A Trip to Singapore

This summer we decided to take a trip to Singapore for a few days. It is amazing there. So clean. So organized. It's like it was built yesterday! We went to the sceince center there which was so fun! We also went to Universal Studios, shopped, and most importantly, found an APPLEBEES. :)  Yes, my kids were so happy to see an Applebees that we ate there twice. If you ever get the chance, definitely go to Singapore!

There is always a McDonalds!

My handsome boys

In case you forget where you are....

Ah, the joy of babyback ribs!

Riding their first subway.

Archimedes is a personal favorite for Kyle. 

And Isaac Newton of course!

Alex knew these were canopic jars from his 1st grade history lessons

And he told us this was called hieroglyphics

We had a blast at Universal Studios!

My silly boys

Waiting for the show to start

Flora and Fauna

You see all kinds of unique animals and plants here....

There are monkeys everywhere. They hang out on telephone wires and trees and if you are not careful they will get in your house. They are the Malaysian version of a squirrel!

I have no idea what this thing is except that they seem fond of mud puddles.

The "fish spa" is another fun Penang treat. You stick your feet in an aquarium full of fish and they bite at your feet until they are silky smooth. Weird but fun!

Giant mushrooms as big as my hand on our campus.

Around Town

Since we are here we feel like we should try just about everything once. So when we heard about "ear wicking" we were like HUH? But what the heck... it is cheap and will make for good photo opps.

So they stick this paper tube in your ear and light it on fire and it draws all the wax out of your ear which is kind of gross but still really fun. Kyle said it felt really weird but it didn't hurt. He was slightly alarmed by the smoke though!

 Alex decided to get in on the act.

Natalie thought they were both nuts.

Random pic of the view from our living room.

 A few pics of my gorgeous Indian princess!

This is the harbor where all the rich people keep their boats.

Coach comes to Penang

And by "coach" I mean Coach handbags of course!!!  Yes it is true, they have finally opened a Coach store in Penang. Of course, the import prices are so high that I can't afford one but that is not the point!

The even more fun part is that they had this big release party and fashion show and everyone who is anyone in Penang was there. Now I am no one important but I KNOW important people...or at least I know people who know important people.

My friend Ailee went to high school with a girl who is now a bigwig with Coach in Asia and she threw this whole shindig and invited Ailee plus one. Ailee's husband would rather jab his eyeballs out with hot pokers than go to a fashion show so I got to be her plus one!

It was so fun. There were models and glamorous people and reporters everywhere! They kept taking pics of me and Ailee mostly because I was literally the only white person there. :) Our picture ended up in a fashion magazine here in Malaysia!

Little India

There is an area in downtown Georgetown on the island called "Little India". It is pretty obvious why as soon as you see it. Everywhere you look there is Indian food, Indian clothing stores, Indian spices, Indian music ...and Indian drivers!

 This is a store where you can buy all those bangles that they wear. It was so much fun looking at all the pretty things.

 A typical roadside stand selling Indian spices for cooking.

 All the streets in this area look exactly like this.

This is Prema picking out the best fabric for my sari and the little old Indian woman who owned the store.

Sari shopping is serious business here!

The end result. Prema did a great job picking everything out.

Yummy Yummy

We like to eat out here a lot. :) It's hard not to with all the good restaurants around!

Checking out the menu at our favorite Lebanese restaurant...

My handsome boy

My other handsome boy out in front of the restaurant (and check out that double rainbow in the background!).

 This is us at the "steamboat" restaurant where the grill and steamer for your food is built right into your table. You just pick what you want and cook it at your table. Not sure how this is different from cooking at home???

This is Prema and her two beautiful daughters. Prema is Natalie's nanny and she is like family to us.

 John and Natalie ordering food from a place called Mustafas. They have the BEST tandoori chicken on the whole island!

This is called "Nasi Kandar" which is basically a buffet set up at Indian restaurants every day. The food is de-lish!

Chinese New Year

This was our second Chinese New Year since moving here and it was just as loud and just as fun as previous years! Of course, after two weeks of nightly fireworks, it started to get old. :)

I think this is supposed to be Confucious? He gave my kids chocolate "gold" coins at the mall.

This was fun to watch. These guys were doing this act where they balance this huge flag on their forehead and then toss it back to the next guy who catches it on his forehead. Why? Who knows. But it was cool.

The yearly Lion Dance

This is called the Luminous Dragon Dance. This picture definitely does not do it justice.