His and Her

Hubby and myself have recently bought a new pair of matching running shoes so that we can take up running or exercise more regularly now. The shoes, Reebok Hex Ride Smooth fit provide very good cushioning to lessen the impact when one is running. I particularly like the design and pinkish individual air pockets :)

We used to exercise very often before I got pregnant with Ryan, but after the 2 boys came along, our visit to the park or gym has literally been zero. Now that we try to bring the boys to the park every Sunday for cycling, we hope to take up some exercise too so that our lazy bones can get going once again! :)

Outdoor Play

My 2 boys are super active kids and basically, any activities that can tire them will bring lots of fun and joy to them. Over the Raya weekend, we brought them out for lots of outdoor play and fun.

1. We went to Tai Yee's condo for swimming.


Notice that Ryan is super afraid of swmming without his floats, so much so that until now, he's still swimming with his floats! Must make an appointment with a swimming instructor soon :) In the picture below, we encouraged him to put his face under water, so that he can learn to control his breathing and blow bubbles.

Jaden playing 'swim from the shark' with Tai Yee.

2. Cycling outside our house

3. Cycling and playground at TTDI park

Don't they just love slides :p

Ryan and Jaden cycling around the track while papa and mama walked.

Feeding the turtles.

Some kind lady gave us some crackers and bread to feed the catfish, koi and turtles.

And enjoying some icecream before leaving for dinner :)

Cheeky boy

4. Ryan participated in the Golf House Junior Series tournament for the second time on 27 September 2009. He actually played slightly better than his first tournament but since this time round, he was required to tee off from Level 2 (which was much further from Level 1), his score was 73 as compared to 66 previously.

I think this lil' boy did very well competing in the 6&Under category as he'd to compete against those 'bigger' boys who are 2 years his senior (Age calculated as at Jan 09 and those turning 7 during the year would be considered 6 @ Jan09.)

Ryan with Justin

Prize giving

Hi 5 Surprise

We went up to Genting on Merdeka day for the Hi 5 Surprise concert. We initially thought of staying overnight the night before but due to the ridiculously priced Super Peak rooms at First World Hotel (and hubby didn't want to stay in the 'small' deluxe room), we decided to go for a day-trip instead.

We started our journey at around 9.15am on Monday morning and reached Gohtong Jaya before 10am. Thought it was a bit early for brunch, so we continued our journey up.

It was quite a feat to find a parking at Genting even though there were supposed to be thousands of parkings available. Nonetheless, we found a parking after many turns at the basement. Since we planned to be there the whole day (till evening), we brought along a stroller - just in case the boys are tired. It was a bad move though cos Genting is rather a non-disabled friendly place and there were not many lifts available.

Our concert ticket was for 12pm, so we quickly grabbed some food and bought the outdoor theme park tickets for the kids to enjoy after the show.

Ryan wore his face mask while waiting for Papa to buy the theme park tickets. Couldn't get Jaden to wear tho'.


The emptiness of Arena of Star. So few spectators.


On the VIP carpet, with Jaden. We bought the most expensive tickets (RM150, 35% discount) but unfortunately, the boys were not in the mood to dance that day.


Jaden preferred to sit with daddy.


Somehow, the boys didn't really enjoy the new casts - Casey, Stevie, Fely, Tim and Lauren and the songs were not exceptionally entertaining.


After the show, we went to the outdoor theme park. The first ride we went was the Antique car.


Ryan just loves the bumper car. He's really good at manoeuvring the wheel and whenever he bumps into another car, he'll say "Yes!"


Ryan fetching didi as Jaden is too young to drive himself.

Oooooo....and after the dinosaur ride, Ryan braved himself to take a picture with a snake!

Jaden - What's all the fuss about?

Ryan proved himself that he's not a scaredy-cat (by holding the snake) but when it comes to a ride like this one, he's really too scared to go on it. LOL

We managed to catch a glimpse of the 'fire' performance before we headed inside to have our early dinner.

All in all, it was a tiring but fruitful day. By 8.30pm, both boys were already sound asleep :)

Ryan's Golf Tournament

Ryan has been attending the US Kids Golf Program at Tropicana Golf Club and has recently completed Level 2 of the instruction program. Last Sunday, he had his first chance to play some real golf as the organisers (RSH/Golf House) put together a tournament known as the Golf House Junior Shootout Series. Check out http://www.golfhouseacademy.com/

To be honest, I didn't know it was a tournament as I asked his instructor James about whether he would have a chance to play on a course as part of his lessons in Level 2, which he said yes. So, I actually thought it was a playing lesson!

When I arrived in the morning (7 am) at Bukit Jelutong, tons of parents and kids already hitting balls at the driving range. We were told that it would start around 7:45 so we went down to the driving range and let Ryan hit some balls.

After an initial briefing (and compulsory group photo), we were off. It was actually great as they converted the Bukit Jelutong Pitch & Putt course (all par 3s) into a mini course suited for kids (with par 3s and par 4s). The tee boxes were a bit confusing though and the layout of the course was a bit hard to follow at first. There were actually 2 levels to play off - Blue Level 1 Tees and Gold Level 2 Tees. Ryan played off level 1 as it was his first time and also because of the yardages (no way he could make regulation from the Gold Tees with Par 3 up to 100+ yards - his BEST, PERFECT shot with his 3 wood would be about 60 yards).

Here's Ryan after his first Tee-off! Great shot and no such things as 1st tee nerves (I guess he was really anxious to get on with it since he was the last to tee-off)

He really enjoyed himself throughout the day and spent a lot of time running around the course (more like a playground).

On the 2nd hole, there was a big water hazard, ie. lake, in front of the green and he had to tee-off to the right and approach from the side. Good tee-off, but then on his 2nd shot, he was aiming across the water. I pulled him back towards the fairway as it was clearly too far to go. The joker however, turned back left after his practice swing and let fly a solid 6-iron into the water. After that, he told me, "I wanted to cross!". hahaha.... Going for the glamour shots from a young age!! :)

Here he is with his approach after having to pitch out from the slope of the water hazard.

Got it on to about 5 feet. BUT he couldn't hole it out after 4 putts up and down the hill... so got a maximum score of 10!

Overall he played well from tee to green, however, his putting distance control was pretty bad. But it was ok since it was his first time on a real course. The other key thing was his alignment as he has a tendency to aim right of the target (by quite a bit). Kept having to remind him "where are you aiming?" and pulling him back here and there.

He completed the day with a score of 66 (bogeyed the last hole for his best score of the day), which was good enough to get 3rd place in his category (Boys 6 yrs and under). His category was actually the largest and most competitive group with 12 boys. The winner shot 58.

Here's the little champion receiving his prize :)

We'll definitely be going again, of course being nice to win, but more because there are very few chances for kids to have a game and learn on a real course. When was the last time our clubs let kids (or even beginners) play?

(Note: Krystal kept pressuring me to post this on our blog...)

Thistle Port Dickson

We were at Thistle Port Dickson over the 7-9 August weekend, which also coincided with the S'pore National Day weekend. In addition to the many Singaporeans at the resort, there were also many groups of people from various organisations, who had their team building event that weekend. In two words, the resort was JAM PACKED!

Nonetheless, the boys had their fair share of digging in the sand and swimming.

Just arrived - at the entrance


Off to some digging


Ryan with his shovel


And after digging....Jaden jumped into the pool

On the second day, papa had a whole day of meeting, so I had to take care of the 2 monkeys. I brought them to the beach for more digging after breakfast.

Jaden loves running bare footed on the sand but Ryan insists to wear his sandals.


Ryan, calling the waves to come so that he can play 'chase'.

Wrote Jaden's name on the sand.

The boys got tired of the sand and we went to the Kidz Club. Lots and lots of balls there!

The room was beautifully painted too :)

And filled with all the 'fun' toys

Ryan, the sociable boy made friends with an uncle and they were playing catch


And how could they resist the trains and tracks


Difficult to get a proper pix of this boy nowadays :(

And more swimming after that :)

Jaden dreaming during his breakfast, on the third day.