Happy Mother's Day...

... to me. 

It's interesting having Mother's Day with two of your children in boarding school. It's not quite the same going to dinner and having a table for four instead of six. But I did get a Skype call in and a picture of Marz and Ted before the day was over. Once again, I will say I am eternally grateful for the technology we do have!

Here are my boarding school babies and me with the other two babies at dinner! ;)

Happy Mother's Day! xo

Now here is a special treat... My once a year poem from Marz!

So I thought I'd began where I left last year

And write you a poem or two

So here goes nothing mamá dear

I write poems for a very few

Your cookies taste delicious 

Your cakes make me a'drool

I can't believe you're 40

'Cause you still look 29 cool

You always take care of us fair children

With fantabulous-ness and style

Your loving words and kind smiles

Make most everything worth while

So here's to you mama-san

Thou art the bestest mom ever

God has blessed me so much with you

I'm gonna love you forever

xoxo,

Marz

Barbed Wire

We just couldn't settle for one "gimp" on this vacation, Teddy thought he should make it two!  

They were out playing with the waves in the ocean and Ted thought he should slam the bottom of his foot in to a piece of blackened barbed wire!  

Thankfully there is an ISOS just "down the road" (about 30+ minutes in lovely traffic). So Chris loaded Ted up in a cab and took Ted in to see a doctor. 

After two hours of cleaning and digging out the puncture wound, Ted was released with two oral antibiotics, one topical antibiotic, and a big ole nice shot... In the shoulder. ;). Ha ha, you thought I was going to write "rear end". Believe me, that's what I wanted to write! ;)

Poor guy was exhausted the next day...

Just Bali...

I love saying that!  When people ask what are you doing for break, I love answering "Just Bali..."  Like who says that?? ;)

Bali is an easy place for all of us to meet and hang out. It's a 3 hour plane ride from Timika and about 4 total flight hours from Penang for Marz and Ted. So we decided for this school break that we would rent a villa and so we could all be together in one place, or living area, and not three hotel rooms. 

I think I found an ok place. ;)

Unfortunately, we have a visitor that I am not liking at all!  Gavin spotted a snake as he was walking in the villa one day. I am also sad to report that all the "snake hunters" did not find what they were looking for. :(

Random pics from the last few days...

We also met up with some good friends, at a water park, who haven't seen Marz for two years and Ted for almost a year. Why I didn't get a picture of everyone together, I do not know... :(. 

At Waterbom:

Since Marz is still healing up from knee surgery, she brought homework along. :)

After the water park, we took the kids to Bubba Gump Shrimp. First time for everyone... It was also the first time the kids had ever seen the movie, Forrest Gump. We really need to revisit that movie. 

Today is more doing a lot of nothing. Chris is taking a couple kids surfing and I will take the two "cripples" (yes, two cripples... It will be reveled in the next post) shopping or something... Hopefully Chris can bring us back some surf photos. :)

"Just Bali", it's not so bad. ;D

The Surprise!!

Chris has a very hard time surprising me. He usually lets the surprise slip or just cant stand to keep it so he tells me anyway. 

Well he actually got one by me!  Well actually two... ;)

So I get back from my splurge in Bali and Chris and I were talking about the upcoming "doomsday", where I turn the BIG 4. 0.!  And I just happen to say to him that I really thought that my surprise for my birthday would have been that Chris would have flown my sister over to meet me and the ladies in Bali and then come to site with me. I also made the comment that if my parents just had sent come for Christmas that he maybe would have flown them over on my birthday, but who would want to make two trips like that in such a short time? Chris' answer to me was, "Yeah, that would have been a great idea... I wish I would have thought of it my self!"  Cheeky little stinker! 

So a week goes by and nothing happens... It's now the morning of the 28th... Saturday morning... I wake up to "Happy Birthday. Love you. I have to go do some work."  Working on a Saturday is not unusual but the way he said it was like leave me alone, I don't want to talk to you. Again, nothing unusual when he has to get some work done... But I thought "What a BUTT!!  It's my birthday!!!"  But I didn't want to start a fight ON MY 40tTH BIRTHDAY!! So I left him a lone to get his "work" done. 

The day went on then like any normal Saturday. Kids had soccer, went home, took an afternoon nap and then got ready for the party. Yes, that I did know about!

We are not at the party and everyone is taking pictures and I am kept busy with picture after picture...

after picture after picture... You get the point.  My friend Danella even knows this and I am starting to get a little annoyed. NO MORE PICTURES!!! 

And then a crowd walks toward me. (I am not paying attention at all. I just don't want ANYMORE PICTURES!!). And then it parts and my MOM is standing there!!

And I yelled something like "you did come!!"  Not quite sure what I said...  I know I was thinking what a pain in the a$$ to fly all that way again!! ;)

But my mommy came for my birthday!!  Couldn't believe Chris pulled that off!! He is still quite proud of himself, as he should be. He also surprised me with another "chunk of coal". Sorry, I don't have a picture of that...

So everything now is starting to come together on why he was being a "patutty"

aka pain in the butt that morning. Little did I know, he was communicating with a friend to go get my mom off the choppering the only way for him to do that was to be a "patutty" so I would ignore him!

Thanks honey!  That was a great birthday surprise!

The only thing that would have made that day better would have been to have these two with us!

Oh well, maybe we will shoot for my 50th to have everyone together!! :P

Thanks babe (that's you Chris) ;) for a wonderful 40th birthday party!!

My 40th Birthday Celebration!

And quite the month long celebration it was!!

After Mersades was pampered by her mom for a couple weeks after surgery, I flew to Bali to meet Chris for a previous planed weekend getaway. I got there a day before Chris did and met some good friends for a dinner to celebrate my birthday and a husband's birthday of one of the friends... (He is not in the picture. ). We ate at a restaurant that looked like the inside of a castle. I hope to take the kids there one day. 

Then Chris arrived on Thursday for a five night stay in our own private villa. Why I have no pictures of the villa, I do not know... Here is one of the two of us at Chris' new favorite restaurant. :)

Saturday night was Valentine's Day and we decided to go join a group of friends that were in Bali for a gold weekend. 

After Chris' five days were up (because someone in this family has to work ;)) the party continued with three friends who came to shop and shop and shop!

And we shopped and shopped and shopped!

Jenggala

Batik Stamps

More Jenggala

Stone Fountains

Glass Blob Vases on Wood

And MORE Jenggala!

And of course... Shoes!!! :)

Good thing "someone" has a job! ;D

The ladies surprised me with a BBQ dinner. I answered the door to the villa when the staff came to start cooking and told them they have the wrong villa!!  The ladies were all laughing at me!

My good friend Stormy could not join us in Bali, due to just having neck surgery. So she joined us on Skype!  I LOVE technology!

After five days of of bankrupting the family, I decided I better get home!  After all, I had been gone almost a month!  So home I went... 

The partying continues in the next post!  Stay tuned... :)

Christmas: Part IV

Our next stop on our extended Christmas vacation was Club Med, Bintan Island, Indonesia. We actually flew from Lombok via Jakarta to Singapore.  Bintan is about a 40 minute boat ride from Singapore. The kids had never been on a ferry like that before, so I thought I would give them a new experience!  And that it was!!

This was everyone before the very, very bumpy boat ride!

Needless to say, we didn't look like that after getting off the boat!  Gavin's comment was, "I will NEVER eat a whole bag of Doritos again before getting on a boat!" :)

Pretty much the only reason we go to a Club Med. The kids love the trapeze!

The kids and Chris got in a game of beach volleyball while I was sitting on the sidelines do to a back injury from trying to kill the ball in a game of squash. Of course it was against Chris! ;)

Finally got Marz to golf!!  It helped that there was a cute golf GO for Marz to impress!! ;)

Like always, dad enjoying the show!

Gav and Marz were in the show...

Mom, Dad, Chris and I golfed on one of the most beautiful golf course I have ever seen! Unfortunately our team did not win the tournament. :(

So that was Club Med Bintan in a small nut shell. It's always a great time at Club Med because there are so many activities for the kids to do!

Now, on to the last stop... Singapore!