Auntie Amy!

Finally some familymember arravied! Amy came in mid october 2008, but sadly she was just staying with us for nine days!

Snorkeling!

After our snorkeling session on Tioman Island, Thomas was really keen on learning this. I am the mom, but i was still impressed by the boy!

Daddy is fitting the gear on. Phillip was not interested at all in buying a snorkel at the shop, but when we got home........Yes, than he wanted!! But at the end it was ok to play with his boat Elias.

Thomas ready for his first pool snorkeling!

Jepp, this is cool, and I can do it!!!

Bye bye Anne-Siri og Trond

After almost two wonderful weeks with Anne-Siri and Trond, their time to go home came. All of us were quite sad, especially the boys!! We hope you enjoyed your time here, even though there were some big time stomach problems...... We look forward seeing you back home in Norway in December!

Sightseeing with Anne-siri and Trond

Not always easy to combine sightseeing and kids.... Some times I would start the sightseeing day with Anne-Siri and Trond, but around 12.30 I would rush to get a taxi and shoot off to kinder garden!

This is one off the days were the kids came along. Had to stop at the local bike shop to "borrow" some air - flat tires on the "vehicle"!


Anne-Siri and Trond outside the Sultan Mosque in the Arab Quarter. This is the biggest mosque in Singapore!

Trond walking around in Little India (?).
This is inside Singapore oldest Hindu temple - Sri Mariamman Temple. This one is in Chinatown.


From our little sightseeing trip to Tioman Island!! This sign should also be in Singapore.....whatch out!!!

We are warm.....Pooltime.

I think one of the better things we have down here, is the pool. The kids really love it, and they are getting better and better at "swimming". Most of the guest we have also love it. A nice cool swim before bedtime, or maybe one to wake up in the morning...

During daytime there is not much activity in the pool. It can get really hot in the sun, but it is lovely just do splash and do what every, without thinking about other people. PS. My gym room to the right......have not tried it yet, but a do have a plan!!

Trond got a really good workout with the kids. They loved it when he threw them high up in the air. As Phillip said with is face and moth full of water: Mer, mer, en gang til (More, more, one more time)!

Thomas' turn!

After quite a long time of playing, Trond needed a well deserved break!!!

Phillip in the air....... He is a bit wild in the pool. Thinks he can do all that Thomas is doing. Diving with floaters on is no problem!!

Pitstops for food...!

Food is very important to our family. If we find some good food, we are willing to change the course for the day......sorry kids, no bird park - mom and dad need to eat!

Also our guest are put in to this way of thinking! Here we are at ViVo City....should be shopping, but yes - we needed some food!

Kids are always a good excuse for eating.......no, they don't like shopping or sightseeing...i just go and have a snack with them! If you mention the word ice-cream, they are in!

We try to get a bit of variation into our dinning! Tjihihi! Anne-Siri, Trond and Phillip are enjoying KFC. The chicken popcorn are a big time favorite with the kids!

This is when Anne-Siri og Trond is sneaking off to have a quiet and romantic dinner and dessert - no mess, no crying, no screaming, no...., no......, no......!
This is at a small bakery in the Arab Quarter in Bussorah St. Anne-Siri ate a chicken sandwich here.......do not recommend that.....stomach problems for a week!!!

Fishing or feeding?

At the local store, on Tioman Island, Thomas was very eager to get a fishing pole, and at the end we gave in! Phillip on the other hand, didn't want the pole, he went for some chocolate instead! Maybe he is becoming more like his mom.....
Daddy is trying to make the hook a bit more child friendly for a first time fisher! And i guess its also quite good for the other people around....
Daddy is giving instruction. Thomas is very concentrated, but i don't know how much his listened..... Daddy had to untangle the tread (?) quite a few times, to his big frustration!
The water was just filled with fish....... and they really loved the loaf we got from the restaurant! Phillip was generously throwing out bread! The fishing trip became more of a feeding trip.....which everybody were quite happy with!
The catch of the day!Beautiful sunset while we were feeding....

Snorkeling at Tioman Island

Around Tioman there are quite a bit of corals. So everybody rented some snorkeling outfit.....except mom. I am happy staying on the beach and the more shallow water!
Thomas and daddy went quite fare out to snorkel. Thomas was pushed around by daddy, and he was so proud of all he had seen. He even visited Nemo and is dad! That topped everything!
A tired boy, which did very well!
Phillip were not to happy wearing the mask, but the life jacket was perfect. Finally some freedom for this boy also!
Trond ready to show were he and Anne Siri saw all the Nemos.
The rock were Nemo and his father lives!

Tioman Island, Malaysia

We decided that we needed a trip to a tropical island this time too, and landed on the island Tioman. This time we booked through an agency, to make it easier. The bus went from Fare East Plaza at 06.30 in the morning, and jetty from Mersing at noon (which was delayed) and I think we arrived the island around 2 o'clock - a looong trip! Anne-Siri had a upset stomach, so the trip was even worse for her..... (No toilet on the bus!)
This was the rooms we had the first day. In the back you can see Thomas and Phillip feeding the fish. Because the low fences and lack of fences around the 2 m. deep pond, dad and mom was not relaxing at all......... Got to switch room the next day!
The gang is already on the beach. The water was really nice, but with the tide all the dead corrals made it difficult to swim.
Phillip enjoys the sand. He ended up burring moms sandals......
The boys are looking for fish. They were not easy to catch, just ask daddy, but hi manage to get one. There was a lot of "life" in the sand on the beach - the kids really enjoyed that!
Here one can see the dead corals.... We didn't bring proper shoes for the kids (stone fish around), so there was no playing in between the rock.

Link to the place we stayed:
http://www.payabeach.com/index.html

River Cruise

We tried something new with Anne-Siri and Trond - boat trip from Clarke Quay and down the river. Clarke Quay is Singapore's Aker brygge in Oslo.
The bumboat that we went on.
The Cavenagh Bridge. This was the last big project undertaken by convicts here in Singapore. It was finished in 1869. When they built the bridge they did it without a great deal of thoughts to the tides (tongkangs), so the lighters that transferred cargo from the ships to the warehouses at Boat Quay, and back, could not pass under the bridge at high tide. It became a footbridge in 1909, but it still bears its old sign that forbids bullock carts, horses and heavy vehicles from crossing.
Juhu Thomas!!
The Merlion - which is half lion and half fish, is standing at the mouth of the river, and was where the bumboat turned around and went back to Clarke Quay. In the back one can also see som F1 cars from the big night race that had been the weekend before. The Merlion is inspired by the two ancient (Sanskrit) names for the island: Singa Pura (lion city) and Temasek (sea-town).
After a wet run from the bumboat, we all needed some food - of course! Luckily Clarke Quay is covered by big umbrellas - for rain and sun!

Anne-Siri and Trond

On Sunday the 28th of September Anne-Siri and Trond finally arrived Singapore. We had all been looking forward to see them. They were just gonna stay for 12 days......which we all thought was to short! So we tried to enjoy every minute!

Science Centre Singapore

We felt it was about time to explore something new, so we landed on the science centre. This is a very big complex, with a lot to do for kids. We didn't mangage to see that much, because we sort of dumped into a science day - where Thomas wanted to try everything. Its defiantly a place we go back too!
The main entrance. They had a special exhibition on dinosaurs now.

Where did the rest of Thomas and Phillip go........
From the dionsaur exhibition. Skeleton of a.........dinosaur!
A picture of the children's Discovery Centre, where the kids ran around and tried everything. They also had hatching chicken eggs here. After this picture the battery on the camera went flat......not very well prepared for this trip, but we will be back!

Brunch at "Bali"

This is a very nice place to have brunch on a Sunday (I don't remember the name of the place...). We read about it in a magazine, and on our Sunday hunt for a bed we decided to try it.
Here we are sitting in our own "room" waiting for the food.
While waiting for the food the kids played a lot with the sitting "beds". They really had a great time at this place. There were also a little pond with some goldfish and turtles in it.
Enjoying our delicious brunch!

Bird Park again...

On the 15th of August we went back to the Bird Park. We have now bought a year pass, this way we can go when ever, and weekdays are the best! First we went to a show with a lot of different bird, and then we walked around a bit until Thomas remembered the feeding station....
Thomas was so proud to feed the parrots!
Phillip was a bit more scared, so Thomas and mom helped him. He also had a bit of problems holding the weight.
Phillip and Rachel.