Bali

We flew into Bali about the same time as Ashtyn and Will. Us coming from Malaysia and A&W coming from Utah via San Francisco via Singapore.

What a happy reunion!

Hey Charles, Welcome to Bali!!!

Our hotel was great with beautiful grounds, friendly staff and nice rooms.

A&W's room above. The rest of ours below.

The one major thing that we DID NOT LIKE about our location was the trash that was scattered throughout the beach! AWFUL!!! The main reason that I booked a place on the west side of the island was because that is where the waves were for that time of year. Little did I know that it also meant that that is where the trash is. Due to wind currents etc... supposedly the trash comes out of the gutters into the rivers and down the mountain into the water which then gets pushed onshore. The trash also floats on over from other parts of Indonesia and the rest of Asia. From what I understand that if you visit during the summer months then it won't look like this.

On our first full day, Aaron and the kids had made arrangements to Scuba Dive 

while Ashtyn and her family got adjusted to the time change 

and also have time to relax after such a long flight.

Charles was such a good boy! He adjusted quite well pretty quickly. 

Love this little dude :)

Aaron and I enjoyed taking Charles out for a little stroll one morning.

And he is such a funny sleeper! Ha Ha Ha

One day we ventured to the southern east side of the island (Nusa Dua) to cleaner water and shoreline. We had a driver for the day which made everything less stressful.

Afterwards we ate at a cute little place and, though I didn't get a picture, we actually 

met another BYU student that was out traveling with a friend!

After lunch we visited this well known spot...

Uluwatu Temple

Passersby had to stop and take photos of Charles. 

Here they thought Melynn was his mother.

Uluwatu Temple is an ancient Hindu Temple located right on the edge of a cliff in Bali. 

They also hold a traditional balinese dance here every evening which brings 

in lots of crowds. We enjoyed visiting without the chaos.

Always nice to relax at the pool after a busy day.

That evening we went out to dinner for my 29th birthday :)

The hotel left flowers in my room too!

It doesn't look very comfortable when Charles falls asleep in the pack!

One day we hired a driver to take us around and into Ubud. 

We started off watching this traditional Barong dance.

I liked watching these ladies as they moved their arms (and eyes) in interesting ways.

Next, we were brought to a jewelry factory and showroom. I really don't appreciate having to "stop by" as they encourage the tourists to spend money, but it was interesting to watch some of the workers make the jewelry.

Above- taking a little break at the jewelry factory.

We were then brought to a "traditional" Balinese home. This is like a family compound. There was a section for the kitchen and prep area, a family sanctuary, living area etc... Above is the entrance (facing out) where you would enter into the compound.

However, today they don't typically look like this.

These columns are really like religious temples in the compound.

We ate lunch at a beautiful open air restaurant.

Ubud is a beautiful place in the center of Bali. Behind us are some of the rice terraces. 

The rain was starting to come down as we took 

the view in of this volcano in the distance.

Last stop on our day tour was the Tirta Empul,  Holy Spring Water Temple.

Visitors come to this Hindu Temple and partake in a spiritual cleansing. 

One day of our vacation I watched Charles while 

the rest of the gang when on a snorkel tour. 

I think I got the best end of the deal!

On our last full day, Aaron and the boys went out on 4 wheelers. 

They had a fun and messy time.

just some more random photos of our trip...all with Charles :)

Jaxon loves being an uncle.

Charles can pretty much sleep anywhere. 

Though he doesn't look very comfortable!

Don't you want to just squish that belly?