What's Happening with the Hesses?

World's Worst Blogger!

2011-08-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm embarrassed at how long it has been since my last post! I'm not even sure where to start... Here is a short list of the highlights of the last 6 months:

1) Tucker turned 1 on 3.24.11

2) Adam was promoted to Rig Manager in April

3) We put our house on the market in May

4) We got a visit from Adam's mom

5) We took a trip to Destin, FL in July

6) We have had 2 new nannies since June (pray that this one is a keeper)

7) Adam bought 36 acres of land in Indiana near his mom's house for hunting

8) Tucker started taking classes at the Little Gym

I hope to be a little better at updating from now on, just seemed to get carried away in life. Enjoy the rest of your summers :) If you are reading this close to the time I'm posting please pray for my grandma, who is having open heart surgery as we speak.

February

2011-02-05T13:22:00.001-08:00

We've enjoyed having Adam home for the past week and have had what seems like a vacation with me being off for several days. We have done lots of cooking, eating and reading. Tucker has really taken an interest in books lately. He loves to sit on your lap and have you read several books to him in a row. He is also getting around the house VERY well and we have to keep all doors closed or he will quickly disappear.

9 months

2011-01-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

How have 9 1/2 months gone by already?? My baby is no baby anymore. He weighs in at just under 25 lbs and is in the 99th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Our pediatrician even told us he may be bigger than his Daddy. Watch out world! He now has 6 teeth.
While he has been running a fever for the past few days, he is still always on the move. He has started walking from object to object on his own and even stands himslef up from the floor.

Here is a little clip of his walking...

Trying to walk

2010-12-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

He wants to do it. Look at those arms waving :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-12-29T12:49:00.000-08:00

We have had a great holiday season this year. Of course, it was Tucker's first Christmas and he caught on to unwrapping presents pretty quickly. Not that he had many to open or anything... I was able to go home to Indiana the week before Christmas for my sister Alicia's wedding. It was beautiful and everyone had a wonderful time. We celebrated Christmas a little early with family there and then made our way back "home" to Texas. I was off on Christmas day, so we got up, opened a few presents and had some breakfast. We were lazy all day and Adam deep-fried a turkey and I made all the fixings. It was a nice change staying in our house all day, compared to running to 3-4 different places on Christmas day.

Tucker is always on the move these days. He is crawling all over the place, standing up to things and "cruising" along the couch, table, chairs, etc. He has taken a step or two on his own. Any day now... His favorite things to get into are Bentley's food and water bowl, the fireplace and the TV stand. We're always on our toes these days :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tucker's first gift of the year

the beautiful bride getting ready

Jake is such a role model

riding his new toy

On the move

2010-11-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

Tucker has been using his walker for a few months now, but he has recently started to chase us around the house at super speed. Here is a little video, he is actually being a little timid due to the camera.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Halloween a little early this year. Since we were in Indiana earlier this month, we thought Tucker should trick or treat the grandparents. Here he is in his skunk costume.

We enjoyed our trip home since we were able to stay over a week. We drove this time and Tucker did great. I think it helped that we drove overnight :)

We have another trip planned for Thanksgiving. Hope to see everyone then!

Tucker's new trick

2010-09-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is 6 months old already. Time flies. We had his checkup this morning and he seems to be right on track with everything. He weighs 20 lbs 6 1/2 oz and is 26 1/2 in long. He is sitting up on his own and rolling, twisting, trying to climb/attach to everything. He has started babbling a lot more and several times made the "dada" sound. Here is his latest trick with the boppy.

Tooth #2

2010-09-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

OK, I promise I won't blog for EVERY tooth that Tucker gets, but the first couple are exciting!! So this morning #2 broke through the gums. He is being pretty tough considering. Still sleeping for 11-12 hours at night :) I'm ecstatic and am afraid that it will suddenly end if I keep telling people about it. He weighs in at 19 lbs now, look out! He has started clicking his tongue and blowing raspberries. Such a sweetie!

hangin' with Daddy

learning all about bow hunting and dressed for the occasion

almost sitting up on my own

5 months old and first tooth

2010-09-02T10:23:00.001-07:00

My big boy has his first tooth! Thank goodness he is feeling a little better. Those were some grumpy days... As I type he is scooting himself around the room on his back. Yep, his back. He is flailing his arms and legs like he is trying to fly and scooting himself. He is actually sounding out of breath. Hilarious! And so darn cute :) He has been sleeping through the night for the past 5 nights now. Let's hope he keeps it up. We are definitely enjoying Adam being home and hope to get to the beach next week. Happy Labor Day weekend!!

Tucker and Bentley

2010-08-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Tucker has discovered Bentley and loves when he gets close to him. Bentley still pretty much ignores Tucker, but occasionally will come in for a sniff. When he gets close, Tucker closes his eyes (probably due to the constant sniffing/snorting and spraying of spit that pugs do) and then laughs. So Cute!

Growin up on me

2010-08-15T02:38:00.000-07:00

It amazes me how fast Tucker changes. He is doing new things every day. He loves to stand while holding your hands and refuses to stay on his belly. He rolls right over and then smiles like "look what I just did." He is loving his cereal and fruits/veggies. He has discovered Bentley and loves watching him move around the room. And, as you can tell, he loves his exersaucer.

Adam has started a new schedule of working offshore for 3 weeks at a time and then being home for 3 weeks. He has been gone on his first hitch for about a week and half. So far things are going well, but we sure miss him. After 4 years of being a nurse, I start day-shift TODAY!!! Hopefully this makes things easier. I know it will on my nanny, who is amazing! We have visitors coming the next two weekends so that will add some excitement to our routine.

Well, gotta run and get ready for my first day. I've been up since 1:35am so I'm hoping the day goes fast. My body isn't really good at sleeping through the night anymore.

4 months old and quite the traveller

2010-07-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been almost 2 months since I blogged last. We have been extremely busy, with most of this month spent in Indiana. Tucker has become quite the expert traveller, now having flown to Indiana 3 times in his short life :) He's getting better every time...except now he wants to move around more.
We have enjoyed visiting with family and friends a lot this month. We had Tucker's 4 month check-up on Tuesday and he is a whopping 17 lbs and 25 1/2 inches long. Taking after his Daddy. His head control is great and he loves to stand while you hold his hands. He is changing every day. He is enjoying his cereal now that we mix it with some fruit and being a big boy in his high chair. Ok, enough proud momma talk. Here are some pics.

All Smiles

2010-06-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Tucker is changing every day. He seems to smile more than he cries - that is definitely a good thing! He has even started to laugh. We caught him laughing while Grandma was here to visit.

(Don't mind Adam and Elaine's conversation in the background)

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

First of all, Happy Memorial Day to all you veterans and those currently serving. I'm so thankful for all of your bravery and selflessness to fight for our freedoms! We spent the weekend relaxing (Adam and Tucker are both asleep in the chair right now). We did a little shopping and visiting friends.
Adam is heading out to the rig this week, so I am full time single mommy for a few days. Hopefully Tucker thinks it will be fun to be a good boy and not cry ALL of the time:) I will be going back to work in 2 weeks (tear), so we have hired a nanny. She is from Guatemala and has had over a decade of experience as a nanny. She will come for one day this week. Let's hope all goes well and Tucker doesn't give her too hard of a time.

Mom and Aunt Elaine come this weekend for another visit. Can't wait!

Silly boy riding Bentley

1st time in the pool

not so sure about these things between my toes

Tucker's first trip to Indiana

2010-05-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

2 weeks ago, Lish, Jenn and Jake came to Texas to meet Tucker. We had a blast as they celebrated my first Mother's Day with me. The night before they had to leave, Adam decided he would head out to the rig for a few days. Lish and Jenn suggested I just fly home with them. It was decided! Tucker still needed to meet Grandpa and Papaw :) He was an angel on the flights and everyone was so surprised to see us. Here are some pictures from the week:

Tucker with Aunt Lish and Aunt Jenn

My 1st Mother's Day

Uncle Jake

Tucker slept on all the flights

Meeting Grandpa for the first time

Tucker and Papaw

More family; more fun!

2010-05-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

Last week Troy, Amber and Silas came to visit us. It was so great to see them all again...and Tucker got to meet his cousin, Silas :) Silas loved to say "baby" everytime he saw Tucker. So cute! While they were here we enjoyed some time at the park and the zoo.

Can you say humid?? (my hair does)

On Saturday, more visitors to arrive! I love it :) Lish, Jenn and Jake will all be here this weekend to meet their new nephew. Can't wait! Oh, and Tucker is 6 weeks old today. Where does the time go? Love that boy!

Happy boy...for a moment

2010-04-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

I managed to catch this one with the camera! Tucker has continued to be pretty fussy, but last week he was smiley for about 15 minutes in the morning. It sure makes all his screaming worth it when he gets like this...however brief it is :)

Amber, Troy and Silas will be here Wednesday to visit for a few days. Tucker will get to meet his cousin Silas. Let's hope the great weather continues, I want to go to the zoo!

Visitors

2010-04-22T15:57:00.001-07:00

Last week we were so lucky to have family come and visit. My mom and Brian came for several days and then Adam's mom spent a long weekend with us. They got to love on Tucker and give me a little break from full-time mommy.

Tucker has been a little bit of a fussy baby..so much that I was worried and we took him back to the doctor. He had an upper GI series done and they determined that he has moderate-severe reflux. Poor baby. We started him on medicine and some days it seems to help and other days he is still just as fussy. He is still growing like crazy though.

Here are some pics from the past week:

Tucker's first road trip

2010-04-11T15:18:00.001-07:00

This weekend we took Tucker on his first road trip to Toledo Bend, Louisiana. Adam's company has a fishing and golf tournament every year, so we braved it with a 2 week old :) It turned out to be a great weekend with wonderful weather. Tucker was good and it was great for us to get out of the house!

stroller ride by the lake

Happy Easter

2010-04-06T10:52:00.001-07:00

Tucker got to celebrate his first Easter:) We took him to church for the first time and he slept through the whole service. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at home.

Adam went back to work this week, so Tucker and I are trying to establish a little bit of a routine. Here are some pictures from his 2 weeks of life :)

home from his first dr. appointment

1st bath at home

Tucker and Nicole in our room!

2010-03-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tucker Adam Hess is finally here!

2010-03-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

God decided to give us an early present. Tucker Adam Hess was born at 5:24 pm on 24 Mar 2010. He weighed in at a hefty 8 lbs 9 oz and measured 20 inches from head to toe. Both Nicole and Tucker are doing well, but Nicole is pretty sore. Nicole, being the trooper she is, was at work when her water broke. She drove home and we headed to the hospital. It was a very mentally straining day for me and was extremely physically demanding on Nicole considering she hadn't slept since noon the day prior.

12 days to go...

2010-03-20T08:51:00.001-07:00

Yes, I have the countdown more than started. Tuesday we had our weekly Dr's appointment. She informed us that he has definitely "dropped." Monday we are having an ultrasound to measure his estimated weight and we will go from there. Basically could be any time :) We are anxiously awaiting!!

38 weeks

3 weeks to go!

2010-03-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

My due date is 3 weeks from today. Hard to believe how time flies! Last night we had our Infant Care class at the hospital. It was quite entertaining to watch Adam "bathe" and change diapers on the baby dolls:) He did great, but of course added his own touches to make me laugh. Everyone around us was probably doubting our ability as parents.

Lish and Matt are visiting us right now and tonight we are headed to the Houston Rodeo. Should be a fun night out...as our child-less days are limited.

Here is the 37 week picture:

5 weeks to go!

2010-02-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

The real countdown has begun. Really only 4 1/2 weeks until my due date :) We are so excited to finally meet our little boy. I start my weekly doctors appoinments this week, so hopefully we'll get some good info on if she thinks he will come early or on time. Yesterday, we had an awesome session with our photographer and had some maternity pics taken.

Visit http://www.stephanieshirley.com/ and enter the blog site to see our sneak peek. Leave us a comment if you like, we can earn some free prints!

10 weeks to go!

2010-01-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has already been 30 weeks! Hard to believe only 10 (or less) weeks until this little boy comes into the world. I think we are as prepared as we can be. The nursery is finished, we have one more shower next weekend, and then 2 classes at the hospital the following week. We're trying to get the rest of the house clean and organized and little things fixed before we are consumed with loving and spoiling our baby :)

baby bump @ 30 weeks

Holiday Fun

2010-01-09T05:39:00.001-08:00

Well we had another great holiday season! Somehow I think we managed to see most of our family and friends up in Indiana. Adam made the drive on Christmas day (I had to work a few more days) with our dog and then on Tuesday night I flew up to meet them. We had Christmases, 2 Baby showers, lots of time with family and some very cold weather :)
Above is a picture of me at 27 weeks. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and am happy to report no gestational diabetes or anemia. Everything is still measuring/growing perfectly!

Baby Shower #1

Baby Shower #2

Weekend trip to San Antonio

2009-12-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend we took a short trip to San Antonio for Adam's birthday. We had great food, saw the Alamo, toured some museums and walked the Riverwalk. Nice relaxing weekend before the busyness of the holidays.

Adam being serenaded by the mariachi band on his birthday

Thanksgiving recap

2009-12-03T23:46:00.001-08:00

So I'm a little late on this post, but we have been busy! We had a great Thanksgiving by ourselves here in Texas. Since we were in Indiana in mid-November, we just couldn't do the trip again. Adam was off most of the week as was I so we got a lot of things done around the house. Mainly, the nursery :) We have finished it except for any final touches, wall hangings, etc. We cooked a big meal with deep fried turkey...yummm! And we finished off Thanksgiving night by watching "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Sunday we were lucky enough to get tickets through Adam's office to the Texans/Colts football game. I was sporting a very nice Peyton Manning jersey. We had a great time.

Adam and I have both had a long work week and tonight are going to his work Christmas party. There is even a forecast for snow today! As much as I like snow, not looking forward to it in Texas. These people just aren't able to handle this Indiana-style weather which means driving anywhere is going to be a chore.

We are so thankful for the many blessings in our lives, especially the new baby boy on the way!

In the nursery at 22 weeks

IT'S A BOY!!!!

2009-11-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

Last week I had my 20 week appointment and we found out the sex:) All along Adam has said that he did not want to find out, but once we were in the doctor's office seeing the little guy move around, he just couldn't wait! We are thrilled that everything looks perfect on the ultrasound. Now for finishing the nursery...

17 weeks and counting

2009-10-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

I am now over 17 weeks into my pregnancy and according to my cool iPhone application, the baby is about the size of a sweet potato :) I have been feeling great and slowly growing. I know many of you are requesting belly pictures, but it just isn't camera worthy yet. We are still not planning on finding out the sex, but we go back to the doctor in 3 weeks for the big 20-week ultrasound. Maybe Adam will change his mind while we are in there...

This past weekend my mom and Brian came to TX for a visit. We had a great time relaxing and starting on the nursery. We needed her expert painting help for what we wanted in the nursery. Here are a few pics of the started project:

We painted all the diamonds on the bottom half of the room. The top is still the same color as what it was before. We are planning to do aqua and yellow to match the bedding we bought - unless we happen to find out it is a girl...

@ the pumpkin patch

West Point and NYC vacation

2009-10-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

We are spending our last day in NYC today. We flew here last week on Friday, and whew! what a trip it's been! (That was Adam's input) After arriving in NYC, we went to Grand Central Station and caught a train up to West Point to visit with our good friends Jeff and Holly and their twins Collin and Annalynn. We had a great time with them - we went to the Army vs. Tulane football game, had some good food, sat around the fire pit every night and toured the campus of the greatest school in the world (more of Adam's input). It is a beautiful campus just on the Hudson River. Adam showed me where he had to eat every meal, his old dorm, and some of the history of West Point. It was a great time! Thanks to Jeff & Holly for letting us stay :)

Parade on the Plain before the football game

View of the Hudson River from campus

Michie Stadium

Adam reading to Collin

Monday afternoon we went back to the train station and headed back down to the city. We checked into the hotel and did a quick tour of NBC Studios. We got to see the sets of several different shows, including Saturday Night Live.

Tuesday we visited Ground Zero and then took a ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. We got to go up into the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (the crown tours were sold out). We also saw our first celebrity (well, I guess you could call it that) Robert Irvine from the Food Network's DINNER IMPOSSIBLE. We snapped a few photos and then walked through Chinatown and ate dinner in Little Italy.

Wednesday we walked around Central Park, went in FAO Schwartz and Tiffany & Co. Took a little nap at the hotel and then went to my first Broadway play: "Wicked." It was AWESOME!!! It is the prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" and it explains all the details like how the Scarecrow became a Scarecrow and things like that. It was so awesome, we decided we had to see another show before we left, so tonight we are going to see "The Lion King."

Central Park

On top of the Empire State Building

New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street

Thursday we went up in the Empire State Building. Amazing views of all of Manhattan. While we were up there, security closed down one corner of the railing because "someone" was coming up. So, we stayed right there for 30 minutes while we waited for this celebrity. Turns out it was some kid we didn't even recognize. There were tons of photographers and security that came up with him, but I have no idea who he was. Afterwards we walked about 45 blocks to the Museum of Natural History. We toured the museum and saw an iMax movie. Then for dinner: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The greatest shrimp I have ever had!!!!!

Friday we went to breakfast at the Clinton Street Baking Co. We had seen this restaurant recognized on Food Network for their blueberry pancakes. It was yummy! The rest of the day we were kind of lazy. We figured it is vacation, we better relax a little. For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant to make Adam happy. It was pretty good.

Today we are just waiting for Jeff and Holly to get to the city so we can go to the Central Park Zoo. Then "The Lion King" tonight and so long NYC!

Baby Hess

2009-08-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Yep - I'm pregnant! I know some of you ( Cheryl) thought this day would never come :) Well it has and we are very excited! We had our first doctor's appointment yesterday and got to see and hear the baby's heartbeat. So amazing. It looks like I'm about 6 weeks along which gives us a due date of April 1, 2010. Perfect date for Adam's child to be born, right??? I've been feeling really good, a little nausea over the weekend, but that's it. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for another ultrasound to get a better idea of a due date based on the baby's size. We'll keep you posted. I promise to be a better blogger again :)

Where has the time gone?

2009-07-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 2 months since I last blogged! Lots of things have happened since then...most importantly, Adam came home from Singapore. It didn't take long for him to get settled back in and started on some home improvement projects. We started by ripping out all the flower beds and starting from scratch. It looks great and we even got a post card from our Homeowner's Association saying how beautiful it is. Then we started tiling and tiling...and tiling. We have completed the guest bath, laundry room and kitchen and I love it! Now we just have the master bath to go. Last week we had hardwood floors installed in the dining and living rooms and it is gorgeous. We are now in the process of installing new baseboards in all those areas. Should be done soon :)

Other exciting news...my sister Alicia got engaged in June to Matt. We are all super excited about their wedding in the winter of 2010.

I was able to make it home to Indiana for a short trip over the 4th of July. Unfortunately after booking our flights, Adam found out he had to go to South Africa for work. While at home I got to see friends and family and meet my new nephew, Silas!

We are looking forward to Adam's mom coming to stay with us next week. Here are some photos of our recent renovations/adventures:

new landscaping in the front yard

dress shopping with Lish and Jenn

me & Silas

new tile in the kitchen

new hardwood

One more month...

2009-05-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged! In that time I have moved home from Singapore, spent a week in Indiana, and settled back into our home in TX. Everything is unpacked and back to normal and I'm even back to work. I have to say I did miss it and my co-workers (and the paychecks!) I've mostly been working and catching up with friends. Other than a possible leak in our roof (which the repair man is coming on Wednesday to look at), we weren't really affected by all the rain and flooding. Schools in Katy did close one day last week because of high water, but I haven't encountered any on the road. However, a trip to the dog park yesterday revealed a lake where the park once was.

I've now been home and away from my husband for a whole month now. Honestly time has gone by quickly with me staying busy at work, but that means we have another whole month to go before he comes home for good. I'm praying that it continues to go quickly and he makes it home safely the first week of June.

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary last week. We have yet to be in the same country on any of our anniversaries. Here are the beautiful flowers Adam sent me.

Here is a picture of me with some of my friends out celebrating Elizabeth's birthday:

So Long Singapore

2009-03-24T01:55:00.001-07:00

Well, I have spent the last 2 days sorting through our junk (i mean belongings), trying to get it organized for the movers on Wednesday. It's amazing how much stuff we really have. I never seem to notice it until it has to fit into boxes. As I am spending my last week in my Singapore home, I have constantly been thinking of how blessed we have been to experience life in Asia. From the amazing friends we have made, to all the interesting places we have visited, the past 10 months have been a truly awesome experience!
While there are lots of things I'll miss (the carefree lifestyle, not working, tropical climate), I won't think twice about leaving some things here (walking 10 mins to the grocery store, then carting all my groceries the 10 min walk back in the sweltering heat!). Looking forward to getting home, but sad that Adam will still be here for another 2 months until the rig is complete. Hopefully those 2 months pass quickly with me going back to work and catching up with friends and family!

Travels to the Land Down Under

2009-03-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

I finally made it to Australia! I've been wanting to go there since we moved over here, and I managed to fit it in just as time was running out. Adam was unable to take off work, but my cousin Laura was able to get away from the US awhile and meet me in Sydney. We spent a week there and the weather was a pleasant surprise. It was so nice...warm during the day, and cool at night! Oh what a relief from the steamy humidity in Singapore.
We did everything we could think to do in the week we were there. Monday we walked around town, went up in the Sydney Tower, took pictures by the Opera House, and had dinner at a little cafe. Tuesday we went in the Hunter Valley region and visited 2 wineries. We learned about the wine-making process and tasted A LOT of different wines!

touring the vineyard and winery

Wednesday we climbed the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. 1400 stairs to be exact. I would have to say it was the highlight of my trip. We had to change into these lovely gray jumpsuits and put on safety harnesses. The entire climb took about 3 hours and the views from the top were amazing!

our cute jumpsuits

not us, but this is what we were doing about an hour before

Thursday we took a trip into the Blue Mountains. We visited a wildlife park and got to pet/take pictures with a koala. After multiple stops to enjoy the views in the mountains, we stopped for mimosas in a park and got to see some wild kangaroos. So cool! That night for dinner I had kangaroo filets. It was surprisingly delicious :)

wild kangaroo

dinner - yum

Friday we took a cruise around Sydney Harbour for lunch and went to the opera in the Sydney Opera House at night. Great experience.

Opera night

Saturday we went to the local weekend markets and bought some souvenirs and then headed to Bondi Beach.

Sadly, Sunday was our last day. We ate breakfast at a pancake place where I had pancakes with strawberries and ice cream on top. YUM! Then we visited the Sydney Aquarium and headed for the airport.
I believe this will be the end of our travels for awhile. In about a week I'll be moving back home! Hard to believe how time flies. I'll miss my carefree lifestyle, but will be so happy to be in my own home again!

Bintan Island, Indonesia

2009-03-01T19:40:00.001-08:00

This weekend we took the ferry over to Bintan Island, Indonesia. We went with some friends and their 2 kids and had a blast! We stayed in a beach-front villa and packed the weekend with as many activities as humanly possible. Highlights of the trip were watching the elephant show and volunteering during the show. We all had our turn to make the show even more fun. Shirley and I volunteered without knowing what we were up for. Scary idea...we were told to lie down with a little space between each of us (this is where I really got scared). Then we were told not to move. (ok, I'm terrified now) Here comes the elephant. He literally walked over the top of us; stepping between us. You can tell from the look on my face that I was praying this elephant knew what he was doing and was a good judge of distance. Luckily we made it out unharmed, and now I can say it was pretty cool!

Then we rented jet skis for an hour. Not my favorite activity. The water was so rough! Adam was driving and I think we were airborne more than on the surface of the water. Next, we rented dune buggies (after the downpour of rain). I think it was my favorite part of the weekend. We went through giant mud puddles and water and mud covered every inch of us...including shooting up our noses.

On our last day we rode the banana boat, which was a blast. I managed to hold on, but today I'm really sore. Then we lounged at the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Great weekend!

Shirley giving the monkey a drink

pool overlooking the ocean

NEW NEPHEW!!!!

2009-02-12T00:20:00.000-08:00

So we got the call early this morning from Adam's sister, Amber...they got their referral to adopt! We are so excited for them! I know it has been a long road, and they have been so patient. Congratulations Amber & Troy! We've seen pics of the little guy - absolutely adorable! Now, I'm sure the hard part for them will be waiting to go and bring their baby home.

Development Driller III

2009-02-09T02:03:00.001-08:00

This weekend we attended the celebration of the naming of the Development Driller III. For those of you who don't know, this is the rig that Adam is working on here in Singapore. Friday night we had dinner at a Cantonese restaurant and tasted some new things. We were served a 5 course meal which included abalone, roasted suckling pig, foie gras, and sticky rice rolls. It was definitely interesting! Saturday was the actual ceremony rig-side. After hearing from CEOs and the breaking of the champagne bottle on the side of the rig, I finally got to go onto the rig. We were all decked out in gloves and hard hats. It was so impressive that this massive structure has been built from the water up. Adam was a great tour guide; teaching me what things are and how they work. I have a new respect for the men that make their living on the rig for weeks at a time. We ended the weekend with a post-naming dinner at the St. Regis hotel (the only 6 star hotel in Singapore). We got all dressed up for the occasion. Dinner was much better this night...still some new food. We tried salmon sushi and caviar. Personally I think I will stick with foods that are cooked! All in all a great weekend!

Safety first!

we clean up pretty nicely

the wives (& Darrell)

Good Morning Vietnam!

2009-02-03T23:35:00.000-08:00

We spent last Friday thru Monday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly called Saigon) and had an amazing time. Friday we travelled to Cu Chi to see the tunnels used during the Vietnam War. Portions of the tunnels had been doubled in size to allow tourists to crawl in them. Adam and I tried it out. We could fit, but had to walk like a duck the whole time. It amazes me that soldiers would stay in these tunnels for days at a time during the war. Talk about claustrophobia! There was so much history to hear about. They even had a shooting range with weapons used during the 1960s and 70s. I got brave and shot the M60 machine gun. It was very scary! I couldn't imagine carrying that thing around at all times. But, I guess when your life depends on it, it isn't such a nuisance.

one of the original tunnel openings

I'm going in!

tight squeeze

After touring the tunnels we went the the War Remnants Museum. Another very interesting place. Everything was portrayed from the Vietnamese point of view and was kind of hard to just read some of the displays in silence. Many times the captions of photos were bragging about killing US soldiers or destroying US machinery and vehicles. All of the vehicles on display were US Military helicopters and tanks. It seemed that Vietnam was very proud of capturing these things. Adam and I weren't thinking that day as he wore his West Point/Army shirt. One man from England made a comment about how interesting it must be for us to be here after noticing Adam's shirt. We also learned that the streets used to be full of disabled citizens, unable to work, but the government opened a factory and forced all of them to work there in an effort to clean up the streets. Despite the history between the US and Vietnam, the locals were extremely friendly. Kids often waved to us and said hi. Not that two blondes stuck out or anything...

101st Airborne Division helicopter

Finally on Friday we went to the former Presidential Palace, where South Vietnam's first 2 presidents lived.
Saturday we drove about 70km outside of the city to the Meekong Delta. There we took several different boat rides into the canals of the jungle. We stopped at a village with a fruit orchard and had fresh pineapple, dragonfruit, pomello, finger bananas and tea. Then we took a row boat to another little village where they made coconut candy. Our guide let us try some of the local rice wine which was some pretty strong stuff. The local children got out their pet python and put it on Adam's shoulders. Pretty entertaining, but I kept my distance.

in the rowboat with our cute little hats

Adam's new friend

For lunch we had a traditional Vietnamese set with scallop fritters, sticky rice ball, elephant ear fish, grilled squid and banana flambe. It was all very good.
We enjoyed the spa at our hotel and had dinner at a little Italian place in another hotel.
Sunday we walked around the city visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral where mass was going on in Vietnamese and English. Then we walked to the Ben Thanh market. Inside were hundreds of aisles of locals trying to sell their goods, many of which were fake designer purses, wallets and clothing. We found out that as we made our way to the middle of the market, the vendors got more and more pushy; trying to get you to buy something. They would go so far as to block your way through the aisle and pulling on your arms to try to get you into their stall. Needless to say, we didn't stay in that section for long. After a lot of "No, thank you's" we left the market.
We stopped in at the New World Hotel for lunch. This is the hotel that Presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush stayed during their visits to Vietnam.

Notre Dame Cathedral

New World Hotel

Monday we did a little art shopping before leaving for the airport. Crossing the street was kind of scary at first because of all the motorbikes. We quickly learned that there is never no traffic, and it's best to just start walking and let them drive around you. Motorbikes are the most common form of transportation in the city. It was common to see families of 3-4 on one motorbike (or what I would call a scooter). We saw babies and dogs on them as well.
We learned from our tour guides that there is a lot of corruption in their government system. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize they were a communist country before we got there. Our guide had personal experiences when his wife gave birth to their baby last year. Because they did not tip the nurses and doctors, the doctor they had been seeing prenatally refused to show up when his wife's water broke. She delivered at the hospital and then she and the baby were put outside on a balcony because they "had no rooms available." After several hours of this, our tour guide got desperate and called a distant relative who had connections within the hospital. His relative paid one of the staff a large tip and within an hour his wife and baby had their own room. It was really sad for me to hear his stories about the unfairness and unequal treatment. I never thought about what the people must go through during their lives living in a communist country, but hearing it first-hand made me realize again how lucky we are to live in such a great nation.

This could be dangerous...

Happy Chinese New Year

2009-01-28T01:58:00.000-08:00

Monday and Tuesday were national holidays in Singapore. We are celebrating the beginning of the year of the ox. Many shops and business places were closed to down while the locals celebrate with their families. Apparently it is the equivalent to our Christmas time.
Most kids around here have the entire week off of school, so I have been enjoying some time with another family who is from Texas. Monday we went to the Singapore Zoo and got to ride an elephant and hand feed the kangaroos and giraffes. Today we went to an island off the northeast coast of Singapore called Pulau Ubin. We rented bikes and rode around ALL day! It was fun, but tiring. There are lots of trails and nature, as well as some local homes and restaurants. We got to see monkeys just roaming around in the woods, a giant lizard and a snake! Luckily they all kept their distance, although the monkey got a little feisty when we tried to take too many pictures.
Tomorrow Adam and I are heading off to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam for the long weekend. I'll post more after our trip. Happy New Year!!

Catchin' Up!

2009-01-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

We are back in Singapore where the weather is warm! What an awesome trip home for the holidays :) I can't believe how fast a month went by. But, considering all the places we visited and the number of times we changed family "hotels," there was never a dull moment. We each made the trip to and from the US/Singapore alone, and luckily had no problems/delays/flight cancellations.
I got to spend a weekend with my sisters and Mom down in Nashville, TN at the Opryland Hotel as an early Christmas present for my Mom. Although they overbooked the hotel and we had to stay in HALF of a suite, we still had a great time. Adam celebrated his 30th birthday during the holiday season and was recently promoted at work.
All in all we attended 8 family Christmas parties! Talk about a crazy week! But, it was great since we have never been able to make all of them in one year. Who knows when we will be able to have enough time off work to do that again?
After the holidays we enjoyed catching up with friends and family, butchering at the Tempel's and playing BINGO with Grandma:) I even made a trip to Indy to see Lauren & Chris. Our pugs finally got to meet each other! I'm not sure if Bentley and Blue liked each other, but they seemed to have a good time chasing each other and fighting over toys.
Now that we are back in Singapore and adjusting to the heat & humidity, and driving on the left side of the road again; we are planning a few more trips around Asia. Vietnam is definitely in the plans and we are considering visiting Australia and Indonesia if time and money allow. It looks like I may be moving back to TX in late March/April. Oh how time flies!
Here are some pics of our time in Indiana:

decorating the tree with Kennedy and Ross

Me, Mom, Lish and Jen in Nashville

Christmas @ the Corne's

New Year's Eve w/Ashley and Brooke

Blue and Bentley

visiting with my long lost friend, Lauren ( & Chris)

We're comin' to America!

2008-12-09T21:00:00.001-08:00

Yay! The time has finally come... I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning for my long trip back home to Indiana. Adam has to work another week and a half and then he will be home too. I have layovers in Tokyo and Chicago, and if all goes well I should make it to Louisville on Thursday night. My layover in Chicago is 6hrs, which kind of stinks - but, I am meeting my old college roomie, Angie, at the airport to hang out and catch up :-) Can't wait! I'm also looking forward to the cold weather since it is summer all year long in Singapore. We can't wait to see all our family and friends over the holidays!!
Happy Birthday Dad!

Gold Class

2008-12-01T23:02:00.001-08:00

Saturday night Adam and I had the most awesome movie theater experience! It is called the Gold Class theater. We watched the movie Four Christmases. While the movie was hilarious, the seats and service were amazing! Each person got their own recliner...soft and comfy, complete with a blanket. We opted for the full experience and ordered a 3 course meal. They served us throughout the movie, and the price for the food was cheap compared to eating out at a restaurant. I had mushroom soup, a cheeseburger and fries, and brownie a la mode. Adam had a caesar salad, hot wings (go figure!), and some chocolate/banana dessert. Yummy! You would think that being served throughout the movie would be disruptive, but the seats were so spread out with tons of room between rows, that you hardly noticed the servers. The total bill was about $110 US for everything...not your typical night at the movies, but definitely worth it!

So many blessings!

2008-11-27T18:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We celebrated big-time over here. We invited all of Adam's co-workers over to our place and rented out the function room of our apartment complex. One of the other wives and I did all of the cooking and had a great time. (Ok, so Adam deep fried 2 turkeys.) I think the guys really appreciated it since they were away from home and their families this holiday. It sure beat rice for Thanksgiving dinner! We even introduced Thanksgiving to some of our friends from the UK.
We are so thankful to have the opportunity to live in Singapore and experience life on the other side of the world! We're looking forward to getting home for Christmas to spend time with family and friends.

Preparing the bird

the feast

Shirley's chocolate "rats"

That's a no go...

2008-11-14T22:42:00.000-08:00

So we were not able to go to India. We had dinner with some friends from Singapore the night before our scheduled trip to India, and one of them asked us if we had our Indian Visas. Adam and I had heard nothing about this, so Adam checked into it the next day. Turns out, everyone entering and leaving India has to have a special Visa. For Americans, the process usually takes 5 days in Singapore. Seeing as how we found out the day our flight was supposed to leave, we high-tailed it to the High Commission of India here in Singapore and waited in line to beg if we could speed the process up a little:) Ok a lot! We only had 5 hrs until our flight left. We called every number we could find that we thought could help us, but same answer - it takes 5 days to process. Needless to say we were a little upset. Adam's company flies people all over the world on a daily basis. You would think that they would mention it to us, but I guess we were supposed to know that on our own. Luckily, I was able to get a refund for my plane ticket, which we had to buy. So, if anyone plans to go to India, you have to have an Indian Visa!!

Other exciting news...everyone is having babies! Congratulations to Mark & Rachel, Ryan & Jennifer, and Shelby & Eva. We can't wait to come home and see the little ones!

Off on another adventure...INDIA!

2008-11-06T05:20:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we are headed off to Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. Adam has another class to attend and it is only offered a few times a year, and this is closer than the US. So, thanks Transocean for another vacation!! We leave tomorrow and will be back the 16th. We've been warned that it will be an eye-opening experience for us with the lifestyle and huge population. We'll take lots of pictures as always and update the blog when we return! Have a great week:)

Happy Halloween from Singapore!!

2008-10-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

Halloween has come and gone on this side of the world. It was a fun one. Adam and I realized that since we have been together, we have never dressed up for Halloween! This year, the local shipyard rented out a boat for Adam's company and we had a Halloween dinner cruise around the harbor here in Singapore. We were really hoping to win "best costume," but maybe next year.

Our "cruise" ship

Inside the boat

Farewell

2008-10-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

We took Mom and Brian to the airport yesterday morning, so they should be landing in Louisville as I write this. We had such a great time and are so thankful that they came to visit us! On their last evening in Singapore we went to a bar on the 70th floor of the Swissotel...the tallest in Singapore. Even though it was a cloudy day the view was amazing! After a couple of drinks, we had one last Chinese meal. Beginning the countdown until I return to Indiana for a month :) Only 6 1/2 weeks for anyone who cares!

Gettin' fancy before the hotel

Me and Momma on the 70th floor

Brian tried out driving on the left side of the road

10K run

2008-10-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the Great Eastern Women's 10K race here in Singapore. I ran the race in just under 1h20min. Not particularly fast...but it was my first 10K. Much room for improvement, right? There were 10,000 women in the 5K and 10K races combined! My other races have been much smaller.
Other news...Mom and Brian are leaving tomorrow :( One more day of fun time with the family and shopping on Orchard Rd. On Friday, Adam and I are going on a Halloween cruise with his company. Just an evening of dinner and fun. Any ideas for costumes???

Ready to run

Starting line

Nearing the 8K point

Brian enjoys the famous ice cream sandwich

Visitors!

2008-10-22T01:48:00.001-07:00

Well, Mom and Brian have made it to Singapore safely! They arrived late Saturday night and we have been having fun since! Adam is working and I am playing tour-guide. We have eaten local food, visited the Flyer, tried out the fish spa and been to Chinatown. Here are some pictures from our adventures so far:

Just off the plane

Fish spa

Fountain of wealth

A Taste of Home

2008-10-07T00:54:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we were able to go home to Texas for a week. Adam had to attend a class in Houston. We had a great time seeing friends, eating Mexican food, and shopping at Target and Wal-Mart again!
Highlights of the trip:
- Seeing Jeff, Holly, Collin and Annalyn! We missed you guys!
- Hanging out with our friends from work.
- Eating Mexican food (twice) and hotwings (3 times!).
- Me going back to work for a couple of nights ( I know, but I missed it!)
- Seeing that our house was still standing (and Mallory is taking good care of it:)
- Going to the Army vs. Texas A&M football game ( too bad Army lost:( )
- Enjoying cool evenings/nights!
- Being able to call family/friends at normal hours instead of trying to time the 13hr difference just right.

Adam and Collin

Adam and Jeff

Me and my girls from work:)

Military Appreciation Day at the Army/A&M game

We had a long layover in South Korea and walked around Seoul for awhile...It's everywhere

Good news in Texas

2008-09-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

We heard from Mallory, our renter, today and there is minimal damage at our house from Hurricane Ike. Part of our fence blew over and one of our small trees blew over. Luckily that is it!
We're looking forward to our time in Texas next week. Our friend Jeff is home from Iraq for his mid-tour leave. He was able to meet his 7 month old twins for the first time last week! We have made plans with him and his wife Holly to meet up for lunch when we get in town. Looking forward to seeing our friends:)
Have a great week and happy birthday to everyone who is a year older this week! Mom, Brooke, Ashley, Paula and Kit!!

Weekend Fun

2008-09-13T04:55:00.000-07:00

Friday night we hosted a BBQ Bible Study at our place. Several couples from church came over and we showed them an American BBQ. Adam grilled burgers and chicken and everyone pitched in with other dishes. We had a great time and are meeting some amazing people!
After the BBQ, we moved inside and introduced them to the Nintendo Wii. We all had a blast:)

Adam and Elgin playing tennis on the Wii

Saturday, we went over to Sentosa again (small island directly across the harbor from Singapore and part of the country of Singapore). We walked along the beach, rode a ski lift up and rode the luge down the big hill. We also went up in the huge Merlion.

On the ski lift

Wayyy above the treetops

Getting ready to ride the luge

The giant Merlion

Keep Texas (and our home!) and Louisiana in your prayers as Hurricane Ike finishes its destruction on the area. We spoke with Mallory, our renter, yesterday and she had packed up all the yard furniture and headed north for the weekend. I know millions are without power in Houston and the news has been saying that it could be weeks to 2 months before all power is restored. I haven't talked to any of my friends in Houston yet, but we're hoping things at the hospital are going as smoothly as possible considering the circumstances. I know many of them are going to be at work for days; pray for their well-being and the awesome job they do! (Miss you guys:)
We will be coming back to the US next week. Yay! We have had these plans for a few weeks, but it is good timing to be able to go back home and check on the house. Adam will be attending a class for work. It will be good to get a little taste of home...and stock up on some much-missed American items (hot wings and country music on the radio!!!!)!

Bangkok, Thailand

2008-08-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Adam and I spent a long weekend in Bangkok, Thailand, and had a blast! It was such a cool trip. We got to see first class hotels and third world living all in the same day.
The 2hr flight there was so quick after flying all the way over here a few months ago! As we checked into our hotel, we learned the Thai way of greeting...folding your hands together and bowing - so cool! Our hotel was beautiful, and staff were there to wait on you hand and foot. One man even ran the elevators as his only job!
Since we were only going to be in Bangkok for a short time and we knew nothing about it, we booked some guided tours to make sure we saw the interesting sights of the city. On the first morning we took a boat ride down the river and into the canals. So many people live in these shacks built up on stilts right along the canals. Some even still use the river to wash their dishes...we have picture proof! At the end of the canal we stopped to check out a "zoo." It was kind of a sad place...run down and dirty. But we did get to hold a monkey and see snake fighting (2 of the 3 "must dos" on Adam's list!). After the river tour, our guide tried to smoothly talk us into buying at some of his favorite stores by telling us where we were going next was a "surprise." After stopping at the custom tailors and the sapphire jewelry store, we informed him that "surprise," we want to go back to the hotel - no more shopping for ridiculous items!
Next we took a taxi to one of the largest malls in Southeast Asia called Siam Paragon. It took 45mins in a cab, but only cost $7 US (approx 200 Baht). We quickly learned that traffic in Bangkok is TERRIBLE!
Friday evening we went to an original Muay Thai kickboxing fight (the 3rd "must do" on Adam's list), with VIP seats. During one of the fights, one fighter's shoulder dislocated twice and they just popped it back in right there in the ring! A few bloody noses and cuts to the face...Adam was happy we saw blood. After the fights we went to the huge Night Bazaar (night market) and shopped around for awhile. Adam tried some crocodile steak for dinner there as well. It was pretty good...tasted like tough chicken.
We spent Saturday morning on a temple tour. There are over 400 temples in Bangkok, mostly Buddhist; we saw three! All the architecture is so ornate and shiny.
That afternoon, we tried out the spa at our hotel. Adam got an original Thai massage...the lady was walking on his back! I opted for the gentler version, but parts of it were still painful!
On our last night, we went to a dinner theater show. The show depicted Thailand's history. The stage and props were amazing, as well as the costumes. The stage even had a "river" in it. It rained, people canoed through the water, and one man jumped in for a swim during the play. Very cool! Also, elephants are the symbol of Thailand, and in the middle of the play, 2 elephants were paraded through the aisle of the theater. How crazy is that? Before and after the show, the elephants were available to feed and ride.
All in all, it was an awesome weekend! So glad we went there!

2nd Largest Buddha in Thailand

Adam at the Lamborghini dealership in the mall

I can't believe I'm this close to an elephant!

What's the deal Singapore????

2008-08-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so if I go into another store and have to leave to find an ATM to pay with cash because they won't accept credit cards (after all my items are scanned and in bags!), I'm going to scream so loud that you all will hear me on the other side of the world!! Sorry for the tantrum, but really, what is the deal? I thought the world was trying to be more digitalized or whatever you call it. I can't even count the number of times this has happened to me. I guess I'm supposed to carry hundreds of dollars in cash on me so that I can pay for overpriced groceries...

On a happier note, Adam and I moved into our new apartment yesterday. For those of you who didn't know, we got evicted from our last place! Haha. Long story... We moved over here into a furnished apartment. A month into it, our landlord tells us that he is replacing all our furniture because the lady that leases the furniture wants it back for herself. Well, he replaced it all right. With his old college furniture. Ok, so it wasn't that terrible, but you would have to be a dwarf to use our coffee table. Adam was upset because it was of much lesser quality than the previous furniture, and the company was still paying the same price for it. He tried to get the landlord to replace some of it (for example, the "Japanese Queen sized bed" that Adam's feet hung off of), but the guy refused and told us that he would not renew the lease with us this October.
So, now we live right near the ocean in a furnished serviced apartment (which means we get a maid 3 days a week to change towels and do light cleaning). All in all it is a better deal:) Here are some pictures from our new place.

The pool is just a few steps off of our terrace:)

Other news...I have registered for a 10K race in October and am back into the running thing again.
We have found a church that we really like. It is huge (1200 members)! We met with the pastor this week and are going to be having bible study once a week with him. We met several other couples from church and joined them for lunch last week after the service. Next weekend we head to Bangkok, Thailand for a long weekend. It's so cool that it is only 2 1/2 hrs on a plane and we will be in Thailand.
We have also been watching a lot of the Olympics. Go team USA!

"Queen of the Lanes"

2008-08-02T04:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was named "Queen of the Lanes" Friday night at a bowling tournament. Adam and I were on a team with two of his co-workers and bowled against other workers from the local shipyard where they build the oil rigs. Our team, the Transocean Tigers, did not win, but I sure won for highest score among females! Yep, I'm pretty proud of that shiny trophy:) I guess that one semester of bowling at IU came in handy.

Here are some other pics from our fun night out.

Adam warming up

Another STRIKE for the "Queen" :)

Kuala Lumpur

2008-07-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

We had a fun trip to Malaysia. The coach bus we took was like flying first class. Plenty of room, dinner included, and TV screens in the seat in front of you to pick from movies and games to play.
Saturday, we spent the day seeing the highlights of the town. We went to the Petronas Twin Towers. We weren't able to go up the observation walk because they only give a limited number of tickets each day. We browsed the mall at the base of the towers, then headed to Central Market, a shopping complex of local vendors. We also visited their Times Square (basically just a big mall with an indoor amusement park) and the bird park. As we were walking to the Bird Park, a group of monkeys ran out in the street and we kind of followed them around for awhile. It was so cool to just see a bunch of monkeys running free in the city!
We both got massages at our hotel spa and went to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse.
We hope to go back for another weekend to see more of the city. Apparently there is an elephant sanctuary and some caves tours that Adam wants to try out, but we didn't have time this weekend. The nice thing is that everything is much cheaper in KL than it is here in Singapore!

On the bus, ready to go!

Look at the monkeys!

Adam chasing the peacock at the bird park

Lunch at the Gasoline Cafe where you sit on the floor and eat

We're off to Malaysia!

2008-07-22T22:36:00.001-07:00

This weekend we are heading to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Buses travel to and from KL several times every day. We will be taking a coach bus for the 5hr trip. We'll post pictures when we return!

Cheryl and Jan's visit

2008-07-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

For the past week, Adam's mom Cheryl, and her friend Jan have been visiting us in Singapore. We had a great time! We did so many exciting things in the week they were here. We enjoyed shopping, but barely made a dent in the thousands of shops that Singapore has to offer. Everyone's favorite was Chinatown, where the goods were slightly cheaper, but authentic looking:) We saw many local attractions and landmarks that are part of Singapore's history, and we enjoyed lots of different food: Indian, Chinese, French, Japanese and some home-cooked American food. Cheryl and Jan learned to use chopstix very quickly! They said they wanted to be adventurous, so I took advantage of that. Cheryl and I did a reverse bungee ride. It all happened so fast that we barely had time to process what was going on. At least we survived to tell about it! I have added the video below.
We took a Duck Tour, which is an amphibious vehicle that goes in the water and on land. We drove through the Singapore River and through the streets of downtown. We visited the Merlion, which is a monument dedicated to the naming of Singapore. We went on the Singapore Flyer again, this time at sunset. It was so beautiful. In the far distance, you could see one of the mountains in Malaysia. Cheryl and Adam tried an Asian spa, where fish do the work. They put their feet in huge fish tanks and let the fish eat the dead skin from their legs and feet! It is said to open the pores and improve circulation.
We spent an afternoon at the Singapore Zoo and went on the Night Safari. The zoo here is unlike anything we have seen in the US. There are no cages at this zoo; only moats separate the animals from the visitors. We saw many exotic animals that cannot be found in US zoos. The night safari was really neat too. We took a tram through the grounds after it was dark, and were able to see many animals just roaming around.
One afternoon, we took a cable car ride to the island of Sentosa and back. We introduced Cheryl and Jan to Guitar Hero on the Nintendo Wii. They rocked!
All in all, it was an amazing week. It was great to see family and friends again! Thanks for visiting us:)

View from Singapore Flyer

I think Cheryl loves the Fish Spa!

Adam and Cheryl in front of the Merlion and Fullerton Hotel

Lunch at the Japanese TeppanYaki

Cheryl and I getting ready to do the reverse bungee!

Cheryl tries chopstix for the first time at our local Hawker food stand

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. We got to celebrate at a festival sponsored by the American Association of Singapore. There was good food, drinks, bands, and fireworks. Of course we could not miss this photo opportunity!

We rode the Singapore Flyer this weekend. It is the world's largest ferris wheel. It was night-time so the photos weren't that great, but the view was amazing. Each of the cars can hold up to 20 people. Luckily it wasn't crowded and we got the whole car to ourselves. The entire city was lit up and it was beautiful. It took about 30 mins to make it all the way around.

Weekend Adventure

2008-06-30T01:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend we drove to Sentosa, which is a small island off the coast of mainland Singapore. It was a short 20min drive across a bridge. There we visited Underwater World, which is a small aquarium. We got to watch a dolphin show, with pink dolphins. Apparently pink dolphins live off the coast of East Africa and Asia. We also took a cable car ride from Sentosa to the mainland and back.

So we tried our hand at making some homemade local cuisine, Chicken Fried Rice and Crab Rangoon. I know, we didn't branch out too much, but it sure was good! I'm becoming a little braver with some of the local food, while Adam will still eat anything you put in front of him.

After dinner, we got our Nintendo Wii set up and played a few songs on Guitar Hero III.

Ice Cream Sandwich...Literally!

2008-06-22T00:11:00.000-07:00

So it's ice cream wrapped in bread...literally an ice cream sandwich. We didn't try one today, but definitely want to. The bread looks colored like maybe it is sweet or something. Pretty cool.
Below are some pictures of jets that fly above our apartment on a regular basis. There are usually 6 of them and they make shapes in the sky, fly straight up, then straight down. My favorite is when they make a heart:) The first time I heard them, I was sure we were being bombed! We've now come to appreciate them.

Raffles Hotel

2008-06-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

Friday night we went to Raffles Hotel for an Engine Start celebration. The engines on the rig were started up by the target deadline, so Transocean rented out part of a very nice hotel. We enjoyed drinks and all kinds of food. It was a great experience. There is such a diversity of people that Adam works with. At our dinner table there were Americans (us), a man from Australia and a man from England. It was so neat to hear their experiences with living in Singapore (and their cool accents!). You can see me enjoying the well-known drink, the Singapore Sling:) YUM!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T03:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day! We tried a restaurant called Chicago's Steakhouse yesterday. All of their beef is flown in from New Zealand. I got the Fireball Steak, which they lit on fire at the table. As you can tell from my expression it was a little scary. That thing put off a lot of heat! It was a neat experience, but New Zealand needs a little help raising their beef. The US definitely knows how to cook a steak!

2008-06-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

Friday the 13th!

2008-06-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

Well it is Friday the 13th here in Singapore and other than Adam accidentally sleeping in for work, nothing too strange has happened. It is another hot and humid day and I enjoyed it a bit by the pool:)
We had a shocking experience earlier this week. We received our household items that we had shipped over here, so I decided to set up our desktop computer. We had gotten the outlet adapters, so our American plugs would fit in the outlet. Silly me forgot that Singapore uses 220V while the US only uses 110V. As I plugged in the surge protector, it made a huge POP and smoke blew out onto my hand. I was so shocked and couldn't believe I wasn't electrocuted! It did knock out the power in our entire apartment, so I had to wait for Adam to get home from work to get that fixed. Luckily, the gate guard came and flipped the main breaker and all power was back. Needless to say, we headed to an electronic shop for some education on how to make our things work here! We've had a few other mishaps, but nothing too serious. Just learning how they do it in other parts of the world.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy Friday the 13th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!!

2008-06-09T04:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent a few hours at the East Coast. There were lots of restaurants, a walking/biking trail and a camping area. As we walked through, the hosts/hostesses of the restaurants came up to us to invite us to dine at their restaurant. We ate at a place called the No Signboard Restaurant. Adam had the chilli crab, which is famous in Singapore. It is a soft-shelled crab that is cooked in a chilli sauce. I had Thai chicken. Very good. Our only option for utensils were chopstix, so I had to learn fast!
I also tried driving yesterday. It is so tricky with the steering wheel on the right side of the vehicle and being on the left side of the road. We made it there and back safely!
We have hooked up our webcam and been able to talk with my parents a couple of times. It is so neat!

2008-06-09T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Famous Chilli Crab

2008-06-09T03:59:00.000-07:00

East Coast Shoreline

2008-06-09T03:57:00.000-07:00

Adam driving on the left side of the road!

2008-06-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Adam and I outside our front door

2008-06-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Walking at Clark Quay on the river

2008-06-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

View from the living room

2008-06-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

View of our living room

2008-06-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we have safely made it to Singapore. We have settled into our new apartment and are learning the area. People are very friendly, weather is super muggy and hot, and the cars are expensive! Adam has experienced driving on the left side of the road, but I'm gonna wait a little before I brave it. He did very well, other than a few accidental times of turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal! But, it was something to laugh about:)

We have pretty much adjusted to the time difference. We have been out shopping for groceries and household goods and tried some of the local restaurants. The grocery stores have a lot of the same name brands as back home, but taste a little different. We have decided that everything is a little more bland and not quite as flavorful as it is at home in the States. It is still good though. We managed to find a Hooters restaurant last night! The menu was very similar, but the food just a little different tasting. A mug of beer was more expensive than the meal!

Adam has been in to work several times and seems to be getting caught up on some of his work. Today we are expecting our things to be delivered that we shipped over here a couple of weeks ago. More unpacking and settling in:)

Here are some pictures to enjoy!