Zoe's First Day of School in Singapore

The day has finally come for the girls to start school here in Singapore. Term 4 started today just as their classmates in the US are heading back for a new year. I'm exhausted from being nervous about it and wondering how things would go, but Zoe came home with a big grin and when I told her she had school again tomorrow she shouted "Hurray!"

This morning, we ate breakfast and played a little. The plan was to go out to the playground or maybe even go for a swim, but it was stormy so we had to play inside. We fed them an early lunch at 10:15 and then got Zoe dressed in her uniform for school. The bus was picking her up at 11:05.

Usually we take the steps, but Zoe chose the elevator for our trip all the way to the front of the building to catch the bus.

Off the elevator, out of the lobby, and into the car park. Hi, mailboxes!

Look both ways even in a car park.

And up the steps to the front gate.

We waited on the bench for a few minutes, but then got impatient and walked out to the street.

Doesn't she look excited?

The cool bus showed up and Zoe hopped right on. She was all business.

And the bus pulled away. Off she goes.

I was busy taking pictures, but Ted told me later that as soon as Zoe stepped on the bus, one of the little girls in the front called out, "Hi, Zoe!" She must have remembered her from the day we visited the class and the teacher introduced her. Such a relief to know she already had a friend!

Time passes. 

She was dropped off after school at 4:15 and was calm but smiling. Where is she?

Okay, psheww.

She showed off the snack the bus helper had given her.

We couldn't wait to have the snack. She gave Wyatt a nibble, but only one. And inside, she quickly ate some cheese and crackers and a couple Pocky. I guess the plain noodles she had for school lunch weren't enough!

She said she had fun, liked everything, and there wasn't a thing she didn't enjoy. Wow. She told us that she made one friend today who is a girl but she forgets her name. She also has forgotten the Chinese name they gave her at school. Maybe she'll remember tomorrow? I'm curious to know what they picked out for her. 

When I asked her about what her classmates were like and what their names were, she looked a little serious and said, "No Hanks, no Aidans" and sighed. 

After putting Zoe on the bus this morning, we got Ella ready for her school and walked her there. Her day started at 12:45 and it's still an hour and a half before she comes home on the bus at 7. It's been a long and stressful day--for me! The kids are having a ball!

Where the Wild Things Are: the Beach

For the rest of our trip, we spent as much time as possible in the water. The girls made great buddies with other girls from Singapore, Maya and Elena, and Ted and I enjoyed talking with their parents.

Onward to the beach!

Zoe was so in love with the sea this trip. She rolled around in the sand and let the waves take her under. She laughed when water went up her nose or knocked her down, a real fish. In the water, she was constantly on the lookout for "enthusiastic" waves. Not sure where she came up with that one. 

Wyatt was nervous for about the first half an hour. I can't blame him after yesterday's boat ride (and storm). He held onto Daddy for a bit.

Ella was off on her own, riding the waves and running around.

Ted has a good strategy. Get the kids involved in a project and then eventually you can pull back from it and let them take over.

Zoe and Wyatt made a palace for the ant queen. It is covered in spikes. Later when we were wondering where Wyatt's shoes had gone, Ted thought of looking here because yes, there is a pair of Crocs buried in that palace.

Ella was busy with Maya and Elena.

We rented a boogie board and all took turns with it. Ella liked it the most probably, but Zoe sure looks like she's having fun here!

Even I couldn't resist!

Maya and Ella didn't want to stop.

Everybody slept well that night. There were also no fireworks on the beach. Because it was a Sunday night, it was kind of quiet. A lot of people had taken the afternoon boat back and there weren't a whole lot of us left.

We had a delicious dinner and some Singapore Slings while the kids slept and then walked back along the beach to sleep ourselves. It was a perfectly exhausting day. And hot, darn hot.

We woke up to a sun rise that we could see from our bed because we had had to leave the windows open overnight due to the heat. It was annoying then, but it was worth it to wake up to the pretty purple and pink view. This first picture is through the mozzie net. Oh, you know what I hadn't realized? The sea is loud! I mean, I have slept in oceanfront places before but never like this. The ocean was right there and the roar actually kept me awake the first night. So loud! Of course it was soothing by the second night.

That's our view at night. 

When the kids woke up--yes, after us for once--they jumped into our bed.

After packing up and eating breakfast, we had more story time with Ted and played some games in the restaurant and bar. They have a great collection of games and books for kids and adults. We didn't wait long though because we knew we had only a few hours left on the beach before our boat back to the mainland.  

Ted got them started on another digging project. They made a pool at the beach.

Jumping in! Is there anything better than jumping shots?

The younger ones, after playing in the pool they dug, made a tent and relaxed. Really they were sneaking potato chips but we didn't know that then.

Afterward, we rinsed the kids off in the outdoor shower and got them dressed for the trip home. This random dog came walking up to us and Zoe shouted excitedly, "A sea dog!"

Saying goodbye to our new friends at lunch.

One final farewell.

And then we put our life jackets back on and hiked out of there. The waves were too big to walk out to the boat so we ended up repeating yesterday's hike to the other side of the island so we could use the pier. The boat ride was actually much calmer this time so I was able to hold on to something other than Zoe. Ella sat by herself, smiling and loving the adrenaline rush. Then we got in the car and arrived home about 3 hours later.

This trip was right up there with the top vacations of my lifetime and it lasted only 2.5 days. Pretty good! We have already decided we'll be returning soon. The Sea Gypsy is a perfect vacation spot for families, I can't say it enough. Loved it. We'll have to do it quickly before the monsoon season shuts down most of the eastern coast of Malaysia in November. Can we go again next weekend?