Christmas at the Pavilion

We were rather impressed and surprised to see the stunning Christmas display at the Pavilion Mall in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Complete with reindeers flying to the sky and a stage with live music, we had so much fun stumbling across the jaw-dropping display on Saturday -- after a trip to see Astro Boy, the movie -- that we returned on Sunday after church to get a few pictures.




It's fun to hear some Christmas music and begin getting in the Christmas spirit.

Bible Study Dinner

As we have just finished one study on prayer, and are getting ready to dive into the minor prophets, we had a delightful social engagement at a nearby restaurant.

It was fun to enjoy some delicious food and great fellowship.

With a beautiful setting and nice Christmas tree, it certainly added to the ambiance.

Discover Nature - a Professional Conference

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2009

For two days, Doug had the opportunity to interact with other colleagues from ISKL as well as educators from Singapore and Tokyo as we explored the nearby rainforest and immersed ourselves in nature in an effort to look at ways to incorporate environmental education and garner a love of nature within our students.

The Forestry Reserve Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) is truly an amazing place. We had fun splashing through creeks, listening to the roar of the cicadas, and going for a few little hikes. Malaysia is home to some of the most amazing trees of the world -- including some that exhibit "canopy shyness." Their leaves don't touch each other, creating a beautiful mosaic or jigsaw puzzle. Certainly more impressive in person.

We also explored the incredible activity of insects all around, including parades of ants. From the trees above to the insects below, what a spectacular environment.

Tech Party

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009

We had a fun gathering at Brian Inskeep's wonderful condo for a celebration of all the hard work in the tech department.
Our amazing boss Charlotte Diller is pictured here with our exceptional tech secretary, Shidah, and her husband.
The kids even got to have some fun swimming by the pool a night before we headed home.

A Tropical Christmas Tree

Gabi is practicing some of her songs for the school Christmas presentation.

AFC South Games

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009

Friends of ours, new to ISKL, Jamie and Billy Thomas are from Houston. Billy is a big Texans fan; he also has a slingbox connection to get TV shows from Houston, Texas. With all the Texans games on the DVR, he is able to stream them here.

So we agreed that we would host the Colts-Texan replay when they play in Indianapolis, and in a few weeks, the Thomas' will return the favor and host the rematch. Now I just have to hope the Colts good fortunes continue -- or at least they manage sustained postseason push.
It may be an utter travesty to have my firstborn donning a Texans hat for the photo-op -- but at least the Colts eeked out a victory to remain undefeated!

Gabi's Friends & GAP Celebrations.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009

On Sunday evening, there was a celebration of the 9th grade GAP (Global Action Program) trip where the 9th graders piloted our HS week-without-walls program. We have also heard about Gabi's friend on the bus who likes to sing Taylor Swift's song, "You Belong to Me" which we deciphered from Gabi singing, "She wears high heels, I wear sneakers. . ." So it was fun for Gabi to play with her friend while we saw mommy on the big screen with all the pictures.

Football in the Pool

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
One of the great benefits of the grandparents place is generally having the swimming pool to ourselves. It is lots of fun to play in the swimming pool now that Reeve can throw and catch a ball -- so lots of fun tossing a water football and diving into the water to try and catch the ball.



Of course the girls also have lots of fun at the pool too.

Doug's Fame in Star Newspaper

As part of working with a cool 7th grade science project monitoring water quality and evaluating the chemical components of a healthy stream, Doug was featured in a video journal as part of the local Star newspaper -- one of the largest newspapers in Malaysia.

You can see the video via the YouTube link.


Or you can access via the Star's website.

Saturday Basketball

Doug has been coaching Reeve's basketball team. So every Saturday morning we head off to the elementary gym, where things are full of second graders. Our team is Transpo -- named after a local sponsor.

Of course we're not supposed to keep score, but last week we had a veritable beat-down with a 32-0 trouncing of the opponents (as the score was gleefully repeated by our team after each basket, much to our opponents , since both teams had kids missing due to Halloween parties and sugar highs. Our opponents were missing more of their better players, though.

But in our penultimate game, we arrived to discover that our star player had broken his arm, and will be out for the entire season (one more week).


Hence we were again put in a typical defensive battle where "swarm" ball takes over the court. It's hard to teach the basics of basketball -- ALWAYS BEAT A ZONE PRESS BY PASSING.

Actually it's just hard to remind kids to not swarm the ball, especially when it is ridiculously effective. Not that we keep score, but this time it wasn't hard to lose track after Reeve scored the only basket of the game in a 2-0 nail biter.

Playing in the Rain

During the rare times when the rain is not a thunder and lightning downpour, we will sometimes go out in our little garden or in our driveway and play in the rain. Since it is warm all the time, it's great to cool off.

Rania decided to take the chance to go out in the rain and dance around, complete with her beautiful dress. Such fun memories and you sometimes wonder -- can our kids get any cuter? It also makes me realize how much I need to learn how to use our new camera -- still getting a bit too blurry of pictures. Where is a great photography lesson when I need it?

Halloween in Malaysia

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009

We had a fun time trick-or-treating. There was a touch of a tropical downpour that got us a bit wet, but we managed to avoid the worst of the rain.

It is a great neighborhood tradition to head over to our friends house and trick-or-treat around a largely ex-patriate neighborhood.

We kept our same costumes for the year -- Rania claiming she was an island princess -- like "Ra" from Barbie-Island Princess. Gabi, a gymnast, and Reeve a superstar soccer player.

After we got home, we had to sort our stashes and organize them.

Celebrating Halloween at School

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009

Rania was on hand to send the older kids off to school for their Halloween celebration. Gabi continued her insistence on dressing up as a gymnast girl. Reeve continued to be a soccer player. This is the scene from where we wait for the bus -- a morning routine for our family before daddy headed off to school.

The kids had a parade and came home with a bit of candy!

And one more day until mommy gets home!

Talking with Mommy

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009

We were lucky enough to get a call from mommy, and we had the whole range of human emotion as the kids talked on the phone -- fighting over the phone, tears for missing mommy, and absolute joy to hear about "mommy's hotel."

The kids sure appreciated that mommy had a little bit of a break and had a chance to call Malaysia!

Kids at play

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

For a week when mommy is away, we are doing quite well. The kids are having fun, and after school decided to change into their costumes and play a bit in our garden.