Eating Sand, feeding Elephants-- you know the norm

I want to make sure and get a post up about the awesome visit from Kerstin before we head to Auturo and have Sam's mega huge pirate party because her visit was killer and needs its own post! Abby and I flew into Bali in the afternoon and immediately went to the Baskin Robbins right outside the luggage pick up (there are NO ice cream shops in Timor, what is up with THAT?). Then we hailed a cab because the hotel did NOT pick us up like they were supposed to, just the start of lameness for that hotel. We grabbed something to eat, I chose satey ayam while Abby went with a local special- Sand

Poor Kerstin flew in at Midnight, went through customs and caught a cab, so the next day we took it easy and just hung out on the beach. Abby liked her cabana

The water wasn't as clear as it is in Timor but it was in a nice protected lagoon so there were no waves just calm warm water. Our hotel had Kayaks you could use and cool little huts to hang out in but we didn't even bother dragging ourselves away from the pool and lounge chairs until we were ready to wander the shops and pig out on yummy Indonesian food-- okay so I mainly pigged out Kerstin was probably in awe of how much food I packed away but it is SOOOO good and so cheap! The next afternoon we headed to one of my favorite places in the world- Ubud. It is in the mountains of Bali and whenever I go there I think "why did I even waste time at the beach", which is saying something coming from an ardent beach girl. It is just seeped in Balinese culture and is so serene and breath taking. We checked in and I casually mentioned that we wanted to take a cooking class while here this time. Before we had made it to our AWESOME two story suite they had set up reservations for us at the Boom Boom cooking school of Ubud for the next night. Now THAT is service. We dropped our stuff and headed out to see the Monkey forest. It is this cool area that is bursting with shops and restaurants and then at the end of the street is a temple that is now home to hundreds of monkeys. You can go in and if you are brave enough feed them and let them jump on you. There were signs warning you about carrying water bottles and having sunglasses jewelry etc because they have been known to even take earrings out of your ears! We made sure everything was safety tucked away including Abby's snack, a yummy banana. I didn't even think to mention it to Kerstin until AFTER the monkey jumped on the back pack trying to get to it haaa! Whoops. We ate lunch at this amazing restaurant called 3 monkeys. I had a cucumber, watercress and cheese panini that I will be dreaming about until I can go back and eat it again! We headed back to the hotel relaxed a little and then it was off to the temple to see a dance presentation. I had attended one with Meredith and warned Kerstin that after 15 minutes I would probably be ready to go. Well, we went to a different show which was four times the cost and I was ready to go in five minutes haaaa! This time the music was not the beautiful balinese kind with delicate female dancers but over 100 men in sarongs chanting the same thing over and over. AGHHHHH. Finally when um ABBY, couldn't take it anymore I headed out to see if our driver was back. I thought I saw him and called Kerstin out. Unfortunately it was not him so we just stood there and then heard a roar of applause, apparently a guy had just walked across a huge thing of burning coals in a trance and I totally made us miss it-- I am LAME. But in my own defense I had lasted 45 minutes and Chris can attest to the fact that one of my most disliked things in the world is repetition of sound. Oh it kills me. Thankfully Kerstin is THE most laid back person to travel with and she forgave me. The next morning we headed on a drive through the rice paddies up to the Elephant Sanctuary. Originally I had zero intention of riding the elephant because I had Abby. But it looked soooo cool and the guide said they walk extremely slow and are very gentle. I was suckered in. She was in the front pack so she was nice and strapped in. While waiting for our elephant (Dena) we saw one of the workers bathing one of the elephants as it swam around

That is some balance! We excitedly got on and headed into the jungle at the rip snorting pace of what had to be .5 a mile an hour. We got to see magical things like an elephant playing a harmonica, squirting water and of course the delightful "potty break" of the elephant in front of us -YUK!

(this is just a picture of the elephant in front of us NOT the potty break)
It is a 45 minute ride and Abby started loosing it towards the end so I can now say I have nursed while riding an Elephant- something I never ever ever even crossed my mind. After our ride they provided us with bamboo to feed the elephants

and boy were they hungry

Abby ended up enjoying some of the bamboo herself (totally sanitary I am sure uhhhhhhh)

Kerstin and I both were laughing so hard because it was awesome but at the same time so terrifying!

There were several little tiny baby elephants that were sooooo cute! They offer kids rides that are on them and very short, that is totally what we will be doing when we bring the boys.

As if they weren't cute enough right before we finished they threw a wreath on one of the elephants haa!

I mean who doesn't love to accessorize? Then we got to see the elephants perform, painting,

balacing, doing math (which kerstin was so excited for *nerd alert* haaa!) and playing basketball.

Our driver then took us to have lunch at this amazing restaurant perched right on a mountain that looked across at a live volcano. He told us if we wanted we could get up at 2 am and he would take us on a hike up it so we could see the sunrise and eat breakfast up there. Totally tempting if I didn't have Abby. We settled for just looking at it while we downed lunch. Then on to the cooking class. This was HILARIOUS. We thought it looked promising when we had recipe books and aprons laid out for us. Turns out we just sat and watched the restaurants chef make several different Indonesian dish's. He also wasn't the best of all teachers. For example when talking about increasing the ingredients to mach serving sizes he would say "for one person I would do one table spoon, for two people two tablespoon" and he went all the way to 8!!! He did this several times. Flash back to early discussion of my dislike of repetition and well once again Abby and I headed out for a little stroll mid way through. He would also hold up the most random ingredients and make us guess until we guessed what it was. Luckily there was one other lady in the class who totally reminded me of a grown up Hermione Grainger and she would almost fall out of her chair to answer questions. We got to eat everything that was made though so we left super stuffed with cool aprons and a cook book I will probably never crack open... well maybe if I feel extra adventurous and find some great galingal (thats for you kerstin!)
We had THE world craziest driver take us home and tell us his entire life story, parents divorcing grandmas crying etc. We zonked after trying to order chocolate cake from a local bakery to be delivered to our room-- how awesome would that have been! The next day was a relaxing one getting ready to head back to Dili. I was so excited to see the boys and they were so excited to empty Kerstin's suitcase of all the amazing goodies she brought them! We took her to Caz Bar for pancakes and some early morning beach time. Lemers was cracking us UP that morning. First he woke up with some sweet bedhead;

Then at the beach he matter of factly grabbed his goggles, walked down to the 3 inch deep shore and face planted it into the water. We were dying laughing. I have NO idea what was going through this crazy guys mind
Whats so funny?

We had to take Kerstin to see the Christ Statue and Sam hiked all the way up AND down by himself! Liam on the other hand was carried by yours truly all the way up and down. Unfortunately Sammy in his exhaustion left his favorite Rocket at the top of the statue... So if anyone in DC is heading to the air and space museum there is a little boy in Indonesia who would love you to pieces if you pick one of the cheap plastic shuttles up for him :) We also headed out to Dollar Beach which was gorgeous as ever!

We had such an amazing time with Kerstin. When I told Sam that she was leaving he said "but she can live here with us!" I replied that she had to get back to work, to which he offered the solution "she can just work at the 'emmassy' with Dad!" So there you go Kerstin, quit your job and come live with us!! I am now trying to keep myself super busy and not think about that fact that most likely the only visit we will be receiving for two years is over. It sure was great while it lasted!

This Little Piggy

*Thanks Aunt Felicity*

Embarrassing photos of the week-- and some cute ones

We have been having an awesome time in Bali. Kerstin arrived safetly in the middle of the night and it has been nonstop since then. If you come visit the Crawfords we can almost garuntee you will be jumped on by a monkey

smacked in the face by an elephant trunk

(that is me post slap- Kerstin got one right in the face also. It's a life changing experience J/K)
But you will also get to see and do awesome things like ride an elephant through a pond:

and survive. (Yes Abby is riding on an elephant at 9 months, I am trying to set a trend of awesomeness for her life)

Have a huge gorgeous lotus that only blooms in the morning right outside your door

Go to an amazing dance performance in a VERY old temple where someone will probably walk across burning stones "in a trance"

(apparently I feel like I need to open my eyes SUPER WIDE in night pictures- its the deer in the headlights look)
See (and if you want to get up at 2am hike) a live volcano

and the gorgeous lake right next too it

eat interesting spiky fruits

(look at Abby going for it! She is totally up for this life of adventure thing!)
Take a Balinesse cooking class

Which will lead you to the conclusion that if you want to eat good Indonesian food you should probably just go to a restaurant! You will also be shocked to learn that French Fries are in MANY authentic dishes-- more on that later.

and finally, hang out a lot with this munchkin who will finally let you hold her after a few days

And thats just on your layover in Bali!! So who is coming next?

K41

This last weekend we headed to another one of Timors fabulous beach's K41. It is known for it's snorkeling and not so much it's very rocky shore. It was a crazy bumpy road heading out there and I thought for sure that we were going to get a flat tire but luckily that crisis was averted. When we got unloaded and set up we were greeted by several pigs and piglets. They were rooting around our stuff and we had to keep shooing them away. Meredith and I joked about the fact that our kids are going to think it is normal for pigs to be at beach's with them. Chris and I got our snorkel gear (Thank you Jene! Hope all is well in Nepal!) Chris got all suited up and headed in (the water is warm enough that you don't need a wet suit for shorter excursions)

While he did that and the boys chased pigs, I made Abby pose for some pictures. She was not so sure at first.

Then she got really upset and I was worried she would throw a rock at the camera. Then I figured out that the rock was super hot.

Poor Abbers! I was also teased about her bathing suit looking like a tuxedo, but I think it is cute....

okay so maybe it does look a little like a tux, but who says you can't get all gussied up to go to the beach? When Chris came back in from snorkeling he was bleeding, never a good sign.

Apparently a big wave had smashed him into a reef. He took a breather and watched Abby and Liam so I could got out with Sam for a little bit.

But I swore I saw a crocodile (Jan backed me up on this one) so I came in and took a break. There were a few locals there fishing

and I was hoping they would catch it in their net but no such luck. I think they were just as afraid as me because they came paddling into shore and then were pointing out in the same area for a while. Once they headed back out we figured it was safe and Chris took Sammy out again. Now that he has figured out how to swim he can't get enough.

Liam really wanted to go but early when Chris took him out he kept holding Chris's snorkel under water practically drowning Chris so he got to stay on the shore with me, he was bummed

We had fun watching them swim and be on the look out for the crocodile :) It started getting pretty windy and choppy so we packed up and headed home. While the snorkeling was great I think with the kids we will be sticking to dollar beach in the future, sand is a lot more fun to play in, and there are no piggys to steal out snacks!

I have to apologize...

To Doug and Brint, our wonderful fellow "branch members" who had to to have church on Sunday with two very noisy super hero's Batman and Superman. We have now noted that making the boys take off their costumes for church IS a battle worth fighting. I also apologize to our two neighbors John and Mike, our guard and the various locals walking past our house who SURELY caught more than an eyeful of the boys running around playing nuddy rudddy in the water

what can I say, we've gone native.

Let the Count Down Begin

Sammy came home with a paper chain from school today (which is incredibly ironic because yesterday I decided we needed to make one to count down to his birthday.)
This prompted me to think about other things I have been counting down to:
Days until Abby and I leave for Bali: 2
Days until I have a blast with one of my BFF's in Bali: 3
Days until Sam's big 4 B-Day: 11
Days until Chris's and My EIGHT year anniversary: 22
Days until I need to get my mom's b-day present in the mail in order for it to get to her even remotely around her birthday: yesterday (dang it)
Days until I can upload pictures because I got a replacement flash reader:
unknown, but probably a lot
Days until I order some of Joel Dewberry's new line:
also unknown, but I will also probably spend a lot (you gotta support fellow BYU Alum right?)
Days until my BABY sister graduates from High school and I have a complete breakdown about getting old: 28 days
And just for kicks and giggles
Days until Christmas: 234, thank heavens our Christmas decor came in our TINY shipment.
Hope you have some bright spots on your horizon!

Wow, that is ugly and that, is scary looking...

I have been sewing quiet a bit lately. Smocks for Sammys preschool class, capes for friends, tunics for Abby and one SUPER ugly dress for Abby. I don't know what went wrong, the fabric by itself was cute, but when all put together I put it on her and nearly gagged. I should have taken a picture but it was too hideous to leave her sitting in so off it went and into the donation pile, for some poor unsuspecting local child to wear. I also wanted to make something to keep Abby's door open. It automatically swings closed and that drives me nuts. I had seen THIS guy but didn't want to pay for him and wait for it to get shipped here so I gathered some remnant fabric and went to town. When I showed Chris the final product his response was classic "Oh that is perfect! She will be to terrified to ever leave her room with that guy guarding the door." HAAAA! I thought it was scary, but cute at the same time, he sort of has "angry eyes"

Well it keeps the door open anyway but Abby does eye it rather warily whenever the boys pick it up to play with it

I feel awful because the other day a mosquito got INSIDE her bed net and "hid" (I don't think they have the actual intelligence to hide, but I didn't see it) in her bumper pad. When I went in to get her I almost started crying, then when Che Che squashed the bug and blood dripped down, siphoned from poor Abby's face, I felt sick to my stomach. You can see some of them in this pic i took at the pool

aww she even looks sad...
This weekend something totally clicked in the boy's heads and they decided they could swim. They are now NUTS and it is terrifying. We got a fun video of Liam but I have no idea how long it would take to upload but I will try. They both love swimming with "gobbles" and Sam always puts his own on. Liam ventured first and I think when Sam saw how ecstatic Chris and I were about him swimming Sam felt up to the challenge. Yesterday I taught them to yell cannonball before they jump in. It is so cute because Liam yells "camel ball" and then belly flops-- every time. We also had a very fun Earth Day last week. We have a fantastic playgroup at the Australian pool and playground every Thursday. One person is assigned to each, Parents tea, Children's tea or to organize the activity. Nicola was in charge of the activity on Earth day and she brought everyone little flower pots (old yougurt containers) and some great soil and seeds. The kids got to fill up there pots, dig little holes and plant the seeds then water them! After Sam and Liam "builded" their flowers we jumped in the pool. When we got out Sam ran to his plant and was shocked and disappointed that something hadn't grown yet. On the way out we grabbed two flowers and plopped them in each. Then they were left on the front porch to actually grow.

Lemers added the Timor flag, so patriotic. I love this picture because it shows how crazy humid it is here. This was taken after I waited 15 minutes for my camera to defog after stepping out our door and onto the porch. I got impatient and just took it. So on a funny side note, yesterday after school Sam had his buddies Noah and Katie over to play and have a go on the slip n slide. Chris and i were having so much fun listening to Katie and Noah talk. Noah kept putting his slick board on his head and saying "I have an awfully big hat", and Katie kept telling Sam he needed to slide "properly". Sam has already started using a few of the words like "mates" and "porridge" (instead of oatmeal) I LOVE it! Next time I will really try to get the video of Liam swimming up and will have to tape Noah and Katie talking.