Singapore day 1

We slept in til about 8:30, then had a delicious breakfast of pancakes (from USA) and bacon with milk (from Australia) and juice (from Malaysia). Almost everything in Singapore is imported because there is no room to farm on this little island. The main industries are tourism, shipping, IT, and finance. (anything that doesn’t require too much real estate!)

 

 

Mom gave us an orientation to the house. They rent a 4^th floor 3-bedroom apartment slightly larger than ours at home that would cost just over $1million to purchase! We had to know how to get in and out with elevators and levers and fobs to allow entrance and exit. She also shared some of the behaviors we’d need to modify to be polite here. It is impolite to show your mouth open, and to wear your backpack or talk or touch anyone on the MRT (though it’s crazy crowded!).

Grandpa took the kids swimming, then we had a quick lunch before we biked to the beach! We all have rented bikes and we rode them just south to the local beach. By the time we got there it had just started raining, so we sought shelter to wait out the storm.

It really is pouring behind us in this pic.
All along the beach, people were gathered in the various shelters just hanging out til the downpour was done. About 30 minutes later, the rain lightened and we continued our ride. On the way home, we located a restaurant to have dinner. We ordered drinks separately with choices of “lemon, chestnut, or barley” (we think, there was a strong Chinese accent going on). All the kids and men got lemon, which was a lemon-lime-ade but with a sweet and sour taste. Mom got “chestnut” which we never really identified the flavor of. I got “barley” which was actually just like horchata. Grandpa & Scott ordered for us by pictures and with a language barrier. The only thing we knew for sure was that one dish would be chicken. We ended up being able to identify (we think), chicken, pork, tofu, mince meat, prawns, noodles, “greens” (some vegetable), green beans and a familiar white rice. It was yummy and almost everyone was happy to eat and enjoyed the food. Sy did eat, but was hesitant to try new things. We kept telling him it was panda express (though it was not much like that at all). Everyone left with a full belly.

On the way home, it was dark, so we put lights on our bikes. There was significantly more traffic than when we left in the middle of the afternoon. Between the dark, the cars driving on the “wrong” side of the road, the wet, and cars not watching for cyclists, it was a bit of a dangerous ride. In fact, Kik hit a slick spot and bruised his tailbone. Then, 5 minutes later, he was almost hit by a car which was turning left – which he didn’t see coming from the “wrong” side. Thankfully, the driver saw him soon enough to slam on her brakes and stop about a foot from him. Then, 5minutes later, dear Sy hit a slick spot in the parking garage where we park the bikes and landed hard on his tailbone just before getting off. Ouch! I learned we need to pray before mounting these bikes. It was a super fun first day. Can’t wait to see what comes next!

Travel days 1-2

Our day began at 5:45am - too early by traditional Grubb standards, but manageable. I baked scones to last a couple days and decided to try making ¼ with chocolate chips instead of cranberries so dear Scott would have something to eat too. The chocolate turned out wonderfully delicious.

My dad came to drive us to LAX at 6:45 and after enduring Monday morning traffic, we arrived at 8:45. We waited in line and checked our bags. We waited in line and got Jo’s boarding pass. We waited in line and screened our luggage. Then we waited in line and boarded our first plane.

 

For Sy, this was his first time on a plane. For Jo & Kik, this was their first time on a large commercial plane – quite a different experience from the Cessnas they’ve flown before! Ky was the expert among them, having flown to Georgia with Grandma in the summer of 2012. She was telling her brothers all about what to expect. (:

We had brought along lots to do and even eat, but Delta took good care of us and we were not lacking for food or entertainment. The kids enjoyed the meals and ice cream. They all were able to watch Frozen for the first time, which was a treat.

 

I overheard the flight attendants talking about “extreme turbulence” ahead, which was then announced as “rough air ahead” and we had to remain seated for a little over an hour at the end of the flight. Poor Sy’s stomach did not like the rollercoaster-like conditions and so after an enjoyable first-plane-ride-ever, he was a bit sick the last 10 minutes. ): Thankfully, it was only 10minutes.

It took our family forever to clear security at Narita. Each child had a workbook with colored pencils and small scissors and a glue stick. Each pair of scissors required examining, measuring, and then a second time through the xray machine. (But it really was worth it for them to have stuff to do in the plane.)

In the airport at Tokyo, we found a deserted corner and allowed the kids to play a much needed game of soccer to run off energy from sitting still from 11am-11pm our time! Some pilots came down and were entertained by the soccer game and after chatting with them, we found out they would be flying us to Singapore. They invited all the kids up to the cockpit before the flight. (I remember doing that as a child, but never thought my kids would be able to in our post-9/11 world.)

After enjoying the cockpit tour, we had a pleasant 2^nd flight. We were scheduled to take off at almost 1am our time, which would have worked well for our kids to board and sleep, but the flight was slightly delayed and we didn’t take off until after 2am Pacific, by which time our children were all very tired and irritable. Fortunately, before anything got too crazy, we were seated and 3 were asleep before we ever left the tarmac. (: Everyone did get a good amount of sleep on that flight and were ready to meet the grandparents cheerfully upon landing. (Poor Sy got sick again just as the wheels touched down. So we almost made it this time.)

We cleared customs easily in Singapore and were excited to see the grandparents on the other side of the glass. But before we would hug them, we had to collect our luggage. After the fun of figuring out which black suitcases were ours among the sea of black suitcases, (I only had pretty ribbons on 2 of 3), we moved to the other side of the glass to greet the grandparents. And by “we” I mean 5 of us. (: Sy was not satisfied with having made it through 2 airports and over 24 hours of travel without getting lost, and this was his last chance! Consequently, when we exited and gave hugs, we realized Sy wasn’t there and we were not allowed back in to retrieve him. Thankfully, the wall separating us was made of glass and we were able to locate him among the other passengers fairly quickly and then we had no choice but to yell his name through the echoing airport at 3am. Finally (meaning not immediately) he heard his name and proceeded to meander over to the exit where he was reunited with the family.

The now 8 of us were able to quickly hop into 2 taxis, drive “home”, and, after a few short greetings,  sleep.

Christmas choir

Thanksgiving at home

Soccer camp

All 4 kids did a week of soccer camp 9a-3p. I almost couldn't figure out what to do with myself. But I could. Got lots of errands run and planning done. The first day I thought, "wow. This is what moms feel like when they drop heir kids at school! I could do this." But I won't. I will however really enjoy the break the Seahorse camps provide for 1 week every summer and winter. (:

Kik's party, part 3

more go-karting

soccer and pizza

the fun never ends

Kik's party, part 2

getting wet

chasing a lizard