Letter: 25 Feb 2006

Bali is Paradise!

For those of you considering visiting us in Indonesia while we are here or even if the thought has ever crossed your mind, “Hum, I wonder if we should visit Creed and Heidi?” Maybe this will convince you….

We left for Bali on Tuesday morning. Creed had to go for an event for work (opening a second Ford dealership in Denpasar), so it worked out perfectly for us to tag along, especially because the boys had no school on Thursday & Friday.

We arrived at our hotel, the Intercontinental Resort, in the early afternoon. The lobby of the hotel was breathtaking. It was an open air lobby, which is like a lot of places here, and as you looked out the back of the lobby you could see straight out into the ocean. The lobby was patterned after an old Balinese building with carvings and a very high roof. It was beautiful to look around and see the grounds, the pools and the ocean. I felt as if we stepped onto a movie set.

We went to our rooms and then went out to eat at the restaurant which is by the pools and the ocean. It was fun to look around and see the 35 acre resort and all there was to do. We later went up to the room and put on our swimming suits and got the boogie boards. We headed down to the beach only to find out it was closed for swimming. There had been a large storm the day before and a lot of logs, branches, coconuts, and just about everything else had washed up onto the beach – unsafe for swimming. We were told it would most likely be open the next day after they cleaned it all up.

No worry, the boys had fun playing for hours in the sand. They built a little village they called “Coco’s Home”. They thought it was hilarious. Apparently, they had several coconuts (one named Coco) and sticks and built an elaborate village. Mallory and I went to swim in the pool so we didn’t see it.

That night Creed went to the dealership opening event and the rest of us stayed at the hotel, had room service, and watched movies.

Wednesday we spent most of the day at the beach. We sat on the beach chairs under the cabanas, read books, built sand castles and caught some good waves with the boogie boards. We also all caught some good sun and were all burned…except Mallory and Grant. Skin as white as mine and Creed’s don’t mix too well with the sun. We bought some surf shirts for the boys later and they wore those the rest of the time to protect them from the sun.

That night we went into Kuta and went shopping and out to dinner. Mallory is very wiggly and doesn’t sit still for long at all so eating dinner at a restaurant is always interesting with her, especially when they don’t have high chairs. She is the center of attention everywhere we go with her curly blond hair and blue eyes. She looks so different to the Indonesians that they can’t keep their hands off of her and she does not like it these days.

Having four children also got us a lot of attention. We heard “Madam…all these yours?! Big family for you, ya?!” We don’t get that too much here so it was odd to me. The other thing that cracked me up was the shop keepers trying to get us into their store and they would say to me, “Hey Mommy….big family, you shop here?”

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to see a Balinese dance performance. It is so interesting to me to watch the dancing. I remember watching these kinds of dances on the National Geographic shows with my dad when I was younger. I remember thinking it was so exotic and so foreign and that the place was so far away. Now when I watch it in person it is astonishing to me that I live here! I kept telling the boys that. I’m not sure they cared, though. They really do like watching the dances, though. The costumes are amazing and so is the way they move. They open their eyes so wide and move in jerks and sudden movements. They also do a move with their hands that is amazing. They hold their hands flat and wiggle just one finger so fast you can hardly see it. We all liked watching it.

Thursday morning we got up and went with a tour guide up to Ubud. It is toward the middle of the island on the way to the mountainous area. The people in Bali are mostly Hindu, not Muslim like most of the rest of the country, so things are quite different there – the music, dress, architecture, etc. You also see many more people in their traditional clothing walking around the streets.

We enjoyed another dance performance (called the Barong and Kris) in a village called Batubulan and then went on to the sacred monkey forest – a several acre forest with a couple of Hindu temples and three groups of sacred monkeys…I think. These monkeys are just walking around all over the paths and climbing all over the trees in the forest. We were told not to buy the bananas the women were selling to feed to the monkeys because the monkeys can get pretty aggressive so we just walked around. While we were taking a family picture, Creed said, ‘One is crawling on my back.’ I thought the monkey had just touched him and then went away. When I turned around, the monkey was on Creed’s shoulders! Our guide and a guide in the monkey forest were quite anxious to get the monkey off Creed. The little ones were pretty feisty and would snip at you if you got too close. It was hilarious to have them just all around, jumping from place to place and grabbing anything they could. We loved going there.

Mallory went crazy with the monkeys. She would squeal and kick her legs so hard when she would see them. She would have taken one home with us if she could have.

We went shopping a little in the market in Ubud, had some lunch, and then went back to the hotel. The boys had a great time that afternoon & evening going from one of the many swimming pools, to the beach, to the little playground, etc. As the sun set that night we saw several people wading in the ocean trying to fish with nets. I don’t think they caught anything, but it was interesting to see their technique. It was so beautiful and peaceful watching the sunset there.

Friday Creed took the boys to a different beach about 15 minutes away to go snorkeling while I stayed at the hotel with Mallory. They went to a little snorkeling and diving hut and rented equipment and then a glass bottom boat took them out in the ocean. I’ll let Creed tell you how that was. Nash said it was one of the greatest things he’s ever done.

We were sad to leave on Saturday. The boys were especially sad. However, they were much happier when I told them that we would be back there in June with Aunt Heather. Soooo, anyone wanting to come and visit us is pretty much guaranteed a trip to Bali!

Snorkeling

The boys and I had a great time snorkeling on Friday morning. It was one of the things I had looked forward to most about moving to Indonesia, so I am glad that we finally had the chance to go. We snorkeled at a place that was just a 5 or 10 minute ride out from the beach in water about 3 to 4 meters deep. I was amazed to look out and see fish like you see in an aquarium. We saw fish ranging from black and white vertical stripes to horizontal neon rainbow stripes, from 2 inches to 10 inches in length. Nash and I also tried just diving down without the snorkel to get a closer look at the fish and the rocks at the bottom. I decided I need to get certified to be able to go SCUBA diving.

Bats

Tonight when we got home from an open house for a missionary couple who is leaving to go back home, we looked out our back porch and saw lots of things flying around. There were tons of bugs flying around our porch, which is not unusual, but what is unusual is to see bats flying around our backyard. There were about 10 – 15 bats flying in circles over our pool and then they’d sweep in and eat the bugs flying by our porch. It was so interesting to see these bats up close and “in action.” Nash, Grant, and I took turns sitting on the chair on the porch, and the bats didn’t seem to mind that we were there – they kept on flying around in circles, often just 1 foot from our faces, trying to catch the bugs.



Here's a photo of our family with the Palmers -- a missionary couple who has been working here with LDS Charities, overseeing all of the church's humanitarian relief efforts.

Photos: 24 Feb 2006 Bali Trip

Grant and Luke trying on their flippers, getting ready to go snorkeling.

Heidi bought Mallory a little purse in Ubud. As you can see, she likes it.

Mallory made sure she filled out the "Guest Comment" form before we left the hotel.

Photos: 23 Feb 2006 Bali Trip

These photos are from the "Barong and Kris" performance we saw in Batabulan. Above is the gamelan orchestra. The two below are from different parts during the play, which is basically a story of the struggle between good and evil.

In the picture below you can see that a monkey has started to crawl up my side. In the picutre above, you can see that the monkey made it all the way to my neck before our tour guide helped chase the monkey away.

Mallory couldn't get enough of the monkeys.

A bridge in the sacred monkey forest.

Down one of the paths in the sacred monkey forest.

Five minutes before this photo, these two brothers were engaged in quite a vicious sand fight.

Photos: 22 Feb 2006 Bali Trip

Grant and Nash ridin' the waves on their boogie boards.

The boys took turns burying each other in sand.

Luke after one of many sand fights.

Nash taking a break from the waves.

Grant enjoying a drink on the pool deck, with the Indian Ocean in the background.

Wednesday night we saw a performance of a couple of traditional Balinese dances at the hotel, with music by a gamelan orchestra -- traditional Indonesian instruments.

Letter: 19 Feb 2006

Last week was “Indonesian Week” at the school. Every day had a different theme and the boys dressed up on most days according to the theme (Friday was Red & White day – the colors of the Indonesian flag – Tuesday was sarong day, Thursday was Bali day – basically beach wear). Additionally, there were lots of different activities, performances, and displays at the school each day of the week. Each of the classes has been studying different aspects of Indonesian culture and prepared parts to perform for the school. Heidi and I went to the school Monday morning to see Luke and a group of about 15 Prep Seniors (students in the prep-senior grade, which is basically kindergarten) perform a dance. That morning there was also a parade for the students who had dressed up, joined by a professional group that performed after Luke’s group. It was pretty impressive.

Both Grant and Luke performed on Thursday night with their school classes as well as with a special performance group Heidi signed them up for. The special groups met after school twice a week for several weeks and had special costumes, etc. Grant was a little bit embarrassed because he was one of only 2 boys in his group.

I went to Jogjakarta on Thursday for a business meeting with all of our dealers and I returned early on Friday in time to make it back for some things at home that afternoon. Heidi and I went up to the school to see one final school assembly for the end of Indonesian week (including a video and slide show compilation the school made covering all of the week’s events – Nash, Grant, and Luke were all in the slide show). That day the boys all bought puppets of a little red-faced Javanese man from one of the vendors at the campus (Heidi is pretty freaked out by the puppets. If you know how easily spooked Heidi is, you will understand why).

After school, we all came home and swam for a short while – it feels like the rainy season is ending because it was a lot hotter on Friday than it has been for months. We then went to Kids Sport for Grant’s birthday party (same place we had Luke’s party). Eighteen 7 & 8 year-olds are a lot louder and more rambunctious than the same number of 5 & 6 year-olds. They were all really excited and seemed to be having a good time, and Grant really enjoyed the party.

That night, Nash’s friend Rish spent the night, and I took them to an Italian restaurant for dinner (Grant and Luke had eaten dinner at the birthday party). On Saturday Heidi and I did some shopping at an outlet store, and while we were gone, Nash went to Rish’s house and Grant’s friend, Haneef, came over to play for a few hours. Those two played really well together with Luke, and they all had a good time playing with the new toys Grant received for his birthday. In fact, when Heidi and I came home from shopping, we heard a loud banging sound and we found Grant, Luke, and Haneef on the porch by the pool with our maid Warsi. Warsi and Luke were using screwdrivers to pick out toy dinosaur bones from a piece of rock (one of the presents Grant received). I think we caught Warsi by surprise, because she looked a little bit embarrassed when she saw us – she was really pounding on that rock trying to get those bones out. Heidi and I joked that maybe we should get one of those toys for Warsi’s birthday.

At 5:00 we took the boys to a new place to get their hair cut. It was a kids’ place and the boys all got milkshakes with their haircuts, which they thought was great, of course. We then went to Amigos for dinner with our friends, the Powell’s. Amigos is the only Mexican restaurant in town, and the first time our family went there, I remember thinking the food was below average. Yesterday was my third time eating there, and I actually think the food is good now. I guess we have forgotten what good (Americanized) Mexican food tastes like. Amigos always has live music and is a pretty popular place to go later in the evening (9:00 or later). Because we were there at 6:00 it wasn’t too crowded yet, but by the time we started eating, the band had started playing (6 Indonesian men singing Mexican tunes – now that’s entertainment). Well, after dinner, some of the kids decided to go towards the front by the band where there is a very small open area for dancing. They had a good time trying out some new dance moves, and the adults had a great time sitting back and watching them. Luke was particularly funny because he and Spencer Powell actually got up on the stage right in front of the two guitar players and danced. I wish we had brought the camera because it was hilarious. Maybe it was one of those times you just had to be there.

Photos: 15 Feb 2006 - Lizard on the Loose

One night this week Luke went outside and walked around the outside of the house. For some reason, while he was out there Kandar (the gardner) gave Luke a lizard he had just caught. Luke brought the lizard in the house and took it to Heidi in Mallory's room. Somehow the lizard got loose and ran around the house for a while before the boys caught it. I'm not sure if this lizard is a cecak or not, because most of the cecaks we see around our house are paler and about 1/3 to 2/3 of the size of this one. Mallory loves watching them crawl on the floor or on the walls. Another, smaller cecak was in the bathroom the other day and she went crazy watching it, pointing at it, talking to it, etc. She was happy the boys were holding this one so that she could see it up close.

Photos: 17 February 2006 - Grant's Birthday Party

Grant's birthday party was at Kids Sport -- the same place we held Luke's. The kids were as full of energy as I have ever seen a bunch of kids. Here are a couple of photos -- one of the kids playing musical chairs, another of Grant and Spencer in a relay-race type game in the gym, a group shot on the parachute, and then one of Grant before blowing out the candles on his cake.

Photos: Feb 2006 Indonesian Week

Letter: 12 February 2006

Grant’s Baptism

Grant had his birthday yesterday and turned 8. He was so excited to be baptized. The night before, he told us that he was so happy and so excited that his whole body tingled. We had the baptism at the church and many people from our branch came. We all participated in one way or another. Nash gave a wonderful talk on Baptism that he wrote himself, Luke gave the closing prayer and I spoke, as well.

After the baptism we had a little luncheon in the primary room with ham rolls, fruit, chips and cookies. It was a really nice morning and Grant was so happy.

When we came home from the baptism, we sent the boys up to change their clothes. Luke was standing on the stairs waiting for Grant. Grant walked past him and Luke looked at him totally studying him. He then said to Grant, “You are cleaner! It’s like your sins are totally washed away. You’re so clean!” I laughed to myself realizing Luke thought that Grant physically looked cleaner.

We continued to celebrate Grant’s birthday for the rest of the day. We came home and Grant opened his presents and then we all went to an early dinner at an Italian restaurant. When we got home we sang happy birthday and ate Grant’s choice, a chocolate cake. It was a nice day.

Just a side note. We didn’t have any white baptismal clothes for Grant. The branch doesn’t have any and we were told we might be able to see if the mission home had some but it’s difficult to round them up. I was told we could buy all white clothes at a store called Pasaraya. Pasaraya sells just about everything Indonesian. They have an entire floor that is just Muslim clothes and that’s where everyone gets baptismal clothes. Grant thought that was a bit strange, but we assured him it was fine.

School

The boys are all doing well. Nash had a big Valentines and Chinese New Year Party (they just finished studying China) last night. A girl in his class invited the entire class and several other kids. He was out very late, but apparently, had a great time. He was able to see some Chinese performers and ate a lot of good food.

Grant is enjoying second grade. A woman in our branch was his substitute in school on Friday. I ran into her as she was leaving school and she said, “Hey, I taught one of your boys today. That Grant is so smart!!” She told me how quickly he finished his math homework and that he had the answer to every math question before she did. He doesn’t get that from me!

Luke is reading up a storm. He started reading the Magic Tree House books this weekend and is very proud of himself for finishing so many chapters in just a couple of days. He really enjoys reading.

Mallory is growing fast and has a great sense of humor. I taught her to tell me a ‘secret’. She just whispers babbles in my ear but she thinks it’s great. This past week I was changing her and I leaned down and said, ‘tell me a secret’. I put my ear to her mouth and waited. She didn’t say anything for the longest time and then she suddenly yelled ‘BLAH!!” It scared me to death and she couldn’t stop giggling.

She continues to dance if she hears any kind of music whatsoever and loves to put her shoes on and stomp around the house. She is all girl, a strange thing for me to deal with. I’m constantly amazed at the differences between girls and boys. She will often sit quietly for several minutes reading a book or talking to her stuffed animals. If you give her a wet wipe or a dish towel, she likes to clean things. I should keep that interest peaked! That will come in handy in a few years piqued.


Interesting things here

I had a very strange experience this week. I was getting ready to go to the gym and was just cleaning up Mallory after breakfast so I could get her dressed. I looked out the kitchen window and happened to see our guard and another man looking into the river. Soon our guard motioned urgently to our gardener to come over to the river. I thought, “Hey, I bet there’s an animal in the river or something.” We just had a rainstorm and there are often strange things floating down the river after a big rain. I ran upstairs to Nash’s balcony so I could see. My maid, Ajis, was out there as well. Soon several people had gathered around and Ajis said to me. “Orang, orang.” which means person. I looked at him and said ‘Apa?” (What). He told me there was a person in the river. I saw something wrapped in a large burlap sack with rope tied around it. It was stuck on a bunch of trash in the river. We stood out there for quiet a while watching several men try to get it out of the river with large bamboo poles. I thought to myself. “Holy Cow! There is a dead person in the river across from my house. Worse! I’m standing here watching!” I was getting sick to my stomach as they were finally able to pull it out of the river and up onto the bank. My driver was there and the neighborhood security and several others. They prodded and poked and finally opened the sack. I saw some kind of figure and my stomach just turned. I noticed everyone was laughing and I truly didn’t understand. I do know that the Indonesians laugh when they are embarrassed or ashamed. They actually laugh at just about everything except what they’re supposed to laugh at. I thought this was very strange though and was getting disturbed by the fact that they were laughing at this situation. A person in the river tied in a sack was not very funny to me.

After a few minutes of poking, they all started to walk away, still laughing, might I add. My stomach was in knots and I decided I just needed to go to the gym and forget about it. Although, I was very bothered that they were just going to leave it there in plain view. As my driver was coming back across the street, he looked up and said to me, “Don’t look. Just don’t look.” I said, “Too late. I already did. “He started to laugh again. Okay, I really don’t understand these people.

I came downstairs to get my shoes on and went outside. I got in the car and said to Cartim, “I think I’m going to be sick Cartim. They can’t leave it there!” He started to laugh again and said, “Not real. You know, like at the mall?” I then realized what he was saying. It was a mannequin! He got a good chuckle and so did I….later. That would explain all the laughing.

Later that day, I noticed the mannequin was gone. I asked Cartim what happened to it and he started to laugh and said, “Back in the river”. I said, “What! So some poor soul will see it and think it’s a person?” He said, “I guess.” Let me just say, I’m so glad it wasn’t real. I would have preferred seeing an animal like a python (which I am told are usually floating down the river after a huge storm).

Never a dull moment here.

The strange life we lead in Indonesia

Our oven broke on Friday night as we were making cookies for the baptism. I was stumped on what to do. It’s not as if we could run to the store and pick up something. We ended up ordering something from the caterer that lives near us and hoping it would be delivered in time. It was delivered at about 8:00 am the next morning, in time for us to leave for the church at 9:00!

The other thing was our oven. We woke up Saturday morning realizing our oven didn’t work and I couldn’t make Grant his birthday breakfast. We were in too much of a hurry to worry about it. When we got home from the baptism I started to wonder what I was going to do for the next couple of days without an oven. I walked over and tried it and it worked! Our househelp had already fixed it.

When we came home from the baptism we all went to change. Creed said, “ I guess I should go put the food away.” We brought a full cooler home from the baptism. I said, half jokingly, “ Don’t we have people that do that?” We started to laugh. A few minutes later, Creed went into the kitchen and there were our maids busily putting all the food away and washing the dishes. We do have those fairies I always heard my mom say she wished would come and clean up!

Photos: 11 Feb 2006 - Grant's Birthday & Baptism