Birthday, Bali Style!

It is becoming a tradition to travel for Thanksgiving and my birthday. Growing up I didn't like my birthday being so close to Thanksgiving because it tended to get wrapped up or glazed over with traveling to family's for Thanksgiving. But Hunny has taken what used to bother me and made it into one of the best parts of my birthday. If it were just my birthday or Thanksgiving we probably wouldn't travel to some fun vacation, but having both near the same times makes for a good reason to go on an adventure.

Last year we went to Thailand. This year we went to Bali, Indonesia! It was originally supposed to be India, we had tickets and everything...everything except a visa! We kinda forgot until last minute that we needed one and then because of busy schedules and the embassy making Visas so difficult to get, we missed the deadline. So, Hunny thought of places that allowed Visa-on-arrival and Indonesia was one of them. We have had a lot of friends go to and love Bali, so...ta da! We decided we were going to Bali! In one morning Hunny switched the tickets and changed all the paperwork he had to to now go to Bali. Switching tickets was a TON easier than expected and we actually saved a bunch by going to Bali instead. I think the Lord was trying to say something because I was having uneasy thoughts about India anyway.

The time came and we packed up, left and made it to BALI!!

I think we got to our hotel around 1:00 am. And because it was technically Sunday when we got there, it was my birthday and the hotel had a cake lit and waiting for me at the hotel in our room when we went in. But little did I know there was MUCH more where that (Hunny's thoughtfulness) came from. We are not early risers...especially when you go to bed at 2am, so we started off slow. Right before breakfast, a small package and letter showed up on my pillow. An adorable necklace made by our friend's little girl. I loved it and wore it ALL day! During breakfast I got a note written to me from my parents. While we waited for our $5 a day motorbike I discovered another note. Scattered all throughout the day, I got precious letters from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday and sweet thoughts. I loved it!

Our first stop, eventually was to church since it was Sunday. I love that the church is all over the world and it can be found most everywhere we go. We drove by where the GPS said it was two or three times without seeing it before Hunny went so slow and actually stopped in front of this store front where the map said it was. We were about to drive off in defeat when Hunny caught view of the small hole in the wall with a little sign next to it that said, LDS. The meeting had about 15 people and the room was about the size of our living room with two small offices/classrooms attached to it. We found out after that there were only about 5 or so people that actually lived there and the rest were visitors. My favorite part was as we were leaving and saying goodbye, one fellow said, "Today is your birthday?" I smiled and nodded and glared at Hunny. "Well, then here ya go." And he handed me a letter! IT WAS AWESOME!! Perfect! Like out of a movie! Hunny had asked him to give me a letter from a friend of ours that now live is Colorado.

We found the beach and put our feet in the water for a while. We then when to find a place to get flip flops since I didn't bring any. You can't put your feet back in shoes after being out in the sand. And you can't enjoy paradise without flip flops! We just wanted to buy flip flops but down one of the alleys this older lady immediately grabbed us and drug us to her shop announcing to the other shops along the way that we were HER customers. I appreciated her confidence, it was pretty impressive. She had such nice stuff and since it was our first day we hadn't built up our resistance/bargaining tactics so we probably walked out with more than we should've, paying more than we need have. For good luck she rubbed the money we paid her with on all her stuff; not sure who it was good luck for.

We drove around a bunch on our scooter to see how well we could navigate and get around. Scooter is THE way to get around on Bali. It was so much fun getting to see all sorts of sights. At only five dollars a day it was the best idea. I loved holding on to my Hunny and just being close to him and getting to spend all that time with him. We could talk fairly easy and we would point out sights to each other as we rode.

For dinner Hunny picked out this great seafood place, because he knows seafood is a specialty for birthday dinners. And it was on a beach so we could watch the sunset while we ate with our feet in the sand! Oh how gorgeous! I loved digging my feet in the sand as we sat. Beautiful weather and great seats to watch the sun. It was perfect! After we ordered our food and the waiter took the stack of menus, there was still a white paper on the table where the menus had been. Sneaky husband! A sweet combo letter from Lost Boy, Starchild, and Baby2Flowers! I love them so much! The food was different but plentiful. We had 1kg of king prawns and a whole red snapper with very Balinese flavors and sides. Oh, and you cannot forget the watermelon juice! A kind lady we met at church that morning mentioned it was a must have while in Bali so we tried it and it was fabulous!

Towards the end of dinner a group of singers moseyed over and started to sing Happy Birthday to me. I'll admit, I was embarrassed, but I guess that's the point of those employs singing Happy Birthday to you in a restaurant. I don't know very many people that go in on their birthday wanting to get sung to, they are just there for the free dessert. By the way, their lyrics were amazing! If you ever think you made stuff up while singing a song, you have nothing on these guys. I started to wonder if they started singing a different song part way through. They sang us a few more songs before we tipped them and they moved on to the next table.

After dinner we walked along the beach some. It got dark pretty quick so we weren't out too long. But when we did turn around there happened to be a letter just lying on the ground... We found a spot for me to read them and one mentioned how she thought it was precious how Hunny planned this because he knew my love language was words; that they speak more love to me then gifts do, so to celebrate and express love for me, I received many words of affirmation in the form of these letters. Oh, I bawled. Not only do I love words, hearing the whys of things mean even more to me. When I saw and understood WHY Hunny had gone through all this, my heart was overfilled with joy and love. It was the best birthday gift I could ever get. How did I ever manage to get such a sweet, loving, and thoughtful husband? I am so grateful to all my friends and family that took the time to write to me to celebrate my birthday with me in word. I could not have asked for a better birthday. It was truly memorable and special.