Saturday Dinner Hangout

When the boys don't let you in on the game

Just your average Saturday night with the kiddos making themselves very at home on our bed.

 

Times and Tides

It's our first time doing an inter-tidal walk with Young Nautilus. It felt like an adventure since we were out there on the beach around the time we would normally be calling it a day. Armed with torches (and Zachary with his net and stick) we walked the beach with our guide to find out what the tide left for us to find. 

This was Daddy's first time with us and we were so glad to have him there.

Sea cucumber: you can only tell which is the front when it sticks its tongue out!

Out of the four of us, I think I was the most enthusiastic about spotting the creatures and knowing what they were. The boys were most enthusiastic about spotting their friends who were being guided in their own family groups. Even though we signed up together, safe distancing measures had to be enforced so separate groups and staggered timings were the next best option. Still, we did manage to take just one quick photo before grabbing a really late dinner.

 

Let’s Go to the Zoo

I wasn't sure if the boys would be all that excited about going to the zoo but it turns out you can't really outgrow this place. 

The Covid-19 regulations certainly didn't rain on our parade even though we had to contend with the inclement weather. We were well-prepared with disposable raincoats and umbrellas but it was a relief that the rain eventually died down.

The Doctor is In

Sleepover!

Oh what a heavenly mess at the foot of my bed.

Day 1: Karuizawa

 

We finally made it to Karuizawa around lunchtime. It felt like we'd been travelling for a long long time. I don't know how we managed to survive going to the States since we clocked the same number of hours trapped on an airplane!

The air was crisp and cool with a mist covering the top of the mountain. There was no snow this season on account of El Nino making it too warm for the snow to fall and even if it did it wouldn't hang around long enough to play in. We did have some man-made snow to muck around in and we were still hopeful for snow tomorrow.

  

We took the shuttle to the Karuizawa Prince Hotel East to put our bags at Concierge. Check-in time in Japan is at 3pm so we had quite a bit of time to kill. First, we hit the factory outlet, a stone's throw away from our hotel. There were lots of eating places and shops to blow our yen in, including Gap, Under Armor, Nike, adidas and LEGO.

We headed back to the hotel to check in for a much needed break but time was a ticking so we bundled the children in their snow gear and headed up to the slopes. the kids were SO excited but we all quickly realised how fast everything got sopping wet and that playing in snow is great but the clean up afterwards was just no fun.

Ski lessons tomorrow. Let's see how we fare after a good night's rest.

Baking Morning

photo courtesy of Suzanne

 The haze was so bad this morning that schools were forced to shut. However, when life throws you lemons, your inner foodie can't help but imagine all the lemon curd you could make!

Even though our plans for the morning had a slight hitch, we went ahead with our baking morning. Esther, Isabel, Serene and I had the pleasure of putting together a play-date-cum-baking lesson for our friend Suzanne who was eager to learn to bake. The lesson plan was decidedly simple: 2 versions of a cheesey bread (pao de quejo and gougeres) and oatmeal raisin cookies. Isabel demonstrated her version of pao de quejo (Brazillian cheese buns) and I did the other 2. It was good fun being able to share these recipes with my friends and to teach them what the World Wide Web had taught me!

The Babies

"Ewey, Papu, Mimi and Me!"

Bubble Magic Rocks!

I bought tickets for us to watch Bubble Magic a good 2 months before the show. I first saw some pictures of the show online when I was looking for shows for the kids. Honestly, I really wanted to watch this show myself. Pep Bou, a two-man team who shares their stage with the lovely and amazing bubble creations they make using all kinds of tubes, strings, hoops and more.

Eli was a bit suspicious when we entered the darkened Jubilee Hall at Raffles Hotel and was quite tense initially since he doesn't enjoy performances or shows or anything of the "unknown" variety (ie, almost anything he hasn't encountered before). Just after the show began however, I was thrilled to hear him tell me "Mummy, I'm not scared anymore! This is really funny!". He giggled and laughed for the rest of the show and so did Zac who really loved the toilet humour (a winner with most children)!

Zac wants to watch this again next year!

Balloon warriors unite!

Justin and Zachary hamming it up at Ryan's birthday party!

Last Days of Summer

Actually it's just the last days of the June holidays which is just about half-way through Summer if we experienced the four seasons in the first place.

Tomorrow is the first day back at school after a month-long break. Where did the time go? I suppose time disappears that much faster when you're having fun though I do suspect that it would have flown by faster if the weather behaved itself a little more!

We got tickets to watch the first ever game at the new stadium. It was a rugby match and it's only at this game that I really realised how God saved me a lot of heartache by not allowing Zac to get rugby as his CCA! Even though I thought it was a great idea at the time (and I was the only one to think so), I'm relieved that my little boy won't be subject to such brutality! I am impressed and amazed at the athleticism and power the players displayed on the pitch but would be utterly horrified if all of that was directed at my child!

Can you imagine this little goofball getting pummeled into the ground?

We are still waiting the arrival of our newest addition. Len and I think he'll come on the 1st of July (NOTE: Little E's estimated due date was the 29th of June.), his daddy thinks it's going to be on the 4th of July and his mummy is just tired. Dr Cheng says that he'll induce birth on the morning of 4th July if he doesn't come out on his own. In the meantime, the plug is out and all that's left is the a waiting game.

The Chans and us went to Gardens by the Bay to check out the playground and waterplay area. We didn't get to get wet this time since it's so close to school starting and the Patti boys have just recovered from a bout of coughs and colds. The weather was warm and balmy as usual so even though we attempted to get there earlier, we didn't last very long in the heat.

Len brought us to the new stadium for its Open House. It was quite well run with lots of things to see and do. We got to try out a couple of games like Ultimate Frisbee and tennis as well as watch a little waterpolo. My favourite part was my speed shopping at Uniqlo @ Kallang Wave mall! The a/c was much appreciated after enduring the sweltering heat and loooong walk.

First time taking the MRT together as a family!

On the last day of the June hols, we rounded it off with a party celebrating Zac's dino-buddy Justin's 7th birthday at The Chevrons' bowling alley. The kids had a blast and I was so glad that the chocolate cake I made for the occasion turned out better than I thought!

One long vacation month down, looking forward to the next one to come! Peace out.