Spring in September

It was odd in Singapore not to have true seasons (unless you count hot and hot & rainy) but since they're still technically in the northern hemisphere they still had the same seasons on their calendars. Living in the southern hemisphere really blows my mind sometimes because I never expected my July birthday to be in the middle of winter or see my tulips begin to bloom in September. It's even harder to think of Christmas in the middle of summer but I guess we'll see what that's like this year since we plan to stay here over the holidays. While everyone in Texas is celebrating Labor Day and back to school right now, we had a lovely spring weekend with birthday parties, a barbeque, and some outdoor fun.

First off, Ben's girlfriend Becca (yes, he has two girlfriends at the moment and loves that all their names start with B) had a Dora pirate party. Arrghh!!

After naptime at home, then it was off to Malcolm's dinosaur themed party for dinner and MORE cake...yay!!

When this boy wants to enjoy something, he doesn't hold back...icing all over the face!

We also enjoyed the beautiful weather with a trip to the playground at the top of the hill.

Alex hitched a ride home after tiring his little legs running and kicking a ball around.

It's hard to see the colors in this pictures, but there are several different kind of wildflowers blooming on the hill. Spring is different here without the lush fields of wildflowers like we see in Texas but I'm learning to appreciate the beauty of the arid landscape. The more I look around, the more I see tiny flowers appearing all over the place.

Freesia grows wild along our street and this house in particular has enough growing in the yard to smell the sweet fragrance just walking past.

Our front hedges are covered in tiny purple blooms that smell anything BUT sweet. I kept quietly cursing our neighbors for never scooping up the mountains of dog poo baking in their front yard but it turns out these lovely little flowers put out an identical smell. Who knew?

My friend Robin just emailed this adorable video from a playdate at her house last week. Austin, Alex (totally decked out with his paci and both blankies), and Wilder are all the same age and had a ton of fun in the trampoline together.