Boo-Ya & Boo-Hoo

The past few weeks have seen a few boo-ya moments followed by some boo-hoo's.

Boo-ya Moment #1:

Remember how Scott and I decided to make total fools of ourselves by walking around Singapore like this?

Well, guess who won $40 worth of gift certificates to Hard Rock Cafe for the "Best Dressed Couple" Award!?!? Oh yeah, baby. Boo-ya!!!! (I told Scott it was worth forking out $150 for those wigs to win those $40 gift certificates)!

Boo-ya Moment #2:

Andrew has proven that he is following in his brother's footsteps when it comes to hitting on girls. As reported by his Primary teacher, a new little read-headed girl has moved into Andrew's class. During her first Sunday, the class was having a group huddle. (Side note: I do not know how a group huddle applies to any spiritual topic, but I guess it is a class tradition. Obviously the teacher is a guy). Well, Andrew broke the huddle, moved locations, and slid in next to the new girl.

Here is the following dialogue between Andrew and the girl:

Andrew: I like girls with red hair!

Girl: (silence)

Andrew: Well, just so you know....you've been warned!

Girl: ???

Boo-Ya Moment #3:

Andrew was able to smuggle in a birthday party before we left for the summer. We went to an indoor play place called Fidgets, followed by a pool party at our place to wash off any e. coli or hepatitis they may have picked up at the play place.

Andrew did NOT want a birthday cake. He initially said he wanted brownies for his birthday cake....but finally compromised on cupcakes. Please note what the Singpore humidity does to frosting. The frosting had been on those things for maybe five minutes when this picture was taken.

Boo-Ya Moment #4:

Scott promised the boys he would take them to Forest Adventure before we left for the summer. It is an obstacle course designed throughout tree-tops. The boys love this place AND they got to invite friends!

Boo-Ya Moment #5:

I pulled off of the one the biggest surprises EVER!!!

I do not need to tell you how hard it is to get alone time once you become a parent....especially when you have older children and a brand new baby. Anyway, I thought it would be good for Scott and I to have a night away before we went home for the summer. However, I wanted this night to be a surprise.

Three weeks ago I booked a room at the Ritz Carlton for the two of us. The next two weeks were spent trying to find sleeping arrangements for the kids and a good story line to get Scott over to the Ritz and up to the room without him suspecting anything. Jacob and Andrew ultimately wound up at a friend's house for a sleep over, and I borrowed my friend's helper to watch Matthew for the night. On the day of the surprise, Scott and I had agreed to do a date in the city. That afternoon I went to the hotel to check in and drop off our bags. On my way out I stopped by the concierge to ask them for some help with my surprise. In Asia, no one is allowed up and down the elevators in a hotel unless they have a room key. However, I did not want Scott to know I had the room until we were physically outside the room itself. Anyway, I explained my situation to the concierge and told them that my husband would be thinking we were there to pick up some legal documents for a friend, and that we would need one of the hotel employees to let us up to the 14th floor....and then I could take it from there.

Anyway, I met Scott at work and we decided to grab some dinner at a nearby restaurant. During dinner I had my friend send me a text asking if we could pick up some legal documents from one of her husband's clients who was in town from France (since we were already in the city and it would save them a trip). In the text she included the hotel name and room number. When I showed Scott the text his response was, "I'm not going up to some guy's room! Tell him to leave it at the front desk." I wrote my friend back and told her she needed to write another text telling me that this guy would not leave them at the front desk because they were legal documents and he was uncomfortable leaving them with hotel staff. She did a beautiful job with her next text; telling us this guy was the most annoying client and that he was totally paranoid. Scott agreed to go, but he said the guy sounded like a nut job.

When we got to the hotel, Scott was adamant that we have the concierge ring the guy's room so he could come downstairs because, again, he thought it was ridiculous that we had to go all the way up to his room. I ran to the first person I could see so Scott wouldn't have time to ask someone to call the guy's room. The person I walked up to was a maintenance worker who must have been planted there by the hotel because all I said was, "I need to pick up some documents," and he immediately headed straight for the elevator. As we followed him to the elevator Scott was whispering, "I don't think this guy works here. He shouldn't be letting us up here."

I thought the guy was going to just leave us once we got to our floor, but he walked with us all the way to the room. I thought he would let us knock on the door, but instead he unlocked it!

Mind you, at this point, Scott thought this room was occupied by some crazy Frenchman. Once the door was unlocked, I walked right into the darkened room. Scott was on the verge of yelling, "Catherine! Get out of there!!!" when I started laughing. It took him a few seconds to figure out what the heck was going on - but let's just say he was VERY pleasantly surprised when he realized what was happening.

Anyway, it was a blast!

Alright, this next thing is not a Boo-Ya or a Boo-Hoo .... just a funny. The weekend before school ended, I received an email telling me that Jacob was the pet keeper for the week. The "class pets" are two turtles which are the same breed as Bowser. We had watched them earlier in the year and I thought it would be fun for Bowser to have some guests in his tank for the weekend.

When Jacob got off the bus I almost fell over. Someone must have been injecting hormones into one of the turtles because the thing was gigantic! Poor Bowser spent the weekend tucked inside his shell. Here is a side by side comparison of the turtles.

And now....to the Boo-Hoo moments.....

As most of you know, there is a very good chance that we will be leaving Singapore this summer. Jacob has taken this news the worst of everyone in the family. Needless to say, the last day of school was quite brutal for the eldest child in our family. I stopped by before the day ended so I could get a few pictures of Jacob with his friends. Matthew, as usual, was a huge hit and was excited by all the attention.

These are Jacob's two best friends: Alex and Stephano. Lucky for us, Stephano's dad works for the same company as Scott AND they still have their home in the Bay Area. I say "lucky for us" because we can tell Jacob in good conscience that there is a chance he will see his friends in the States.

Jacob with his teacher, Miss Hoss. They were both a little emotional in this picture. His teacher had just finished telling me how Jacob has skipped recess to help her pack and she got choked up while telling me.

Andrew with his teacher, Mrs. Riley. While Jacob has been dreading the last day of school, Andrew has been counting down the days. He is ready to get to the States to play with his cousins!!!

And now here is my ultimate Boo-Hoo moment....though it actually turned out to be one of the most touching experiences of my life. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the last day of school all the buses honk their horns for about five minutes while the staff and parents wave good-bye to the students. For those who have experienced it, it is a very emotional tradition.

Last year on the last day of school, I was there with three of my closest friends, Scott - and my boys knew they were going to be back for the next school year. This year was the TOTAL OPPOSITE. No friends. No husband. And Jacob was sobbing because he did not know if he was ever going to see any of his friends, or the school, again.

So there I am, on the sidewalk, waving good-bye to the boys and throwing myself one of the biggest pity parties ever. I was a big, old, slobbering mess. I am talking serious tears and nose drainage. As I was crying away, I was praying that someone would at least stand next to me on that stupid sidewalk. I didn't even care if it was a stranger....I just didn't want to feel so alone.

In the midst of my wailings, one of Jacob's friends went bounding on by. He glanced up at me as he passed and then walked a little further. Suddenly he stopped and turned around. He then slowly walked over to where I was standing and placed his arm on my shoulder. He asked if I was alright and then stood there with me until all the buses had finished honking and pulled out of the school parking lot. I am not kidding, he was with me for a solid five minutes or so. It was one of the most tender moments I have ever experienced. I could not believe a nine year old boy would be so thoughtful to stand there with an hysterical adult woman to make sure she was doing alright. Anyway, as I said, it was one of the sweetest experiences of my life.

Well, I better wrap this thing up because I really should be packing my bags. Yup, tomorrow morning we are heading to the U.S. for some vacation time! No, this is not our official move. In fact, we still do not know when or where we will be moving. However, I promise to let you all know when we know what the heck is going on. This last picture summarizes all Andrew wants in life. This boy has been dying to move into a house with a backyard - I don't think he cares where we are going...he just wants to have some extra space! (Yes, Andrew built this by himself...he did not want any help from Mom and Dad. Also, please note that he has Indiana Jones mowing the lawn while a bald Princess Leah is playing basketball).