lot of time on the balcony reading.  Daddy rented a motorbike and rode around quite a bit.  We made some day trips out of the area we were staying at to some of the other areas in Bali.  We even experienced our first earthquake.  Thursday morning, there was an earthquake (6.2) off the coast of Bali.  The epicenter was near Nusa Dua where we were staying.  We didn’t notice any damage at all although the news reported some injuries and some damage to a few older buildings.  Overall, we had a great time in Bali and were very sad to leave such a beautiful place to come back to the pollution and the heavy traffic in Jakarta.  Joseph said he wanted to live in Bali forever…if only that were possible.

Mommy has lots of pictures so there will probably be separate posts about the different places we visited while in Bali. 

 

Courtyard Marriott in Nusa Dua

 

Kids hanging out in the hotel lobby

 

The ginormous pool at the hotel that was more like a river.

 

Audrey is like a fish.  She spent hours in the pool each day.  Here she is with her friend RJ.

 

The Kids’ club building at the Courtyard Marriott. 

 

Joseph playing video games at the kids’ club.

 

The girls loved the ball pit at the kids’ club.

 

Daddy rented a motorbike for US $5.00 per day.  When in Indonesia, do as the Indonesians.  Daddy took the kids to the beach Indo style.  Mommy opted to walk the 10 minutes to the beach instead of trying to ride with the rest of the family.

 

Stay tuned for more pictures of our trip to Bali…what a lovely place!