Idul Fitri Fun!

We are back in Jakarta and celebrated Idul Fitri last week! The kids were SUPER excited to open their presents.... nearly as excited Mark was for the empty streets the annual exodus out of Jakarta brings.  It's truly amazing how easy it is to get around during the holidays.....

We kicked the day off with some presents!

Jake and Bella show off all their goodies.

Our two little hams took time to mug for the camera before diving into the presents.

Books about bowling for Jake!

A friendship bracelet kit for Bella!

What an awesome frame full of great pictures from our trip to China... clearly Icha has a wonderful husband.

 Jake checks out Mark's box of chocolate... See's baby!

Jake is all smiles with his new fire truck.

Happy kids!

Mark shows off is new sarong--- looking good!

In the afternoon we headed down to Icha's parent's house... below Jake smiles with his Grandma 'Mia.'

At the end of the day we tried to take a family picture... unfortunately Jake was a wee bit worn out from all the excitement and got a little camera shy.

Beijing Day 3

On our first full day in Beijing we took a ride out to the GREAT WALL! It was a beautiful day.... sunny and warm.

Rather than hike to the top... we opted to take a ski lift like contraption --- not the most relaxing ride for the agoraphobic Mark. But we made it safe and sound to the top.

The Indomurnanes on the Great Wall!

Bella, Jake and Icha smile as they sit on 2000 years of history.

This could be a preview of our 2012 Christmas Card photo!

Our little Angel... visiting her ninth country in 7 1/2 years. 

A rare moment alone... :-)

Summer of 2012 #2 - Beijing!

On our first day in Beijing we checked into our super cool hotel... check out the photo below!

We then used some of the local transportation on offer to head out to meet an ex-student of Mark's and his family for a nice dinner.

We spent a few minutes in a park near our restaurant before dinner.

Korean BBQ! So yummy... and we were VERY proud of Bella for trying a bunch of new food.

Mark and Andy Yoon... whom Mark taught in Kindergarten back in Los Altos!

All the way to China for... Korean food! :-)   Well worth it as it was a fantastic meal.

The Summer of 2012 #1

We kicked off the summer by 'swinging by' China on our way to the States. With a 6:20am flight to Taipei... it was an early morning! Below: Bella and Jake smile in their jammies at the Jakarta airport.
All smiles during our short lay-over in Hong Kong.
Jake was a little worn out from our 3:15am wake-up!
We spent one night in Taipei... before flying to Beijing the next day at 8am. Bella was not very enthusiastic about waking up early two days in a row!  

 We made it to Beijing!
 
 Jake and Bella take a snooze in the taxi on our way into town.

Our Maestro

After months of hard work and lots of practice... Bella was ready for the big stage. Last our little Maestro performed beautifully at the annual JIS "Strings Bash!" -- over 150 kids from JIS (ages 6 to 18) showed off their talents to many a proud parent.

Jake was very excited to see his sister perform.


Bella getting ready back stage.


Our little angel... 7 years old now!


Bella smiles right before doing a fantastic job playing her violin!


What did Jake think... well..... you can see below...


Video! Check out little Bella.


More video!

Family Picnic!

A few weeks ago we packed up our car with a few blankets, some sport equipment and some food... and drove down to the Universtiy of Indonesia for a picnic! The U of I is Icha's alma mater so not only was it fun to just hang out as a family... it was a great time for us all to visit Icha's old school.


Bella and Jake enjoy some time out in the sun.


Icha returns to her Alma Mater... this time with hubby and kids in tow!



Mark toss Jake while Bella gears up for some real football.



Icha shows off her soccer skills!


Jacob Bima -- our little athlete!


Jake enjoying himself


Icha gives Bella ride!


Jake's turn!

Bella's Basketball Comes to and End

After eigtht weeks of fun, Bella's Saturday morning basktball came to a merciful end last weekend. Aside from the fact that her practices/games began at 8am each week these mornings were, while lots of fun, a bit of challenge. Why.... you ask? See below:

Unlike her Daddy... Bella played some mean defense!


Bella contenplates who she should pass the ball too...



Time for some drills... hey! Where is Bella?


Ah... there she is!


Game time! Where is little Murnane... taking a well deserved rest?



Looks like that mean defense didn't last....



Well... she had fun each week and we got to spend some quality time together... and went to Starbucks after each game/practice.... all in all a good experience!