Happy Birthday, Nanny!

We've had so much fun celebrating Nanny's birthday in Singapore! We started the celebrations on Saturday night, when 8 of us went out to dinner at Blue Bali. It was a new place for all of us and the food was delicious! I think we spent almost 4 hours eating, drinking, talking and laughing. This table is filled with wonderful friends...

I had a doctor appointment this morning - which was the perfect opportunity to take Vicki to her first High Tea for her birthday. We stayed for 3 1/2 hours eating, drinking coffee/tea and visiting. The food was fabulous, the service was lovely (no easy feat in Singapore) and the setting was quiet and peaceful.

Traditional High Tea with three-tiered plates. So good! 

To finish off her birthday celebrations, Maricel made Asian Fire Beef stir-fry for dinner, we opened gifts, ate cupcakes & sang Happy Birthday (with Adam's debut on the guitar!). We loved celebrating her special day and being able to do it in Singapore!

Such HAPPY faces. JOY all around. 

Happy Birthday Nanny! We love you!

International Fiesta!

I will miss this event...

There's something about pride for your country, hearing the National Anthems played, seeing the flags and watching some 50+ countries walk through the gym. It's a sight to see when we are all piled in there together. I was lucky enough to walk with the U.S.A. this year and we had a biiiigggg group!

And the food was fabulous. The parents did not disappoint and loaded my plate up with foods from around the world. Such a fun way to celebrate the many cultures that represent our school!

Italy is waking in....

Brazil!  

USA!

Heading up for the parade

My sweet kids - UK, Korea, Australia & United States

Last night about 1am Nanny arrived safe & sound. The boys were up bright and early to see her and they've already played several different games. :) Tonight we are headed out for an adult dinner with Nanny and friends to celebrate her birthday.

This Kid

Luke lately....

-Is OBSESSED with basketball. Eats, sleeps and breathes it. He plays quietly in his room when it's "quiet time" at our house, he shoots hoops at our outdoor court, he has a blow-up hoop for the pool and at night we read about basketball in bed.

-Loves school. He wrote an Angry Bird story today in class that started with, "Once a pond a time" (priceless) and is currently writing questions about his unit of inquiry down for his wonder wall at school. Tonight's questions were: 'Do people go through the life cycle?' and 'Do all living things go through the life cycle?' He also wrote down my question and said his teacher would be "very impressed".

-Is so active that he can hardly string a sentence together by the end of the night

-Has his buddies calling from the elevator to see if he can go play (are they really old enough for this already?)

-Loves his brother so much that he remembers to have things made for Drew at school in addition to himself.

-Puts gel in his hair each morning by himself. His idea. His purchase. His little hands that make this masterpiece...

At dinner tonight he told me, "Mommy. Zoe said I looked cute like this and Ms. Hurlene said I look like that crazy electricity." Ha! So true. 

This little boy makes us smile. Love, LOVE, Loooove him. 

Sea Gypsy & Gardens by the Bay

Adam was lucky enough to spend 4 days at Sea Gypsy, in Malaysia a few weeks ago as a chaperone for the 4th grade field trip. Upon arrival, the staff told the chaperones, "you literally have no responsibilities while you're here." So they spent time checking in on the kids, involving themselves in some activities and doing some relaxing. Looks like a super rough place to relax...

Mosquito nets over the beds

And this is what we refer to as "glamping" ... camping with glamour. No air cons, no frills, mosquito nets and the sound of the ocean as you sleep.  

Last Sunday we took the boys to a new kids' park here in Singapore. I visited Gardens by the Bay with my mom last year, but the boys have never been. Gardens by the Bay is okay, nothing too impressive for me. But then again, I'm from the land of greenery in the Pacific Northwest. That said, the kids' park was a $10million dollar project (does Singapore do anything cheap??) so it was sure to be good. The boys loved it and we were all wiped when we got home. MRTing it to Marina Bay Sands, scootering over the Helix bridge and playing for hours at the park. It's amazing how much energy their little legs have in them! 

Super cool slide down the hill

We loved that after they spent time getting hot and sweaty on the obstacle courses & slides, they could cool off in the water play area.

A Happy Sort of Sad

After talking or emailing with a few people regarding my last blog post, I came to this realization. It's a GOOD thing that I'm scared to leave this life. That means this life has been GOOD to us. We have done a lot of amazing things, been on many adventures as a little unit of 4 and have met some pretty incredible people along the way. I'd say if I weren't scared to leave, that would be sad thing. That would mean that maybe this experience wasn't so worth it after all. So yes, while I can't wait to be home again (we can't wait), I am very happy that saying goodbye to Singapore will make me sad. If that makes any sense at all.

Here's to enjoying the ride while we're on it. We have four months left to make the most of it and take it all in.

The travel....
Nine countries and counting

These faces...
The boys have had MANY happy moments here and have experienced a different side of life. They have grown and changed and become little people over here.

Our friends....
Along with family, they can truly make a place feel like home.

Thanks for all the love. Really, I'm not sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I promise. I just want to capture it all. The good, the bad and the ugly. Cheers! xx

The Common Question these days....

I signed onto the blog a week ago to write what was on my mind. But I didn't know how. I was afraid I would come off as whiny, unsettled or dramatic. Well the last one may be a given at times, but then I remembered that this blog is here to document it all. ALL of it.

Our time to leave Singapore is quickly approaching. While there are definitely feelings of excitement and anticipation for the next chapter in our lives, I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge that leaving also scares the hell out of me. The unknown is always scary and while we are no strangers to the unknown, it doesn't make going home all that much easier. We have built a life here. Leaving this life is scary.

Yes, I know we are going home to the familiar. I get that. But in some ways, it isn't familiar. That hasn't been our life for 2 years (by the time we get back). We have changed, you have changed and I'm scared that maybe we changed in different directions. I'm scared that I will miss our life in Singapore, I'm scared that having us home won't seem so cool after a month, I'm scared for the stresses that come with living in the states, and I'm scared to be scared.

There are people in my life who have a way of knowing when I need them. Will that still be there when I'm half way around the world? And will it still be there when I'm down the street? These are the uncertainties that float through my mind each day, every time someone asks, "Are you excited to go home?" 

The answer is a definite YES. I can't wait to buy our 'forever home' and build our lives in Portland. I can't wait for Adam to have a career that motivates him, challenges him and that he loves. I can't wait to work less and play more. (Okay, I do play a lot here too). I can't wait to see our family & friends whenever we want. Being able to call them without worrying about time differences. Watching our boys play in a backyard. My car. Ella. Grocery shopping. Target. Chipotle. I could go on and on. YES I'm excited to go home, but in my head and my heart the YES is still coupled with a little bit of scared.

Along with that comes sadness. It's never easy to say goodbye. I have mentioned on this blog several times that friendships form fast here. Thank goodness or this expat life would be a lonely, lonely thing. I adore our friends here and know that without their kindness, generosity and amazing ability to make me laugh, our time here would not have been what it was. How do you say goodbye to people you may never see again? There's no way that will be fun.

On the flip side, (cue the dramatic...) I have ironically been quite homesick this week. I would have jumped on a plane just for 24 hours to hug the people I love. Recently I have felt the overwhelming need to sit with those I love most and just be.

The rational side of me understands that I will still have my Singapore friends in my life. Some I will see, some I won't, but thankfully for technology, they'll always be there. What I'm feeling is totally normal and not insane (even though I question myself sometimes), being scared of the unknown IS human and being sad to leave people you've come to love IS ALSO human.

Given all of that, I realize these emotions are part of the journey. We never said moving to Singapore would be easy. I certainly thought leaving Singapore would be easier. But the easy things in life aren't usually the ones that make life worth living.

xo

Pulau Ubin

Since earlier last year I have wanted to take a trip over to Pulau Ubin. It's a small island off Singapore and is supposed to be what Singapore was like in the 1960's...before ALL the building and people.

Just a 10 minute bumboat ride away...we were instantly transported back to Cambodia. Or Vietnam. Or somewhere other than Singapore, where tall buildings don't exist and there are dirt roads and greenery wherever you go. We rented bikes and spent 2 hours exploring the area. It was beautiful! No monkeys or wild boars as we had hoped, but we had a lot of fun. We went sans kids which turned out to be a good thing. The biking would have been too much for them. Another afternoon by the pool (Tyler is seeing just how rough our life is) and dinner on Arab St with some friends. We were home early (again), because this crazy life just get too hard to keep up with. :)

There are several shacks with bikes out front. You just find one you like, hand them money and off you go! 

We climbed to the top of a watch tower (A LOT of stairs) and saw the amazing views of Singapore and out to Indonesia

This made Adam very uncomfortable...ha!

Seriously...beautiful! 

When we arrived at the little boat terminal, we were able to walk right on. Only $2.50 across the water and $20 for bike rental (price was raised due to CNY)...not too bad for a morning of entertainment. Thankfully we went when we did, because when we arrived back to the terminal about noon, there was at least a 2 hour wait to get across. Crazy lines!

This morning Adam, Tyler and Drew went to Botanic Gardens for the BEST dark chocolate and raspberry pancakes. I'm home with a sick Luke and not feeling so great myself. Adam and Tyler are now off exploring, determined to find chicken rice, satay & dumplings. Some of Singapore's best - but hard to find this weekend because of the New Year. 

We've loved having Tyler here and showing him our lives in Singapore. He leaves early tomorrow morning, his time here flew by. Now we start the countdown for our next visitor...NANNY! Just 4 short weeks.