Bali: Part One

My parents are now landing in Moscow on their way back to the states. We had such a great time while they were here. Here are the first few thousand pictures of their time here. Sorry I have no clue how to make a photo collage so they must be looked at one by one... and even though one pool picture would have sufficed, I'm posting a googillion anyway!  They spent 12 days with us at home before we all went to Bali for a vacation-within-a-vacation!

Grandparenting + Jet Lag - a proper guest bed = This :)

The grandparents helped with child-wrangling during the house-decor shopping. Also, we know that our new laundry basket can hold at least 32 pounds :)

Our neighbor (who does cake catering) sent over some cupcakes!

Before flying out to Bali we spent a day in the capital.  We went to see the "Two Tall Towers and A Bridge" as Isaac calls it. This miniature telescope thing was in the waiting area before getting on the elevator. It had pictures in it of the view from the bridge between the towers.

Ahhh...family pics on a hot hazy day in the capital. The boys loved it though!

Looking down from 41 floors up. That painted roof below is on top of a 6 story mall.  The towers have 88 floors, but the bridge is through the middle...still high though! They're currently the 4th tallest building in the world, and the tallest twin towers in the world.

With our house in moving-disarray and with all the traveling, we did a LOT of eating out.

...the plane to Bali...

Both boys slept on the flight! And both grandparents too!

The beach near our hotel was really dirty (great waves though if you're a surfer!) so we stuck to the pool. Isaiah attempted to drink all of it.

"Get Tight!" (which wasn't hard to make this face as the pool was cold!)

Grandmama brought water toys. And after just a few example shots and short tutoring, the boys got the hang of them pretty quickly. Though Isaiah still preferred to just try and drink the water from the pool.

I LOVE this picture. Isaac's face says everything a little boy's face should say about vacation.

Sandwich lunches on the porch...

...before awesome pool-tired naps!

Cute huh? Zay actually found a pack of gum and put several pieces in his mouth, wrappers and all. He didn't seem to mind at all.

And no trip to Bali would be complete without visiting "Ibu Oka's Babi Guling" (Mama Oka's Suckling Roasted Pig). This restaurant was featured on Anthony Bourdain's: No Reservations, Bali episode. Apparently after it aired, Ibu Oka had to move her shop to a larger location.

This is the skin of the babi guling.  For a long number of hours (can't remember how many) a whole pig is turned, constantly brushed with a sugar water mixture (with coconut milk too? Go watch the episode!) until the skin gets a crispy caramelized coating around it and the meat inside is oh-so tender.

There are rows of low tables lined up inside and everyone sits on the floor. You have basically 4 sets to choose from, but most get the standard set. We ordered four sets and chowed down. It was good!!

Then we walked the super touristy streets of Ubud (the town where Ibu Oka's is on the island of Bali) and found a gelato shop. Yum!

...and that's all for now. We'll start part 2 with the Monkey Forest in Ubud....