Long Time No See.....

A 'make-do' noise maker for bicycles. :)














Climbing a wall.... feels like me sometimes with no one at the top.. :)














So... the month of August. Where has the time gone!

Well, here in Indonesia, celebrating Independance Day, August 17th is a WHOLE month affair. For some neighborhoods (RT's) it is a bigger deal than others; all depends on the amount of money they have to spend and the man/willpower to put things together.

Our celebrations started on the 1st Saturday of August with a 'Jalan Santai' or leisurely walk. This seems to have been a common thing for neighborhoods as I think almost every neighborhood had one! Each RT is under an area or RW. It seems that one RW or two would walk together.

Here's pictures from ours:
















































After the 'Jalan Santai' everyone gathered for a draw. We each got a slip of paper with a number. Some of the main guys for the RW talked, held the bucket of numbers, gave out gifts and verified the winner's number. (We didn't get anything.) :)






































































































































After the prize draw there were 'Lomba-lomba's' for the kids, and then the teenagers. It was organized by what we would kind of call the neighborhood 'Youth Leader.' :)





















































































Teen/Young Adult v-ball...

























Teens waiting....














...and teens helping.







































Spoon/marble relay:



























Keeping the dust down...














Ice Cream man...





























The second weekend of August saw us helping, observing a ceremony, attending the wedding, and then greeting at a reception that was all a 4 day ordeal. Quite the experience and cultural exposure time. We are very thankful for great neighbors who are willing to give us cultural experience! :) (...will have to add pictures later...)

The 3rd weekend of August I helped the ladies cook for the real rememberance day of Independance. (I will have to get pictures later...) The meeting was at night.

The 4th weekend of August we had our last event. It was a time of giving presents to the kids who won the 'lomba-lomba' time, a few speaches and then live music. Those pictures I will also have to add later.... hey! Object Focus sentence! Ok.... can you tell I've been studying hard!!!???

Tim's 40th - EARLY!

Kathy decided she wanted to surprise Tim with an early 40th Birthday Party since the whole family was going to be here. (Unfortunately we did not get the chance to have the party before Nathan left...)














Kathy and Carolyn sat down for a cup of coffee for break time at 10, Tim was running Stephen and Dad into town for a few things. He had to have Dad back to Alan's place for lunch... as soon as they were out the door the party preparations began!


















I ran to town to try to find black balloons or crepe paper.. try explaining that to someone! So, I got colored balloons and big black garbage bags that we cut into strips and hung those up.















































After Tim and guys left for town, Carolyn and Kathy began on the lazagna and pies! (Tim's favorite... and certainly a treat for the rest of us!) :)


















Birthday advice written for the 'old timer...'














Tim WAS surprised!














After eating we sat down to watch one of their favorite movies: Princess Bride. :) Here's Miriam enjoying the movie with her Uncle Tim.

Outings in Kopeng

As a family, we took a few days and rented an 'apartment' side of a hotel. They actually have a stone house we wanted to rent for 3 days, but it only had 3 bedrooms and would not have been adaquate in the end.














































































I don't know if you remember that I have mentioned that Kopeng is known for it's vegetable and flowers, but it is also beginning to be known for it's strawberries! (Not quite to the scale of Andrew's Berry Farm, though!) :)


























We took a few side trips.... Air Tanjung Seloprojo. (March - 'Driving Around, again...')







































This waterfall is tucked back in the hill (see previous post for area pictures) Some of the rice was cut... Not sure what the hut is for and why the rice is drying like this.


























On the little path between paddies, back to the main path was this offering...


















Carolyn and rice. :)














We also went for a trip to an area that overlooks both Mt. Merbabu and the active volcano, Mt. Merapi.






































Rock-movers!














Weed wacking around the park's edge.....














A cultural experience when visiting volcanos it seems... :)