It's October and the in-laws are here

Happy October everyone. Unfortunately, there are no leaves changing color or nice cool nights in which to sleep (except with the air con!), but things are still going well here in Singapore. Richard and Bonnie arrived in the middle of last week. They survived the 17 hour flight from Newark. Lauren has been showing them around Singapore. They will be experts before they return!

Let's see, thus far they have seen the waterfront, central business district including the Merlion, the Fullerton hotel, Clarke Quay and others. They also had a lunch at Flutes of the Fort, a wonderful restaurant at Fort Canning Park. Friday, they went to the Botanical Garden and Tanglin Mall. Richard took a nap later in the day, while Lauren and her Mom got a pedicure at the American Club. Friday night, Richard and I went to the horse racing track for a fundraiser for the American School. It was a great night with dinner and drinks and a terrific room from which to watch the races. I managed to win enough to cover cab fare and a round of drinks.

On Saturday, Jane, Leah, Lauren and her Mom went to Jane's orthodontist appointment and then did some shopping on Orchard Road. Richard, Evan and I went bowling. It took Richard one game to warm up (we both smoked him), but he got his revenge in game 2 by posting the high score of the day (among the three of us). We met for lunch at a hawker center, with Richard joining me for some spicy "Nasi Padang". On Saturday night, we went to the Chinese Garden, this wonderful park in the western part of Singapore. It is the end of the Harvest festival and they had amazing lanterns on display. These lanterns are in all shapes and sizes (flowers, people, buildings, etc.). They are very colorful and some are on land, while some float on the water. We had dinner at the park, sampling some mango salad, satay, and mee goreng.

On Sunday, we relaxed. We spent some time at our pool and then for the evening, we had a fancy dinner at the Equinox. The Equinox is at the top of the Swiss Hotel, which either is or was the tallest hotel in the world. The view is wonderful and the dinner was terrific! Today, Lauren and her parents came down to my work. Lauren had a chiropracter appointment and then I took them to lunch at our local hawker center. There, you can choose from many stalls with most meals costing either SGD 2.50 or 3.00 (about USD 1.75-2.00). Thus in the matter of 12 hours we ate at one of the more expensive restaurants in the city and one of the cheapest. I bet you can guess which one I preferred!

Much more to come this week. We will write more later. In the meantime, one picture is of Lauren and girls with their chinese lanterns they got at the festival. These lanterns are given away and have a lit candle in them. It is pretty amazing to see so many people, including little kids walking around with them. Lauren and the girls were even able to bring lit lanterns onto the city bus. The second picture is all of us at dinner at the Equinox. You can not really see the view, but trust us, it was fabulous.

All the best,

Jed and Lauren

Hi Guys We've been thinking about all of you and I've been having the church pray for you all. The school year has us crazy busy but in a good way. I can only imagine the controlled chaos you all must be going through. I'm in every direction. Molly is making friends with Renee Verebetian and walking to school with a group of her friends To the Ed Molin( We'll be helping build the play ground this weekend). Mark is car pooling with 6-7 families to NH for a first year private school in Hampton called SeaCoast Acadamy. Chrissy is rolling out of bed and going to the HS. Lots of change for her. The classes are much more difficult, teachers not as warm and fuzzy. She is in the band with Kyle, she plays flute,Kyle is Tuba!! (Lots of parent involvement with this group) She has two call backs for plays which she is excited for. We'll keep you posted, Molly may be Tiny Tim!
Jane the youth group really misses you. I'll get the girls onto the blog we have a meeting here on Sat night for a Haunted Weekend fund raiser in NH.
Hugs,
Sue

Hi Pettys!
I haven't checked the blog in a few weeks and I have missed alot. It's great to read and hear about all that you are doing. We are getting into the school swing of things here... Abigail loves kindergarten and her teacher so much that she wants to go 7 days a week! I'm so happy for her. Jack started preschool last week. He was so proud to finally get to go to school himself you could just see it on his face. So that gives me a few hours 2 days a week for some alone time with Claire which is so nice. We enjoyed music class and the playground this week. I was sorry to read about Bauer not doing well, I hope he is doing better now. Casey is still doing well.
John is out this morning helping build the new playground at the Bresnahan. I volunteered his services! Sounds like alot of familiar faces are there helping so i think he's having fun.
We have had some beautiful fall weather lately. I'm looking forward to Jack's apple picking field trip with preschool in another week. Abigail has a soccer game today. Last week she did great - such a big improvement from the spring season. She scored 2 goals and did a great job on defense too (that week at soccer camp this summer really taught her how to play the game!).
Guess that's all for now. Take care! Kelly

Hello from the Wallace Family

Hello to all the Petty Clan!

I've ben enjoying catching up on everything on the blog! Wow - what unbeleiveable things you guys have already been able to do!

I happened to e-mail Jed yesterday at Wellington because 2 of his Singapore Colleagus are going to be in the management class I am facilitating next week at WMC (one of them is the one with the smelly fruit!!!) and low and behold he was n Boston!

First full week of school here in NBPT - some kinks to work out but so far so good. Liam is liking the Bres and his teacher which is so impotant for him to do well. Ella turned 3 last weekend - cannot believe it - she's no baby any more. No there will not be a 3rd!

Lauren and Leah we miss seeing you walking along High St. in the mornings!

Another home football game this Friday - Fall is in the air!

Be well !

Jerry, Denise, Liam, Ella and Kinsale

I Hear the Weather is Hot back Home

Yes, that is sweat that Jed is wearing! You can imagine what the back of his shirt looked like. Leah took this photo and the kids cracked up when they saw it. It was definately a moderate to difficult trek! This island is so small, and so commercially built up with concrete, yet there are many national parks and reservoirs and mangroves to explore. The hot and humid weather can limit you, if you let it. I hope to "drag" my family on some more of these outings. We will keep you posted.
XOXO-
Lauren

A Couple more pics

Weekend Fun

First of all, we are very pleased to let everyone know that Bauer is doing very well. It has been a week since his transfusion and the medicine seems to be working. He is a very playful, active puppy. He has gained weight and looks very healthy.

On Friday night, Lauren and a neighbor, Sue went to the Singapore horse track. The company that moved our goods in Singapore, hosted the event. I was returning from Korea and could not make it. Lauren did not want to miss a free night out with food and booze so she and Sue attended. They did not do much betting, but Sue won a couple of races and they enjoyed the evening. There were about 15,000 people in attendance, mostly natives. I am sure Lauren's Dad, Richard, is looking forward to trying his luck at the races in October! Let's hope he does better than Lauren.

Today, Saturday, we all went to MacRitchie Resevoir where there are some terrific hiking paths. The highlight is "The Treetop Walk" which is a suspension bridge that takes you over the rainforest canopy. We saw monkeys, huge ants, beautiful butterflies and enjoyed a good couple of hours of exercise. It was cloudy, which is a positive when you are outside in Singapore!!!

Enjoy the pictures!