My Drum Collection

One of the types of  "Art" I like to collect here, are Drums.  These drums are made by the different Papuan Tribes on this island.  Recently people from the Komoro tribe were visiting Tembagapura and showing off their carving skills.  They also put on a "dancing" show.  While dancing, they use these drums to keep the rhythm.  After they are done with the show, they sell the drums.
Teddy came along with me to get the drum, after their last performance.  Pictured with Teddy is Kal Muller (sp?), the anthropologist who lives with the tribe, and the Komoro tribesman who carved the drum.

I think I am now up to 8 or 9 of the drums.  (Actually there are 10 there!) :)

The tallest of these drums, is about 4 ft.  There is a wonderful collection of them at the Rimba Hotel in the Lowlands.  I would love to get my hands on a few of those!  When I am down there next I will take a picture of the collection, and post it. 
Marching to the beat of MY drums...
Robin

Yummy's New Hair

I was tired of all the crying while brushing her hair. So I got the problem fixed! Cheers!

Hanging With The Natives

Look who we found hanging around town.... So we asked them to lunch! :) Just kidding.... They were performing at the shops today.
No, the gym shorts are not the native dress!  But Koteka's are not allowed in the shops!
Definition-
Koteka:  gourd that is worn on men's private parts!  Their only "clothing"! :D

Sunrise From the Sky

So in the last year, I have taken more flights than I ever thought I would, AND ever wanted to!!  Every time I get on a airplane, I have to stop myself from thinking "This is not right! How can a tin can that weighs as much as it does fly in the sky at 35,000 feet!"  It is not logical!  It does not make sense to me at all!  And your right, I do not understand the the law of aerodynamics!
Every little bump has me thinking that the plane is going to fall right out of the sky.  I try and get as tired as I can be, so I can sleep for most of the flight.  (It's much easier now that the kids are older... :)  I also very rarely look out the window, unless we are landing. 
I also realize that when it is my turn to go, then it's time to go.  ...And I am not talking about the toilet here! ;)  I also know that God will take care of all of us. But it's still what I think about every time I get on  a plane.
Anyway, on our flight from Bali to Timika this morning, (We leave at 2:30 am! and its a 3+ hour flight) I woke up with about an hour left of the flight.  The sun was just coming up.  As I was looking out the window, I saw the most spectacular clouds!  I just couldn't stop looking!  There was a huge layer of clouds below us, with towers of clouds popping up all around us.
I could not get up to get my big camera.  Gabby was sound to sleep on my lap.  So I used the camera on my phone to capture the scenery.  Sorry for the glare from the window.....  Believe me, these pictures do not do it justice, but hopefully you will get the picture. :)

After watching the clouds for a bit the plane started to turn.  It normally doesn't do that at this point in the flight... So I was scratching my head, wondering what was going on.  Then this cloud came in to view on the left side of my window.  It was massive!  What the pilot was doing was steering us around this cloud.  I got pictures of the cloud before and after, but nothing while we were passing it by.  It was soooo cool to see!

Now we are past our great "pillar" cloud, and after the sun got higher in the sky, this is what the sky looked like.  :)

That was the last picture I took of the clouds, because now it was time to turn off all electronics....  Let me tell you, I was glad I looked out the window this morning.  I saw some awesome aspects of God's creation.  I will also say, when we hit a bit of turbulence, I was fine with it.  (That was probably because I was watching what was going on outside. :)  And I also ask God for peace every time I fly... :)
So now I am back home, and back the the "real world" of everyday life.  (That is code for I may not get some blog posts done for a while!)  The kids and I leave for the states in three weeks!! Yeah!!!  I am a great mom and pulling them out of school two weeks early! ;)  If we are only getting back to the States once a year, six weeks just isn't long enough!  So until next time....
Watching the clouds go by...  (A "Heart" song comes to mind... :)
Robin

Rats, Rats, and More Rats!

As Gabrielle and I were waiting for our flight, in Bali, early this morning, we were greatly entertained by the massive amounts of RATS we saw.  So finally I got out my camera and started snapping photos. 
Now I know some of you will think this is gross, but you all want to know about our life in Indonesia!  :) 

I mean, really, get some rat poison, or a CAT!  See, life isn't all glamorous over here! :)
Anyone want dinner?
Robin

Passing the Time...

This past week we had orthodontist and doctor appointments in Cairns.  Teddy is on an every six month check-up now, so he did not have to go.  Mersades and Gavin only had 15 minute appointments each.  Gabrielle needed two appointments to be fitted for a retainer, and  I had a doctors appointment.  Because of Mersades and Gavin's quick appointments, Chris flew down with us on Monday, and then flew back with Mersades and Gavin that same day.  Gabby and I were to stay until Thursday, which was the next Airfast flight.  Well late Wednesday afternoon, we were notified that the plane was "broken", and we would have to wait until Monday's flight.  There is only this plane that flies from Timika to Cairns.  Usually it flies once a week, but once a month a Thursday flight is thrown in. 
Because our appointments were all done, and we are leaving for the States in three weeks, and because everything in Cairns is at least twice as expensive as it is in the States, I didn't really want to spend four extra days there.
So because we were on medical, the company paid for us to take the long way home.  That is, we flew from Cairns to Darwin to Bali, back to Timika.  It took us about 24 hours to get home, but at least we are home now!
Anyway, to pass the time, Gabby and I spent a lot of time at the park.  One day I took my camera and these are the pictures of Gabby playing.
Enjoy!

I got a few that turned out.  Plus, it helps that the "model" is super cute! :)
Have a great day everybody!
Robin

Teddy's PYP Exhibition

The Primary Year's Program (PYP) is a curriculum that is used in many international schools.  In grade 5, the students have to do their "Exhibition" in order to complete the requirements of the PYP.  This year, Teddy was the ONE lucky 5th grader who had to do the exhibition.  (Teddy's only other class mate, Ty moved a couple months ago.)  To help Teddy out, so he would not have to do it on his own, the 4th grades did a watered down version of the exhibition.  Next year they will have to do the full blown exhibition. 
I can tell you that Teddy's project was about bringing a better "quality of life" to the kids in Tembag.  I can't tell you all the details... Bad memory!  Don't get me wrong, the kids of Tembagapura have a great "quality of life"....  What Teddy was trying to identify, in his project, is what other activities can be brought in like football, rock climbing, volleyball, etc. for the kids to be involved in, in Tembagapura.
It is a pretty big project for the 5th graders.  I would equate it to having to do a science fair project when I was growing up.  Teddy did way better at his exhibition, than I did at my science project! :)
Here is Teddy's project board...

The symbol, Teddy designed, for his project.

Gavin and Gabrielle testing out his Power Point.

Teddy presenting his ideas and his power point.

The crowd...  There was more than that, I just couldn't fit them all in to the picture. :)

Teddy with his teacher and dad.  Probably chatting about hunting... or something... :)

Teddy had two mentors during his project, Mr and Mrs C.  Mr. C is the PE teacher I wrote about in a previous post.  Mrs. C is Mersades language/arts teacher.  They had really nice things to say about Tedders. :)

Here is Teddy with his classmates, the 4th graders, and his Teacher Mr. M.  They all sang a song to close the night.

After the song, our Vice Principal, gave Mr. M a Principal's award....  And I quote "For his Awesomeness! Because Mr. M is an Awesome teacher!" :)

Next up, his proud parents..... :)  Teddy came to get us out of the crowd during the singing of their song.

And finally, Teddy and his most AWESOME teacher.... Mr. M!  Mr. M has been such a great influence on Teddy this year.  He is highly respected, and I am truly greatful for Mr. M being such a great example for Teddy!

Oh, and one more thing about this night.  You see the shirts the kids, 4th and 5th graders, have on?  Teddy designed them!  The flags represent the nationalities of the students in the class.  Their symbol they designed for their project, is on their right shirt sleeve. 
Excellent Job Teddy!
Love,
Mom 

Basketball 2011

Basketball season is upon us at MZIS.  There is no better time than this to get out the new camera as practice taking pictures.  So out of the 1500 (not kidding either!) pictures I took, here are a few of my favorites.  And yes, I still need to practice! :)

Yummy first...

Gavin next...

Teddy.... Some of my favorite shots..... No pun intended... ;)

And last but not least..... Mersades!  This first picture is with two of her classmates.

You can see so much improvement in the kids confidence and their skills compared to last year.  They are having lots of fun playing. 
Hmmmm,  If only they had a drop of their mom's talent....! ;)
NBA watch out!
Robin