New Strategy

The end of the semester is always really busy.  I haven’t posted in a few days and Joseph actually hasn’t taken any pictures.  He seems to be losing interest.  I guess it is a lot to expect an 8 year old to take a picture a day.  I think by the time summer rolls around, it will be hard for me to keep up with the daily posts due to all the traveling.  We will be living out of suitcases and staying different places.   I hate to bail on the whole thing so I came up with a new strategy.  For Joseph, I will stop numbering his photos.  If he takes a photo, then I will post it.  If not, then I am not going to worry about it.  For myself, I will continue to try and post daily.  If I get behind, then I will put multiple pictures in the same post as I have done before.  I think it will be a miracle if I complete the Project 365.  I guess only time will tell. 

 

Joseph: We had “breakfast” for dinner.

 

Julia: #118/365

This is a common Javanese decoration found inside homes…mirror with doors.  I am not sure about the significance of the doors on the mirror. 

 

Julia: #119/365

Sweet Katelyn playing on the playground at the elementary school.  We were waiting for Joseph and Audrey to get done with gymnastics.

 

Julia: #120/365

Doss and I ate at a Thai restaurant in the mall.  The chandelier was made out of wine glasses.

Last Game

Joseph’s team played their last game today against British International School.  It was pretty sad.  They lost 12 to 1.  Joseph’s team didn’t give up and they played hard for the whole game.  The coaches said they were proud of the boys.  The parents are proud of the team too.  The kids were gracious when they won and not sore losers when they lost.  They’ve worked hard this season.  They came in 3rd place in the league so they still did very well. 

Later we went to the Primary talent show.  Audrey displayed some of her artwork and Joseph played the cello.  He did really well.  We were proud of him.  After the talent show, the kids swam all afternoon. Doss and I got to hang out with some of the other adults and chat.  It was nice.

Joseph: #117/365

My mom making the baby hats.

 

Julia: #117/365

I videotaped the performance so I had to wait until after Joseph played to get a quick picture of him.

Art Supplies

Katelyn and I went to the store today to get some art supplies.  I finally bought myself an easel.  I had been propping my canvas on a chair covered with newspaper.  It wasn’t the best position for painting since the height of the chair is not adjustable.  I also bought a couple of sketchbooks.  I already bought 2 previously, but they were claimed by Joseph and Audrey.  Katelyn said she wanted one too so I bought 2 more today.  Finally, I have my own sketchbook.  At my art class on Thursday, I got a generic “nice” from the teacher.  I will take that as a compliment.   Katelyn and I had lunch with Doss at Burger King.  Then Doss showed us an area in the mall that had Koi fish.   Doss thinks I should try painting Koi next.  I might do that.  I love Koi.

Joseph: #116/365

My mom is making baby hats from this super cool yarn.

 

Julia: #116/365

Sweet Katelyn standing in front of the Koi pond.

Knitting Loom

I ran over to a friend’s house today after my art class so that she could show me how to use a knitting loom.  The RS has been making baby hats for a service project.  I have been crocheting some hats, but I thought that Audrey would like making hats too.  It is pretty easy to use the loom.  Even Katelyn helped me make some hats today.

 

Joseph: #115/365

New plants downstairs where we play ping pong.

 

Julia: #115/365

Finished baby hats using the knitting loom. Cute huh?

Painting

I got the bright idea that painting drapery would help me see shadows and highlights better.  Well, I can see the darks and lights, but I am having a really difficult time painting draped cloth.  I also don’t have a lot of time to paint.  I was supposed to be working on my painting from 2 weeks ago. I kept putting it off so today I tried painting for a little in the morning and then some this evening. I wanted to have something to show my teacher tomorrow.

 

Joseph: #114/365

My friend Kris gave me a present wrapped like a shirt.

 

Julia: #114/365

Here’s the new picture I’ve been working on.  Painting the drapery is a lot harder than I thought it would be.  This picture is totally kicking my butt!

Prints

I had some photos printed at Adorama today. They did a pretty good job so I am sure I will be back.


Joseph: #113/365

Chickens at school again.

Julia: #113/365

Katelyn has really resisted writing the letters in her name in the proper order.  I guess she finally decided to put the letters in order...hooray!

Too Much

I think we just have too many activities.  We are tired at the end of the day and the kids are tired.  Audrey said today on her own that she didn’t want to do any more after-school activities.  She said she would rather just come home.  I think we are all starting to feel that way. 

 

Joseph: #112/365

My friend couldn’t come to my party last week but he gave me this dart board game today.

 

Julia: #112/365

Audrey found a praying mantis in gymnastics class today.  She wanted to take it home but Daddy convinced her to leave it at school.

Catching up

I keep getting behind on posting a picture every day for the Project 365. Joseph is generally good about taking a picture a day, but sometimes he forgets.  I think to make my life easier, I will sometimes post pictures that he took, but not necessarily on the day that it was taken.  I have to admit that I am finally losing steam.  There is just so much going on all the time that taking and blogging about even just one picture a day is taking a lot of effort.  I am so ready for summer vacation already.

 

Joseph: #108/365

My mom as a Lego knight minifigure.

 

Joseph: #109/365

One of my friends could not come to my party so my mom said I could have the extra Lego Brick light. 

 

Joseph: #110/365

My mom made Lego heads from marshmallows and chocolate.

 

Joseph: #111/365

This is my camera I got for my birthday.

 

Julia: #108/365

My friend is moving back to Taiwan so I bought her buffet table.  It’s made of teak wood.

 

Julia: #109/365

Audrey playing Jenga at the school library.  We visit the library at least once a week.

 

Julia: #110/365

Isn’t she the sweetest thing ever?  I love my Nunu!

 

Julia: #111/365

She loves her new swimsuit!

Hello Kitty

I love Hello Kitty. I have since I was very young. My girls like Hello Kitty, but not as much as me. My friend is having a garage sale Friday. I am helping her advertise and spread the word. She invited me to come over and have a look. I bought a couple of things including a set of plastic Hello Kitty figurines.


Joseph: #107/365
My Lego car my friend and I made at my party yesterday. I beat my Dad's Lego car today too.

 

 

Julia: #107/365
My cute Hello Kitty figurines I bought at a garage sale today.

Behind Again

I got behind on posting again.  Sunday we stayed home and watched General Conference.  It was nice to have a day where we did not have to get out and about, especially first thing in the morning.  I spent most of Monday just trying to get things ready for Joseph’s birthday party today.  He wanted a Lego theme party.  It turned out pretty well.  I had to pick a few of the kids up from school and the rest of them came on the bus with Joseph.  We played a few Lego games and had a Lego car race.  We also went down and played soccer for awhile.  Then the kids came up for pizza and cake.  It was a fun-filled afternoon/evening.

 

Joseph: #104/365

You can see the volcanoes.

 

Joseph: #105/365

This is the first picture I took with my new camera.

 

Joseph: #106/365

These are my presents from my birthday party today.

 

Julia: #104/365

We always get gas at Pertamina stations. Pertamina is the Indonesian National Oil Company.

 

Julia: #105/365

Joseph’s Lego blocks cake(s).

 

Julia: #106/365

The kids were all fighting over who got to be the skeleton…lol.

8 Years Old

Joseph is 8 years old today. Time sure flies. The kids went to a birthday party for a friend and then we had a small birthday celebration for Joseph at home.


Joseph: #102/365
This is my Mickey Mouse I got at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Joseph: #103/365
I told my mom she could sell my slippers in a garage sale.

Julia: #102/365
Katelyn got new sparkly shoes. She loves them!

Julia: #103/365
We had lunch at a Chinese Noodle place today.  Doss got pork rice and I got pork rib noodles.

Carsick

Traffic has been worse than usual lately, especially in Kemang where we go to take Katelyn to preschool twice a week. Today it took over an hour to get home. I was pretty carsick by the time we made it home.



Joseph: #101/365

This is "Puppy".  My great-granny gave it to me a long time ago.  I love it.

Julia: #101/365

People still do things the old fashioned way in Jakarta. This guy was hanging up a paper stencil and there was another guy in the corner painting with a paintbrush.  I was in the car so I wasn't able to get a good picture.

100 Days!

We made it to 100 days of our Project 365! Joseph loves taking photos. He asked for his own digital camera for his birthday.


Joseph: #100/365

This is my dad's monster Lego truck and it moves.

Julia: #100/365

I saw a caravan of women motorcycle cops and they were wearing pink!

Lego Party

Joseph wants a Lego themed birthday party. I tried to bribe him to not have one but he said he would rather have friends than more stuff. I guess I should be proud of him, but I really hate throwing birthday parties. Today traffic was pretty bad so it took me alot longer to get to the mall than I had planned on. I was able to find a few things for the party but I still have alot to do.

Joseph: #99/365

Minecraft is my favorite game.

Julia: #99/365

Joseph says that he is starting to like playing the cello.  He really likes the new piece that he has been working on recently.

Manic Monday

By the time Katelyn and I got home from preschool today, I had barely enough time to unload groceries before heading off to school. I was a little late so Joseph was already heading to cello class even though he didn't have his cello. I caught up with him just in time. I was so busy earlier I didn't even have time for lunch. Audrey and I got a snack in the cafeteria while we were waiting for gumnastics class to start. I was so tired after dinner I fell asleep for a bit. Doss was sweet and got the kids ready for bed.

Joseph: #98/365

My mom didn't want me to take her picture.

Julia: #98/365
Joseph closed his eyes while I was trying to take his picture.  Glad I had a burst mode on my camera app so I got one of him with his eyes open. He was surprised when I showed him this picture with his eyes open...ha ha...silly boy!

No Choir

Usually we have choir practice every Sunday. Apparently we will not be having choir for most of this month so I get a little reprieve from playing the piano. We also get to come home from church earlier. Today we took a nap and then played games with the kids. I made a chocolate peanut butter treat Audrey has been asking me to make. We also had fajitas for dinner. Thise homemade tortillas are yummy!


Joseph: #97/365

My lucky cat I got in Little India in Singapore.

Julia: #97/365

Chocolate coated peanut butter treats. They taste a little like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Audrey loves them! We got the recipe from her Primary teacher.

Lazy Day

We had a nice relaxing day today. For once there was no where we had to be. Doss played soccer with Joseph and then took the girls swimming. I worked on selecting, editing, and posting a couple of pictures from our New Zealand trip. Later we took the kids to see the movie The Croods. It was a good movie. We all enjoyed it although the girls were a little scared at the beginning.


Joseph: #96/365
Map of New Zealand

Julia: #96/365

At the movies ready to watch The Croods.

Lots to Do

I had a busy schedule today. First thing this morning I had my driver drop the cookies off for the missionary zone conference. As soon as he got back, Katelyn and I headed to the SOS clinic. I had blood drawn for some repeat tests of my cholesterol levels and blood platelet levels. The doctor is running additional tests for thyroid function and thrombophilia. The good news is my blood platelet levels have dropped to almost normal with the aspirin treatment and no birth control. Also my cholesterol levels are now normal with significant increases in the good cholesterol. My triglyceride levels dropped quite a bit even though they were already in the normal range.

After the blood tests, I saw the dentist. He checked my tooth and said I needed to wait one more week before he puts un the permanent filling. This is the longest root canal treatment I have ever had.

Anyways, after getting done with the SOS clinic, we headed to the US Embassy to get more pages for my passport. I got 24 pages added.

Katelyn was ready to go home after a busy morning/afternoon. I also taught English this evening too...busy day.


Joseph: #95/365
Another red angry bird

Julia: #95/365

Pineapple bush near the US Embassy