Cold Storage Kids' Run 2011

The kids were signed up for the Sunny Family Chase Run.. and both entered the same category. They probably enjoyed the after-run events more than the run itself.. but it's a good experience nonetheless.

New gadget at East Coast Park

The 2+2 seater 4 wheeler peddler was just nice for the family of 4. It was tiring though but good exercise for Mummy and Daddy. They are planning to do it again soon.

Random shots of the kids

To commemorate the significant milestone of Leanne (attending school at 18 months), Daddy came up with the great idea of revamping the bedroom of the kiddos (yes, again) and converted Leanne's cot into a child's bed, changed the position and re-do the wardrobe with some organisers from Ikea.

Here's the little princess..

and here's the spiderboy (well, Bin had an exact same one, which Ah Ma bought from Perth for the 2 boys!)

Magadascar Nite..

The family went for the Magadascar A-Crate Adventure free preview nite at the USS. It came with a goodie bag, some door gifts and juices for the guests. Not too bad for a half-hour queue + 9-min ride.

超省时妙招。。 and it worked!

The terrible 2s have started. And indeed terrible. Leanne loves to throw tantrums, cries non-stop in order to get what she wants, screams at the top of her voice. Mummy has a perfect plan, which she learned from the show "超省时妙招". This technique basically states that any crying baby who watched herself cry on video, will stop almost immediately. So she puts it into practice, filmed Leanne crying non-stop and showed it to her at that instance. It worked! And here's the video.. bet she is going to blame Mummy if she watch this when she grows up.

Leanne's in school!

Leanne has started school (or rather full-time childcare) since first week of May. She was enthusiastic at the thought of attending school with her gor-gor and was all smiles from the morning. The morning went well as Lleyton was following her closely, watching her every moves and helping her with the orientation at the childcare. Mummy was peeping outside and left everything to the teachers. Leanne started wailing only when the N2 and PGs were asked to return to their respective groups.

The next few days of the week were equally tramatising for her as she knew that she will be left alone at the school for the entire day. The past 2 weeks seem much better, as she will enter the main door without protest and followed the instructions of the teachers. Hope she will grow to love school!

Family Trip to Margaret River & Perth - Days 5 to 7

On day 5, the family departed their Margaret River home for the past 4 days, and headed for Perth. The 3 hour journey included en route visits to Bunbury and Fremantle. At Bunbury, the family visited the Dolphin Discovery Centre. This was where Daddy & Mummy had visited 5 years ago, and had successfully sighted dolphins. Hence, they enthusiastically brought the family along and even prepared the appropriate change of clothes to get into the water and up-close with the dolphins. But alas, the dolphins did not visit this time round, during the hour and half that the family was there. Nonetheless, Lleyton and Leanne were given a good tour of the dolphinarium and brief on the aquatic creatures, including a good feel of a baby starfish.
That day also marked the end of the 5-day Easter holiday in Australia, and Fremantle was abuzz with excitement and fun. There were street buskers and performancers on the roads and market, and the crowd were exhilarated with the fun-filled atmosphere and engaging performances. Lleyton and Leanne were no exception.

Day 6 started with a stroll around the Perth city centre, where the family stayed at. After a quick dash to the local supermarket for supplies, the family headed for a picnic at King's Park! The kids enjoyed it tremendously. Lleyton was so excited by the feeding of the ducks that he wanted to give away almost all the food! He and Leanne fed the ducks with cereal, biscuits, and some bread.

After the picnic, it was shopping time. Mummy had her fill at Harbour Town Outlets. Following that, the family had a sumptuous seafood feast at the Fremantle wharf. It was a great meal of fresh seafood, comprising oysters, squid, various types of fish and chips amongst others.

The key highlight on the final day was the return to the King's Park for Lleyton to feed the ducks again! This time round, he used up all the remaining bread that Daddy had bought earlier. After that, the family headed for the airport for the flight back home.

Looking back, the week-long trip had brought the kids much closer together, for they have shared many new experiences together, including animal feeding, chocolates munching and jacuzzi soaking. Daddy is very pleased that the kids have responded well to the trip, and had stayed healthy throughout. Perhaps, it is a good time to start planning for the next trip...

Family trip to Perth - Day 1 to 4

The long awaited to Perth has finally arrived! The family of 4 had the privilege of having Ah Ma and Ah Gong to go along as their trip to Japan (which was supposed to relieve them from bb sitting for the week) has been cancelled. Mummy arranged to book a 8 seater People Mover instead to accomodate the larger group. With the advice from a friend, Leanne & Lleyton's carseats were brought along and checked-in with the rest of the luggage.

DAY 1
The first day was spent travelling on flight, followed by another 3 hours drive from Perth airport to Margaret River. The supermarkets have closed by 7pm, so the family bought Pizzas and Fish&Chips take-away. Lleyton totally enjoyed the spa in the apartment, and insisted on having his bath in the Spa.

DAY 2
The family started off with a visit to the Market which was held during 2 Saturdays in every month. Lleyton had a go at designing his own Easter egg. A visit to the supermarket was made to stock up on groceries before they set off on the trip to Yallingup Shearing Shed. It was one of the the kiddos' first close encounters with farm animals. Both looked intently at the sheeps with curiousity, yet feeling reserved about feeding them. The rest of the day was spent travelling around the vicinity, with visits to Cullen Wines (2 bottles of Carbarnet Sauvignon Merlot), Simmos' (Ice)Creamy, Margaret River Nuts&Cereals etc. Dinner was home-cooked noodles, served with roast chicken and chips. The nights generally ended early, thus the adults continued with few rounds of card games after the kids fall asleep.

DAY 3

The third day was packed with more activities, with a short trip to Cape Leeuwin (Leeuwin Lighthouse at the the south-western tip of Australia) as it was along the way towards Jewel Caves. Tickets were bought for the 12pm visit to Jewel Caves, and unexpectedly there was a black-out in the cave half-way through the guided tour! A black-out in the cave = pitch-dark. The guide advised all to walk back the way where the tour started with the help of the pathetic torchlights. A refund of half the ticket price was given as the tour was more than half completed. Needless to say, few photos were taken (those taken were not clear as the cameras were not good enough). Lunch was at Karridale Tavern, a cosy little pub. Ordered pizza and fish & chips again.

After lunch was a visit to Leeuwin Estate, and Daddy bought another 2 bottles (of Brut).The day ended with a visit to Sunflower Farm. The kids were thrilled at the close promixity to little bunnies, chickens, sheeps, kangaroos. But what excite them most was the...playground.

DAY 4

Half a day was spent at the Busselton Jetty, and a visit to the Underwater Observatory (UWO). The train ride across the 2km jetty was also part of the attraction and Lleyton waited patiently for the train to arrive. At the UWO, he was amazed at behaviour of fishes underneath the jetty. Almost all the must-go places around the Margaret Rvier region have been covered, thus the next best thing to do will be to continue the wineries visit. This time, Mummy and Daddy chanced upon Sandalford and a bottle of Sweet White.

(to be continued...)