Downtown Singapore

Last Monday we had our appointment at the Ministry of Manpower to get Brennan's employment pass and mine and the kids' dependent passes. Everything went smoothly except for getting Tatum's picture. She has been a little bit more of a stinker than usual since we got here and much more shy. So asking her do something with an audience never goes well. And they seemed to be quite particular about the photo considering she is only three! There was a small shadow on one side of her face, Brennan's finger was in the corner of the picture, her head isn't quite straight on, she isn't looking up enough, her chin is too far down. Oh boy, it was quite a process. And then somehow the lady got Declan's on the first try. It was strange. Anyway, we got through it and then decided to take advantage of the fact that we were downtown. It is a bit of a jaunt, especially via bus or train so we thought we would walk around a little. But that little turned into a lot. Like miles and miles. And all we had was the single stroller. :/

Tatum looking all grown up. When did this happen?

We walked along a very long stretch of seafood restaurants along this river. I love Tatum's face in this one, Brennan had just said something about the crabs or lobsters behind her and she is looking a little worried.

Right as we were getting to the end of this row of restaurants and their lovely awnings it started to pour. It just kept coming, harder and harder. I had told myself to bring the umbrella, but of course forgot. We had no idea where we were or what was around and by the time we took cover at a bank we were pretty well drenched. It was actually nice to be a little cooler and the kids loved it.

Tatum loved playing in the standing water on these benches after the rain stopped.

A horrible picture, really, I just thought it was hilarious that Tatum had to stand on the other side. What a teenager.

We bought an ice cream sandwich from a street vendor which was a little different. The ice cream certainly had a different flavor and the sandwich part was just a really thin wafery thing that was much shorter than the cube of ice cream. Tatum was weird and wouldn't hold it or bite it. So I would just have to hold it for her like this so she could lick it.

Some of the iconic parts of Singapore. The Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

We walked all around this bay, I'm not sure where I thought I was going, and then we could see these trees from the Gardens by the Bay and I remembered I had wanted to go there. So we back tracked and trekked all the way in there too.

The Singapore Flyer. Tatum calls it the spinning wheel and really wants to ride it. We told her we would ride it when we have visitors...so who's coming?? :)

Walking in the Gardens by the Bay.

This girl was getting TIRED. She really was a trooper. We carried Declan for awhile and let her ride. And then Brennan carried her for awhile too when we needed the stroller so Declan could sleep. We got to the mall that is right by the Gardens by the Bay and he put her down and told her she needed to walk. He started walking away and she started to follow. After about three steps she stopped, bent over and grabbed her legs and while crying said "My legs hurt!". I definitely laughed but I'm sure it was probably true! Another random happening in the mall...We had run out of water and so Brennan asked the information desk if there were any drinking fountains. They told him no and said there was a grocery store in the mall and he could go buy some water. He started to walk away and I guess she thought he wasn't going to do that because then she said "or we have some water bottles...complimentary". First of all the absence of drinking fountains in this country is a little annoying. Second of all, kind of weird/funny that she told him he could go buy some or take some from her for free. Hmmmm....what will we choose?

Declan woke up to find that we were STILL walking.

There was supposed to be a splash pad in the Gardens so we thought we would just let the kids do that and then head out. We forgot that Monday is the day things are usually closed here. Tatum was heartbroken to find the splash pad blocked off and not running. So Brennan grabbed her water bottle and said "Tatum there's a splash pad right here, see!" And started spraying her water bottle everywhere. It totally worked! She thought it was awesome and it totally rejuvenated her. We had our happy Tatum back for at least a few minutes.

We stopped at a hawker center next and got some food. We really liked everything but the kids were not impressed. The guy brought these things called love letters out for the kids though and they devoured them. They are made out of maybe the same thing as fortune cookies only thinner? And then they are just rolled up sort of like a taquito would be but hollow and then they have a coconut taste. They were pretty yummy. It was so nice of him-we were so grateful to have something that our kids would eat.

First hawker center for everyone but Brennan.

When we got done eating it was starting to get dark so we thought we would take a quick look at the skyline lit up.

We didn't stay for long though because everyone was tired. Beyond tired. She just laid down on the ground and we just let her. :)

The kids were crazy hyper on the taxi ride home and then Tatum crashed on the couch within five minutes of walking in the door. And she slept for over 12 hours that night. We wore that poor girl out.

It was a lot of walking but a really fun day of exploring and seeing as a family.