Kyoto...more..Temples

Top to bottom:
Kiyomizu Temple
Imperial Palace
Nijo castle
Ginkakji (silver pavilion)
Kinkauji (golden temple...yes, that is real gold leaf covering the entire temple!)

Flashback Friday

Tammy arrives tonight! This picture is from her first trip to Singapore, July 2007. The first trip was with her family, this time we get her all to ourselves....girl stuff!

Nara and the Ryokan......

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese Inn. Upon arrival, you trade your shoes for these slippers. Our rooms had tatmani mats for flooring, and a low table as the only furniture. We changed into a kimono while there, and were treated to a 2 1/2 hour keizeki dinner, served course by course. It was lovely, relaxing, and such a grand introduction to Japan! After dinner we returned to our rooms, to find the table gone and foutons on the floor for sleeping. When we left the next morning, the mama-san and her staff walked us out with a gracious smile and a bow. What a warm memory!!

Kyoto, Japan

I just returned from a 5 day adventure in Kyoto, Japan with a group of 8 crazy women from the American Women's Association! What a wonderful time we had. Our first day we visited the Todai-Ji Temple in Nara, with its enormous bronze buddah. This temple was built in the 8th century, and is the largest wooden structure in the world. The bronze Buddah is 67 ft. tall!
Oh yes, this is the first of many group pictures...our first night we stayed in a traditional Japanese Ryokan, thus the matching kimonos! The rather reserved Mama-san did not know how to take us at first, but soon warmed up to our silliness.

Singapore Sangria.....

As you know, Brad has moved to Singapore to further his career as a chef. Well, we are certainly enjoying his skills at our house! One of his best "Singapore" creations is this Sangria which incorporates our local tropical fruits. We added red dragonfruit to the mix and it stained the Sangria this gorgeous fushia color. Cool, huh?

On September 6th, the wives of the Noble Danny Atkins suited up in hard hats and safety glasses to tour the rig. After 3 years of work, the NDA was scheduled for towing to deeper water for commisioning, and we wanted to see it before it left the shipyard. It is really hard to comprehend how enormous this rig is!

Happy 16th Birthday Taylor!

Flashback Friday

Wedding memories.....cutting the cake. Oh yeah...check out the chocolate creation...a Sandy Huckabee original!

Ubin encounter

I recently went to Ubin with my Singaporean friend, Valerie Tan. We rode bikes up to the north coast of the island, where we found this Sea Goddess Shrine. Valerie later learned from her Taoist mum that the Sea Goddess had been placed there to protect the coast from mischief-making demons who are roaming about during the "hungry ghost festival".

Mirror, Mirror

The Singapore Botanic Gardens....it is kind of a "fun house" effect, but we got everyone in the picture!

Farewell to Loren....

Connie's niece, Loren, leaves Singapore Saturday AM, and I just wanted to say what a delight she has been! Glad we could share some adventures, and much love and happiness from me to you, sweetie!

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009....

I'm smiling...Brad arrives in 14 hours...he is, at this moment, waiting for his connecting flight from Moscow to Singapore. We figured out the other day that he will have flown around the world this year! First trip to Singapore he flew west from LR. This trip he is flying east over Europe and Russia. I'm so happy to be here for this new phase in his life, a chef in Asia!

Happy Birthday Singapura!!

Flags, banners, and billboards are up everywhere you look.....everyone celebrates National Day in Singapore! We'll be down at Marina Bay later tonight to enjoy the fireworks.

Flashback Friday

Our first anniversary was March 16, 2007; and we spent it in Bali. As you can see, it was a trip full of memories.....what a great way to commemorate this day! Love our life, and I love my man!

Make a Smilebox postcard

National Day practice

Heidi and Ana with the Singapore Lion mascot.

These balloons were floating above Marina Bay.

Awesome fireworks at the end of the show!

Huey helicopters with a giant Singapore flag.

Crowds lined up along Marina Bay to watch the show.

The weeks prior to National Day are fun because the country hosts "practice" sessions which are actually a mini show. You can head down to Marina Bay and see everything from jets doing a fly-by to a fabulous fireworks show. I went Saturday night with Heidi and Ana and caught the preview.

Flashback Friday

Stan and I in the perfect beach vacation picture; white sand, blue ocean, and a cold, fruity drink in hand!

The whole gang....Scott, Kathy, Ronnie, Betsy, Val, and Stan on the dock at "Lands End".

First of all I must credit Camille with the idea of "Flashback Friday". Every Friday she posts a picture from her family's past. This is my first post....

Stan and I were married in March of 2006. We didn't have a honeymoon because he was living and working in Houston, and I was still in Arkansas. I moved to Houston in July, and in September we gathered best friends Ronnie and Betsy Penney, and brother and sis-in-law Scott and Kathy Christopher and went to Belize for a holiday! We were on an island off the coast of Belize. The streets were all sand, no cars...just golf carts! We rented a 6-person golf cart and explored the island. We went literally to the end of the road to a resort called "Lands End", where we took these amazing pictures.

National Day

Singapore will celebrate it's 44th National Day on August 9th. This year the theme is "Come together; every heart reaching out, every hand reaching up." How awesome is that? I love that Singaporeans honor their unique ethnic backgrounds, but also celebrate the fact that they are one nation, coming together!

Liverpool comes to Singapore

Juan came through for the "lads" this time by organizing an outing to the Liverpool vs. Singapore football match. As you can see, there was plenty of foolishness before, during, and after the match. We had a bus chartered to get us there, open seating on the south end of the stadium, and smuggled in refreshments to sustain us! We were all reminded of college football games....except it was 85 degrees! Liverpool won the match 5 to nil, and we learned "You'll never walk alone!"