the lion city II: the flowers

And now we come to the real jewels of Singapore. I've already chronicled my lengthy journey to Singapore, and all the mouthwatering food that I partook of, but now we get to the really good stuff.

Singapore is a tropical country (it's located a smidge above the equator), and its climate tends to bring out the most beautiful and enchanting treasures of all. I'm speaking of course, of my family (cue "awww").

We traipsed all over Singapore, and it was great to see my family laugh and ride buses and subways and eat food.

I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of some of my favorite people. For those of you who thought this post was actually about flowers, never fear, I'll sprinkle some of those in as well. If you have walked a mile with me, then you know I have always loved taking pictures of the flora and fauna that I happen to find myself surrounded by.

We'll start this party off with a real looker, shall we?






My mommy. She makes me happy!

The Ian. He's usually walking a couple steps behind us, so I really had to be patient to end up behind him! (I love you, little man!)

Who doesn't like a good head rub? Dad does!

She has a great laugh. I like capturing laughter.

I just love vibrant colors.

We love nap time. An ancient and venerable tradition. Brought to you on the metro.

Sentosa's Flower Festival:

I convinced my family to go with me to Sentosa's flower festival so I could play with my camera.  The following are from this outing. It was already later in the day, so lighting wasn't ideal, but I think the pictures turned out ok. At this point, Ian didn't want to have any part of it, so he sat in a KFC and read a book or played a game. All this to say, he isn't in the flower shots.

There was a dragon built from pink flowers at the entrance. I didn't take a picture. Sorry, it seemed a little too oxymoronic for me, if only for its lack of fierce-ness. I just wanted to mention it. In case you were interested. It made me a little wary of what other flower creations they had in store. But they didn't disappoint, don't worry.

Allow me to open with some pretty yellow

My aunt. She doesn't like to smile with her teeth because she's self conscious, but I think she beats those flowers any day.

Mom. She's laughing because I asked her to squat, and she's not sure if she can get back up. I knew you could do it Mom!

This was in the "Lover's Lane" section of the festival. There was a heart pattern in front of the swing, but this looked better.

I got a tooth smile! Guess I surprised her enough with the hug that she let a real one out. Don't mind my whiteness. I know I throw off color in most photos.

:)

I was trying to get some bokeh, but it wasn't dark enough outside yet, so I just kind of made my parents lean out awkwardly. Oh well. It's still cute.

Finally got me some bokeh!

To show our appreciation, Singapore (I'm super mature. Though in fairness, Dad played along!)!

Orchids are the national flower of Singapore.

Ian Pian. With his sulky, emo, teenager look. Rocking the muscle shirt, to maximize the impact of those guns.

Clearly, it was delicious. What'd I tell you? Food. Is. Awesome.

This is my big sister skeptical, patronizing look. How's it doing?

Oh, I just couldn't resist. This is when he is most agreeable. Since he's on the other side of the world, I think I'm safe. I'll at least have a 24 hr head start if I have to run for my life. But I don't think I will because I don't know that this blog makes a bleep on his teenage radar. Sigh.

We're all about making new friends.

Especially Ian. Very friendly.

We had a little surprise partay for my mom since her birthday was right after they got back to China and of course I wanted to get in on the festivities. And throw in another surprise. Why not?

Awwwwww

And on that note, I will bring this post to an end. I hope you enjoyed a little peek into my family and our adventures. I'm planning on one more post in Singapore, so stay tuned, and thanks for being patient!

Any surprise parties or funny pictures to share?