The first two days

We're here!  And just so happy to be a "whole" family settling into our new home together.  With the exception of bad traffic due to a car accident on the Verrazano Bridge causing us (okay, just Jason) to think we were going to miss our flight, the trip from Greenville, Delaware, to Singapore was totally uneventful.  The kids were angels on the plane, with Cooper even proclaiming "this is the easiest thing I've ever done!"  I'm going to brag about the kids now, because I think they deserve every single word of praise and I hope they read this as adults someday.  We didn't even hear a "when are we going to be there?" in the 24 total hours we were traveling.  I wasn't shocked, but I was still amazed at their complete and utter composure and pleasantness.   Thank you Sophia and Cooper...you are unbelievable.

We arrived at about 6:30am, and true to form, our luggage (all eight pieces of it) was awaiting us before we even got through customs (about 15 minutes).  Take that JFK...you made us wait almost AN HOUR last time.  We ordered a very large cab and was speeding our way to our new abode less than five minutes later. 

The kids loved the apartment, and of course we were at the pool as soon as we could find bathing suits in the mess that was my packing.  The best thing about the pool is the depth - about 10 feet at the deep end (I need to learn the metric system, how many feet in a meter?)  Sophia loves to dive and it's so rare in the US to find pools that allow diving (lawsuits anyone?).  Needless to say, my two little frogs were in heaven. 

Later that morning, we took a taxi to Holland Village (the little town just down the road from our apartment) and looked for somewhere to have lunch.  Because it was before noon, nothing much was open so we went to the grocery store (called Cold Storage) and picked up a few things and returned to the apartment.  Okay people, a lot of you already know how pricey this little country is....well here is an example.  I (unknowingly) paid almost ELEVEN dollars for a few tomatoes on a vine.  I will definitely be frequenting the wet market (kind of like a farmer's market) for produce from now on...I have officially learned my lesson.  But it's really hard to believe how much things cost.  Twice as much as the US, sometimes more.

Later that day, after we all had napped for seven hours, we let the kids go swimming again.  This time, we met a couple, Mark and Lou(isa?) from New Zealand.  Lots of "kiwis" here at our complex!  They have two very young children, and like everyone but us, a live-in helper.  Of course, the kids went gecko searching and Sophia "petted" the large snails affixed to the outer apartment walls.  After that, since we were all so awake, we ventured to a delightful area, walkable from our apartment, called Dempsey Hill.  It was late at night, but the kids still were excited to see a huge cage full of parrots, one of which had obviously perfected the whole mimic thing.   The five-foot koi was also a hit.  Since everything was closing soon, we had one drink at the Red Dot Brewery and headed home.

A few more hours of TV and reading, and we were all fast asleep, hoping our bodies would get with the program the next day. 

Somehow, we were all up at a totally normal time on Wednesday morning, and we were at the pool by 10am.  After about 100 dives by Sophia, we got dressed and headed to Clarke Quay (pronounced "key", after an embarrassing several times of calling it "Kway" on our last trip) for lunch.  The kids loved the bus ride there (that's them flagging down the double decker!) and the MRT (subway) ride home.  They were fully engaged every minute of the day and weren't intimidated in the very crowded malls on our search for flippers for the pool (didn't find them). 

When we got home, Sophia was totally focused on going to the pool when the school kids got home so she could meet people.  Poor thing was completely disappointed when a thunderstorm rolled through.  It lasted for a couple of hours, and just when I was ready to relax for the night, both kids were begging to go to the pool (Jason was asleep).  Turned out, there was a delayed swim lesson going on and she met a friend, I talked to the instructor and signed them up for lessons (something to do!) and Jason and I met her new friend's parents (from Denver!).  All in all, another good day. 

I'm not naive, I know it won't be perfect and I will have good days and bad days....but so far, I'm not complaining!  And look at that crazy pink sky!