Vesak Day

On Vesak Day we went up to the Shuang Lin Monastery. This is one that I have wanted to check out for awhile, so Buddha's birthday was the perfect day. Buddhist celebrate his birth, enlightenment and death all on the same day. 

There were lots of big buildings to explore. The big Buddha statues were gorgeous and I loved the warrior paintings on the big doors, each one so different. 

 In the main hall there was a lot of chanting, meditating, reciting, praying, offering and bowing going on. 

Gage stood in line to bathe the baby Buddha. 

Love that face. 

And these two. 

Can you see Gage in the crowd? He loved throwing his pennies at the well. 

We ran in to one of Noah's classmates and his family. They are Buddhists and said their kids knew this monastery well. They showed us where to get some snacks. We passed on the chicken bones and tofu clouds but the spring rolls and freshly squeezed orange juice sure hit the spot. 

Happy Birthday Buddha. 

The babies turn one!

These sweet babes were all born within a couple weeks of each other. I can't tell you how much I love each of them and their amazing mommas. 

Sarah hosted us at the British Club for such a fun party. Balloon man, cotton candy, popcorn machine. The kids had a blast. 

But I didn't take a single picture! I have got to learn the art of holding a baby and taking pictures at the same time. I'm so glad Sarah shared her pictures too.

boys at school

Doesn't Noah make an awesome Neil Armstrong? Anything can be done with foil and duct tape. 

The 2nd grade put on a wax museum full of fabulous famous people. 

Noah wrote and memorized his speech. Very informative. And adorable. 

The boys' favorite school day is pajama day. I snapped a quick pic before they hopped on the school bus. Don't be fooled by the grumpy Gage face, he's about to crack up. 

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One of my favorite school days is the Student Led Conference. The kids give parents a tour of everything they've been doing in school. But this time, it poured and poured and poured so we were all soaked to the bone. 

Noah in his classroom. 

Gage in his. 

We are so proud of these little students. 

Another fun day at school. I brought brownies in to Noah's class on his birthday. He was so happy. 

Bukit Timah field trip

Handsome Dave and I both volunteered for Noah's field trip to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. 

2nd graders are so cool. They were totally into it. We used QR codes to identify certain plants, taught stations on natural resources at the quarry, read stories, had a debate on sharing the planet. All in between pouring rain storms. Too much fun.  The Nature Reserve is gorgeous. We were lucky not to see too many monkeys this time (macques are so freaky...) But we saw banana trees, fig trees, cassava trees with their sago roots, lots of palms and a million other interesting things. 

Don't forget recess! 

Noah and his buddy Battu. 

Noah's class by the quarry. 

Star Power

Gage's class had a unit on performing arts. It was a blast; drama, music, art, field trips, costumes, behind the scenes. At the end of the unit they put everything together in a culminating class performance called - Star Power.

They had a 20 page hand written program with bios on each performer. Hand written tickets and seating assignments. Painted billboards. The children sold concessions at the entrance - popcorn, potato chips and orange juice. Even hand made stage props. All the proceeds were donated to a darling local girl who had recently been in a car accident. The dances and skits were adorable. Gage did a dance to MJ's "I'm bad" with a couple of little buddies. He kept his 'game face' on the whole time.

I love kindergarten.

12 months

Her hair has gotten longer. It lays down a little more now instead of sticking straight up. 

She's gotten taller. Looking like such a big girl when she stands up. 

There's something new every day. 

New words. 

New looks. New gestures. 

New ways to play. 

New things to giggle about. 

New things to keep out of her reach. 

Every day we are amazed by this little person. 

This strong, sweet, clever little person. 

Can't wait to see what is coming next. 

Sybil's Birthday

Our sweet Sybil turned one year old! 

The boys were very thoughtful about her presents. 

Gage wanted to give her a pink balloon. It had to be pink. 

She loved it and could have played with it the rest of the day. 

Noah wanted to build her a tunnel to crawl through. He decorated the inside of a cardboard box by drawing on it with pink crayon and pink markers. He drew signs on pink paper "Happy Birthday Sybil!" "I love you."

It was the perfect size for her. She crawled through it over and over, stopping to look at the signs, squealing and screeching, with Noah right along with her giggling and fixing things as they got ripped down.

It was adorable.

And she loved the chocolate cake. 

Happy Birthday dear Sybil!!!