Singapore! Part 1

So our good friend, "Uncle Jerry" came to visit for two weeks.  As we were planning his time with us, we thought we would try to do a short getaway as a large family since the kids were off of school.  We found airline tix with miles to Singapore...so off we went!

We left on Tuesday night at 8:00pm.  Not an ideal time, but as we have experienced, it could have been worse.  I just bought the cutest little kiddie earphones for Sarah, hoping that she would either sleep or be entertained by a show.  Well, as I have come to find out, she is entertained for about five minutes, and then she is done.  I have decided that before another 15 hour flight, we will be doing some tv training.  As for this 3.5 hour flight, she did her fair share of complaining, but didn't really bother anyone since everyone else around us had their headphones on, too.  And even though she fussed through a lot of the flight, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that she had her own seat and was strapped in...it was beautiful that after 120+ hours of flying with her, my lap was free!!!

We arrived at our hotel and in bed around 2am...obviously all of us were exhausted, but we were ready to go by 8:30am the next morning...off to the zoo!!!

The Singapore Zoo is wonderful!  Lots of green, and so big that it didn't feel crowded.  We saw some amazing animals...some up close...and enjoyed every moment of exploring this place. We even ran into some neighbors from Hong Kong and we met up with new friends for lunch.  The kids had a ball at the water park, and even though it was blazing hot...the grumbling was minimal and the appreciation was high.  Not sure what our favorite animal was...but I was sure to take lots of pictures:)

The polar bear was one of our favorites

This monitor lizard crossed our path

Another favorite

Looking at the fish

Checking out those monkeys...so cute!!!

Naptime!

Grace made friends with this lemur

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the water park at lunch...perfect on a hot day!

Met our new friends for lunch and play

After the zoo, we went to the River Safari.  This was a shorter adventure connected to the zoo.  It was a little disappointing since one of the rides was down, but we still got to see pandas and manatees...so we were happy.

Finally, to end the day, we met up with one of Andy's long term associates and his family for dinner.  We got to eat by Garden By the Bay and on our way there saw some of the beautiful sights.  Dinner was delicious, as we all tasted new foods such as different satay and even some stingray. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and ready for bed by 10pm...we had to get some quick sleep since we had to be out the door by 7:15am because....

Jerry enjoyed some coconut water straight from the coconut

Sarah liked it, too!

Met friends for satay and other Singapore dishes

The Marina Sands, with a pool on the top, looked beautiful

It was Legoland Day!!!

Our incredibly gracious and kind taxi driver took us to the meeting place where we picked up our chartered bus.  There we got on the bus and drove for about 1.5 hours, into Malaysia, to Legoland.  We had a great time riding rides (and everyone but Sarah could ride), seeing a 4D movie, eating pizza and checking out all the lego displays...which are amazing. After a few hours in the amusement park, we hit the water park...a blast.  We spent the majority of time split up...I took Sarah around the lazy river a few times, and Andy and Jerry took the rest of the kids on the slides.  Sarah sat on a lego-float like she was Cleopatra (hysterical), and the others enjoyed the short lines and many turns down the slides.  After a couple hours we were done and back on the bus to Singapore.

Legoland was a blast 

Grace's face is priceless

Soaking wet, but happy

The Taj Majal...out of legos

When we got back, we did a quick change, then hit Katong, the area our hotel was located, for a bite to eat.  We found a great burger place and enjoyed the breeze and good food.  Sarah even snoozed during my meal, so I got to eat uninterrupted (bonus!)

I will share the rest of our Singapore vacation in a second post:)