Anyways, there has been a lot going on in the past month. The last two weeks in April were long because Josh was gone on his trip to the Middle East and South Africa. He was gone for 12 days straight and it is never fun to have him gone that long. Mostly it's hard for the kids because after about day five, they start asking all the time where daddy is and when he's coming back. We Skype a lot but it's just not the same...I think the kids start to think he lives in the computer!
Once Josh was back, we went back to our normal routine. Mostly that involves the kids' school schedule, Blake's gymnastics, mandarin lessons, and swim school with the added addition of having daddy here for dinner and night time routines. Josh and I volunteered at Blake's school for staff appreciation day. We watched over his class for an hour while the teacher's enjoyed a nice meal put on by the PTA. We had so much fun watching all the kids and for me it was fun to be back in the classroom, even if it was only for a short while!
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| Blake is becoming quite the little gymnast! |
A few days after Josh was back, we decided to go to a carpet auction to learn more about persian carpets. Mostly we just wanted to see how the auctions worked and the prices they go for. We got there and were asked to put in our guess for squares per inch on one of the rugs they were giving away. I took a look and the number 126 popped into my head and I wrote it down. Later that night, about half way through the auction, a lady walked to the auctioneer with a paper with the number 126 written on it. I saw the number before they called my name and I was in immediate shock! The auctioneer said, "We have one winner here tonight. And it's not a gentleman, it's a lady!" He hadn't even called my name yet and I was freaking out! Josh looked at me and said, "What is the matter with you?" Then they called my name and we both started laughing! I cannot express how giddy I was to have won! It's a beautiful carpet and at least now we don't have to buy one! Now where to put it... ;)
The day after the auction both Josh and I came down with horrible food sickness. We were wiped out for a week. That was definitely NOT fun!!!!
Once we were both healthy, I attended a shophouse home tour here that was organized through Blake's school as a fundraiser for the PTA. These old houses are amazing and the way they have modernized them is truly unique. It was a fun day. The following Sunday was mother's day where Josh and the kids got me some wonderful TWG Tea as well as the Singapore Shophouse book I've been wanting for some time. It was kinda a shophouse weekend! In the morning we had a lovely brunch at PS Cafe at Dempsey Hill and sat outside overlooking the garden. It was so nice! We also ended up going bowling for the first time at the club and the kids had a blast! It was so much fun!
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| Interior of a shophouse. The air well is in the kitchen and the bottom has been made into a koi pond water feature! |
Josh traveled to Hong Kong for the week after Mother's Day, but only until late Thursday night. He got to see the giant rubber duck in the harbor when there (I was jealous, but he went and took a picture of it for me). Apparently the thing is traveling around to various cities around the world. Pretty cool!
That week Joslyn had her school trip to Fish@Big Splash on East Coast Park. They were given little nets and could catch little fish, mostly goldfish and guppies. She caught a few on her own then we got some together. We then went to Starbuck's for a cold drink and then walked down to the beach to see the "boats in the pool" as Joslyn said! It was such a fun time. We even brought home our fish, though they didn't make it...not even one. :(
On Friday we went out to dinner and then saw The Great Gatsby. It was really great! I now have to finish reading the book. That Sunday we decided to have a picnic dinner at the Botanic Gardens and the kids brought a bike and scooter to ride. It was really fun and I think they loved having the wide open space to scoot around.
Josh was back to Hong Kong for Monday and Tuesday the following week. On his way to the airport on Monday, he opened an email saying he had been accepted to the Chicago Booth eMBA program which is set to commence in June with a kickoff week in Chicago! He was so excited and we were kinda bummed he was leaving because it meant we had to postpone our celebration! There was a lot of nail bitting and worrying over the past several weeks as to whether he would get in, so this was very good news indeed! To clear up some confusion, we are not moving back to Chicago just yet. Chicago Booth has it's own campus here in Singapore, where Josh will complete the majority of his program. He will have a few weeks of courses at the Chicago campus, and one week of class at the London, England campus. Chicago Booth's school is located in a historic chinese courtyard style home, one of I believe two here in Singapore. If you know me and my love of historic architecture, you know I'm jealous that he gets to spend so much time in this really beautiful and historical place! Go Josh! We are so very proud of you! :)
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| Source: Channel News Asia |
We had a nice long holiday weekend with Friday off for the buddhist holiday, Vesak Day. Friday we took the kids out to lunch for a little Americana...Chili's! That afternoon we had our friends over for a swim in the pool and a nice BBQ. We had a lot of fun and the kids always like playing with their friends too! The rest of the weekend was short and quiet as Josh had some online programs for his program to do in the evenings. Now we are just prepping for the end of Blake's school year, for our trip home to visit our families in a few weeks, and getting our place ready for our wonderful friends Corey and Mike who are coming to see us the week after we return to Singapore in July. We are having so much fun and getting excited for it all! Life has been so good to all of us and we are grateful!
