Singapore | Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest

I am honestly not sure which of the domes (Flower Dome or Cloud Forest) that I liked better.  Both were enchanting and completely unexpected and took my breath away at one point.  I loved walking into Cloud Forest greeted by this magnificent waterfall and the burst of air that came with it (have I mentioned that Singapore was hot ;)).

  

^ it is said to boast the largest indoor waterfall in the world. ^

^ best travel buddy! ^

^ magnificent! ^

^ I loved the way that the sun streamed in both domes. ^

^ the waterfall scared the girls just a tad bit so Emma kept her distance, but we convinced Everly to run and get a picture with daddy. ^

^ my favorite picture! ^

^ the greenery in here was amazing as well - I am thinking Singapore must have the perfect conditions for flowers, everything was in bloom! ^

^ those baby blues. ^

^ I love travelling with this girl! she really has such an adventurous spirit and tells me how much she 'loves going on holiday'. and I love capturing that real smile (I can tell I have captured it when I can barely see her eyes!). ^

^ at the Cloud Forest, you can ride an elevator up to the top floor (if I am remembering correctly there are 6 or 7 floors) and then you can walk down - this was looking up at what we were about to walk down. ^

^ we made it to the top! ^

^ a little twirl at the top! ^

^ why is it so hard to keep the girls out of water! I swear, they are magnets to anything and everything water. ^

^ on one of the platforms with the waterfall streaming behind them. ^

^ I loved my view walking down. ^

^ from the top looking down. ^

^ on the way out, there were tons of really cool carvings made out of wood. ^

Singapore | Gardens by the Bay, Flower Dome

In my opinion, Gardens by the Bay is the one thing that is an absolute must in Singapore.  We were completely surprised how much we loved this place.  There are two big domes - the flower dome and cloud forest (which houses the world's largest indoor waterfall) and so many other gardens outside (that are completely free!) including an awesome splash pad at the children's garden.  When I was going through the pictures, there were too many so I decided to divide it up into a few posts - in the morning we checked out the Silver garden and the Flower Dome. 

^ when our cab dropped us off - we were immediately greeted by these infamous tree sculptures and the brightest blue skies. ^

^ Emma was so excited to find breakfast at McDonald's - even though we had just eaten breakfast she begged for a 'hamburger' (really a sausage mcmuffin sandwich - we cannot find these in Chengdu!) and we gave in much to her delight.  she ate the whole thing!! ^

^ she looks pretty happy for being eaten by an alligator ;). ^

^ the view from Gardens by the Bay was stunning no matter what direction we looked. ^

^ the girls were really looking forward to riding the Singapore Flyer so they loved getting a look. ^

^ the infamous Marina Bay Sands - it was more outrageous in person than I could have ever imagined. ^

^ I love combining the two in one picture. ^

^ just a picture to show that traveling with kiddos is not always easy.  there are tears and mood swings and so many 'i'm too hot's' to go around.  it's worth it but it's not always as perfect as pictures make it seem. ^

^ I could not get enough of the views. ^

^ smiles here, but also wasn't the case all morning with this one ;). ^

^ picture by Emma :). ^

^ for some reason Ev's decided this would be her pose for the whole day. ^

^ I love all the texture and different shades of green at the succulent garden. ^

^ Emma enjoyed taking some of the pictures. ^

^ this pose ;). ^

^ I love that the dome was glass, letting all of the sunlight in. ^

^ the girls with the cacti. ^

^ twirling everywhere we go! ^

^ trying to capture just how massive this place is on the inside.  you could literally spend all day in here. ^

^ two buddies along for the ride. ^

^ Wes and I both loved these flowers! ^

^ what really took our breath away was the orchid garden - I have never seen them in mass like they were here and so many shades of pink and purple and white. ^

^ my absolute favorite picture of Emma from the day. ^

^ tiny ballerina and that golden morning light streaming in. ^

^ so beautiful. ^

^ it really took our breath away. ^

^ the rose was the size of their face. ^

^ caterpillar! ^

^ there was a butterfly section of the garden - I think this was probably the girls favorite part. ^

^ one of my friends was visiting Chengdu and brought a book for each of the girls - Emma's was a book of butterflies, she loves taking this book with us everywhere and checking off/circling/coloring as she spots different butterflies. ^

^ when I think about all the amazing adventures these two have gone on/will go on together - I am truly awed and it inspires me to provide even more adventures. ^

^ just a girl and her buddies. ^

^ almost positive this is the same flower we love above, just in purple this time. ^