What Happens in Vegas...

Karli has been begging us to leave so she could spend some one-on-one time with Grandma Smith, so Chad and I headed to Vegas last weekend. We stayed at the Golden Nugget, and as always, we had a fabulous time! Here are a few pictures of how we did Vegas.

Um, did you know that the Mermaid Casino is the home to the fried Twinkie and Oreo Stand?

Don't act like you wouldn't try them.

Words of Advice: Do not inhale as you take a bite of the fried Twinkie. The powdered sugar will wreak havoc on your respiratory system.

After much deliberation, Chad and I decided that the fried Oreos are much tastier. Three for a dollar, not too shabby!

We probably spent about 2 hours of our weekend standing outside watching these insane artists paint portraits like this with ONLY spray paint. Totally amazing to watch. This picture doesn't do it justice.

And look who we ran into in Vegas...

THE GERMERS!

So we decided to share a round of soda floats at the Coca Cola store. Good thing Chad likes fruity flavored soda...yuck.

We had a great weekend, but we were excited to get back to our little girl. We couldn't have gotten a more exciting greeting when we got home. Karli started freaking out and running and yelling all over the place with big hugs for both of us. Too cute.

Here are a few pictures of how Karli spent her weekend.

Thanks for coming, Grandma! We ALL had a blast!

Home. Safe and Sound.

We made it home! Good news: the trip returning home was easier than the trip to Singapore. We knew what we were in for, and Karli did amazingly well.

Karli and Keely playing with the suitcase in the Tokyo airport.

Karli, taking a dancing break to do the "funky chicken" in Tokyo.

While we were waiting to board our second flight, Karli saw a girl with an ice cream cone. She was so excited and wanted one so bad, but I didn't have any Japanese money. The girl was incredibly nice and gave us the rest of her change so Karli could have an ice cream cone. Thank goodness for nice people and Japanese ice cream!

We're back now, and we'll pick up right where we left off. Apparently, in running shoes.

Thanks to my mom and dad for giving us this incredible trip. We can't express how much fun we had and how grateful we are that we were able to go on this adventure. We miss you guys!

Singapore Tips

If you ever get the chance to visit Singapore, here is a list of what you should spend your time doing, according to me. In this order:

1. Spend time with my family.

2. Check out Sentosa Island.

3. Explore the Singapore Zoo.

4. Go to a Gold Class Movie.

5. Buy some yummy things from Bread Talk.

6. Go on the Night Safari.

7. Get a manicure/pedicure (I got the best pedicure of my life...no joke)

8. Check out the American Club.

9. Eat as much fresh fruit as possible.

10. Eat some crazy food from a Hawker Stand. OR- if you're not that adventurous (like me)- order a drink with apple juice, lemon and sour plum. Best. Drink. Ever.

Things I missed about the U.S. while in Singapore:

-string cheese

-regular tasting milk

-Walmart (Yes, I just wrote that. It's a one-stop-shop with big aisles and high ceilings. Every grocery store in Singapore is so tight and crowded. Don't judge me.)

Things I miss about Singapore now that we're home:

-the fam

-falling asleep while looking at the city lights

-not having to drive anywhere

-escalators EVERYWHERE!

-doing something new and exciting every day

-fresh fruit: pineapples, mangos, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, guavas, and bananas. You name it, it was fresh and delicious.

Gold Class

Okay, so Singapore is the home to ANOTHER one of my favorite things. I didn't even know this was one of my favorite things until I went there. It's called the "Gold Class Movie Theater." Basically, everyone gets a recliner, a blanket, a menu, and a server. There are only 20 seats in the theater and it's a little pricey, but totally worth it for the experience. We went with Michelle and Chad and saw "Sherlock Holmes." I could get used to watching movies this way!

Sentosa Island

Boy am I glad we didn't discover this place until my last couple of days. I would have spent ALL my time there! I had no idea Singapore was hiding this little gem of an island. Basically, it was my paradise. Water, Sand, Sun, Resorts. Love it. Sentosa island is a man-made island off the southern tip of Singapore. It sounds cool, but, just wait until you get there. It's awesome. It has three different beaches and tons of resorts, spas, and shopping. One beach was for families, one for outdoor enthusiasts, and one for tranquility and solitude. We chose to go see the Palawan Beach, which is the family beach and we had a blast!

First we had lunch at a beach-side restaurant. Yay for American food!

What can I say, the girl loves ketchup!

The Palawan Beach is also the home to a suspension bridge that links to the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia and also Asia's closest point to the equator. So next, we crossed the bridge and checked out the sights from the tall towers.

Karli had a great time jumping up and down on the bridge. She kept wanting to stop and "Dump, dump, dump!"

g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s

Here's my dad, checking out the oil ships, or barges? Cha-ching! After all, oil is what brought us to Singapore, right?

Finally, we changed into our suits and headed for the beach. Karli definitely enjoyed her first time at the beach. She played on the beach with her cousins for a while, then I got her to come into the water with me. She wasn't too sure about it first, then she didn't want to get out! She loved bobbing up and down with the waves. And apparently she loves salt water. Gross.

Is that the cutest little beach bum, or what??

Grandpa shared his slurpee with Karli. She instantly fell in love.

Thanks for the memories, Sentosa. Hopefully we'll be able to spend more time together next time :)

Little India

Singapore is a bit of a melting pot, and each ethnicity has their own part of town. We took the MRT to check out Little India. It was pretty crazy! Lots of Indian restaurants, rug shops and a gorgeous temple. We also did a little souvenir shopping.

The Apartment

I thought I'd post a few pictures of my parents apartment. It's just so crazy that they live in this modern high rise. I would have never thought...

View entering from the elevator lobby.

Stairs to the right

Dining Room

Kitchen

Family Room

View from top of the stairs.

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

The toilet- flusher mechanism at the top.

The apartment has awesome space saving closets. Just like Ikea!

Their apartment is two stories and has an elevator lobby at each level. Here is a picture of the upstairs lobby. (Also pictured, my assistant, Karli playing with a doll)

This is a picture looking down from the upstairs lobby into the maid's quarters/laundry room.

And finally, here is a picture of the panoramic view from their balcony.

Thanks for letting us stay with you!

Night Safari

This is definitely a "must do" if you are going to visit Singapore. The Zoo does a night safari every night from 7:30-11:30PM. You get to go into a different part of the zoo and see the animals that are night creatures. Of course, there was no flash photography, so we didn't disturb the animals. For this reason, we have a serious lack of cool pictures. You'll just have to trust us about how cool it was. We saw a show first and then boarded the tram that takes you through the zoo. It was nice to be able to sit down and have the guide tell you everything. The tram got so close to the animals, it was incredible! We saw elephants, hienas, tigers, lions, monkeys, rhinos, and more.

Just me and Chad. Karli stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa.

The Mahaffey Fam.

Sydney didn't quite make it!

How to Keep the Bugs Away

Singapore is extremely humid and warm. A mosquito paradise. But we only got mosquito bites at the zoo. Here is a picture of how they keep the bugs under control. They smoke bomb them. I thought it was pretty fascinating to watch! In the first picture you can even see the guy that's doing it. Thanks, guy! Chad REALLY appreciated it!