Bali Round Up

The last days in Bali were spent on the beach and in the pool and taking rides on the motorbikes around the area. Tanner was in charge of getting Audrey dressed in her swimsuit one morning and he brought her to me and said "Could this be right?"

(yeah, maybe if she was a wrestler!)

Sunday was Clark's birthday so we had to do a little celebrating. We had seen a Bakery near our Villa so we stopped in on Saturday to see if we could order a cake for him. They had amazing Batman cake toppers so we scored pretty big on that account. However, the actual cake tasted like moth balls, but Clark didn't seem to care since he just loved the Batman part of it all. The funny story about all this is that we had to transport this cake on the motorbikes. Kelly and I were out together but on separate motorbikes. We tried to wedge it between me and the front of the bike, but the second I tried to move, the cake fell and we thought we had completely ruined it. Luckily the frosting just smeared in a few places and we decided we had to leave one of the bikes there and go together on one and wedge the cake between the two of us and that worked. We must have been quite the site to everyone as we were busy trying to figure this all out! The beach was great, and in case you were wondering how a family of five can fit on a motorbike.....

Bali: Day 4

We decided to take a little more of an adventure on Day 4 and go to an elephant safari park. The traffic was bad and our driver didn't know where he was going, so it was a little rough getting there, but once we got there it was fun!

Tanner took the boys on their ride while I chilled with Audrey and took pictures. When they got on the elephant the guide said "This elephant's name is Andrew." The boys loved it! Clark was like "Andrew! That's just like you Andrew!" and Andrew would say "Yeah, that's my name!" They had a blast and the elephants did some pretty great tricks. Afterward, we also got to see some snakes up close and personal, and Tanner got this hilarious video of Andrew unknowingly standing under the snake box. Cue a ridiculous amount of pictures and don't forget to catch the video at the end!

You look like a yummy peanut to eat!

Bali: Day 3

Friday was spent all day on Seminyak/Kuta beach and poolside at the Villa. It took a little while for us to get to the beach even though it wasn't too far away. We just can't seem to get away from Jakarta traffic! Later we decided we should rent some mopeds, as it might be a little easier getting around. The only question now was how to get a family of 5 on one moped? The kids had a blast in the sand, water, and waves.

Bali: Day 2

We got a slow start on day 2, which was perfectly fine with all of us. The kids went for a morning swim and then we all piled in the car and headed out to lunch at Bali Cafe in downtown Seminyak.

The food was good and the decor in the restaurant was really cool.

After lunch, the (big) boys agreed to take the kids back to the Villa for naps so Kelly and I could get in some much desired shopping time! Of course, it also started to rain as we were leaving, but Kelly and I were undeterred. We went in this store called Kids-A-Go-Go, and we found the cutest stuff to decorate our girls' rooms. We also found some other adorable little girl boutiques. It was a lot of fun, and after we came home, we got in some pool time before we headed out for our Thanksgiving Dinner...which was pretty much anything but. We wanted to see if we could get tickets for Harry Potter at a mall, but they were all sold out. But while we were there we saw a Planet Hollywood and decided it might be a decent and easy place for dinner. The kids had a great time, but the food was awful, and I mean awful. At least we got to see a male Indonesian Cowboy band. Yeah, it was awesome. Won't be going back there on any future trips to Bali, but at least we all got ice cream on the way home!

My 2010 Thanksgiving BAG:

Blessing: Delivering a healthy baby and having no post delivery complications!

Accomplishment: Moving to Jakarta 8 weeks after delivery and staying sane (most of the time)

Goals for 2011: Learning the Indonesian language, spending more quality time with hubby and kids, and travel, travel, travel!

Thanksgiving in Bali Part 1

We were so excited to meet our friends, the Crawfords, in Bali for Thanksgiving. The Crawfords were in law school with us and work for the State Department as well. They are currently posted in Dili, East Timor.

We have lived in Jakarta for 6 months and we felt this break was coming at the perfect time. Life has gotten pretty busy now that we are settled (funny how that happens!). Tanner is the Elder's Quorum President in the Branch and I was recently called a counselor in the Primary Presidency. There just seems to be a lot going on all the time, and we were looking forward to a vacation. We were so excited, we were all a little bit giddy and silly while waiting for our plane!

We just wanted to hurry up and get there so we could RELAX!

The Crawfords got there a little bit before us and gave us the grand tour of the place. The villa was great! It had 2 master bedrooms and 2 regular rooms each one for our boys to share. In the middle was a huge outdoor living room area with a dining room and couches and chairs. It was surrounded by water with fishes swimming in it. We also had our own private pool, which, while it made us very nervous having an open pool with 6 kids under the age of 5 running around, we were very vigilant and we loved loved loved having it. The first night was spent catching up with the Crawfords and just vegging out. See these amazing pictures that Kelly took the day we arrived. Yeah, I know....she's an awesome photographer! The boys immediately took to each other again and ran around in all kinds of superhero costumes throughout the night.

Istiqlal Mosque

We have decided to take greater advantage of the weekends and do some touring around the city as a family. One of the first stops we knew we had to make was at Istiqlal Mosque. It is the largest mosque in Asia, which you can read more about here! We weren't there very long, but it was definitely just an interesting visit just to see it. It was HUGE!

I think one of the most interesting things I saw was when we actually walked out of the mosque. As you exit and look up, right across the street on the other side was this:

That about sums up Jakarta. While this is the most Muslim populated country in the world, it is also very diverse, and I appreciate the fact that Indonesia's National Motto is "Unity in Diversity."

Giggles

Clark is such an entertaining oldest brother. Andrew is exactly 7 months old in the first video and Audrey is exactly 7 1/2 months in the second.

Vonage Visual Voicemail

It's that time again ladies and gents for another round of Vonage Visual Voicemails (applause!). Once again the award for BEST Vonage Visual Voicemail goes to Melanie and she also gets the award for leaving the most voicemails. Thanks bro!

November 5th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "Chez it's your sister Mel, caaaaallll me! Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "Sharon it's your sister Ma, call call me when"

October 13th, 2010

Partial Voicemail left by Corbin from Capital One

Real Voicemail: "This is Corbin from Capital One Fraud Protection with an important message for Cheryl Nelson and we need to verify some potentially suspicious activity on your account ending in 0195"

Emailed Transcription: "This is Corwin from capital one of trucks catching up. I'm problem, important message for Cheryl Nelson need to verify some potentially suspicious activity on your account ending in 0195"

October 12th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "The machine is still on Moira. You're gonna wanna call me back dude. Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "The machine is still on Moira. You're gonna want to call me back. You know. Bye."

(This one gets a shout out for two reasons. First, the reason she called was AWESOME! (See my sister's bloggity blog) and second, if there is anyone besides my immediate family who can name the movie that the quote "The machine is still on Moira" is from, you will get some serious kudos from moi. No cheating--which includes googling the quote or any other usage of the internet to find the answer.)

October 10th, 2010

Voicemail left my Jenn B.

Real Voicemail: "Hey Cher, it's Jenn. Just calling to say hi. Hope you're doing good. Anyway sorry, just checking in but I will talk to you another time. See you. Bye"

Emailed Transcription: "Hey Sharon, it's Jen. Just calling to say hi. Hope you're doing good. Anyway sorry, Chuck but I will talk to you another time. See you . Bye"

October 8th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie (FYI...She lives in Southern California where they were having record heat)

Real Voicemail: "Dude it's Mel and Dad here. We have a question about mom's hair. Call us back if you're still awake. Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "Dude it's snowing bad here. We have a question about mom's hair. Call us back if you're still awake. Bye"

October 3rd, 2010

Voicemail left by Brianna

Real Voicemail: "Hi Chezzie, it's me. Just calling to let you know that I got my patriarchal blessing and you're the first sister I called."

Emailed Transcription: "Hi Jessie, it's me. Just calling to let you know that I got my pay check a bus and you're the first sister I called."

(included for two great reasons also. The first is obvious, "patriarchal blessing" = "pay check a bus" and second, I was the FIRST sister she called...just wanted to let you all know. oooohhhh BURN! ;-) )

September 29th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "Hey it's your sister and that was kinda messed up. You never called again."

Emailed Transcription: "Hey it's your sister and kinda messed up. They never call and in"

September 23rd, 2010

Voicemail left by my Mom

Real Voicemail: "Hi Cherylyn it's Mom. Talk to you later"

Emailed Transcription: "Hi Sheldon Smith. Talk to you later"

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO.....

November 15th, 2010

Voicemail left by Melanie

Real Voicemail: "I just finished unpacking all the stuff dude, it's awesome. I'm feeling a lot of love for you right now dude. So just calling to say hi and thanks. Alright well, I'll be up for a little while if you wanna call me back. Bye."

Emailed Transcription: "Hi just finished unpacking all that stuff too and it's awesome. I'm feeling a lot of love for you right now dude. So just calling to say hi and thanks alright love me up for little while if you wanna call me back. Bye"

Obama Visit

Okay so this was Obama's THIRD try at coming out to Indonesia. The first attempt was back in March. He didn't show because he was trying to get the health care bill passed. Good thing he stayed right?!! ;-) The second time he was slated to come was in June and was the reason we rushed like crazy to get out here instead of when we were slated to come in July. But then some tiny little oil spill happened in the gulf, and then it turned out not to be so tiny, so the second visit got axed. The third visit was looking promising until the earth started to shake, tsunami's crashed ashore, and oh a volcano decided to erupt...numerous times. It has all been very sad to watch and read the local news reports here. It feels like we are so far away from where everything is happening because we haven't been directly affected, but we're not so very far. Anyway, it was touch and go there for a while, even up until the day before he came. Everyone at the embassy was crazy busy coordinating with Secret Service and there were lots of late nights leading up to the visit. They had planned a meet and greet with the President and the First Lady for the embassy staffers and families, but I wasn't sure if I was going to go because of stupid logistical reasons and not to mention my own political affiliations. BUT, we decided it was really a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the President of the United States up close and personal in the flesh so we decided to go. We had to wake up at 5am but other than that, there were no real inconveniences to be had. Everyone waited in a ballroom at the hotel and then the President and First Lady came out, and he spoke a few words and then came down to shake hands.

I'm not gonna lie, it was a little surreal at first, but then as he was speaking I was just thinking about how he is just a man who holds a very important position of power, but he is just a flawed, imperfect man like the rest of us. And frankly, I feel kinda bad for him. He's had a rough couple of years, and while everyone can argue all day long about whether or not he brought it upon himself (he did), he still has to be a husband and father while also at times feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders more than any of the rest of us ever will. So while Barack and I have a lot of 'issues' between us :-), he does deserve some respect if for no other reason than for the office he holds. It's a lot easier throwing rocks when you've never actually seen or met a person, but when they are suddenly very real and right in front of your face...it's a little bit humbling. I for one am glad to have had the experience just for the sake of the perspective it provided for me personally.

(just look at the looks on those kids' faces...super adorable)

Marine Ball

So we have had a few busy weeks here in Indonesia! One of the things I have most been looking forward to since we joined the State Department was the opportunity to go to some fun parties and more specifically the Marine Ball which is held every year around the time of the Marine Corps birthday. It is a pretty swanky affair, and Tanner and I decided we definitely wanted to go. I also was hoping to have a dress made for me so I wouldn't have to deal as much with the disappointment of going dress shopping only to realize (again) that there is almost nothing that is cute and modest. We have this awesome fabric section of town called Mayestic which is a bunch of stores that sell tons and tons of fabric. I looked on the internet and found a style that I liked, and then went to Mayestic to do some fabric shopping. I learned a lot about how you can't just make any dress with any fabric, so I had to make sure I chose the right one for the design I wanted. I ended up wanting silk and there are actually a ton of different kinds to choose from. I had narrowed it down between a few and nothing was 'just right'. Then the old man helping me said he had something else and returned with the perfect one. I asked what kind of silk it was and he just showed me the edge of the fabric and it said "Pure Silk by Valentino, Made in Italy". Okay, so I am not totally sure if it's THE Valentino, but regardless, the fabric was awesome and I bought it.

So now the trick was to find a tailor who could actually make an evening gown out of it. I was having a hard time finding one that could do it in the time frame I needed, and then the same old guy said he would take me to a place just outside mayestik. Great! So I go in this tailor shop and the head woman did not speak a lick of English. I was with my friend who speaks better than me and we did okay trying to explain what I wanted, but it all happened super fast, and it felt like she barely took any measurements. I was kind of freaking out about it later, but in the end I figured I just needed to look at it like a new and fun experience.

Fast forward two weeks, and I go in for the first fitting. They hadn't quite finished it, but they had done all the pleating and I was shocked and amazed at how great they had copied the picture I had given them. I had to go back a few more times and even though I still think I need to get it taken in just a smidge, I thought it turned out great and loved it! Also, they did forget to do a cap sleeve underneath, but luckily I was able to channel my inner Tim Gunn and "make it work!". The day of the ball, I went and got my hair and makeup done and totally freaked out when she went to put on fake eyelashes. I was straight up NOT going to let her put those things on. My awesome hairstylist Roberto asked me to just try it and they could always take them off later. By the end of the make up session I totally wanted to keep them. That was a first for me. We were running a little late, and I got home, threw on my dress, and we headed out to......TRAFFIC.
It took us an hour and half to go about 5 miles. We thought we were going to be super late, but the good thing was everyone was late, so it was all good.

We had a great time. The ceremony at the beginning was very nice. The birthday cake was ginormous, and I thought it was cool that they cut the first piece with a huge saber knife. Then they serve the first pieces to the oldest and youngest Marine in attendance. I just thought they were all very cool traditions. The other awesome thing is that they had very cool ice sculptures around the room.

Anyway, after a yummy dinner, they started the dancing and Tanner and I had a blast. We both love to dance and it felt like we were back in college again at one of our friend's dance parties. We realized we hadn't really gone dancing together since we have had kids which is a shame because we both love it. A definite highlight of the night was seeing a female Marine guard get up on the stage and do Beyonce's exact routine to "Single Ladies"....

in her Marine guard uniform....

with her senior officer looking on from afar no less. It doesn't get any better than that peeps. She rocked the house, and the crowd went wild. Happy 235th Birthday United States Marine Corps!