Singapore (September, 2012)

We arrived in Singapore on Friday afternoon and went straight to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  Unfortunately, the Marina Bay Sands doesn't belong to any hotel loyalty programs, so we had to pay for it out of pocket.  We really wanted to stay there to experience the famous open air infinity pool overlooking the Singapore skyline on the 57th floor.  Only guests of the hotel can use the pool, so we decided to suck it up and bear the cost.  We had booked a large Orchid suite (97 square meters) for $507.40 Singapore dollars (~$412 USD), but were upgraded to an even larger Marina suite (200 square meters - ~1800 square feet) on the 54th floor upon arrival, which made the rate seem more bearable.  The room was amazing.  The room had its own private gym (inside the room), a full dining room, 4 flat screen TV's, 2 spacious balconies overlooking the city, a huge living room, office, and an incredible master suite.

After exploring our room and picking our jaws up off the floor, we headed up to the 57th floor for some dinner and to check out the infamous rooftop pool overlooking the Singapore skyline.  There were hot tubs, plenty of courtyard space, restaurants, and the most incredible pool any of us had ever seen.  Spectators can't access this area of the hotel, you must be a guest.  Being able to hang out in this area was an incredible experience that everyone should do at least once in their life.

We got up in the morning and enjoyed our buffet breakfast on the 57th floor, which was included in the room rate.  We then spent a few more hours playing in the infinity pool before checking out and making our way to the Sheraton Hotel, which was paid for using 4,800 SPG points plus $90 USD.

We then walked to Newton station and ate some Indian food (the kids loved the garlic Naan, yellow rice, and butter chicken), caught the mass rapid transit (MRT) train into China Town and wandered the streets a bit.  The sun was beating down on us pretty hard and it was time for a break, so we headed back to the hotel for some swimming in the pool for the bigger kids and a nap for Zander.  Late afternoon, we were off to the Singapore Night Safari.  We got some burgers, watched the fire show, walked the fishing cat trail, then went to the Animals of the night show.  We then caught the tram for the Safari, which was the highlight of the park.  The kids were exhausted and all fell asleep on the ride back to the hotel.

It was a very late night by the time we made it through the bus line at the Night Safari, onto the bus, back to the MRT station, and took the short walk back to the hotel.  We had to be up early to catch our 7:20 am flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Broome, Western Australia (September, 2012)

We redeemed some American Airlines Aadvantage miles to take the 2 hour Qantas flight from Perth to Broome (20,000 miles plus $44 in fees per person) to save us on the $500+ each roundtrip airfare.  We stayed at the Cable Beach Resort and Spa, which was expensive (and not affiliated with any hotel programs, so no luck on getting free rooms), but nice.  We ended up paying $349/night at this resort, which is the only one in Broome that is right on the beach.

We spent most of our time relaxing by the pool, playing cards, and checking out the beach and the incredible sunsets.  The beach was pretty, but it was too hot and there were thousands of red jellyfish washed up on the shore and all over in the water.  It was a pretty cool sight to see, but the pool was much cleaner and easier to keep cool.  On one of the days we rented bikes (bicycle built for 2) and rode into town and went to a flea market.  On another one of the days, we took a camel ride on the beach.  Broome is a small beach town with a relaxed, slow pace.  The sunsets are beautiful.

Our friends, Rick and Alex Kemp, came with us on this trip.  Our other friends, Natalie and Tyson Portwood, were initially going to come, but couldn't make it.

Caught this Big Boy in our Yard Today (September, 2012)

This creature was hanging out near our window today.  The kids spotted him and started freaking out.  Cody got some gloves and caught him.  He wasn't happy about being caught and he let us know by trying to bite Cody's hand off…good thing he had thick work gloves on.  We were told this is a blue-tounged lizard.  He was about 15 inches long (not including the tail) and had a stubby little tail (I don't know if it had fallen off previously or if that's how they are).  He didn't seem to be too jumpy or afraid. When Cody put him back in the garden, he didn't run off.

 Caught him.

 Good thing Cody had thick work gloves on.

Nash and Ryder, petting the lizard.

Ryder's Aussie Rules Football (August, 2012)

We signed Ryder up for Auskick, which is the kids version of Aussie Rules Football (AFL).  The Aussies call it "footy" or "Aussie Rules."  AFL is nothing like football in America or football in England (soccer).  Basically, you have to kick the ball through the middle goalposts to score 6 points and you advance the ball either by kicking (punting) it to each other or running with it (but you have do dribble the football once every 15 meters, which is pretty hard if you didn't grow up practicing it).

It took a while for Ryder (and Cody) to catch on, but nearing the end of the season, Ryder had a breakthrough game and scored 4 goals and was named the game's MVP.  We're so proud of him for his persistence and patience with himself.

 Ryder, giving it a big kick.

 Going for the goal.

Some of Ryder's "mates".

Holding Koalas and Petting Kangaroos (July, 2012)

We went with our good friends, the Portwoods, to hold Koalas and get up close and personal with the Kangaroos at Cohunu Koala Park in Byford, Western Australia, about an hour from where we live.  We got some good pictures holding the Koalas and got to see and touch a lot of the Australian animals, which was pretty awesome.

Eliza and Zander holding a koala.

 Sawyer was pretty timid and untrusting of the koalas…this is her brave face and the closest she got to them.

 Family picture…are we Australian yet?

 Trying to get Zander to ride the emu.

 Zander, petting a red kangaroo.

 This pelican looking bird took a snap at Cody when he walked up to it and got too close.  As you can see, the pelican got its way and made Cody back off.

Zander, playing with the animals.

Dune Buggies and 4 Wheelers at Kemps' Farmhouse (June, 2012)

 Mommy giving Ryder and Nash a ride in the dune buggy.

 Daddy with Zander on the 4 wheeler.

Ryder, climbing the mounds with Daddy hanging on for dear life.

Sand boarding in Yanchep, Western Australia (June, 2012)

We went sand boarding in Yanchep, Western Australia with our friends the Kemps and Portwoods after staying over at the Kemps' farm house.  Good times.

 Cody, showing off.

 Wipeout.

 Nash, hiking up.

 Ryder, having a go.

Eliza, with Nash and Zander.

Swimming with wild Whale Sharks in Exmouth, Western Australia (May, 2012)

Cody surprised his Dad, Scott at the back end of their trip to Australia with a whale shark diving trip in Exmouth, Western Australia, which is one of the most remote places on the planet.  Perth is already a world away from everything and Exmouth is at the far northwest corner of Australia (a 15 hour drive from Perth).  Luckily Qantas has a flight from Perth to Exmouth, which we took on a Sunday afternoon.

We stayed in a small dorm room for 2 nights for $25/person per night (just a bunk bed and a bathroom, but more than adequate).

We got there on Sunday afternoon and drove our rental car up to a gorge up some windy dirt roads and explored the thriving metropolis of Exmouth and had some dinner before heading to bed early.

Monday morning we had a full day Whale Shark Snorkeling tour that we had booked with 3 Islands.  I'd highly recommend this company.  They have their own spotter plane, give you plenty of food while onboard (included), and, in addition to snorkeling with the whale sharks, we were able to do 3 separate snorkel dives.  We saw stingrays and tons of fish.  By the end of the day, we were exhausted.

The next morning we got up at dawn and drove out to Turquoise Bay and Oyster Stacks (amazing places to snorkel) before catching a plane back to Perth.

 We had plenty of very close encounters like this with 3 separate whale sharks during the day.  It was an unforgettable experience.  So glad I got to do this with my Dad.

 Scott (orange shirt) and Cody (shirtless) checking out the first whale shark of the day.

 Seeing the whale shark for the first time.

 Cody, swimming alongside the whale shark…trying to keep up.

 Frontal view of the whale shark.

 A few of us snorkeling in front of the whale shark.

 This one kept turning around in circles and allowed us to get very close.  A couple times we thought he might swim right into us.

 We found this guy trying to disguise himself in the sand while we were snorkeling at one of the reefs.

 Amazing variety of coral and very colorful fish.

 It was like swimming around in an aquarium with all kinds of exotic fish.

 We made it to the end of the earth!  Seriously, I dare anybody to find me a more remote place on this planet.

 Chillin' on the boat between dives while we wait for the spotter plane to find the whale sharks for us.

 Turquoise Bay early morning…had the entire bay and beach to ourselves for more than 3 hours.

 We got up at the crack of dawn to get some snorkeling in at Oyster Stacks and Turquoise Bay before our flight back to Perth.

 Huge termite mounds all over the place, but no elephants to be found anywhere.