Banyak foto (lots of photos)...halfway done with language school!

In one week from now, we will be exactly half way finished with language school!  Wow, time really does fly.  It's hard to imagine another transition, moving to Papua, when we're still working on feeling at home here.

So this is the blog entry to end all blog entries!  Way too many pictures in this entry (probably over 100) and it really is geared towards the one or two family members who might actually want to see all these pictures!

So here's a few albums that show the kids gettin' bigger, and what we've been up to in pictures!  The first album....the most recent pics....

Link to this album (ipad users)

This second album is of the few days Heather's friend Courtney came to visit.  First she went on a trip to a country not too far away, and then "swang by" for a few days on her way home.  It was such a special visit and I know it meant a ton to Heather to see Courtney.

Link to album (ipad users)

Here's a video Heather took of her and Courtney riding in the Becak "pronounced bechock". It is a common form of public transportation here.....the bike taxi.

Lastly....some more pictures of when Heather's parents came to visit during Christmas time.  It was so special to have them here.

Link to this album (ipad users)

Lastly...and quite a long time ago....Here are some pics from Elise's birthday party/weekend.



Link to album (ipad users)


Bonus Material:  Check out how hard it rains here....this is our back yard during one of our recent and numerous tropical downpours....

Happy Chinese new year!  What?  So perhaps you didn't know it's Chinese new year this weekend.  Apparently it's a pretty big deal here in Indonesia!  On the calendar here it is a "Tanggal Merah" or red letter day, meaning that many people here get the day off of work/school.  That includes us!  So plenty of time to put something on the blog!

We've noticed Indonesia has some amazing insects.  Many of them are not so fun to encounter, like the giant scorpion I came upon in the middle of the street while I jogged Ian down the road in the jogging stroller the other day.  Or the giant colorful centipedes....or even (gulp) spiders that are quite larger than any spider I've seen back home.  If you really want to see how big those spiders are, check out my friend Ben's blog post about the one that used to live in their back yard (scroll down a little bit).  Thankfully those things for the most part are quite happy outside and don't try to "masuk" or come in and hang out with us.  That doesn't apply to the ants, who love to come in and hang out with us.  We have learned to live with them a little bit, and we've also learned to not leave food sitting around for them.

We saw this little guy a couple days ago.  What an amazing little beetle.

Amazing.

Shifting gears, the bulk of the excitement around our house lately has centered around Ian's new found mobility.  He is really enjoying no longer being stuck in one spot.

Caught red handed!  Ian loves to explore anywhere he can fit his little body!  Toys are now chopped liver (well maybe that's exaggerating) but he sure loves to explore!  Elise said it well the other day "He's everywhere!"

Checking out the shoes.

Even crawls under mommy's legs!

Ian turned nine months old today.  Where does the time go?  Before we know it he will be pigging out on his first birthday cake!

So Ian is getting pretty good at...well I can't say crawling. He has been dragging himself around the house. He gets his eyes set on something he wants to go get, and he gets so excited as he begins to make his way over there! Here's a look....

A quick post.......a little video of Elise and Ian today...

And we managed to get the kids pictures taken with Santa! We tried to put just the kids in there, but Elise was not having that! So we all joined in. We went with Grandma and Grandpa Ellen and Dave while they were in town....

We can't believe we found a place to take pictures with Santa here in Indonesia! Who would have known!