So the 2nd week in November we left the sand and took a short 7 hour flight to the rainforest. Yes, when you fly over 15 hours to Texas a 7 hour flight is a cakewalk! It was so great for the kids and I to finally see our soon-to-be-new home. If I had to describe this country in one word it would be GREEN! Picture below shows my first glimpse of Singapore! The highways are surrounded by trees!
Singapore is like a small New York City. When moving with a family to Singapore you have to decide if you want to be a city mouse or a country mouse. The city mice live in cool high rises, can walk almost anywhere and their kids take the bus to and from school. They hang out with their families at The American Club and they truly get to experience all Singapore has to offer. The country mice live in a cozy little neighborhood called The Woodlands and their kids walk to school! This neighborhood is full of expats and could be described as a little America. You can get a big house out there and your kids can safely run the streets! It is a good 20 miles outside the city. So that has been the question in our lives for the past 6 months...are we city mice or country mice? The answer might seem obvious but it is NOT! I think I change my mind every other day. It might surprise you to know that right now we are leaning toward the CITY! Since Deric and I married almost 14 years ago we have always lived in the suburbs! Why not shake things up a bit? We are crazy like that......
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| THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A HOME IN THE WOODLANDS WALKING DISTANCE TO THE SCHOOL |
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| EXAMPLE OF A HIGH RISE THAT AN AMERICAN FAMILY WITH THREE KIDS LIVES IN |
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| VIEW FROM THE HIGH RISE! YOU COULD SEE MALAYSIA FROM ONE SIDE OF THIS WINDOW! I will keep you posted on our search for a home in Singapore. As of right now we are flying out of Dubai the night of December 18 and will move into a serviced apartment for one month. This will give us the chance to shop for homes without feeling the pressure to make quick decisions. Yeah! Another serviced apartment! Now on to our week of fun in Singapore! |
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| THIS WAS A REALLY COOL SHOPPING/EATING AREA RIGHT BY OUR HOTEL. NOTICE THE COOL COVER TO KEEP THE RAIN AWAY... LOTS OF RAIN IN SINGAPORE....NOW WHAT IS RAIN AGAIN? |
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| OUR TRIP TO CHINATOWN. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW HER THIS IS OUR NANNY DELIA..SHE IS MOVING WITH US TO SINGAPORE! DELIA IS HEAVEN SENT...SHE IS ALWAYS SMILING AND POSITIVE AND I COULD NOT SURVIVE THIS WHOLE EXPERIENCE WITHOUT HER! |
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| LILLY! THERE IS NOTHING THERE TO SEE! |
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| WE WALKED EVERYWHERE IN SINGAPORE WHICH I LOVED! |
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| WE SPENT AN AFTERNOON IN THE SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDEN..BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO EXPLORE AND PLAY! |
 THIS IS THE BASE OF A HUGE TREE...OLIVIA LOVED IT |
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| FOR THE RECORD: SINGAPORE HAS VERY BAD HAIR WEATHER..HUMID! |
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| THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO SNOOZE! |
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| WE ARE NOT IN THE DESERT ANYMORE! |
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| DON'T TELL LILLY WHERE TO STAND IN A PHOTO... SHE WILL PLACE HERSELF |
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| AND SOMETIMES SHE "UNPLACES" HERSELF FROM THEM AS WELL |
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| MORE WALKING AND EXPLORING THE CITY... LIGHTS WERE STARTING TO BE HUNG FOR CHRISTMAS! |
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| THIS IS THE FAMOUS ION MALL ON ORCHARD ROAD. WE COULD WALK HERE IF WE LIVE IN ONE OF THE HIGH RISES! |
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| WE SPENT A DAY AT AN AMAZING BIRD PARK. YOU MIGHT BE THINKING "BIRDS?".....YES! IT WAS SOOOOO FUN! |
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| MY BIRDBRAINS |
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| OH YES..I GET ONE TOO! |
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| THESE WILD BIRDS JUST SWOOP DOWN TO EAT RIGHT OUT OF YOUR HAND! |
ONCE AGAIN, LILLY HAS CHOSEN HER SPOT FOR THE PHOTO!
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| OH NO! THEY HAVE TURNED INTO BIRDS! |
DERIC WAS THE BIRD WHISPERER..THEY LIKED HIM BEST
THESE BLUE GUYS WERE JUST CRUISING AROUND "FREE AS BIRDS"!
DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT MR. BIG BLUE BIRD!
THOSE PIGGIES ARE NOT FOR NIBBLING!
ZOO TIME!
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| YES THIS FELLOW WAS CRUISING AROUND FREE! (ZOO STAFF FOLLOWING CLOSELY BEHIND, BUT FREE!) |
LOOK CAREFULLY BY THE TREE AT THE ADORABLE BABY!!!!
THIS MONKEY HAD TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED TOO!
THE WHITE TIGER....CHECK OUT THE RED SIGN..
HMMMMMMM..SHOULD I FEEL WORRIED?
BEAUTIFUL!
"LUKE! LOOK AT THE KOMODO DRAGON!"
"WHERE?" REPLIES LUKE
SINGAPORE AMERICAN SCHOOL...ONE OF MANY, MANY PLAYGROUNDS!
OUTSIDE THE AMAZING SCIENCE LAB THAT
ALL ELEMENTARY KIDS STUDY SCIENCE IN!
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| IT WAS A KID'S DREAM! |
WE GOT TO VISIT A 2ND GRADE CLASSROOM AND THE
TEACHER WAS SO WELCOMING! OLIVIA IS THE
ONLY B TO HAVE AT SPOT AT SAS. WE ARE
WAITING EVER SO PATIENTLY FOR 2 MORE SPOTS.
THE TEACHER HAD THE CLASS FIND DUBAI ON THE MAP!
THIS WAS HANGING OUTSIDE HER ROOM.
LOVE IT! (AND HER DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING SKILLS!)
THE BUSES WERE LINING UP TO TAKE THE CITY MICE HOME!
So that's it. Our first visit to Singapore...fun and exciting! Seeing a new place always is. The truth of the matter is that this whole experience has somewhat rocked my world. I have reached maximum stress capacity. The Singapore puzzle pieces have not fit together very easily however I know they will! Things WILL fall into place and we WILL get settled. I know we are about to start another memorable, blogworthy experience in Southeast Asia!
I am so thankful to all my friends here in Dubai who keep cheering me on and listening to me whine about school and housing! I am so thankful to Deric who has been so patient with me and who keeps telling me "it will all work out". I am so thankful for family back home cheering us on when inside I know they would rather have us home. I am thankful to my AMAZING ROCKSTAR children who I admire with all my heart. They are troopers....they keep thriving no matter what we put them through!
An interesting thing happens after you live in a new place for a while...you grow ROOTS.
We have done that here in Dubai...
I guess that means it is time for TAKEOFF! Cheers from Dubai!
Emily, your pictures are beautiful! I can't wait to read about your new adventures in Singapore (it took me 3 tries to spell that one right :-) ). Good luck to you and your beautiful family!
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