Wonderful hike today

We hiked tree-top trail at MacRitchie Reservoir today with our new friends, the Finklestein's. They have 3 children at the ages of 9, 8 and 2. Parrish and Sabrina ride the bus to school with their 2 oldest. Part of the hike is on this high suspension bridge that is literally above the tree tops, 25 meters from the ground. This walkway is really spectacular because it really gives you a look of the forest canopy where you can hear so many different species of birds (and insects too, I think). We also got to watch a monkey (long tailed macaques) climb around on the bridge structure.

Here's a picture of Parrish with her friend Kyra and unsuspecting monkey in back ground just before we started walking across the bridge.


The hike was around 7k (a little over 4 miles) and the kids did great. We had lots of stops for water and snacks to keep the kids happy and that worked pretty well. Having the distractions of the wildlife we saw was a huge help. Sabrina was so cute hiking with her little backpack and watermelon hat. She was all about hiking most the trail. Such trooper. Here's a picture of her with her friend Leigha. These two hiked nearly 80% of the trail!

Here's a picture of Rob just before we finished walking on the suspension bridge.


Aardvark's would thrive in this climate. I've never seen so many ants in all shapes and sizes. Check out this monster ant on the steps of this wooden bridge.




At the end of our hike, we saw many more families of monkeys. I wonder if they eat ants? There were lines of ants on the wooded railings scurrying about and gathering food. We also saw a monitor dragon, which I did not get a picture of, but they are very big and very prehistoric looking lizard.

SAIS makes the press

The girls new school (Stamford American International School) is quickly becoming newsworthy. After the ribbon cutting and official grand opening, SAIS was noted in three different News agencies in print and video in the evening news.

The first link has a video. You can barely tell, but there is a glimpse of Parrish at the very end. Watch for the red-headed pig tails running around.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1001409/1/.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_422858.html
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090828/tap-409-new-international-school-opens-t-231650b.html

Lion Dance Competition

We went walking around last night on Orchard Rd, street we live by that has tons of malls. We were able to watch some of the lion dance competitions going on these past few weekends. We're starting to realize that Orchard road is so much more than just shopping despite mall after mall up and down the street, which each having nearly all the same stores. Really. This is a community place where people gather and meet up with friends. There are events going on all the time, although this competition is the most spectacular we've seen. My pictures weren't turning out, but I did get a few short video clips like the one here:

A mystery

Someone had a birthday in our family, who could it be this time?

The evidence suggests a girl seeing the birthday cupcakes are pink.....


My better judgment would conclude that a girl of a particular age that likes swim goggles, crafts, books, and is perhaps starting to learn how to save money in a blue whale penny bank.


There she is! Parrish turned 6 last Friday on August 28th and we took some time as a family to celebrate her special day. She will be having a party with friends this weekend and is very excited that her birthday celebration has extended throughout the week.
Update!! View her official party pics at this web link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nocheese4/09_Parrish6thBirthday?feat=directlink


We asked Parrish where she wanted to go for dinner.....thinking/hoping she would want to go for pizza. Despite all efforts to convince her otherwise, Parrish insisted on McDonald's. I grabbed my camera and we went out the door. Parrish danced and skipped all the way there. She was so happy about this there were people in the restaurant having a laugh over her very obvious physical excitement.


Given all the changes she has been going through with the move and making new friends, McDonald's was a welcome familiarity. And besides, they serve corn and yogurt for sides if you want.

Last Friday was also the official opening of the International school the girls are attending and there was a ceremony in the middle of the day with all the Singaporean dignitaries and Chamber of Commerce. At the event there was a traditional Chinese lion dance. The performers mimic lion movements in lion costumes as you can see in the picture. These dances are typically performed during festivals, business openings and traditional weddings to invoke fortune and protection.

The music for the dance was very loud and somewhat of a rhythmic drumming tone that sounded like they were beating on steel....but not a steel drum sound. Most of the kids were curious and fearless, but there were a few that did not want to come close to the lion at all. Perhaps it's the power of the masses or the power of peers, but in the end most of the kids posed with the lions for a picture. Can anyone spot Parrish in the pic? Happy Birthday Parrish!

Jurong Bird Park

About 2 weeks ago we went to Jurong Bird park which is yet another zoo, but all birds. Rob and I were pretty interested in all the different species of birds on display. There's so many different kinds of birds, it's amazing. Just the pheasant family alone probably has hundreds. We saw several with some pretty wacky hairdos....er feather-dos.

Parrish and Sabrina were more interested in running the paths than actually looking at birds. I guess with all the open pathways I don't blame them. This picture is pretty much what Sabrina did the entire time we were there. Running and chattering about. The picture is kind of blurry, sorry for that.....but she was moving!


This is Parrish being entertained at the bird show.


The girls were so hot from all the exercise. The humidity can be unbearable at times. There really is no such thing as a cool breeze around here. We've never appreciated aircon so much. I wish our apartment was situated so that we could open the windows and somehow get a cross draft. Here is a picture of some heat rash on Parrish's neck. Sabrina had some on the back of her neck and around her mouth last week, but we've been doing our best to dry their skin out with pool time and treat with "prickly heat" powder.