Preschool Presentations

Bryce and Layne had a mini presentation at their school that they did for the parents.  It was a few songs in English and Mandarin that they performed.  The girls insisted on wearing their fancy pink dresses for the performance.  I was very proud of how well they did and Nona, Grandad, Daddy and Graham all got to watch.

Sentosa with Nona and Grandad

My parents are here visiting in Singapore.  The kids are so happy to have them here because

1.  they brought lots of goodies

2.  the kids get away with alot more

3.  we get to do fun stuff like go to Sentosa.

It took a few days for my parents to get over jet lag but as soon as they did we headed out to Sentosa.  We decided to take cable cars over from Mt. Faber.  They absolutely loved it even though there was a haze in the sky from some burning being done in Malaysia.

Looking down from the cable cars

Then we headed to Underwater World once we got into Sentosa.  It was a small aquarium but the kids still enjoyed seeing all the sea animals.  The tunnel was the big hit.  They wanted to surf through the tunnel multiple times.

Port Dickson, Malaysia

We took the kids on their first Asian vacation this past weekend.  Graham had a few extra days off so we packed up the car and headed to Port Dickson, Malaysia and stayed at The Avillion Resort.  It was about a 4 hour drive and overall a great first holiday to get us started on venturing out to the other parts of the world.  Now that we got our first trip under our belts I am ready to start booking trips and see this part of the world while we are here in Singapore.

Bryce enjoying the view.

Layne relaxing on the balcony.

Graham relaxing with his PSP.

 The resort was very nice and family friendly.  We stayed in the water chalets.  The kids thought it was neat to be "in" the water.  We could hear the waves while we slept.  It was very peaceful.

 Graham and Bryce enjoyed the music and getting to be apart of it.  Howeve, Layne was shy and did not want to partake.  She snuck in afterwards when the men left.

 They also had a cooking class for the kids every afternoon.  This particular afternoon they made pizza.  It was actually very delicious.

 The kids really enjoyed the Petting farm.  It was full of rabbits, roosters, peacocks, turtles, and guniea pigs.

Graham and April the rooster.  The girls wanted nothing to do with the rooster.

Layne loved the bunnies the most.

 They were able to bathe the bunnies and cradle the bunnies in towels after they were done.  Bryce especially loved holding the bunny like a baby...that is until it wriggled out of her arms.

 Tumasek Beach was a huge success.  They loved the ocean, bulding sand castles, looking for shells and digging for crabs.

 Their FAVORITE part was all the swimming they did.  The water slide was a huge success.  They never wanted to leave it.  According to Graham, Bryce was the best at sliding because she was the fastest.  She would shoot down that slide so fast, I thought she would fly off.  Luckily, she never did.  We even did some night swimming.  It was fun to have the enormous pools almost to ourselves at night.

So, we can check Port Dickson, Malaysia off of our travel list.  Next stop is Bali, Indonesia during Thanksgiving break!

Texas

Singapore is seaping into our everyday life. 

The kids don't ask when we are going back to Texas as much or ask for play dates with friends back home.  They ask but not as much. 

They seem to be acclimating well to this new home we have made for ourselves here.    They have friends here now that they would be devastated to leave.

As everyday goes by I see them growing accustomed to calling Signapore home... for now at least.  It makes me happy to know that they can adapt, so the next time we move (and there will be a next time) I won't be so stressed about it.

However, there is one thing I see changing and I am not so sure I like it.

One of the things that set them apart from everyone else here is slowly disappearing.  The thing that let everyone know that not only are we Americans but Texans. 

Their southerness.  Their Texas twang.  It's fading.  It makes me sad.

The cadence or inflection in their words are changing. Their vocabulary is changing.  They are picking up the Singapore way of saying and doing things.

Here are a few changes:
bathroom~toilet
stroller~pram
elevator~lift
cold water~chilled water
Diet Coke~ Coke Light

I still require the use of using Ma'am and Sir when answering  an adult.  I also have them use Ms. and Mr. when addressing adults.  These things are not common here and often adults will ask them to use only their first name.   We do respect the request as different cultures use different manners.  That is what is great about living here.  You get to learn about so many different cultures and traditions but in the process I want my kids to respect and not forget their from Texas.

So, the next time we are home in Texas, I am going to smother them in all things Texas.

Wordless Weekend