June, 2015
I feel like I start every post the same way by stating how time flies and how I am always behind in my writing, but I guess that is always the truth:) Our adventure is coming to a close, but I want to get a few more posts in to share our experiences with all of you, and also so I can remember everything! In May, the three older girls participated in the schools cross county race. It was quite fun to watch, and Skylar and Kylie both finished in the top 6 for their age groups, so they went on to race in the "Zone" meet. This is where their school competes against other schools. They did not qualify past this race, but had a lot of fun! Also in May, we took a week long trip to Singapore and Bali. Chris was initially meant to go on his own for business. But with a little convincing and begging, the girls and I were able to secure tickets and travel to these beautiful places with him. We were only in Singapore for a couple of days, but we really enjoyed the city. It is the cleanest place I have ever been. Chewing gum is illegal and you will be fined $700 if caught, because they do not like the idea of having people dispose of their gum just anywhere. Chris had quite a few meetings, so the girls and I took to exploring on our own. We went to some dome gardens, where they have an indoor rainforest and indoor exotic gardens. It was very beautiful. We were there during there tulip exhibit that happened to be centered around Disney princesses. They girls enjoyed this, and the tulips were an array of gorgeous colors. At dusk, they have a beautiful light show in the outdoor gardens, where they light up metallic trees and have the lights choreographed to music. Very beautiful! We were also here during Mother's Day, and the girls and I had a nice dinner out. The building architecture is so unique in Singapore, like nothing I have seen before. Overall, it is a wonderful city, one we hope to return to one day.
After Singapore we flew to Seminyak on the island of Bali which is part of Indonesia. A lot of Australians come to Bali for holidays as it is a lower cost destination, so we were curious to see what is was like. Chris booked us in a family villa which had a pool and was in walking distance to the beach. We also had the option to have meals made for us in the villa. I have to say this was great. We always awoke to the smell of bacon, and would venture down to the kitchen area to discover a table set and filled with bacon, eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit and coffee. This was something I could get used to quickly. And they did all the cleaning up afterwards! It was a special treat. Bali was quite different then Singapore. It is a heavily populated island, thick with cars and motorbikes, and most areas are quite polluted. So it was not easy to walk places for safety reasons. We took cabs most places but the drives usually took awhile because of all the traffic. The villas we stayed in had privileges to a private club that had a great water park, so the girls and I spent two of our days here. It was perfect because they could run around and go on rides and there were very few other people at the park. We also took the girls on their first whitewater rafting experience through the rainforest. This was a blast. The rapids were pretty mild, but it was a good introduction to whitewater rafting for the girls and lots of fun. It was also neat that it was through the rainforest. After the rafting trips we visited some rice field terraces that are built on a hillside. Overall it was a great experience for us and more than anything, it was just fun continuing to explore other cultures and places.
After returning to Bondi, we celebrated Skylar's 12th birthday. We went to the spa for a pedicure and then took some of her friends bowling and had a sleepover. All of the girls, except Kylie, have celebrated a birthday during our time in Australia. Also in May, we took the girls to the young writer's conference in Sydney. Here they were able to meet some popular Australian author's and get books signed from them. Hopefully this will inspire a bit more reading time:)
This was our month of May and we all knew that we only had less than a month left. We made a list of all the places in Sydney we had left to explore and tried to make a point to visit these before our departure date. So stay tuned for my next post, as this would include our last few adventures in Sydney! Hope all is well with our friends and family back home.
Love the Shepherd Family
Girls at the cross country carnival.
Kylie with her twin, Chloe,. They looked so much alike that I found myself doing a double take sometimes. They also have very similar personalities.
Kendall and her friends doing a pyramid.
Walking through Chinatown in Singapore
Marina towers and Casino in Singapore. The girls and I referred to it as the ship on top of buildings. Very cool design and there is a swimming pool and restaurant on the roof top.
The girls got a kick out of this floating soccer field.
Very beautiful mall in Singapore. The floors were marble and gorgeous!
Mothers Day dinner with my girls!
Gardens in the domes in Singapore.
Inside one of the domes where they had the tulip display going on.
Indoor rainforest and waterfall.
Metallic trees during the day.
Metallic trees lit up at night to music.
Our villa in Bali!
Breakfast in Bali. This is what I woke up to!
Nothing like getting your hair braided during breakfast!
Walking through rice fields to get to white water rafting.
Here we go!
Etchings in the cliffs along the river.
Jumped out of the boat to enjoy the waterfall.
Waterpark in Bali.
Terrace rice fields
Jumping the waves at the beach in Bali.
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