Hoops

 Basketball season is over too.

I almost didn't sign them up because it was going to be pretty complicated.  Having 4 kids on 4 different teams is not easy.  Dare played with the first and second graders from 8am to 10 and then BA and Rhon played with the third and fourth graders at 10.  I asked if BA could play with them because it was easier on me logistically and it was less competitive than the 5th and 6th graders.  Plus, she's smaller than most 4th graders.  These 2 leagues didn't have a practice during the week.  They would have a practice first, and then a game or two at the end.  It was a perfect way to introduce the girls to hoops.

At the first couple practices/games I was a little worried.  My girls were very timid, and they weren't sure what they were doing.  But they improved so much!  I was so proud of how hard they worked.  They made shots.  Lots of them!  And there were a couple of tall girls that had a hard time making shots because of awesome defense.  Dare even played with the older girls because they always needed an extra person.  So she played in both leagues.  She did incredible!  They all dribble really well now, and they are confident out on the court.  I love it.  It is awesome.  BA even joined a tournament at school.

It turned out to be such a great experience and they had so much fun.

I didn't get any good pictures of them playing.  Time to get a new camera...

The last day, they got a gym bag and a brand new basketball.  Plus, a pizza party!

Team Spain

Well, the soccer season is over.  It was awesome.

Mads did great.  When we got him to pay attention, he ran hard and have it all he had.  Admittedly that was only about 50% of the time (okay, maybe 40), but he was happy.  He never complained, and he always looked forward to Saturdays.

Nate doing a little coaching.

This soccer was a lot more advanced than I expected.  I think all my girls played when they were 5, and it was nothing like this.  It was crazy!  It was super fun to watch.

Muddy boots.

This league was for kindergarten and first graders.  He was among the younger group.

Sweaty head.

Team Spain.  Awesome team.  So fun to watch.  There are some pretty talented kids out there.

The last Saturday they had tournament.  Each of the teams played two games.  I thought it was a bit of a stretch because the kids seem so wiped out after just one game.  Sure enough they were hot and tired, and they could barely keep up with the ball.  They still did great though.

His trophy was not golden, so he was a little disappointed, but he was happy about the ball, shirt, and 2 bags he got.

Of course when McDonlad's is catering, you would expect fried chicken, rice, and iced tea.  Just a reminder we are in Asia.

Next up:  T-ball!

So Nice

On Veteran's Day, Nate told me he would wake up and get the kids ready for school.  He got the day off, they didn't.  But, when he woke them up, the begged him to let them stay home.  He's a sucker.  He let them.  Well, it felt like a holiday should, so we were happy.

I slept in a bit, and when I woke up Nate was making chocolate gelato and mango sorbet with the girls. Nice.

Then we went swimming.  Nate throws the kids in the pool.  He stands outside the pool, and chucks them as hard as he can!  It's pretty entertaining, especially since there hasn't been any injuries yet.  This time I got pictures.

 The first toss with G is always super high.   Probably because he is the lightest.  From then on, he asks Dad to not throw him so high.  

 They start making faces and hand gestures.

 Sometimes they even shout out movie quotes.

 More fun.  This is my favorite.

Timing the jumps with the boys was a little tricky.

After swimming, we went out to lunch.  Sate Senayan.  The kids don't love it as much as I do.

It was a good holiday.  Maybe I'll let them stay home on all the American holidays.  We'll see...

I'm Laughing at Clouds

There was no lightning, so I let him go out with an umbrella.  He thought it was the coolest thing ever.  Or at least he said it was.  He might have been too embarrassed to admit it was lame after he asked to play with the umbrella like 738 times.  That day.

Rain is usually a pounding rain.  It sounds like hail.  And the thunder is like I've never heard before.

Not One Tootsie Roll

A little story about Halloween in Indonesia...

We put up our spider webs and hung our bats, so on the inside it felt like Halloween.  We didn't see the leaves change this year.  We didn't feel the chill in the air, but Halloween was a much bigger deal than I thought it would be.  There were decorations for sale at the grocery stores, and I even went to a mall with a whole costume section.

It wasn't a big deal at school.  Only Mads had a party.  But in addition to the 2 parties already mentioned, we had another one on Halloween after school.  It seemed like we weren't missing out on anything by being in a country that doesn't celebrate the holiday.  Plus we got to trick-or-treat!  We had a mini trick-or-treat session in our little American compound.  It was great.

I missed the cool weather, but we had bats flying around us.  That was a first!  It felt like we were on a real haunted street.  I've seen depictions of Halloween with bats in the moonlight, but never lived it.

I'm so used to cold weather on Halloween that all day as I was planning my evening in my head, I kept thinking I would need to change out of my flip-flops and put on some jeans.  I had to laugh at myself.  Really though, it was nice not to worry about snow, or the kids getting too cold.

Here the boys are opening the cards Grandma sent them.  They were so excited!


Nothing beats our Halloweens in good ole WJ, but this one was pretty good.

Monster Mash

We got dressed up on Saturday for a rockin' Halloween party...

BA the punk.  She's got the look.

Dare the ninja.

Rhon the viking.  She's got the look too.

G the other punk.

Mads the other ninja.  Mads made a great ninja.  Always posing and being stealthy.

The group.

I just liked these pictures.

The party.

It was a great party.  There was a haunted house that the girls got to help out with.  It was scary enough that it brought a few little kids to tears.  My boys included!  There was also games, and great food.

I didn't post our picture, but even Nate and I dressed up.  It was a small miracle that Nate wore the costume I got him.  Even though he took it off after about 30 minutes, I was happy.  So were the kids!  That's a side of Dad they have never seen before.  We were both 80s work-outers.  Nate had a track suit, and I was complete with leg warmers and hot pink tights.  It was totally awesome that we were able to buy stuff for our costumes right here at the regular clothing store.  I think that part was way more fun than wearing it...  

Safety Pins

 This is G "getting into character" before the preschool Halloween party.

He had been so excited about being a punk.  There was a lot of deliberation about what costume he wanted to wear.  One day while we were trying to decide, I showed him a bunch of costumes online.  It took him about 3 minutes to go through about 10 costumes that he was excited about.  He would confirm what he wanted to be, and then change his mind about 10 seconds later.  He started out with werewolf.  I tried to change his mind because that seemed hot, and not very easy.  Some of his other ideas were:  coyote, punk, skeleton punk, a monkey, and all the Star Wars characters.  And after I showed him each and every Jedi, he said, "Show me the cheetahs."

 I really wish this picture was in focus.

So after that whole process of deciding, he decided the punk sounded the best.  He was so excited.  He told everyone he saw.  All that changed when it was time to actually dress up.  I painted his nails.  That was a big mistake.  So we took it off.  The only way I was able to even get him to wear his costume was by saying that he couldn't go to the party without it on.  So we got it on.  Then I did his hair.  He was not happy about that either.  Then I put eyeliner on him.  That was a HUGE mistake!  He was so mad at me.  He cried and wiped his eyes enough that it was gone.

 Attitude was not originally part of the costume.

 G and his chick buddies.

 We made monster crackers.

I've decided G loves attention, but only on his own terms.  Once he thought he was choosing to wear the costume, not me, he was happy.  What a punk...

The Club House

Making fun with big moving boxes.

I don't think this thing will last very long because it has to stay outside, and there is a lot of moisture out there.  But we don't want to forget it!  The girls spent hours planning and brainstorming.  The PG girls were involved too, which makes it even more awesome.  They had passwords, club membership cards, cardboard locks, secret names, and secret locks.

*****

I can't believe I only posted 4 times in October!  Where is all the time going?