Singapore

We went to Singapore over Easter to visit family - the Zufelts.  We had a great time!  There was so much to see/smell/hear - I could never describe it all, but I'll try!

Sight:

Singapore is colorful and clean.  It is red.

 It is green.

It is tall buildings, smiling and helpful people, signs in four languages, and clean streets.  Chewing gum is against the law.  Smoking is punishable with a $1000 fine, as is littering, and dealing drugs is punishable by death.  Trespassing is apparently taken seriously too. The street signs said it all.

I think this gets the point across, no matter what language you speak.

We went to a market near little India, where people were literally selling garbage.

That's where that remote control went!

Cell phone, anyone?

Touch:

The first thing we noticed about Singapore was the humidity!  I have never experienced anything like it, and this coming from someone who has lived in Houston, New Orleans, and Queensland - all considered very humid places.  Going outside from an air conditioned room meant being covered instantly in condensation.  I didn't know it was possible to get so wet so fast - even without sweating.  And sweat we did.

Sound:

Singapore is the bell of the taxi, ringing to say the driver was breaking the speed limit.  It is the whirr of dare-devil motorcyclists, darting through traffic and creating their own "lane" on the dotted line; a dozen languages spoken on a train, none of which I recognized; and cicadas constant buzzing, like a broken car alarm.

It was the bells on the door of the Indian temple,

the mosque calling to prayer,

and monks chanting in the Buddha temple.

Buddha Tooth temple.

It was also primary children singing the same songs we sing in our primary.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building, Singapore.

  One of the highlights of our trip was taking the elevator up to the fourth floor for sacrament meeting in a very beautiful, very tall, chapel.

Smell:

Singapore smells like incense, curry, sweating plants, beef bacon and turkey ham (muslims don't eat pork), bus exhaust, and elephants.

Taste:

Singapore tastes like curry, coconut, rice noodles, sugar cane juice, dim sum (eaten with orangutans) and fruits I have never heard of, but love.

Breakfast with orangutans at the Singapore zoo.  Please remember it is REALLY humid before you judge my hair!

We bought 2 kilos of mangosteens.  I love them.  They taste a bit like a cross between a sweet plumb and rhubarb - tangy sour/sweet.  You peel off the purple shell and eat the white flesh.  We saw plenty of durian too.  Durian are banned on public transport because of their foul smell, but they are still a favorite of many locals.  People either love them or hate them.  It smelled a bit like an outhouse to me, so we passed on that one.  We did however try dragon fruit, and some strange thai fruit.  It's strange to think there are so many delicious fruits out there that I have never even heard of, better yet tasted.  I'm going to keep my eye out for mangosteens.  Yum.

One of my favorite meals was in little India. Our meal came served on a banana leaf.

Bryce and Emily, eating off of banana leaves.

I couldn't help noticing that we were the only ones using utensils.  It was a familiar sight, workers squating in circles near the back of a shop, eating with their hands red rice on banana leaves, in a surprisingly tidy way.

The sixth sense:

Walking along the nature reserve, we got the feeling that someone was watching us.  It was the monkeys.  They were more intimidating than a gang of thugs.  We walked quickly and tried not to look them in the eye.

Monkeys waiting to ambush us.  There are more hiding on the wall.  

The monkeys at the zoo weren't quite so scary.  We love the Singapore Zoo.  It has a very Disneyland-esque feel about it - friendly, clean, entertaining, delicious.   The Zoo also offers a night safari.  It was awesome!  An entirely different section of the zoo comes alive at night.  The kids fell asleep when our tram broke down, but we definitely did not sleep through the fire-breathing show.  It was amazing!


Bintan Lagoon

We took a ferry over to a resort on Bintan Island in Indonesia.  The beaches were beautiful.

Hermit crabs were everywhere, and sand dollars were popular collectibles.

Finding hermit crabs.

But the kids spent most of their time in the pool, playing on the slide.  When we ask them what their favorite part of the trip was, they all say "laser tag!"  It was an amazing hotel, all open to the ocean breeze.

Shon was in heaven in Singapore, eating the food he ate on his mission, and speaking with the locals.

Shon in China town. 

I enjoyed eating American food!  You want it, they got it.  Angie and I had lunch at Chili's.  In Singapore.  I love their chips and salsa.  Yum.  It's been a long time. . . (We don't get much Mexican food in Australia.)

We all had a great time!

Feeding the "Gold fish" at the hotel.

The very best part of our trip was being with the Zufelts.  We already miss them.  It's always hard to leave, though it's nice to be home again.

Fall Break

It's the end of March, which means it's time for Fall Break! (Think southern hemisphere here.)  We climbed into PJ (our car) and headed to Straddie:   North Stradbroke Island.  (Obviously, we didn't drive in the water, like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  We took the ferry!)

Trip highlights:

The ocean.   Our unit was on the ground floor, but the apartments were on a cliff, so we had a great view.    We fell asleep to the sound of the ocean, and could see the surfers below.  I love the ocean.  (sigh) 

Unfortunately, the highlight was also our lowlight.  We drove down on an unpatroled beach about 2 km from the surf and rescue club, in what looked like a pretty placid spot.  We had 4 adults watching the kids, and one of them was in the water with them.  The kids hopped on their boogie boards and were having a great time.  Bryce's board had a broken tether, so he quickly lost his, but we weren't worried - the water was shallow and he is a strong swimmer.  A family's car was stuck in the dunes behind us, so I walked back to see if they needed help.  The next thing I knew, Shon was jumping in the car, yelling that he was getting the lifeguard.  Bryce was caught in a rip.  I looked up just in time to see him put his hand in the air (the signal that you need rescuing) 100 m away from where he had just been, and he was moving fast!  I couldn't believe how quickly the conditions changed.  Somehow he found a sand bar and stood up.  Shon turned around and came back.   With a little adult help, we got him back on dry ground.  Maybe 2 minutes after it all started, a lifeguard was there with a Seadoo, ready to help, though by that point, everything was under control.  Amazing.  The lifeguards must have been sitting in their station, watching us with powerful binoculars, knowing that we were going to get in trouble.  He must have really scrambled to get to us so fast.  Thank you, Mr. Lifeguard!  It could have just as easily been one of the little kids that got pulled out to sea.  As it was, it took an hour for the adrenaline to wear off.  And I will never swim on an unmanned beach. 

Wildlife. We saw dolphins.  They were just hanging out by the jetty, so Emily ran down and put her hand in the water, and they came right up to her!  (The fishermen on the dock weren't so thrilled - they scared all of the fish away!)  Call me American, but it still surprises me every time I see a kangaroo.  We saw a lot.  Goanna lizards kept walking past our veranda, like small dinosaurs.  It was fun to watch one climb up a tree too.  We also watched a huge sea eagle fish as we drove along the beach.  Abby and I explored the tidal pools (anemonae, crabs, little fish) and saw an awesome beetle.  It was electric blue with orange spots.   We're not in Kansas any more. . .

Straddie is a popular spot for sea turtles to nest.  This year they had 14 nests.  They had mostly all hatched before we arrived.

 Along with the magestic wildlife, we also saw some of the more annoying  varieties.  I saw the largest huntsman spider I have ever seen!  It was easily larger than my hand span.  It was just hanging out in the game room.  We also saw cane toads and hords of baby frogs and tad poles.  And one ferral cat. 

Off-roading.  PJ didn't let us down.  We never even got stuck!  (We tried our hardest. . . )   We drove through massive pot holes, and washed out roads.  I will be cleaning red mud and sand out of our car for a week!  We learned the value of a good map. 

Surfing!  We took surfing lessons.  Kids are awesome.  They just pop right up.  Even we grown-ups learned quickly:  pick a good wave, paddle hard, get up quick (not on your knees!) and don't look down.  It was so fun, but the next morning it felt like I had done a hundred push-ups (which I had).


photo courtesy of Andrea Call.



The very best part of our holiday was spending time with friends and our family, and now we have 2 lovely weeks left to enjoy together in our school holiday.

Island Holiday

We love the view from our veranda. On a clear day, we can see to the ocean and across to an island - Moreton Island. Little did I know, that island on the horizon is heaven on earth.

It's Spring Break. (Please think southern hemisphere here.) We just spent 5 lovely days on Moreton Island. It was fabulous, in spite of the cold rain. The best part, of course, was that we were with friends. Everyone had someone to play with.

The first day we drove to the ferry and took a 90 minute boat ride to the island. Only four-wheel drive vehicles are permitted on Moreton Island, as there are no paved roads. The ferry landed and we drove onto the beach. The adventure began. And so did the rain. But we're not the type to let a little rain spoil our fun.

We stayed at the Tangalooma resort. It is a former whaling village. Back in the 1950's they "processed" 6200 humpback whales here. The whale blubber was mostly used in making cosmetics. Now Tangalooma is a beautiful family resort where people come to feed wild dolphins. It was so amazing to watch. Every evening the dolphins would stroll through the harbor. One evening, our children were in the water playing and the dolphins came just a few feet away. The resort had all sorts of fun activities for families: snorkeling the sunken ships in the harbor, tennis, ATV's, movies, food, karaoke, basketball, ping pong, boules, croquet, archery, "sledding" the sand dunes in the "desert" - and best of all, beaches. Sand is our favorite toy. We have sand collecting in all of our pockets, but it was worth it - the kids had a ball playing in the sand.

Our second day we took a drive around the island. Driving on the beaches is a ball. Driving across the island was a bit more treacherous, but so beautiful. There were flocks of beautiful little rainbow bee-eater birds, and we nearly ran over a large (2 m) snake (most likely a carpet pithon.) We drove to the lighthouse and then back along the beach.

People often see humpback whales from the lighthouse, but they weren't showing off that day.

We drove back along the eastern side of the island. The beach was amazing.

The most memorable thing we saw though, was 2 dead sea turtles and a manta ray. The turtles were huge. They often mistake plastic bags for jelly fish (their main source of food) and smother. (We'll be using cloth bags, thanks.) The ray was 7-8 feet across.

After the eastern beach, we drove to the desert and went sledding. It was fun! The road was very treacherous, but our Pajero was a beast and got us through deep sand and steep hills. The kids gave our car a new name. We're calling it "PJ" now.

The next day, we went on a whale watching trip. This has been a dream of mine most of my life. I saw a whale when I was 5 on a trip from Alaska to Seattle, and I've been interested in whales ever since. I was not disappointed, and I plan to go again. It was cold and rainy, which meant we had most of the ship to ourselves and an unobstructed view.

We saw around 6 humpback whales. They breached and flapped their tails and fins at us. At one point, one of the whales poked it's head out of the water to get a better look at us. The whales were so curious. One of the kids asked if the whales were on a people watching trip. They came to us.

Our fourth day, we went snorkeling on the wrecks near the harbour. The ships were intentionally sunk there, to provide an anchor for a reef. The fish were so colorful. We saw tens of thousands of fish and even a sand shark (small, yellow/brown).

Our final day on the island was sunny and warm. It was heavenly. I spent the morning like a beached whale, while Shon took the kids to do some more sand sledding.

And we headed home (whichmeans I have 14 loads of laundry to do.) Overall, we had a really great time and would love to go back!

Jumper

Aussie Word of the Week

Jumper (n): Pronounced "Jompa"

Translation: a woolen or fleece sweater or jacket.

Used in a sentence: Sarah dearest, it's cold outside. You better wear your jumper.

Here's Sarah. Can't you tell her hands are cold. It was really cold - at least 60 degrees. She is sporting her Jumpa outside at pick up time - my least favorite time of the day, not because I don't want to pick up my kids but because it is such a hassle! All of the girls wear the same hat, which makes it difficult to tell which child wearing Madeline camoflage is mine. Remember that movie about the penguins in Antarctica? Remember the part where the penguins are changing places and trying to find their chick, though they all look alike? That's me, 5 times a week, squawking and hoping my chicks will hear me and reveal which one they are. And one other thing that I hate about pick up time: parallel parking. I'm still avoiding it like the plague. It causes me anxiety. (Please note that I received an A in parallel parking in driver's ed. Doing it on the other side of the road still feels very awkward.)

Hopefully, we won't need jumpers next week when we go to visit our family. That's right, we're changing hemispheres for a holiday. I love the fourth of July. I'm excited to spend it in the good ol' US of A.

Speaking of the fourth of July, did I ever tell you about our first fourth of July down south? We were living in New Orleans and decided to go camping in Mississippi for the holiday. Did I mention I was 6 months pregnant and it was July? Of course. Actually, I wasn't the only one who was pregnant - Natalie Summers was due a week before me. The Shanklins and Pickards came too. We decided to stay in the "primative area" which is code for "the jeff foxworthys camping next to you will be peeing in the bushes, so avert your eyes." I've never been so hot in my life. Sleeping was not easy. We had to open all of the windows to let some air in, otherwise, I would have slipped into something a little more comfortable, like my birthday suit. It was that hot. We found refuge from the heat by standing in the luke warm lake, dodging cigarette butts the entire day. Only problem was that the lake wasn't that clean, so I ended up with a brown line across my middle - the high water mark. The ladies in line to the outhouse were super nice and let me go first on account of my delicate condition (good thing - that line was long!) Thank y'all.

I do have to give credit to the city of Hattiesburg. They had an awesome fourth of July picnic. There were sack races (which Shon won with his mad skills. I'm sure the fact that he was the only one not drunk helped.) and an ice cream eating contest - won by the three time returning champ, Bubba, looking the part in his overalls without a shirt. I set my picnic basket beneath a tree and found it an hour later inhabited by an entire colony of ants - they ate through the plastic wrap and tunneled all around in the banana bread like an ant farm. My favorite part was just before the fireworks when Elvis came and sang the national anthem: "I wish I lived in a land of cotton . . ."

I sound like I'm being sarcastic and didn't have a good time, but it's actually one of my favorite memories of the Fourth of July. I would do it all again.

Happy Mother's Day!

Yeah, I'm late, but Happy Mother's Day to everyone. I have the greatest mother and mother-in-law ever. Thanks, Moms. I am so blessed to have grown up in a house where my mom made us feel loved and confident, and taught us to serve other people. You're the best, Mom. I want to be just like you when I grow up.

We had lots of lovely fun on Mother's Day. The kids made an awesome breakfast of buttermilk waffles with strawberries, my favorite. (Thank you to Shon for cleaning up!) Our ward priesthood took over Primary for the day. It was fun to go to Relief Society again. Thanks, guys.

St. Margaret's had a special mother's day breakfast the Friday before.

The girls give their mothers a gift that they make. This year it was bangles (bracelets). I was lucky because I got three.

It's traditional at St. Margaret's to wear the previous year's gifts to the breakfast. Some of the ladies were decked in rings, earrings, scarves, necklaces, and bracelets. One lucky dad got to come in his wife's place. Yep, he came fully accessorized. What a good sport!

A special thank you to my sweet children who make me a mother. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lest we forget. . .

Happy Anzac Day!

Australia took a holiday on Monday to remember the Anzacs. Anzac stands for Australia/New Zealand Army Corps.

Not knowing much about the Anzacs, I checked a book out from the library. I didn't know. I didn't know that Australia had such a part in the first and second world war. I didn't know Australia went to Vietnam. I didn't know that Australia is still fighting today in Afghanistan and other areas of the world that need extra security.

I think war stinks. I understand why we have war, but it is a complete waste of human life and natural resources. If leaders would stop being corrupt and people would be kind and tolerant of each other, war wouldn't be necessary. But it is. I pray for peace, but I also pray for the safety of the men and women who are fighting for peace, no matter what country they are from.

As a mother, it hurts to see the pictures of men lying on battle fields. I know some of them had wives and children, but they all have a mother.

I was profoundly impressed with the respect and honor that Australia shows its veterans. We went to an Anzac Day concert at one of our favourite places, the South Bank. It was beautiful. The Queensland Symphony played, prayers were said and hymns were sung, along with a standing ovation renditions of "Advance Australia Fair", and "Waltzing Matilda", and the pipes were playing - the Queensland Police Pipes and Drums. What is it about bag pipes? I can't get enough.

During part of the concert they showed pictures of families being reunited with their loved ones. Those pictures really touched me. I've been there. My father is a Gulf War veteran. I remember the day in December that he left. We drove to Salt Lake City where we stood in line all day to get our military ID's updated. We went to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and they sang "I'll be home for Christmas." It was a live recording, so we had to try not to sob as our family cried through the song. Even more vividly, I remember the day he came home. It was an explosion of hugs, people holding signs, singing patriotic songs, and happy crying. Fathers were holding babies they had never seen. We came home and our neighbors had decorated our house in yellow ribbons. I saw that same expression of joy and sacrifice on the families in the photos at the concert.

Thank you for your sacrifice, and also thank you to Australia for showing the respect to your veterans that they deserve.

Here's an Australian classic and a new family favorite:

Anzac Biscuits

125 g butter, chopped (1 cube)

2 Tbsp golden syrup (Americans, look in an import store, or try 1 T molasses and 1 T corn syrup.)

1/2 tsp bi-carb soda (baking soda)

2 Tbsp boiling water

90 g rolled oats (1 C)

150 g caster sugar (1 C white sugar)

65 g coconut (3/4 C)

1 C flour

In a pan, stir butter and syrup until butter is melted. Then add the soda and water. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix. Bake at 150 C (325 F) for 20 min or until lightly browned. My oven burns everything (really, it's not my fault!), and I like things chewy rather than crunchy, so I only cook them for 10 min. They have a great chewy texture and a wonderful carmel flavour. Even my children, who don't like coconut, love these cookies. Don't forget the flour (I did the first time I made them - actually, my recipe left it out - honestly, it wasn't my fault!)

Sydney

The kids went back to school today. Easter Holiday is over. I keep calling it spring break, but it's not spring, it's autumn. Here's what we did with 2 weeks off school.

Now isn't this your idea of fun: stick 5 happy (but noisy) kids in a car for 14 hours to explore a bit down under. (Actually, we had to go to Sydney to visit the American consulate and conduct some business - kill two birds with one stone.)
Listen to a little didgeridoo and party with the natives.

Here's a familiar sight.

The Sydney Opera House has such great angles.


Ride the ferry out to Manly beach.

Bondi Beach (home of the famous reality TV show: Bondi Rescue - don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either, but we don't watch a lot of TV.)

Bondi is a beautiful beach right in the middle of Sydney.
This is a wildlife crossing. There were koala and kangaroo signs everywhere, but I think this is for the sugar gliders and possums. We saw plenty of boomers. After Sydney we drove to Coff's Harbour where we realized our car was badly leaking fluid. It was Thursday evening. We found a mechanic who would take it - on Tuesday. In the mean time, we got to use their loaner car - a totally "flash" (australian for fancy/cool) 1991 station wagon, which didn't have enough seatbelts for everyone. Fortunately, it says "Goodyear" all over it, so we had no problem convincing the cop at the random check point that it wasn't really our car. I think Shon's 5 o'clock shadow (broken electric razor) helped convince her that we really are responsible parents who use seatbelts. (We really are!)

On Sunday we went to church. It was a small branch which doubled in size for the holiday. We don't normally see the fruits of our efforts, but we did this time. We made friends with another family that had children (here is their daughter with ours) and Shon got to borrow their surf board. We brought our boogie boards, and had a ball. We also had an invitation to dinner and, most importantly, a ride home to Brisbane for Shon (who had to get back to work) and Bryce (who had a football [soccer] camp). The rest of us got to stay and enjoy a couple more days at the beach. The car took all of an hour to fix, and we got to spend a relaxing 6 days by the beach.

This was my morning run, along the beach and up the stairs, where I startled a kangaroo. (He startled me too.)

Caleb, mate, you're too young to kiss! We took a little bush walk, past the banana plantations at the top of a hill. It was beautiful.
It was cloudy, so it's hard to see the ocean in the background.I've never seen this before: an honesty box. Put in your $2 coin and take a bag of ripe bananas.

It's good to be home.