Buckley here we come!

After about 20 months at Neptune, it is time to say goodbye and usher in our new home for the next 24 months. Neptune was a great place and we really enjoyed ourselves there with the big compound and lovely view. Mummy and Daddy says they will miss the sea view from our study room and also the friendly neighbors there.

At Buckley Classique, we are located just next to Andrea's new school at Pat's Buckley and also about 5 mins from my school. This will save us a lot of time traveling especially when Daddy is out on business trips and Mummy has to send us to school. I am very happy with the new place as we get the swimming pool right in front of us and there is also the nice clubhouse which is a remodeled conservation house. Daddy and Mummy plan to have regular BBQ sessions but apparently there are a lot of mosquitoes due to the lushes vegetation there. We shall see.

Thank you Neptune and hello Buckley!

ACS Orientation

It is Orientation Day at ACS today and it marks my next milestone. We got to school at about 2.30pm and Daddy had to drop Mummy and I off while he parked the car at Newton Food Centre. I was ushered to the Music Room where all of my other classmates from P1 were to gather. I wasn't quite used to the crowd and cried as Mummy tried to convince me it is not as scary as I thought.

I was eventually left alone with the rest of my new friends while Mummy and Daddy went for the presentation by my new Principal Mrs Koh. We were then brought around the school and introduced to the canteen and some other areas in the school. Eventually we were gathered in our new classroom for 2015 and got to know our new teacher Ms Shabnam and my other classmates.

Mummy and Daddy came to get me after their presentation. We were supposed to get our new textbooks and uniforms so as Mummy and Daddy queued up for those items, I played at the playground with most of the other students. We only managed to get the textbooks as the queue for the uniforms were too long.

I think I like my new school and am excited to start my new school life for the next 6 years here.

USA

We headed to the United States for about 12 days for an exciting holiday. We arrived at San Francisco and spent about 4 days here and then Daddy drove us along the Pacific Coast Highway for another 4 days before we arrived at Los Angeles where we spent another 4 days mostly in Disneyland.

We flew by EVA Air which is a lot cheaper and just as comfortable, if not more, compared to Singapore Airlines, according to Daddy. It took us 4.5 hours to get to Taipei where we transit for 2 hours before making the 11 hour flight to San Francisco. we enjoyed the flight as I watched my movies and played some games and slept quite a bit.

SF was interesting as we visited most of the highlights. Fisherman's Wharf, Sausalito, Golden Gate Park, Crissy Fields, Palace of Fine Arts, Ocean Beach and Marin Headlands were the highlights. Along the PCH, we also visited Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Dennis the Menace Playground, Santa Barbara and also Santa Monica Pier. Before spending another 4 days in Disneyland, we also enjoyed Farmers Market in LA.

Andrea and I had a great time, although there were many times we fought and fussed and got Daddy and Mummy mad but I think generally it was a good trip and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

The Best Is Yet To Be

I have reached, perhaps, the biggest milestone in my life this week. On 21st (Monday), Mummy and Daddy went to ACS Junior to register for my Primary One enrollment. We registered under Phase 2B (church affiliation within 1km).

After 4 days of suspense, it was revealed that there was no need for any balloting which means I am officially an ACS Jr boy from Jan 2015. Mummy and Daddy are very happy that we have secured my Primary One spot and they cannot wait to see me in my new uniform. Joshua Tan, one of my best friend from Pat's Schoolhouse will also be with me there. Tristan and Joshua Chan will be going to ACS Barker which is a short distance away from us. Lucas too, won't be far away in SJI.

I am not sure what to expect as I have no idea what a primary school is but Mummy and Daddy keep telling me it will be very different from Pat's as there will be many boys there and many activities in school. I guess I will wait for it to happen next year.

The Best Is Yet To Be!

NDP 2014

This is the first time we attended a National Day Parade. Although it is only the rehearsal, we were  very excited with this new experience. In fact, it was also Mummy and Daddy's first time attending a parade. We got tickets from one of Mummy's friend who is volunteering for this year's NDP parade. Daddy thinks there might not be many chances to see a parade at the Floating Platform now that the National Stadium is up and there are talks that the Floating Platform might be removed.

We took the train to Promenade station and walked to the platform. On the way there, we were distracted with the ice cream man. We couldn't resist and had a couple of chocolate chips waffle.

The pre-parade show started at 5.15pm and the actual show started at 6pm. The atmosphere was electrifying as the whole platform was packed with a sea of red and whites. The highlights were the parachute jumpers and also the helicopter fly pass as the national anthem was played. For me, the highlights were the goodies in the goody bag that was given to everyone. 

The grand finale were the fireworks and we were pleasantly surprised to see the whole works and not just a bit since it was just the rehearsal. Andrea fell asleep just before the fireworks ended and Daddy had to carry her and walk to the train station. She only work up when we got home. We had a good time and wouldn't mind doing this again soon.

Handwriting

Mummy and Daddy are rather concerned about my handwriting. Although they feel my handwriting is nice for my age, but the way I hold the pen looks awkward and it might be ok for now as there are not that much writing, however, it might not be ok when I start having to write more.

Mummy has asked around the chat group as well as some other parents and there were various mixed remarks. Some feel it is ok as long as my writing is legible and shouldn't change it in case I don't like to write or my writing looks bad. Others feel I should go get it changed and hold properly to write comfortably in case it becomes too late and really cannot change anymore and have long term bad effects.

I think I will be going to see a handwriting expert really soon.

Khao Lak

Mummy and Daddy wanted to bring us to a new place with the beach and a nice swimming pool so we could have fun for a couple of days. Godma agreed to join us and brought her family along too for the holiday. Daddy's friends Aunty Sharon and Aunty Alice were also part of the holiday.

Khao Lak is about a couple of hours bus ride from Phuket. Initially we almost couldn't make it for this holiday as there was a military coup in Thailand. However we were told that tourist are not really affected, moreover Khao Lak is away from the capital so should be fine. The first day we arrived at Khao Lak, heavy rain descended on us after we checked in. So we just rested in the room and waited for dinner. Just after dinner, we prepared the lanterns which Aunty Sharon and Aunty Alice bought from the shops when we were resting. It was really fun as we lighted many lanterns and allow the hot air to fill the lantern before letting them go and seeing them float over the ocean until it was out of sight. Beautiful!


The next morning, after we had a heavy buffet breakfast, we were surprised to find a baby elephant at the children's playground. We fed the elephant with bananas from breakfast and took pictures with it, while some of the other kids played at the swings. We then headed to the swimming pool and had a ball of a time swimming and playing on the slides. I had a lot of fun coming down the slides but Mei Mei Andrea was too small to go alone so Daddy went with her. It was awesome! After spending a couple of hours at the pool, we decided to check out the beach. The waves were quite strong so we could only play along the edge of the water and build sand castles. We had lunch by the beach and the kids were playing until dark clouds moved in and started raining.

Time to head to the children's playroom and do some kids' activities. Eva and Andrea decided to do some batik painting with the help of our mummies. It was quite fun and we had to wait till the next morning before we could see the finished product. After the painting, we headed back to the room to get some rest before dinner.

We went to pool again on the second morning after breakfast but we spent more time at the beach that day. Thank goodness the weather was perfect and we could do what we planned for. We even signed up for an elephant ride and Khao Lak local market tour in the afternoon. I was very excited as this was my first time riding on an elephant after having rode on camels and horses before. I had a lot of fun at the waterfall too, jumping from stone to stone. I fell into the water a couple of times but that was fun too. We all had fun with the Burmese tending to the elephants as they took many pictures of us with our phones as the elephants walked on their own.

On the last day at breakfast, we celebrated a simple birthday for Eva and Mummy made a simple cake out of the cup cakes available at breakfast. We were given back the batik painting the girls did and it was beautiful. Unfortunately in our excitement over the birthday celebration, we left it behind at the restaurant. Mummy was very upset when she found out we didn't take it with us.

We had a good trip with everyone and looking forward to our next trip!

Pulau Ubin

Godpa had been planning this trip to Pulau Ubin for some time now and finally we are here in Pulau Ubin. Mummy and Daddy took leave today to spend the day with Godpa and Uncle Justin and their family. There were a total of 5 adults and 5 children so it was quite manageable.

Started the day with a heavy breakfast at Changi Village hawker centre but Mummy wasn't quite satisfied with the nasi lemak, probably cos it was not the world famous stall. We then took the ferry across to Pulau Ubin and because there were so many of us, we decided to charter the whole bumboat for $30 one way. We headed straight to the bicycle shop upon arriving at the island cos we realized we didn't have much time as the last ferry out was at 5pm.

Our intention was to visit the Chek Jawa Wetlands and were told it will take only about 45 mins to get there. That sounded easy except that first we had some trouble with the kid's bike and had to change it halfway into the journey, then it started to rain and we had to take shelter in someone's house which reminded Daddy of the house Great Grandma and Grandpa stayed in in Hougang long time ago. Our journey was interrupted a couple of times because of the rain and when we were almost there, we realized that there were a bunch of wild boars at the entrance to Chek Jawa and they looked kinda fierce, so we decided not to proceed and to turn back.

We ended up in a coffee shop selling food and were delighted that they serve crabs too. The meal was simple yet very delicious and everyone looked contented after the meal. As we still had some time before the last ferry, we decided to check out the beach near the jetty and found small fish and lots of hermit crabs there. The kids were thrilled to see so many hermit crabs as this is probably the first time we were introduced to this strange creature.

Click here to view these pictures larger

What is the name of that song?

Reuben: Mummy, can you download the song I sang in class today?
Mummy: What song Reuben?
Reuben: What's the name of that song?
Mummy: Reuben, I wouldn't know what song you sang in class today. You have to tell me the title of the song to download.
Reuben: What's the name of that song? *exasperated*
Mummy: Reuben, if you don't know the name then I wouldn't know! *also exasperated*
Mummy: Can you remember how to sing the song? Or at least some parts of the lyrics? *still exasperated, getting annoyed*
Reuben: something something bird....
Daddy: Wow, that is helpful... so many songs with the word bird, Reuben!
Reuben: *crying hysterically & helplessly* WHAT IS THE NAME OF THAT SONG!
Daddy: Calm down Reuben... Crying is not going to help.

After 5 mins of partly trying to convince Reuben we really need the title of the song to download it and partly trying not to throw him out of the house for being so unreasonable, Mummy had a divine intervention....

Mummy: Wait a minute... Maybe there is really a song called "What is the name of that song?"
Mummy: Wahahahahahahahahaha... You have got to be kidding me!
Reuben: *totally relieved and smiling again*

Did you catch that part that went "something something bird"? wahahahahahhahahah.....

MBS 2014

Satay by the Bay

Mummy and Godma decided to meet up at the Children's Playground next to Satay by the Bay today. We were suppose to go there and check out the water playground. We were not very hopeful when we had to wait for 10 mins before getting into the car park. The path to the water playground was also very crowded with pedestrians, cyclist and quite a few joggers.

When we got to the water playground, our greatest fear was realized. It was like Chinatown on CNY eve. It was so crowded Mummy and Godma decided we should come back another day instead. We then walked to Satay by the Bay and sat down for some drinks and snacks. There weren't many options so we decided to have their most popular dish, Satay! As expected, it was bad but we finished all 15 sticks anyway. And while the adults chatted, we kids watched Tom and Jerry on the iPad and didn't give the adults any trouble.

It was threatening to rain so we decided to start walking back to the car. On the way, I managed to scoot around for a bit. It was fun as it was a big place and I could go really fast and show off my scootering skills. We also took some nice pictures with the Singapore Flyer as the backdrop. Mummy promised to bring me back here tomorrow as she will leave office early. I cannot wait to play at the water playground tomorrow. 

Chinese New Year 2014

Reunion dinner this year was different. Nai Nai decided we should eat out instead. So we reserved a table at Golden Sand Restaurant at Changi Beach Club, as recommended by one of Nai Nai's friend. 

Yee Sok Steve got back from Dubai in time for dinner and also to spend the next 9 days with us. Food was not too bad. Mei Mei Andrea was so tired she slept through the first half of dinner. When she woke up, dinner was almost over but she still got to eat some of her favourite food. 

After dinner, we decided to check out the beach area outside the restaurant. Unfortunately the boardwalk was closed to the public so we just hung around the pool area. We took some nice family pictures and had lots of fun with the monster face shots. 

The next day, we woke up and Daddy and Mummy showered us with nice wishes and also an ang pow each.

We then had steamboat breakfast and changed up for our visitation. We went to Bishan for some more breakfast with Ma Ma and Gong Gong, then headed to AMK to a grand aunty's house for more food. I guess it is all about eating during Chinese New Year. At about 5.30pm, we headed to 3rd grand aunty's house to meet up with more aunties, uncles and cousins. 

Adventure Cove Waterpark

Daddy and Mummy took the day off and planned a trip to Adventure Cove with me. We were suppose to go last Monday but we all fell sick and so had to postpone it.

Daddy and Mummy went to check out some child cares for Mei Mei Andrea in the morning before coming to get me from school at 12pm. The weather was perfect for this outing, quite cloudy and not too hot. And since it was not a school holiday, it was not very crowded at all, just the usual tourist crowd.

Our first ride was the Riptide Rocket. The queue wasn't very long compared to some we have seen at other theme parks, just about 30 mins wait. I took the ride with Daddy as I was below 122 cm tall. Mummy wasn't very thrilled to take it alone but she survived it. She doesn't like height and speed. It is actually an intense roller coaster on water. I loved it even though we flipped as we ended the ride. We also tried the Dueling Racer. This one wasn't as scary but fun nonetheless. Then there was the wave pool at the Bluwater Bay, the Big Bucket Treehouse, Adventure River and Rainbow Reef where we got to snorkel among the marine fishes. Of all the attractions, I like the wave pool the most and we spent almost an hour there.

Tennis

We met Joshua and Uncle Gary at the tennis court at CSC this morning. Since coach Ray is still not back from his holiday, Uncle Gary thought he will conduct some clinic for Joshua and myself in case we forget what we have learned so far.

It was a very hot day but we had a lot of fun at the court. Uncle Gary thinks I can play well if I have more training so I should not give up. I hope I can cope with both swimming and tennis.

The Junior Gynmastic

Mummy wanted to enroll Mei Mei Andrea into this gymnastic class and thought she should have a trial class to check it out. Since I was there, I got to try the class too. The gym is a lot bigger than the other gyms I have been too. Actually this is an actual gym located inside Hwa Chong Junior College. There are many kids who attend the gym classes there over the weekend. Mummy got to know about it through Aunty Linna who brings Amelia, Sarah and Hannah there for the gym classes.

I had a lot of fun as my class of 3 other boys got to do some simple gymnastic moves. We also tried out the parallel bars but we were of course assisted as we tried to pull ourselves up on the bar. I think I want to come back for more lessons.

Mei Mei Andrea wasn't too pleased to be left without Mummy and Daddy. She cried the whole 1.5 hours she was there and she had to stick to Aunty Jenny whose 22 month old granddaughter will join the class soon. I am not sure if Mei Mei Andrea will want to come back again but Mummy and Daddy think she should and she will eventually enjoy it. Let's see.