"Pretend Vacation" Lunch

It's high noon and the only time of day you're guaranteed that no one else is going to be at the pool so we packed up our lunch and decided to pretend we were on vacation somewhere.

It was blindingly bright out but it was very comfortable at the table under the giant umbrellas. Zac made pizza bread and I prepped salad and a few other accompaniments. 

Think we all liked the change of scenery and that we were doing something outside of our usual routine. I find myself getting boxed in by routine and The Schedule so making the mundane special really shakes things up and slows things down enough to appreciate where we are now.

We've Moved!

It's been almost 2 weeks since we have moved into our new place at Gallop Green. The move itself was traumatic since condensing our accumulated stuff from the 30 something years we lived at our split level home at Greenview Crescent took a miracle! Lenard was so busy with the SEA Games that we had to move without him. It was no easy feat trying to pack his stuff and trying to pack/unpack for myself, the boys and for him too! Up to the last day at Greenview, we still had lots of things that weren't squared away for the movers to bring over to Gallop Green.

All our boxes were in by the 8th of June

Even though it took a whole lot of elbow grease and plenty of merciless culling, our family has unpacked most of our boxes and settled in remarkably well to condo living. We thought it would have taken us longer than this to get comfortable after having stayed in one home for so long. The apartment is homey, comforting and lots of amenities for the children to enjoy (read: swimming pool, a playground, tennis courts, and NEIGHBOURS!!)

First meal at our new home, McDonald's!

 The new house is peaceful and has a wonderful calming atmosphere not unlike a resort. We feel like we're on holiday and its a little surreal that this is now where we call home. I love how we are closer to school, Mel's house and Orchard Road. Those were big pluses for me since I spend so much time driving the children around.

First family meal at Gallop Green

Loving the water!

Even though we hold fond memories in our heart from the time we spent at Greenview, we've been blessed by this new home and look forward to making lots of memories here.

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.

June Holidays: Sentosa Staycation

We've just wrapped our June staycation at Resorts World Singapore. Four families, three fun-filled days just stone's throw from home.

Day 1:
Check in was at 3PM so we met the Ng family at Toast Box for breakfast before heading to Universal Studios Singapore (USS). We were all running behind schedule this morning but it was nice to be able to take our time and not feel pressured to rush.

Norohnas, Ngs and Pattiselannos

Pattiselannos ready!

 The first ride we went on was Madagascar: A Crate Adventure. Eli was not a willing participant (perhaps after having been overwhelmed by our adventure in Disneyland in December) and was quite fretful the whole time we were in line and just downright panicked once we got into the boat. The ride was akin to a more exciting It's A Small World-type of experience. Everyone else enjoyed it.

While we waited for the Lim family to join us in the park, we went on King Julien's Beach Party Go-Around before heading to The Lost World. We split up to do the dino rides because of varying degrees of daring. Robin and Jackie went with Lewis, Leroy and Isaac on Canopy Flyer, I went with Justin, Zac and Leon on Dino-Soarin' while the other mummies, Len and Eli looked on. Justin, Len and Zac later joined Chee Meng and Nicholas at Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure for a wet and wild ride.

Still feeling sensitive

You're LUNCH!

We headed back to Hard Rock Hotel to check into our rooms after a few more rides. The boys were more than happy to switch into swim gear to try out the pool. Dinner was at Malaysian Food Street and then Candylicious to browse and eat too much dessert.

 Day 2:
It's Adventure Cove Day! After a quick breakfast under the golden arches, we adjourned to the water theme park for some fun in the sun. The weather was nice and hot even though it rained the night before. The Norohnas and Pattiselannos had never been in the park before but the Ngs and Lims knew their way around to know where to park ourselves - the wave pool. It was fairly crowded but we thankfully managed to find 2 seats in a shaded area for Jackie and our things. Fifteen people on 2 chairs. Right.

Almost all of us in a tunnel along the lazy river.

We spent most of our time on the lazy river (you ride this on giant donut rings if you can get one, otherwise, a lifejacket is all you need) or in the wave pool as predicted. We ate lunch in the park but it wasn't long before Zac and Eli decided they'd had enough and wanted to head back to the hotel to rest up. The rest headed back to the hotel soon after that.

To kill time before dinner, we headed to Vivocity with our free pass on the monorail. Of course, we headed there to keep the kids from climbing the walls in boredom so we camped out at Toys R Us for the most part. Dinner was at Hard Rock Cafe but the monorail station is right where the restaurant was located so we didn't have to hurry too much.  I was grateful we were having an early dinner and even more grateful that Hard Rock Cafe had beef pho on the menu! Jackpot! Something that Eli would be happy to eat and since he was in an over-tired grumpy state, I was glad not to have to cajole, coax, and convince him to eat mac and cheese!

L to R: Justin, Leroy, Isaac and Zac

 Little mercies. Thank you God!

Day 3:
After watching Holland trash Spain in the World Cup game, the daddies managed to catch a few winks before breakfast at Slappy Cakes. They were in fairly good spirits but I'm certain they all felt like zombies inside.

We were supposed to check out by noon today so we headed back to the hotel to finish up packing and loading our stuff. We'd planned to go to the Marine Life Park after we'd settled our luggage.

The Norohnas babysitting while we packed.

 God is so good and gave us 2 lovely days of sunshine. This third day, it rained and we were thankfully doing an indoor activity! I'm not the biggest fan of snorkelling and being one with nature and all its cold, scaly wonders but I do love aquariums and looking at these beautiful living things. It's hard not to marvel at the creativity and innovation of our God when you get a glimpse of these things that would otherwise be hidden from our view.

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Trying to take a photo of this many children is no small task!

There is even a turtle!

Jellyfish!

It's nothing like looking at seafood to stir up an appetite. We lunched at RamenPlay, and hung out for a little while before saying our goodbyes. I'm always a little sad and unwilling to part with our friends after a holiday like this but I'm grateful that there is always a next time. I've been blessed with such great people in my life and am looking forward to many more adventures to go on together!