Gone... but not forgotten!

Bellla has been home all week with a bout of the Chicken Pox! She is doing fine and is her general happy and energetic self. She needs a little more sleep than usual, has a few itchy spots... but all in all she is doing great!

This morning a large contingent of little ones came to visit me in my classroom...


It was Bella's class come to give me a 'get well' card for the little Bellsters!


I walked them back to their class and took a few pictures of her room.


Our little Monet's beautiful art work on display! Looks just like Icha.


The door that leads to Bella's classroom... the first step to Harvard.


Our little Bella!

School has Started!

School is in session.... and this is a very special year in the IndoMurnane household as little Bella has started school! Bella began her Jakarta International School career just over two weeks ago and is in Ms. Zehra Kauser's Early Childhood 1 class. Bella goes to school Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 10:30am. Each morning Mark and Bella ride to school together in the morning and then spend some 'quality' time in Mark's classroom before school officially starts.

Bella LOVES her new class, has made lots of new friends, and is having a great time.

Icha helps Bella get her shoes on


Bella gives her mommy one last hug before venturing off to her first day of school - note: it's still dark outside! (we leave for school at 5:50am)


On the way Mark and Bella had to make a very important stop


Bella plays some connect four with her daddy before school starts

Slowly but surely....

It's taken a while... but our house is really starting to shape up! We still have a number of boxes lying around that we need to unpack but new furniture has arrived and our kitchen is finally ready.

This nice teak thing-a-ma-bobber fits in real nice behind the couch in our living room.


The view to our new kitchen from the living room. Those are sliding doors to allow us to close off the kitchen.


The right side of the kitchen...


...and the left side. The window left looks out to the carport. There is a door just to the left of the sink there as well heading outside.


Our guest bathroom downstairs is ready! Everyone is welcome to come stay with us.


We had this nice new sink, mirror and vanity put into our 'master' bedroom upstairs.


Our walk-in closet is all set up! We still need to find a place for that mirror.


After going the entire summer in shorts and tee-shirts... Mark is back to wearing 'nice clothes' everyday.

Happy Birthday Auntie Pika!

Yesterday was Bella's beloved Auntie Pika's birthday. Even though we live 10,000 miles away from Monica... Bella still wanted to wish her a happy birthday. The occasion also provided us with an extremely rare moment: a camera shy Bella!

Bella sits on Mark's desk at school while hiding behind a sign we made for Pika.


Happy Birthday Monica... we love you!

Bali - the final week

After a few days on the North Coast we returned to the easy living of the south. On the way we stopped by the Titragganga Water Palace. This palace was once used by the royal family of Bali. Mark came here alone on his first trip to Asia back in 1992.

Mark and Bella smile where Mark once roamed as a wide-eyed youth.


Our little celebrity takes a break from a hard day of vacationing.


Mark took Bella out for her first ride on a boogie board!


Bella and Icha do a little last minute shopping.


Our two weeks came to and end all too soon...

Bali - the North Coast

After four days of lounging in the South of Bali we packed up our stuff into our rented "Avanza" and drove up to the north coast. The North is not very touristy.... but has an excellent beach and was a great place to stay for 3 days.

On the drive up we stopped off at the Hindu-Buddhist temple know as Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, located on the shores of Lake Bratan in the middle of the island.


After a long drive it was nice to check into a small hotel right on the beach.


Icha and Bella take a swim!


Bella enjoyed playing with her sand toys on the beach.


Another gorgeous sunset....

More Bali

On days three and four of our trip to Bali we headed to Legian beach... a much more 'touristy' area. We had a great couple of days there loafing on the beach, going swimming in our hotel pool and eating out... and of course gorging ourselves on the hotel breakfast buffet!

Bella and Icha get ready for plate number 12 at the buffet.


Mark helps Bella learn how to swim. She can now swim alone for about 5 seconds before sinking!


Bella gets ready to swim off by herself.


We spent the afternoons on the beach... Bella got her hair braided!


After a rough day of lounging around in 'paradise' Bella was ready to curl up with a good video.