Having the team over for an American cook out!

I had the JD Asia OF team over for their first American cook out! So fun! Ching Yi, Shu Min, Cris as well as Georgina from South Africa team in town this week got to have their first Johnsonville brat! They loved it! Ching Yi is from Hong Kong. Cris and Shu Min are from Malaysia. So fun to share some of my American traditions with some of my Asian team! Hamburgers, brats, corn on the cob with South African wine that Georgina brought! Fun!
Can't wait for the next one!


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A week in Hawaii - Paradise!

Spend a week on the Big Island with the ladies and it was wonderful! Hawaii is always fun but it was especially fun for me as it was my first trip back to the USA since I moved to Singapore and the first time I got to see Melissa, Cindy, and Kristin since I moved. I was eagerly awaiting for them at the Kona airport for their arrival! We spent the week hanging out and enjoying the bliss of the Hawaiian Islands! Some highlights of the trip....
The Hilton has a perfect lagoon for beach time. We were able to spend our first day on the beach enjoying the blue waters of Hawaii. Also got to see sea turtles swim by, kayak by the waterfall on the resort, and see the baby dolphin just born at the resort. It was a great first day catching up! Our condo also had a full kitchen and pool for our use. We grilled out and enjoyed the relaxing time at the beach!
The second day we went on a submarine tour in Kona which took us around a shipwreck around 100 feet under water! Cool! And saw a shark hiding down there too. We also enjoyed the famous shaved ice! Yummy! We were going to hit a luau but decided to stay at the Kona Brewery for dinner as it was a fun scene on the Big Island with yummy beer.
On Tuesday we zip lined! What a highlight! So fun to cruise down the zip lines through the beautiful trees of Hawaii with Maui and ocean in the background. So fun! And visited a black sand beach!
Wednesday we went kayaking and snorkeling in some of the most beautiful waters ever at Captain Cook's.
Thursday was kick off of the Packer season! WOWO! We watched it at the pool bar and recruited some fans to watch it with us. Perfect day!
Friday we went hiking at the Volcano National Park - amazing to hike through lava.
What a great week with great friends, good times, beautiful weather, and yummy food!
Thanks to Melissa, Cindy, and Kristin - can't wait to do it again soon! I will post more pictures soon! Trying to catch up with work!

The ladies in Kona enjoying happy hour on the beach

Zip lining on the Big Island - Jumping picture

The most beautiful black sand beach ever - what hike!

 Jumping picture on the base of the lava trail during our hike in the Volcano National Park - had to use the timer cause no one else around!

The ladies surfing....during happy hour!

Packer game day at the pool!

Sea turtles everywhere!

Sunsets in Hawaii are perfect - this one while I was grilling some fish for dinner.

Our new friends watching the Packer game pool side!

Volcano! Amazing!

The lagoon at the Hilton

Sea Turtles

On the Submarine tour

Enjoying Singapore with some JD Peeps

I always love having visitors! It is so great to see fellow John Deere peeps but its best when they come to visit Singapore. This past week several of my Deere friends joined from the US - Moline and Cary. Always fun to take visitors to Clarke Quay - great place on the river for dinner! Thanks to Dale, Warren, Rick, Matt, Bob, and Tony for joining me for a day in Singapore. We went to lunch in Boat Quay and then a boat rive tour of Singapore. Then we headed to Chinatown. Dinner in Holland Village rounded out the day. Fun day! Here some pictures of touring Singapore.

Sunday morning in Singapore

Had a great Sunday skype with the family this morning! Including all the nieces and nephews! The sun came up in Singapore during the call - perfect way to start a beautiful Sunday!



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A long weekend in Vietnam....

Since it was Singapore's birthday, a long weekend in Vietnam seemed like a great idea! Oh and it was. Lena and I headed to Hanoi and then to Halong Bay for a great weekend on board a junk boat. So fun! I couldn't believe how organized and coordinated every thing was. We got to kayak through caves, climb through some caves, hike to the top of Tree Top mountain for amazing views of the the Halong Bay, and of course swim. Halong Bay has over 1500 islands and beautiful! We visited a floating village where all the people live in basic houses that float on the water. Some even had tv's powered by solar power! The food in Vietnam was a highlight - yummy and all seafood which is a favorite. I really enjoyed the kayaking especially when motorized boats came by and almost flipped us! The bay is amazing so there were lots of people, but the second day of the cruise we were taken to a day boat and able to spend a day doing whatever we wanted with a small group of really fun people - a British couple, an Irish couple, and another expat from Singapore who knew Lena before the trip and randomly we ran into! The world is small! After the cruise we headed back to Hanoi and got to spend some time walking around the city and enjoying the shops and sights. We went to a water puppet show too. Fun! The culture and people of Vietnam are lovely! Can't wait to go back! Vietnam was a favorite! Here are some pictures:

Our junk boat - so fun!

Our cruise ship room

The view of Halong Bay from the top of Tree Top Mountain

Lena and I at Tree Top beach

Sunset on the Halong Bay - AMAZING

Kayaking through the bay

Approaching our first cave - so fun to kayak through!

 Lena and I in the cave

Climbing through the caves was fun too - here I am trying not to be so tall for Asia!

Our fun group - British, Mexican, American, German and Irish - can't go wrong!

The food was yummy -squid but we didn't catch any :(

Cruising through the local floating village - the hats are key!

Approaching the cave....

I made friend in the cave - lion!

Got to have a jumping picture - inside a cave!

More yummy food and cooked fresh each meal!

Water pupper show in Hanoi!

Top of the Halong Bay - beautiful!

Singapore girls - Maria, Lena, and I

Swimming in the Halong Bay - trying to do the jummping picture

The food just keeps coming and so good!

Sri Lanka part 2....

Some more great pictures from our climb and safari!