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...)

Something different...

Daddy suggested driving down to Geylang for "dou jiang you tiao" on morning instead of the regular hike. Breakfast ended early at 9.30am and the tennis court looked exceptionally empty probably due to extremely hot day in the morning.

Mummy decided that there was sufficient time for a workout before Lleyton attend his class at 11.30am, thus promptly got ready the gears and off they go!

Both kids were overjoyed as they were free to roam around the court with the balls and rackets . Don't they look like professional players (except that they were holding "badminton" instead of tennis rackets)?

18th months leanne and 3.5 years lleyton

The months of April and October often call for some kind of celebration, as they mark the 0.5 years development and birthdays of both the kids. Time flashes past and now Leanne has reached the age of attending childcare. Mummy registered her in the same school as Lleyton and she will start full day playgroup in a few weeks' time.

Meanwhile, she has turned demanding in many aspects, more fussy, more stubborn.. She also recently got her very first hair cut since birth. Lleyton has physically grown taller, talks non-stop but sometimes with intelligence, and replies his age as " I am three years old, going to four years old". At times, he will start his baby-ish language just to imitate his sister and irritate his parents.

Nevertheless, they are a bunch of joys and definitely takes the tension and stress off work after working hours. Happy 18th months Leanne, and Happy 3.5 years to Lleyton!

The kiddos' development

These kids are definitely growing fast.. with Leanne eating almost the same portion as her brother, and playing games that her brother is playing. That is the reason why the big brother has been reminded several times that he ought to set good examples for his little sister.

For a change, besides building his Thomas the train set, Lleyton now prefers to do his writing exercises and maths activities nowadays, and has taken an interest in spelling. His usual phrase: "Mummy, XXXX (e.g. truck) - A B C D is what?". What he meant was to find out how to spell a certain word. To date, though he can spell only a couple of words (i.e. Lleyton, apple, cat, cap, car, brush, bus - almost) on his own, it is still a good attempt. He has been teaching Leanne new words as well. Glad that they are helping each other.

Flyer accomplished again!

... the hike that is (after the 1st attempt in 2008), and one of the more challenging routes as the "less vibrant" stretch along the Kallang River and F1 track makes the route seem longer. Fully equipped with the proper footwear and the right gears, the family set out towards the destination earlier than usual on A Sunday morning. The kids appeared seasoned on such hiking trips, as Lleyton's stamina has built up with less complaints and requests to be carried. In order to keep to a more consistent pace, Leanne has the benefit of being carried at times.

Breakfast was at CBTL, Millenia Walk. As Lleyton was running late for his class, the decision was made to take the MRT back home. That definitely pleased the kids!

Mummy certainly looked tired from the late nights (watching Guess X3) and having to wake up in the early morning. Oops.. no pictures of the flyer? Disclaimer: The pictures were collated from different hikes as Mummy just can't recall which Sunday the hike took place.

Usual CNY family shot

An attempt to capture a family shot, something which has been done every year after everyone has dressed up and right before leaving house to bai nian. Leanne was resisting so badly throughout the session, and the helper has no idea how to hold the camera straight, those are the outcome of the series of CNY shots for this year.

In the end, only one shot seemed reasonably acceptable (in fact, it was the very first shot after the photo was cropped to remove the part of the finger image that blocked the lens)

Happy Lunar New Year!!

Another day at USS

To make good use of Annual Pass, the family braved the weather and proceeded to USS as planned. 天不作美 indeed, it started to pour and the entire place was flooded. Fortunately, Lleyton and Leanne were both well-equipped and shielded themselves from the rain with the matching raincoats. A good half hour was spent watching the 4D Shrek Show, followed by the "Flying Dragon Car" which was Lleyton's 2nd attempt since his visit last Nov.

Leanne giving the look: "Huh? USS again?"

Don't they look like 2 little ducklings in rain gears?

The rain makes everyone hungry.. 20'' pizza almost entirely finished (except for one piece) by the family of 4, including Lleyton and Leanne who had their fair share

The hikes

Lleyton and Leanne went on a few hikes with Daddy and Mummy, but the real agenda for Lleyton was to have the chance to take the "Thomas" or the bus.

Beach Road Prawn Noodles and National Library
Lleyton went on the same route almost exactly 2 years back. Look at how the two kids enjoyed the delicious prawn noodles. In order to fulfill Lleyton's request to take the bus back home, Daddy planned a longer route towards National Library such that the bus ride is more "worthwhile".

See the same boy 2 years ago.. yummy!

A change of clothes after the prawn noodles. Looks like she is posing.. her expression looks exactly like Mummy when she's young (or that is what Mummy thinks)

To Paradiz Centre and Plaza Sing

That week's itinerary was to take a stroll down memory lane towards Plaza Sing. Daddy and Mummy has ran out of ideas on urban hikes especially when Lleyton insisted that he wants to take the train. The difference was that Leanne doesn't seem to fall asleep like Lleyton in the Baby Bjorn carrier, and remained curious and alert throughout the entire journey.

Not that many photos taken until the last leg of the trip.

A comparison against half of the same route 2 years back.

The next challenge will be the hike to the Flyer!

A morning at the beach

One Sunday morning, Daddy drove the family to East Coast Park for Lleyton to practice cycling. Thereafter, the family proceeded to the beach for some sandplay.

Both Leanne and Lleyton looked wet and sweaty after the morning of fun!