I suppose it's not really "home" anymore.... home is this crazy hot land of crazy drivers, poverty, beauty, and new friends. Back to our Canadian roots then... the crispness and colours of fall, family and old friends. We travelled the long way so we could all fly together until Houston, where we parted ways with Jeff, and continued on to Canada as an all-female group. The girls travelled remarkably well and were back on Canada-time within a couple of days. It was a whirlwind month trying to fit in all of our doctor, immunizations, and dental visits in with visiting as many family and friends that we could in a short amount of time. I think we need to find a more relaxed way to do it next time; I felt like we were constantly on the go, never in the same place, and I think the girls felt it too - they didn't sleep very well at all while we were gone. All of that being said, we had a great visit. It was so nice to get caught up with our parents, grandparents and friends face to face, instead of on Skype or email. I can't imagine how much more difficult this move would have been without the internet, though I must admit, nothing beats a good sit-down visit with someone! We managed to be home for my nephew's first birthday party, which was great to be a part of, we had Sofia's 4th birthday party surrounded by family and some of our friends - which was great for her... she's missed all of her buddies! The selfish part of me also enjoyed leaving my girls with grandparents for a few hours on their own with no qualms or worries about their welfare... we just don't have such trustworthy childcare here! :) If anyone would look after our girls like we would, it's the grandparents, and it was nice to be able to have a few evenings out with friends or even just wandering the malls child-free for a couple of hours to browse at clothes that would actually fit me!
Jeff was unexpectedly called back to Indonesia early, so his trip to Canada was shortened, and the girls and I decided to stay and take the milk run back home without him (Calgary-Houston-Moscow-Singapore-Balikpapan). A blessedly unevenly 40-some hours later and we were back home!
It was nice to get back to the routine of Balikpapan, a little bit calmer days and some sleep-filled nights... now that we've been home, we are hoping we get some visitors to this side of the world soon! (hint hint, wink wink)... we're dying to show you our new home!
