Happy Thanksgiving from Yogyakarta!

 Prambanan Temple, Yogyakarta!

 Swimming breaks at our hotel near Prambanan called Poeri Devata. Excellent nasi goreng!

 A jeep ride to explore Merapi volcano which last erupted in 2010, killing 50 people. We paid our respects.

Early morning temple visits make naps in taxis a must! Great first day on our Yogyakarta Thanksgiving trip!

Beautiful Lanterns in Chinatown

After our art trip, we had a wonderful evening enjoying the lanterns in Chinatown with Cassandra and her family and then with Papa's colleague, Andrew and his wife, Amy. It was very pretty.

Lucky mommy!

Art trip to Silk-Screen exhibition in Chinatown

Part 1: a visit to learn about silkscreen painting. Part 2: in a few weeks we will make our own silk screen t-shirt, dish towel or pillow case.

 Deborah, an artist from South Africa, teaches us about the different techniques.

Our art group is very special to us. We hope they can come to Canada next year and visit. We would try to visit some native peoples' museums in Toronto to learn their style of art. In the meantime, we cannot wait to try silk screening next month.

Mt. Kinabalu

A few years ago, Papa and I watched a short movie about Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, Borneo. We watched people hiking up this mountain which is half the size of Mt Everest. It looked like a great challenge for Frunty and so we waited. Fast forward October 2013. Frunty is now 11, the age when children are permitted to climb with a guide from a reputable tour company called, Down Below! Boom! Next thing you know, Papa is calling Frunty into his office to show him a map of the hiking trail, after having already purchased plane tickets to Kota Kinabalu. And before we knew it, they were phoning from the summit after a cold, windy, dark, climb with flurries! After taking a tiny nap in a mountain hut, they made it through the dark with little head lamps. The sun started to rise and at that moment, Frunty told me he could see the summit and knew he could do it.

When Frunty decided to quit school after three years of not giving up easily, I feared we were raising a quitter. I am not even going to try to describe how proud I am of Frunty. Ok, I will a bit. Not only does he work super hard at home with his studies but he also excels in arts, volunteer work, good deeds, helping friends, sports, cooking, reading...the list goes on. As long as he can keep wiggling when needed, Frunty "loves everything!" Those are Frunty's words and I am happy to hear them! I am so proud of you, Frunts! A big huge, awesome, double the size of Mt Kinabalu thank you to Papa, for making it happen! I love you guys!

The End! But just the beginning of a lifetime of hiking together!