The Olympic Torch

A couple of days ago I checked on the "Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame" and realized that it would be very close to us today. Close enough to drag two kids out by myself and try to get some pictures. I had to do quite a bit of "prep" with the kids yesterday explaining that the torch would not hurt us, we would not be going into it (Levi's question), and we were just going to watch from the sidelines.

The journey was starting at 9:00 several miles away at Hwa Chong Institution on Bukit Timah Road, so we headed to Holland Village at 9 and went to Starbucks, expecting the torch to pass our way around 9:30. We got some fruit and apple juice for the boys (who refused my offer to buy them muffins...who are these kids?) and a chai tea latte for me. I decided we could go sit at the bus stop and enjoy our snacks while we waited for the torch.

When we got close to the bus stop, I saw the buses full of "crowd warmers" already headed our way! I told the boys we needed to hurry because we were on the wrong side of the street. We climbed the 40ish stairs to the pedestrian walkover crossing and were able to get pictures of the crowd warmer buses.

They were getting everyone excited about the torch carrier who was behind them. There was a fair amount of cheering and screaming. They were waving at the kids since we were one of the few people out there (most of the others were just waiting for the bus). The excitement was a little much for the kids (Levi looked just like this, too):

We quickly headed down the other side of the crossing in time to witness the torch bearer. So cool!

"Lyo" the Lion and "Merly" the Mermaid are Singapore's official mascots for the Youth Olympic Games. The kids are always excited to see Lyo and Merly around town.


It was a fun experience, even if my kids cried through the whole thing. This is the Inaugural year for the Youth Olympic Games, and we're excited it's in Singapore!

Totally Random Strangers

...taking pictures of my children. :-) We went to the Merlion while my parents were here, and there were lots of tourists there who were interested in taking pictures of our "white" children. (I know they were tourists because Singaporeans see lots of western kids and aren't interested in taking their picture!) The lady in the second picture spoke a little English, but the lady before her didn't speak any, just grabbed Caleb up and tried to take a picture with him. I could tell she was trying to tell us she'd like to take her picture with him, but Caleb didn't know what was going on. He wasn't happy about it. We always try to be nice because we know we go to other countries and take pictures of cute children we see, too. :-) Getting the kids to smile isn't easy, though, since they don't want to smile half the time we take pictures of them.

Daddy had to get in the picture for the kids to even think about standing next to the lady!

And a very rare picture of Justin and me. (If I look tired, I was! There are a lot of steps you have to descend to access the Merlion. Doing so on crutches wasn't easy. Neither was ascending them!)

A First

Last night I dragged Justin and the boys out to get a library card. But, I had forgotten my passport. And the library doesn't take cash or credit cards, only EZ Link or NETS cash card. I didn't have enough on either of those cards to pay for the foreigner membership and fees ($53).

So, today I decided to do that while the boys were at playschool (we call it school, but really they just do arts and crafts and dress up like fire fighters and play with other kids).

I needed to top-up my EZ Link card in order to have enough money on it to pay for the membership, so once I got off the bus at the library I looked around for a 7-Eleven. Because where else would you think such services are offered?

The first stop left me still needing a top-up machine, so I started walking to the nearest MRT station (a 5 min. walk, a local assured me). I was almost there when I spotted another 7-Eleven that had top-up services. Sweet! I wouldn't even have to climb the steps of the station in the blazing heat.

"I need to top-up my EZ Link card," I told the attendant.

"How much?" she asked.

"$60."

"6-0???"

"Yes."

And she looks at me like I've just grown another head. (For those not in Singapore, EZ Link cards are our public transportation cards, what we use to pay for bus and MRT fares).

"Most people just ask for $20 or $30 top-ups," she told me.

"Well, I need to get a library card that costs $53 and the library doesn't take cash."

"I think you are the first person to ever ask for a $60 top-up."

I'm blazing trails here, people.

*~*

And on a completely unrelated note, when I got the boys from school, Levi had something stuck all over the top of his shirt.

Me: "Levi, what's all over your shirt?"

Levi: "I pick my nose."

Nice.

Bonsai Garden

Inside the Chinese Garden, they have the Bonsai Garden. It was really cool. Enjoy the pictures...

what else is a 4yo boy going to do but try to climb the walls?? :-)

cool stone flooring

they had so many interesting structures. Loved the windows on this building:

Chinese Garden

We went to the Chinese Garden on Saturday morning. Here are a few pictures of our time there.

Caleb waiting for the train:

The boys walking up to the seven-story pagoda:

Caleb posing next to a lion:

Justin waving from several floors above Levi and I:

A lantern flying at the rooftop:

If you look closely between these sets of buildings, you can see the cranes where Justin works (it's on another island):

Proof that mommy was there:

Caleb doing a puppet show 7 stories up :-) :

I'll do a separate post on the Bonsai Garden...we took a lot of pictures.

The Singapore Flyer

Pictures from our morning at The Singapore Flyer. Definitely a must-see! We listened to the audio they provided and learned so much about Singapore.

We went early on a Saturday morning and had a capsule all to ourselves, which was a blessing since the boys weren't quiet or still.

The boys weren't as impressed with the amazing views of Singapore as Justin and I were, but Levi has recently become obsessed with the Singapore Flyer and talks about it all the time. It was really a cool experience!

Click on the picture to enlarge.

The Fog Rolls In

I've only had a handful of mosquito bites since we've lived in Singapore, and that is because of all the fogging that goes on. I walked past the condo behind us on my way home this morning, and was inside just in time to not get caught when they came to our complex.

We live on the 4th floor, so you can see how intense the fog is, even up here. Some guy walks around with a fogger attached to him like a backpack. That's definitely not how they did it in Houston. :-)