Sleepy Sunday

We feel the need to put up a new post but are both Sunday tired.  So here's a one picture post:

Meet Kaylee

This week we are hosting a few folks from the Sunshine State. My husband's job is to be tour guide to them and to share with them his extensive knowledge of the beautiful country we live in. Along with these guests came Kaylee.

This is Kaylee.

This is Kaylee's "I'm not eating anything weird or new" face.

 Kaylee is also from the Sunshine State. In fact, we grew up in the same hometown and I know her Grandparents, Parents, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.  I know them because most of my family and most of hers attend the same church in our little hometown.  I remember when this gorgeous young lady was a tiny adorable doe-eyed infant.

You can smell the durian before you ever crack one open.

 During our time in the states I had time to watch and observe Kaylee in action.  Mostly at church since that's where I know her from, I saw her love and serve others, faithfully attend church and be an active part of a believing community....not because she was dragged there but because she has a genuine Faith and it affects (for the better!) the people around her.  Alongside her mom she cares for her 2 young nephews everyday and she also worked at my Uncle's feed store (Yes ma'am, we are frum the cawntree!) so I got to ask him about her work ethic and what kind of "employee" she was - (totally behind her back;)

Freshly baked in a WWII-era wood burning oven, Banana Bread! Yum!

  So why tell you about Kaylee?

Easy to smile while smelling delicious banana bread.

Because she will probably be appearing on this blog quite a bit until December.  She will be living with us for the fall semester.  So maybe here is where I can include that she's probably got some sort of Crazy in her too, but that's alright as it'll make her fit in better with us.  We call her our "Au Pair" as that sounds way more world-travely and exciting than "Nanny"...but the truth is, she's agreed to taking a semester off school to come all the way over here and help me take care of our boys so I can get out of the house a bit easier and to help with the transition from 2 to 3 Rivers children in October.

...but there's a time when everyone who comes has to eat durian. Kaylee included. Doesn't matter how many diapers she says she'll change. Durian is a rite of passage.

 We warned her. We told her about poop and pee and temper tantrums (the first 2 are about our boys) and culture shock and the heat and the durians, and the squatty potties but she came anyway.  And for that we are so grateful!

I'm quite positive she is contemplating how to not eat the durian that lady is about to break open. On a side note, we didn't MEAN to schedule her arrival smack-dab in the middle of durian season.

 She's spending her first week here with our guests from the University of South Florida and then after that she'll be moving into her room off the kitchen.  She's particularly excited about learning aaallll about the world of cloth diapers and seeing me in the kitchen every morning before I brush my teeth.

At the Southernmost Point of the Continent of Asia. See. It hasn't been just her eating weird things.

Her presence has already been such a blessing and help to us and to our boys. Keep it on this channel to see all the fun she'll be adding to our family...the more people involved in our poopy and weird food stories, the better!

Bali: Part Two

...the rest of my parents' trip here was a lot of fun. We went to conference for a few days so didn't get many pictures of the last few days in Bali (though one of the buildings at the resort burnt down while we were there! Wish I had a picture of that! No one was injured and it wasn't guestrooms that burnt.) 

When we got home my parents got to hang out with our neighbors and co-workers some.  We went to "U-turn Satay" and "Cheeslicious" the same night. My mom made the comment that those two eating establishments display and help define the wonderful range of life here. Easily accessible yummy cheap traditional local food and easily accessible non-native western 'delicacy' food. I think in one night we might have established a tradition! Satay and cheesecake!

Enjoy the rest of the pics!

I know it's tough to find good employees, but I'm fairly sure it wouldn't be hard to find one that wasn't THIS obvious in their slacking off.  No joke, she woke up because some monkeys in the tree above her shook the branch and the rain water on the leaves of the tree splashed her.

We got to see monkeys before entering the Monkey Forest Temple (Bali is majority Hindu). And they were all macaques anyway, but fun nonetheless (basically like the monkey version of feral cats in Southeast Asia. We have some that live in the trees by an intersection near our neighborhood)

There were stone statues all over the temple grounds.

At one point a guy rang a bell somewhere to call all the monkeys to come eat. This is them running back down the stairs (and past my mom, Anthony, and the boys) to where ever.

You have to keep all valuables secured so the monkeys won't take them.



This video is hilarious. My dad laughing adds most of the humor:)

Back at the hotel a Balinese dancer (and her niece) were dancing.

Father's Day!

Bubba Gump's for Father's Day!

And you think YOU spent a lot on your dad for Father's Day?!

putting flowers in the sand at the hotel...

Love this kid!

....the drive home from the airport. It took 3.5 hours, but thankfully it was supposed to take that long and it wasn't spent pushing a car through immigration! Made for a much more chilled environment ;)

Satay with our neighbors. They've lived in this city longer and know more fun local places.

...some of the best beef satay ever!

it's hard to read from all the grease dripping down, but the sign says "U-turn" satay. I'll give you one try to guess how you get there.

...it's right off a U-turn on a highway. Quite the harrowing experience getting to it!

Ending the night at the cheesecake place. I promise Isaiah wasn't the only one excited about it;)  Airconditioned, next to a multi-level mall. So different from U-turn satay and yet still a normal sight here. I had Snickers-licious Cheesecake. I'd recommend it!

We are so glad my parents got to come and stay for so long.  Two grandparents having jobs that allow them to have time off like that (a Teacher and a Family owned Farm) isn't the norm and we're glad they want to come spend it with us!