Jakarta

So after Bangkok we had to return to Indo's capital for 2 wks. to process our new letters of permission to stay. Here Elissa is trying to help Elijah sit up for his "oh so cute" pix :)

Now that we were official 'n all, we were able to get our driver's licenses...w/o a test, hmmm. And yes, there's 3 cards - don't worry Lij wasn't able to pass the hoops too, just J has to carry a separate car & motorbike license.

After waiting @ the license bureau, Lij had his naptime on the go...

We stayed at a team member's home during this time. They have this great bird that loves people. Here's E's trying to balance the bird & Lij continually leaning in to get a closer look, hence the "crained neck look!"

We took a trip to the local mall & Lij needed a nap so we used our Indo baby carrier as a portable darkness maker yet again...

Afterwards we caught a couple clips of a kids celebration day there @ the mall, too cute. Evidently these little guys had a basketball theme going on for their dance...

The teens on the other hand were...well, teeny.

Saw this sign in the mall & had to snap a pix:

With our "longer" stint in Jakarta, we finally started figuring out the busway, a big relief to our wallets.

While in Jakarta, we found out our friend Edo had passed away in a motorbike accident. Here's his wife Lois with their 1 yr old little girl at his burial site.

Here we are on the way to the hospital after Jah had thrown up quite a bit - why the pix you may ask? We were stuck in traffic & about to go crazy...! Here's to more of the "real" side of life!

Elijah also began learning how to sit in a high chair during this time - use #248 of our Indo baby carrier, tie Lij into the high chair. (clearly he's not that thrilled)

And to finish off, here's Lij all smiles & then gets startled by a noise & has a quick change of thought...

Final Thailand Pix/Videos

Ok, so this'll be a longer post but it'll finish up our time in Thailand. We've been on a little bit of a hiatus from good internet so are trying to catch up on some blogging while we're out of Aceh...heading back in later today!
We caught a 3D movie which Jah seemed to enjoy as well even w/o the glasses:


Luke & Levi - Jah wanted to say a quick "hey" as he saw this "Thomas" shirt which reminded us of you!

Found a fun pillow which Lij had to feel...

Sticky rice & mangoes is one of our fav Thai treats - here's what it looks like when sold on the street :)
Went to SE Asia's biggest market, just up the street from the guesthouse where we stayed. J & Jah enjoyed looking @ the puppies of course.

We came across some Thai guys playing bluegrass..what in the world?!

And this dude was painting a shoe in the "art district" of the market.

Here's a 360 view of the market...

Here's our transport when we left the market:

Had a little downtime in our room as well where Lij enjoyed his new book from the Stables - thx so much guys!!!
And a salmon meal out - Thailand has some pretty amazing, cheap food.

After our meal, we caught a couple minutes of Jah playing & a few laughs! :)

We heard a place called "The Train Restaurant" had great Thai but wanted to capture some of the inside for our train-lovin' pals :)

A quick clip of the train station across the street after we finished dinner (a little weary by that point) ;)

Enjoyed running into our friends Dave & Jim unexpectedly!


And leaving Bangkok back for Indo:

Back to Thailand

So in order to pickup our new visas, we had to return back to Thailand. Here's a few pix/videos of the 1st time we've flown out of our town to the capital of Aceh (Banda Aceh) as a fam.

Pretty soon after takeoff we flew over "our" bay - there's a little island in the video clip - that's the one that shows up in all our pix of the bay from our home with the island out to sea...

Here's a look out the window of the 9 person plane we flew out with:

We turned our papers in right away & then it was just a waiting game 'til we could head back to Indo. We decided to make the most of our time in Bangkok beginning with a trip to the grocery store...hmmm, veggie cereal.
We couldn't believe our eyes, Reeses!

And the world's smallest ice cream cone...
What an appropriate name.

And trying dragonfruit, yum!

Happy Father's Day J!

Love you Daddy!

Plus the Videos...

When we last posted we didn't have the internet "umph" to post some of the videos that went along w/ the pix...so, here they are!

Lij in his walker...

Lovin on his favorite (well, only) stuffed bear - thanks Aunt G!

Yet another adventure of J wrangling wild beasts around our home...ok, maybe it's just a big lizard.

And lizard catching part 2...

While home we took Lij up to the village where we're working. Here's the car ride up (notice the safety measures to keep Jah's head semi "in place" during rough patches in the road :)

We hung out in the village chief's home for a bit, here's a clip of his daughter's room while she & her friends hung w/ Lij.

And last, but certainly not least, his diaper explosion episode (lest we forget the not so exciting parts of our day)

Home Again Home Again

So our friend Jeff K came from VA to check out the possibilities of partnering with the work here. It was great to get to hang out with him & we're so thankful he hauled a whole suitcase full of stuff for us - thanks Jeff! Among the stuff was a baby mosquito net 'Lij is modeling for us here on our front porch with J.
We've had a couple "firsts" in the mean time - a new walker...
Asleep on the job...As well as more solid foods bringing a whole new aspect to our lives ;)

Heading Home...

So after our stint in Jakarta waiting out the elections, we headed separately back into Aceh. J went ahead of E & e 'cuz we had a guest coming in from VA. Elijah & Elissa stayed the night in Medan & 'Lij got himself a little stuck...

And here's the pix after he gained his freedom :)