A few weeks in

Our 'holidays' have officially ended as Jason next back to work today.  The last couple of weeks have been so much fun but its time to get into a normal routine.  Since we pulled the boys from school early, they will be doing daily school work with  me.  In addition to the regular academics, we will be going on weekly field trips as well doing fun 'options' like art/crafts (the boys started to build their Iron Man costume out of cardboard today) and foods (Boys will make a weekly meal.  In addition to the preparation and cooking, they will also be responsible for developing the grocery list and making sure their meal is healthy and well-balanced).

House Update: We are still looking for our home.  We went back to see House A and House B and weren't sold on either for different reasons.  Prior to walking through the houses again, we walked through the neighbourhoods and the neighbourhood of House A didn't have a good feeling to it.  There was about 4/5 houses on the street and they were either run-down or looked unoccupied and the block is surrounded by tall housing apartments.  Right across the street, an 18 storey apartment complex is being built.  The kitchen is amazing, as well as the bathrooms, but that didn't make up for the other deficits.  House B is nice but the bathrooms are really small (which would probably drive me nuts for 4 years).  So, the house hunting continues.

Exploration Update:  We have spent the past two weeks exploring some of the sites in Singapore (the is so much fun things to do as a family!). We splurged and spent one night at the Marina Bay Sands hotel and swam in the infinity pool on the top of the building (will post pictures once the computer is fixed).  The stay was well worth the cost and we would recommend anyone travelling to Singapore to budget for a stay in the hotel - it really is amazing!  We also went to the zoo, another amazing place.  A cab driver told us that it is the second best zoo in the world and we were impressed.  Unlike other zoos we have visited, it feels like you are up close to the animals as they aren't in cages but instead are sepereated by a dyke (that probably has some type of wire preventing the animals from escaping) and there is so much greenery.  We were there in the afternoon so we watched the elephant show and the sea lion show - both were so entertaining and impressive!  Jake & Josh were kissed by the sea lion!  Another must-see attraction for visitors.  On the same complex as the zoo is the Night Safari and the River Safari and we went to the Night Safari.  This gave us a really neat experience to see animals at night and up close.  We rode on a tram that drove through the zoo (but a different zoo then what we saw earlier) and at times, it felt like if you reached out, you would be able to touch the animals.  For the African section, it felt like we were on an African Safari.  Again, so impressive!  There was a couple of shows we watched and we could have walked on the walking trails to further explore but opted to head home as it was past ten o'clock.

School Update: We visited the boys' school for our orientation tour and they are so excited start in August.  The campus is open and the teaching is inquiry-based which will be great.  After learning that I am treacher, the principal and assistant principal approached me and asked if I would be interested in being a supply teacher.  I went for a meeting today and have agreed to supply teach in the fall.  I am really looking toward to it and the boys are so excited to have me teach at the same school they are attending.

Visitor Update: Our first visitors have already arrived!  Amanda and Les are friends from university and are currently living in Macau.  They are teaching at an international school and have lived in Macau for the past three years.  Amanda & Les were in Singapore this past weekend running in a 1/2 Marathon race Friday night so we got to spent time with them Friday and went out for dinner and drinks Saturday night (the service apartment we are staying in has babysitting service).  The area we went to is called Clarke Quay (pronounced Key) and it has a good night life - lots of restaurants & clubs.  In the colonial era,  the buildings were warehouses but now has been transformed into a pedestrian street. Cool spot!

NHL: We are cheering loudly for Boston!  We have been able to listening to the games on the NHL app during breakfast.  A great way to start the day!

Still waiting on our computer so no pictures yet :)