singaween

singapore skips over halloween and already has everything decked out in christmas garb...BUT not the american bubble up in the woodlands area. no, halloween in the woodlands is america on steroids! our friends gave out 3,000 pieces of candy in 2.5 hours. the police close off the roads and it's pure madness. we loaded up on delicious fall soup at the daynes' house, then started early so sagie could practice the whole trick-or-treating thing.

 

sage is really into this cheesy grin stage. it's hilarious and endearing in person, but in pictures she sometimes looks pained. 

the madness begins

our makeshift ballet slippers with costume trim for ribbon

we found some friends in the street

these little girls are so darling together and both went in for a kiss

lindsay had awesome hair!

happy halloweeeeeeen

a fort

when i say, "go get your reading pillow," sage carefully packs around this boppy pillow, then plops down on it with a stack of books.

fresh out of the bath (one of like three baths a day...she prefers water), we made a reading fort with grandma's quilt.

someday i'll want her to be this age again. 

the age where she sat and watched the tennis players with awe out our window. 

the age where she babbled to herself as she flipped through go dog go for the eightieth time. 

the age where she hid in the curtains and squealed with delight when we'd pretend to find her. 

wish i could bottle this up.

around singapore

we've been exploring this island/country/city-state of ours...

 S & Z colored princess crowns at the wedding dress exhibit we went to at the national museum of singapore.

 every day, we a) hit up the splash pad OR

 

 b) hit up the playground

 S has discovered the magic of $1 rides at the mall...

 ...and the art of chips and salsa

 we went for a walk on a jungle trail, heard rustling above our heads, saw this sign, and started running. i've seen wild monkeys attack and i was not about to let that happen while we were alone on the trail!

 but alas, we finally found the famous henderson waves.

 we've done lots of messy things, and taken lots of showers with the high chair

 singapore knows how to do a splash park right.

 i'm still not an animal lover. katie caught my freak out on the iphone when these lorries swarmed.

 nate took me to a chocolate buffet for my birthday. bliss, i tell you.

 pumpkins are outrageously expensive.

and we are plowing through the string cheese stockhold nate brought back.

betty crockpot-er

behold.

i may still be ovenless, but i am the proud new owner of a mini crock pot. for my debut, i made loaded baked potato soup smothered in cheddar cheese nate hauled back from his whirlwind trip to utah last week (cheese is crazy expensive here). it tasted like...chili's, or red robin. like america. i kind of have a stomach ache from all that starchy goodness.

my next foray into the crock potting world will be brownies courtesy of a martha stewart recipe. i haven't made brownies for 18 months. let's do this.

16 months

oh this girl.


she loves dancing to imagine dragons with her main man...daddy.
and still gives him open mouth kisses.


when i rub hand santizer on her hands, she licks them and smacks her lips. we're working on that.


she still speaks her own language of sagenese with some words thrown in, but has started signing after months of laughing at me when i tried to teach her signs. i love that we can communicate more.


when she hears the word prayer, she immediately folds her arms and bows her head.


i find myself in awe of how sweet/adorable/darling she is...or in awe of how naughty/messy/busy she is!
usually the first one.

we could not love her more.

the people

i've been down and out with pneumonia this week with lots of time for thinking, naps, and catching up on hulu shows.
i've talked about this before, but i almost feel like my highs and lows are magnified here.

i LOVE singapore. i can't stand another taxi driver who refuses to understand my english. i feel fulfilled with this unique experience. i feel alone and so far away from what i know. bring on the asian food! if i have to eat chicken rice again, i will throw up. all i want is a normal turkey sandwich. i could live abroad fooorrrreeeevvvver. let's do europe next. can i please move next door to my mom already?!

and while these things are truly minor in the big scheme of life, they are my things that make up my every day and affect my happiness. there have been times i've declared to nate, "i'm depressed! something is really wrong!" and other times i've sighed and said, "we just couldn't have it any better." so i'm stretching and learning to take it all in stride and find balance.

many of the third world countries i learned about as a child are right here. a plane or boat ride away, across the border even. the disparity of have and have not stares me in the face...maybe not so much in singapore, but definitely in our travels. that constant reminder keeps gratitude on my mind. i have never appreciated clean, running water, clothing, and shelter more than now. i've also never appreciated friends that instantly become close more than now. we loved chicago because our friends became family since we didn't have any family close by. that bond is times two here, except we constantly say goodbye to those awesome friends too.

i have been overwhelmed this week by the kindness of my friends. play dates + outings for sage so i could nap, meals, texts, calls, sweet get-well-soon cards from the activity days girls, errands done...one friend even sent over her helper to clean! nothing makes me happier than a spotless apartment.
change is a recurring theme in our singapore life. i'm grateful for the people i've become close to here, but so sad to see them go.

dear friends moving away also equates to snazzy parties though,and there have been some good ones that have gone undocumented.
amazing foodie food and fun girlfriends are always involved.

random thoughts, i know. but the bottom line is that i really dig the people here.

sage bleeds blue

nate lost a friendly bet with our friends blake and jane. instead of putting money on it, the boys wagered our kids wearing the opposing team's gear. 

utah beat byu 24-21. ughhh. sorry sage!

 it started out rough, but once we told sage she didn't have to go to school there, she got happy...

the cheesy smile, the buddha belly, the too-short shirt...it kills me. 

 utes cougs forever!

lanterns and mooncakes

the chinese mid-autumn festival has been in full swing here. 

fancy mooncakes are on display, pomelos and durians line our wet market stands, and there are silk and paper lanterns everywhere. while nate was in jakarta, i took sage to the chinese gardens for the lantern festival. so pretty!
nate had my camera, so these are courtesy of my iphone...