Ashton's first day of school and the National Orchid Garden

Ashton's first day of school. He is going to the Canadian International school so he will be learning both Madrian and French in Pre-K, crazy. He didn't get into the American school. His teacher is from Alstralia, her name is Mrs. Barnard and it is fun to listen to her talk. She was reading a book about dinosaurs and there was a big one and she said "He is quite tubby isn't he". She also says Mum or Mummy just like everyone else around here. It is how they refer to moms here, it is funny to see it on advertisements and newspapers. I don't know why it sticks out to me so much I just think it is cute. Ashton is also in front of the Singapore flag. They just had their Singapore National day, 43 years of being there own contry, (like our 4th of July) so there were flags everywhere. I will post a seperate post on that later.
You would think that we were famous. After we dropped Ashton off at school we went to the Orchid gardens we had several people actually stop us and ask if they could get Collin's picture or have their picture taken with him. Tammy took a couple pictures with her camera to. We just thought it was funny. I don't know if it just because he was a baby or white. The girls Tammy is with wanted to get there picture taken with Hayden (I was breast feeding Collin so I wasn't with Tammy and Hayden). He was OK with it the first couple but got a little shy or weired out by it so Tammy had him take her picture with the girls. I think they were visiting from Korea. People here just LOVE babies. Every where we go we get so much attention because of Collin. No matter what race, gender or age, everyone looks touches, and asks boy or girl and how old. They used to campain to keep families to 2 or less kids now they are trying to change that since the population has dropped so much. Tammy observed that if you want to be treated well you need to carry a baby around.
So here we are at the garden, the variety was amazing and so colorful and beautiful.
The orchids in the bottom left hand corner are a stem of tiny multiple orchids. My hand is there to give you a perspective to how small ther are. Sometimes it was hard to see the orchids so I put my hand behind them so they didn't all blend together. The upper left hand picture is of one of the water falls they had there. I also like the pink Cali Lilies they were pretty. The bottom right hand is something we see a lot around here I need to figure out wwhat it is called. I like the orchids that have patterns and designs in them. They just don't seem natural. Something I am looking forward to once we get settled in is to gets some cool plants for our "back yard" kind off. I'll post pictures of our house later.

Monkeys

Monkeys, monkeys, everywhere.

The night that Tammy left we took her to a park we had heard about that day that has monkeys that hang out. There is a play groung that they come out of the trees and play on. The right hand column is a bunch of monkeys, Hayden the monkey then Ashton running away from the monkeys.
I just thought this sign was funny. Even if you don't feed the monkeys, as you can see they help themselves. While we were there we did see some Indian guy feeding the monkey despite the signs telling you not to. In the car Tammy teased Ashton that the monkeys eat little boys so it took a while to get him out of the car and once we did we realized we only had one shoe. You fill the car with everything you think you would need but can we remember a shoe? No.

More updates..

First of all we have gotten word that our stuff should be delivered tomorrow, yeah!!! I just have to say I love how our church works. I called someone I met at church and figured I would be able to borrow a few things before we went out to buy duplicate of things we don't need. That afternoon I had 4 people show up to deliver everything we could use and had several others call and offer and ask what we would need. We got futons to sleep on, camping chairs folding chairs, a copule of tables and our saving grace was that we had bought the old owners Tvs, iron ironing board, and a few kitchen items. We did a quick trip to IKEA and we were set. We also got invited to someones house for dinner Sunday night. The funny thing is her got sick so she called and made arrangements for someone else to feed us. It was awesome chicken, green beans, baked potatoes, a green salad, homemade rolls and to finish it off homemade brownies that were really good(I have been trying to find a recipe that compares to a brownie mix since they are $7 here). Nothing like a good "western meal". Then monday some else brought us some chicken noodle soup, chips (Tostitos Tysons favorite, which probably cost at least $7 also) and a salsa made similar to a black bean and corn salsa I used to make. For desert she had made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies she make with a spice cake that she had hand delivered from the states from her trip home this summer. I love a lot of the local food but it was nice to have some things that are more like home.

Hot Dogs!!
Something that is really popular here but they are chicken. When we were at the Apartment they had them at the breakfast and chilli sauce to serve with them. I hadn't seen any beef hot dogs, the chicken ones just don't look right. Anyway we have this guy that just calls you every morning to see if you want any groceries and he will go where ever he needs to and get it for you, if it is on the island. He doesn't charge for his service but he marks up his prices, but not to much to take into consideration what you would have to go through to find the item yourself. He came by yesterday to introduce himself and someone was here dropping something off and said "I heard you can get beef hot dogs" I said get me 2 packs and some mustard (we already had ketchup to go with the nuggets I had found). So today he dropped off hot dogs (2 packs of 8) and a bottle of French's mustard (he know the brands that most Americans like so he will get them unless you tell him to get you more local which is cheaper) which cost me just over $20. He keeps a tab and you pay him at the end of the month. I want to try to keep shopping on my own most of the time because I want the excercise. Another weird thing, the hotdog buns come in a pack of 4 and aren't pre-sliced, I bought some lunch meat for Ashton which was pre-cut either which I didn't relize until I opened it to make his sandwhich.

Jet lag, etc.

So I am way behind on my blogging but I want this to double for a journal someday so I will be posting as much as I can just slow and a little at a time. Anyway this is what the boys looked like dealing with the jet lag. We were trying to go somewhere safe (something Hayden would eat) for dinner like McDonalds but Ashton crashed out before we could get there but we kept going. At least it was Ashton and not Hayden. Hayden has put on a lot of weight these past couple of months. We have bought him some clothes lately that he has grown out of in less than a month. We no longer carry him to bed if he falls a sleep we wake him up and make him walk. Our little boys are all growing up.

Things that are different here in Singapore:

*There is a switch to turn on almost everything, electrical outlets, your stove, hot water (you have to turn on the "water switch" about 10 minutes before you want to take a shower) and press the switches down instead of up to turn things on. I think it is to conserve the electrity.

*Thousand Island is the standard salad dressing here if you get a salad sometimes they will have a oil and vinegar type of dressing. One place had a mustard dressing but it was just a really seedy mustard not really a dressing, just a slab of mustard.

*There are drains about 3-4 inches in diameter in the floors anywhere there is running water and you here the water going down the drain no matter where it comes from in that room. For example you flush the toilet and you can here the water going down the drain, the sink and the shower water going down the drain also so it is just weird hearing it.

*They also have little drops or steps about 2 inches into bathrooms and kitchens so when we were looking at housing (back in march) I would always stumble into the rooms.

*They drive on the left side of the road here and their parking spots are tiny, this is why I am petrified to drive. The motorcycles dodge in and out of trafic and drive in between the lanes of cars at full speed it is trully scary.

*If you get in a accident and hit someone from behind it is automatically your fault. If it is a side to side collision then it is a shared fault.

*It will all of a sudden sprikle or dump rain and then be full sun just as suddenly so you always should always carry an umbrella.

*You can usually tell were people are from by the way they dress. For example American guys are usually the only ones to wear baseball caps. American tourist also tend to where tennis shoes with socks where Australians usually wear taterred flip flops.

Funny things that have happened:

*Four days in, Hayden came out of the bathroom and announced that he figured out how to flush the toilet. There is a silver button on top of the tank that you push. I beleive there are toilets in the US like that but I guess Hayden hadn't seen them before. I just figured someone was being lazy and not flushing.

*One night Ashton, Tyson and I went for a walk to get something from the store. We hadn't gotten to far when Ashton stated that he was tired of walking. I came back with, "That is what people do here in Singapore". We are downtown so there are a lot of cars and taxi's. He looks around says, "but they have cars", like I was lying to him.

Where's our stuff?

Our Blue container started its jurney about the 27th of June and we still don't have our stuff. Our last update was it was supposed to get here tomorrow so we have been living in temporary housing. We got the latest update that it MAY be here next week. We have had to make the decision to start camping out at the house for financial reasons (the company only pays for so much and we have capped out). The logistics of things have been pretty crazy trying to get everyone where they need to be. Hayden has to be up north where his school is by 8:00 and Ashton has to be at his school which is more west at 9:00 and then Tyson has to get to work. Then both boys get out at 3:00. Today Tammy (Tyson's Sister, since some have asked, we do not have a maid but Tammy has been more helpful than any maid could be plus she speaks really good english) and I had to take seperate taxis to pick the boys because today was the first day they both were in school. Once we get into the house Hayden will walk to and from school and Ashton will catch a bus infront of our house. So we have bought floor futons and a couple of chairs and will see what we can borrow form other people who have been insimilar situations and totally understand where we are coming from. Isn't it crazy that this is normal life around here. There is someone that we go to church with and there stuff got sent to Isreal instead of Singapore. So then it took twice as long to get there stuff. They were camping out in their house for months. Say a little prayer for the blue container that is out there somewhere that it will find our home. At least the boys are in school!!!

The Pool

Here is a far view of the pool at our apartment. We will be here a total of about 3 weeks. The pool is pretty and very clean. Everyday we were out there someone was sweeping up the flowers and leaves that had fallen on the ground. This place (Singapore) lives up to its reputation, very clean.

The rocks here on right are to be walked on barefoot for a massage I think. I tried it, it was ok but I wouldn't do it again.

Here is another view of the pool.

This is where the boys spend most of there time. Tammy is awesome she is usually out there with them at least 3 hours a day.I personally have been to the pool only a couple of times. I am usually feeding Collin or doing other glamorous things like grocery shopping, laundry or trying to do stuff on the computer.These boys have never been this tan before in there lives.I hope we haven't given them skin cancer.We have been using sunscreen.

They have had to get creative with new things to do. Hayden has on 3 pairs of goggles here. They play best when we they have friends at the pool that they have made here.

Collin gets blessed and more

I am trying to go through my pictures and catch up so I can move on in our journey so here we go, bare with me.

We have had 3 boys and I bought this outfit for the first one over seven years ago. Collin is the first one that actually fit into it when we went to bless him. I vividly remember going to walmart at something like 11:00 p.m. the Saturday before the blessing of Hayden looking for a new outfit. When we tried this none on him that night just for fun it was too small. Both boys were blessed closer to 2 months Collin was closer to 1 1/2 months and fit. We blessed him in the ward I was raised in. My dad was able to participate so that was really neat.

Grandpa R taught them how to play croquet, hitting things with a stick is always a hit with the boys.

Ashton is really into his hair. Often asking for gel in his hair and doing it himself or asking for help to make a mohawk,etc. We took a picture of a triple mohawk he requested.

Grandma R with Collin. My mom had just had one of her breast removed due to cancer less than a month before we arrived and was worried she wouldn't be able to enjoy our stay and play with kids like she normally does. She had a great recovery and enjoyed her naps with Collin, so did I.It was a great help to me to have her holding him. I think she was able to do a lot more than she thought she would. Mom, thanks for letting us invade your house. Just so I don't seem so horrible I talked to her before we came and she would have been very sad if we would have changed our plans. (Her cancer was found after we had booked flights).My grandmother is a 25 year survivor so this help everyone deal with mom's diagnosis well.

Sacramento River

Outdoor pictures are all kind of foggy looking because of the smoke, it got really bad by the end of the trip. Any time you went outside it smelt like a campfire was close by. Here is a shot of Tyson with all of his new fishing gear practicing.

Tyson decided to try his hand at fly fishing since he can't take his guns to Singapore. He took a couple lessons and we went out as a family so he could practice what he learned and the boys could get rid of energy.

Here are the boys playing and posing for pictures.There is a In and Out Burger in Redding and we definately took advantage of it. They are a well known hamburger place and all they serve are burgers, fries and drinks. Everything is fresh as you order your food you can watch them cut the potatoes up for the french fries. In this picture you can see the hats the boys were given. I think they are normally only for employees because out of the 3 times (horrible, I know) we ate there we only got them once.

Tyson was also able to take a day trip with a guide. It was only catch and release but he talked his guide into holding one of his fish up long enough to get a picture to prove he actually caught something.

A day in L.A.

We fly from Sacremento (the closest major airport to my parents house) to L.A. but we were meeting up with Tyson's sister Tammy in L.A. so we felt it would best to stay the night and fly out to Singapore the next day to leave room for any small glitches they might happen (they lost our car seat on our trip to sacramento, it was fedex to us a few days later so we do have it again). So we got in about lunch time on Saturday and got back to the airport about dinner time Sunday. We spent some time at the beach and at the hotel pool. L.A. has awesome weather, it was hard to leave. At the end of the day on the beach we stopped and got cookies at a cute little bakery and ate them at lunch poolside at the hotel. Hayden picked out Cookie monster and Ashton picked out Nemo.

Hayden enjoyed playing in the waves and Ashton was more comfortable on the sand which is a switch of their normal personalities but I think it is because Hayden can swim a lot better than Ashton. But I think everyone had fun.

More in Redding

While in Redding I visited a good friend of mine. Ryan has a little boy Mason who is a year younger than Ashton and 9 month girl named Molly. They are both cuties and Ryan is the best dad. One of the things he shared with us was a bottle rocket he had made out of pvc pipe and 2 litre soda bottles which was set up to launch 3 different bottles. He also had a potato canon that shot potatoes in the air. They would also stick glow sticks in with the potato at night and watch them fly in the air. If anyone is interested in building either of these or other projects like it he got these out of a book called Backyard Ballistics, I think most dads would like these. When we were done shooting the potatoes in the air they shot the potato remains against a wall in his backyard and watched them explode.What dad does not want to bond with his kids that way?

Hayden was really cute with Molly. Collin hung out in the grass while the boys would pump up the rocket bottles.

Ryan wrestled all 3 boys. Tyson was gone for a week so my boys were missing their wrestle time. They ended up piling on top of Ryan with the help of his wife.They also wrestled with the animals. Which were almost like little tables that are supposed to hold up to 120lbs.