Happy Valentine's Day

As I wrote a card for Kayla and Tika today for Valentine's Day, I couldn't help but remember the smiling kids of Nepal as well. I wonder if they celebrate Valentine's Day...??

The marketing holiday has certainly spread to Indonesia...you would think that living over here would make a guy exempt from buying chocolate and flowers, but NO....still gotta remember this day or women get upset...

That is OK...I never forget...working as a teacher, it is impossible to forget. Anyway, hope you all had a great Valentine's Day...and here is to the kids in Nepal...

Last Two Photos From JT8

The trouble with a short vacation is that I can only get a limited amount of photos. I took about 200 photos which is not much...out of the 200, I got about 15 or so keepers...these are the last two of the keepers...

Busy Again

Ok, the trip is over, and now it is time to get back to work...Yuck!!
Softball has started, so it is the time of year when I will have two night games per week, and practice every day.

I am still trying to catch up with my sleep. We didn't arrive back in Jakarta until after midnight on Sunday, and I am still paying for that.

Elephants in Thailand

Early in the morning, the elephants are taken to the stream for a quick bath...

After watching the elephants, it was time to do a little shopping from the ladies in the village...

Then, it was time to hike out, and head back to Chaing Mai...

Vacation over...bummer

More Portraits

The village was a great place for some portraits...

Happy Birthday Kathleen!!

My sister's birthday is today too!! Kathleen, I didn't forget about you, but it was tough to get a hold of you when in the mountains of Thailand. Anyway, Happy Birthday!!

Some Shots From the Village

We arrived in the village just as the sun was going down, so Jurrien and I walked around the village to get some shots before we lost our perfect golden light...

Here are a few...

JT-8 Begins

This is our 8th "Jamie Trip".
Jamie's last name is Wellington, so it sure was fitting to find a pub named just that. A perfect place for our group photo to start the trip...

That is Jamie on our t-shirts, by the way. Jurrien had the t-shirts made before we left, and surprised us with them when we arrived in Bangkok...

Here we are on our trek to the hill tribes of Northern Thailand...

Some puppies taking it easy in the village...

Off To Thailand

We are off to Chaing Mai, Thailand tomorrow for the 8th annual "Jamie Trip". The "Jamie Trip" is a trip that seven of us guys take every year in honor of our good friend Jamie Wellington who was killed in the Bali Bombing years ago. It was Jamie's favorite thing to look forward to each year, and so the tradition continues...

We will go trekking in Northern Thailand, and will be gone until Sunday night. I won't have the chance to blog while I am gone, but will have plenty of photos when we return...

The photo below is of Bangkok from my hotel window last time I was there...

An IASAS Legend Ends His Career at JIS

My good friend, Gene Magil, has been coaching the girls' team since the early 80's. He is an IASAS legend. He has lead the girls to the championship game 13 times, and has 8 silver medals and 5 gold medals. More than that, though, he has touched the lives of hundreds of girls that have played on his teams throughout the years. He not only coaches, but is a great friend and teacher of life skills. He is a legend, and will be missed BIG TIME.

He turns 60 this year, and that is the age limit to work at JIS. He will work at TAS next year.

IASAS Basketball Ends

It was a fantastic weekend of Basketball at JIS. Some very exciting games from all six teams that participated in the event. We had huge crowds to come watch the games, and the spirit and sportsmanship displayed by all the athletes reminds me why I am working at this wonderful school. These kids rock!!

Both JIS Boys and Girls Make the IASAS Finals

A great day of basketball...some "must win this one" victories by both the girls and boys lead both teams to the finals. The boys played SAS (Singapore American School), and the girls played TAS (Taipei American School). Both teams lost in the finals, but the spirit in the gym was incredible with a packed house. The boys came in last place last year, and ended in second place this year, so that is something to be very proud of...

The photo below is from the exciting game with Manila that we won in overtime...