Four!

Ida Jane turned four on Sunday! She had a really fun party on Saturday and Sunday was spent playing with her new toys. The whole family really enjoyed all of the festivities.




Ida Jane proved that she was more mature this year when her cake came out. Last year she screamed and cried when we sang happy birthday. This year she was very serious, but kept her composure.


It has been quite a while since we have posted so here are a few other things that have been going on here in Singapore. We had a really fun excursion to the Singapore Botanical Gardens. The girls loved the flowers and trees.




Ida Jane has really been into legos lately.


Harper likes to pretend to be an animal doctor.


Ida prefers to be a baby doctor.


Finally, Ida Jane has started taking taekwondo classes. She really loves it!

Hong Kong and U.S.

We recently returned from a busy trip back to the United States. It was really wonderful to see so many family members and friends.
We started our journey in Hong Kong, where we got to see cousin Sonya. Ida Jane and Sonya became good friends, especially after Sonya introduced Ida to the chocolate fountain.

We all enjoyed the Hong Kong skyline and light show.


The highlight for the girls was Hong Kong Disneyland, where they got to meet some of their favorite characters. Harper lit up when she met the princesses and Ida Jane was thrilled to meet Buzz Lightyear.



Mickey and Minnie were also favorites, along with the Small World ride. Harper sings "It's a Small World" all the time now. We all had a blast.



After Hong Kong fun we headed to the U.S. First stop, the lake with the Zolls, where the girls and their cousins Evan and Hayley were treated to a boat ride to the donut shop.



We enjoyed seeing all of the Gerbers at Kevin and Sadie's wedding. What a beautiful day it was.


The Zoll crew came for a fourth of July celebration.



Then we were off on a road trip to see friends and some of Amy's family. We stopped by Lora, Tim, and Alexandra's house first, where the 3 girls dressed like fairies and had lots of fun playing together.


Ida Jane and Harper loved seeing Daddy's alma mater and visiting with his professors.



The rest of our road trip took us to see Howard and then Christene and Ben. We then spent some time at Aunt Kris and Uncle Jeff's house. Meme was there too! We were so busy socializing with everyone that the only picture we took is of Ida Jane enjoying the lobster feast we had our first night there.


Ida Jane and Harper spent another fun night there while Ben and Amy enjoyed a quick getaway to Block Island for Sean and Emily's wedding. It was a beautiful day and we had a blast.
Next we headed back toward the midwest, stopping first to see Jason and Jess and their lovely girls.
Finally, we were back in Indiana for a couple of days of relaxation before the long journey home to Singapore.
The girls went for a swim with Nana.


We were all happy to arrive back in Singapore. Ida Jane and Harper were particularly pleased to see their animal friends.

Catch up

It's been a bit crazy here in Singapore the past few weeks (months), so we're sorry about the delay in posting. Let's do a bit of catch up on old and new pics.

First, here are some shots from Harper's birthday party.





It was great having so many friends over.

During our Bintan trip, we did get to meet some "Princes and Princesses," the local Sumatran dancers.





Another favorite haunt around here is the big fountain at Clarke Quay.




The girls often end up getting their pictures taken by locals and tourists, too!




Including this bride-to-be (aka Princess, according to Harper), getting wedding pictures done.



One big news item: Ida Jane is riding a "big girl" bike now. Check out her skills!



Of course, there's always time for Ukulele practice.



Here's Harper and mom, hanging out on the couch.



Who would believe Ida Jane was bald until she was 2!



Finally, Dad turned 33 recently. We celebrated with some Mexican food!

Videos from the equator

Just before leaving for Bintan, Indonesia, Dad picked up a new toy, an HD video camera. So, for a bit of a change from the usual picture-fest, here are three videos from our trip. If you want to see them in HD, make sure to change up the settings or visit the youtube page for each video by clicking on it.

Here's a good look at a spectacular beach - we had it to ourselves most of the time, if you can believe it.



We went to an evening performance of traditional Indonesian dance. Of course, the girls couldn't listen to that music and hold still.



Finally, we did a little bowling. Or, what passes for bowling with these two crazies.



It was a great trip, I'll be getting some pictures from Indonesia and Thailand together over the next week for another blog entry.

Birthday & Special Guests

Harper celebrated her two-year birthday in style. She got a special cake, decorated with a princess.



It was delicious!



She got a load of great gifts.



This book was a hit with both of them.



Ida Jane got a few gifts as well.



Bitty Baby from Baba and Meme is a new best friend.



And this fishing game from Great Granddad and Great Grandmama is a lot of fun.



Then it was time for our special guests: Nana and Papa! Nana got here a few days before Papa, and the girls were thrilled to see her.



We had a great week, even going out for pizza!



Another special guest, the Easter Bunny, brought the girls some great presents - Ida Jane got a ukelele and Harper got a keyboard.





Papa was another special Easter gift for the girls. We all went down to see the iconic Merlion statue.



Then we went on a little boat tour of the Singapore river.



Papa and Harper strolling by Clarke Quay.



And a delicious lunch on the riverside.



It's been a great visit so far, and we have the rest of the week to go!