New Addition

So Audrey had been begging to have a hamster since we moved to Indonesia.  Mommy and Daddy read the apartment policy which said no pets so we assumed that in addition to cats and dogs, rodents were probably out as well.  One day, Mommy went to a friend’s apartment who lives in the same complex and guess who had a hamster!  Mommy’s friend said the apartment only banned cats and dogs.  Small pets like hamsters were on the ok list. 

The very next day, Mommy went to the store to pick up a hamster.  At Carrefour, a shop similar to a Super Walmart in the U.S., Mommy found the cutest hamster.  The helper put the hamster in a clear takeout container which made Mommy laugh. The hamster rode around in the shopping cart while Mommy did a little grocery shopping too.  People gave Mommy lots of smiles as they looked into the cart and saw the little critter.

Mommy did not buy a cage at Carrefour as they seemed a bit overpriced.   Mommy ended up buying a large cage off the streets.  It came with a house, 2 running wheels, water bottle, 2 food bowls, and a long tunnel, and it cost $10.00 less than the price of a smaller, simpler cage at Carrefour. The mini dwarf hamster Mommy bought looks tiny in the huge cage.

Joseph, Audrey, and Katelyn love the hamster.  They argued back and forth about the name until they finally agreed upon Nibbles.  Audrey came up with the winning name.  Daddy suggested we call the hamster Nibbles Onfingers.  The kids said no, the name is Nibbles Barker.  So, below are some pictures of the newest member of the Barker clan, Nibbles.

Mother’s Day

Mommy had a nice day hanging out with her 3 babies!  Being a mom is hard, but definitely worth it.  Mommy just melts when Katelyn says in her sweet little voice, “I love you Mommy!” Unfortunately, Joseph has already reached the age where he says it is “yucky” to tell your mom that you love her.  That’s okay though because Mommy knows that he does love her.  Silly Audrey is just fun to be around.  She’s so playful and cute making her a favorite with teachers and just about everyone she comes in contact with.  These guys can be incredibly infuriating at times, but Mommy loves them!  Aren’t they just so cute?

Sports Day

The kids both had sports days last week.  The preschool age kids had their Sports Day on Thursday.  Grades Kg thru 5th grade had their Sports Day on Friday.  Sports Day is just for fun!  The kids get to participate in a variety of activities.  At the end, each kid gets a popsicle and the principle grills hot dogs for everyone. The younger kids also got medals.  Mommy and Katelyn went up to school both mornings to watch Joseph and Audrey. 

Thursday morning, Mommy and Daddy both went up to school to participate in the 1st grade Transportation celebration. The kids had been working on transportation projects that they got to share with the parents and the rest of the kids at the school.  Joseph’s transportation project was called the “Amphibious Jet,”  It was a vehicle that he said could go underwater like a submarine, on land like a car, and in the air, like a plane.  He put a propeller on it and a fish-like tail plus “jet” engines.  There were all sorts of ideas that the kids came up with. 

Joseph was upset that Mommy and Daddy couldn’t stay very long.  Daddy had to run off to work, and Mommy wanted to go watch Audrey participate in Sports Day.  Audrey looked like she was having a great time.  One of the dads that was helping out commented that Audrey was very athletic.  She did look like she was really enjoying the activities.  Some of the other kids were starting to look tired and worn out before all the activities had been completed. Daddy and Mommy joke how our kids are like the Energizer Bunny…they just keep on going!

Friday morning was busy for Mommy too.  The driver said he couldn’t come in so Mommy and Katelyn had to quickly find someone to get a ride with since the activities started at 7:45am.  Mommy was also asked to help out in the preschool class with their cooking activity so it was a busy morning.  Mommy and Katelyn watched Joseph do a few activities before we had to go do the cooking class at 8:30am.  Mommy helped the kids make rice crispie treats.  At around 9:30am, Mommy and Katelyn went back to watch Joseph participate in a few more activities. 

The last couple of days have been busy but fun!

 

The "Amphibious Jet”

 

Telling someone all about his transportation project.

 

“I love Sports Day!”

 

Getting her well-deserved medal!

 

Joseph is 7!

Today is Joseph’s birthday.  Mommy can’t believe he is 7 years old.  He is definitely growing up.  Most of the time he already acts like he is 17 instead of 7.  He wants to be treated like a grown-up even though he is just a kid which does cause Mommy and Daddy a bit of grief as he likes to argue/negotiate with us over just about everything.  Still, we love our little man.

Joseph is an amazing kid.  He really is super smart.  There is always something brewing in that head of his.  Joseph loves to play board games.  He picks up on them so quickly.  He especially loves games that he sees are rated for older kids. His recent favorites are Pandemic, Dutch Blitz, and Qwirkle.  He loves sports.  Soccer is his favorite so far.  He also likes Tae Kwon Do, swimming, tennis, and ping-pong.  Today he is starting golf so we will see how he likes that.  He did not like T-ball at all.  I think it was too slow-paced for him.  He has also asked to try badminton so that may be something we will let him try at some point. Joseph has an abundant amount of energy so Mommy and Daddy are glad he likes to engage in physical activities.

In school, Joseph’s best subjects according to his teachers are math and art.  He is also a great reader and loves to read.  His favorites right now are the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.  He has read all but the newest book…Cabin Fever.  Apparently that one is always checked out of the library.  He has been on the waiting list the entire school year, but his turn still has not come up.  Mommy and Daddy are planning on buying it for him when it comes out in paperback so that he will have an entire set.

Joseph loves geography like his Daddy.  He is learning about different countries and participates in the passport club at school.  He loves the little globe he got from one of his teachers at Church and can point out many of the different countries.  He likes to travel and has gotten a lot better about trying different kinds of food. 

Joseph loves Texas and the U.S.  He is always asking to go back “home.”  He is so excited to be going back to Texas for the entire 2-month summer break.  He is looking forward to celebrating his birthday with his cousins and to spending lots of time with friends and family.   

Mommy was too tired to throw a second birthday party this year since we’ve done so much traveling recently plus Mommy has been sick.  Tonight we are having pizza and cupcakes with just our family and one of his friends from Church.  Mommy and Daddy said he could have a big party with his cousins at Chuck E Cheese when we get back to Texas…definitely something to look forward to.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSEPH!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

 

 

Jobs for the kids

For a while now, I've been thinking about giving the kids a way to start earning their own money. Ideally, I had hoped to have the kids do manual labor outside, but since we live in a serviced apartment, we had to improvise.

So about a week ago, we implemented a jobs program for the kids. Basically, they don't get paid an allowance (money for doing nothing) or for doing what they are already supposed to do (dressing themselves, picking up toys, doing homework, etc). However, they can earn money by doing approved chores above and beyond the usual routine (such as washing dishes, putting away clothes, etc).

So far I am happly to report that the kids have really taken to earning money and it is great to see them excited to do work. Let's hope the enthusiasm continues....

One year in Indonesia!

On 23 February, we celebrated one year in Indonesia. We had a nice dinner at Samy's Curry restaurant which serves Singapore style Indian food. It was delicious, but as a co-worker pointed out, a bit ironic that we didn't have Indo food. Oh well, LOL.

It's been crazy fast as we've done so much in so little time. We've many new friends and had so many amazing experiences. Most mornings I wake up and can't believe we live in SE Asia. Its like a dream come true...for me at least.

The family has done remarkably well at adapting to life here. I think that is largely due to my previous experience of living in Singapore and Malaysia, our family trips to Belize and Taiwan, and our even living in another state (Oklahoma) from our native Texas.

Really, life is very similar (with a few notable differences). We still have to get the kids out the door to go to school in the morning and I still do the same job (although I walk here instead of drive). The main differences would be that traffic dominates any decision of what activities to participate in and we live in an apartment instead of a house.

All in all we are enjoying our stay here and are looking forward to another great year in Jakarta!

Saturday

We finally had a Saturday where there was nothing on the agenda other than Joseph’s t-ball game in the morning.  Mommy must admit it was really nice to just stay home and not do a whole lot. 

The kids just played at the apartment for most of the day.  Audrey had wanted to go swimming, but sadly, the complex pool is very green.  Funny thing was Mommy looked at it yesterday morning, and it was blue.  The pool certainly did not look very appealing in its current green state.  Hopefully the pool will be back to its lovely blue color sometime in the near future. The kids love going swimming. 

Joseph decided later on that he wanted to go play tennis, and the girls wanted to ride bikes.  After playing tennis for a little while with Daddy, the kids decided they wanted to go to the playground.  We stayed at the playground until dusk and then headed back to the apartment. 

 

Here are some fun pics from today.

 

Joseph looking a little hot after playing tennis with Daddy.

 

Sweet little Nunu rested on the bench while waiting for Joseph and Daddy to finish up so we could go to the playground.

 

Cute little Audrey peeking out of the tunnel window.