Bible Verse of the Day

September 2011

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Fun, Fun and More Fun at AdventureZone!

September 5, 2011 in Celebrations, Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Vacation | No comments

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When we told Ethan we were going to AdventureZone once again, he was ecstatic!  He had been asking and asking and asking to go back there and he was really really psyched up this time.

Took all of their effort to pose and smile for the camera before I let them run into the play area…

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Amazing how much energy these kids possess.  They had 2 hours to play in the area, and after what felt like an hour and a half, Pete tells me it’s only been 20 minutes.  Thank goodness the entire area was air-conditioned.  Hehe.

This time round, Ethan was more adventurous, and loudly proclaimed that he wasn’t afraid to go down the slides now.  His favorite was the “Hyperglide Astra Drop” (rainbow) slide, which had a height of 18 feet (5.5 metres) and a length of 50 feet (15.2 metres).  This one required the us to use a mat as we slid down.  Ethan also tried the  “Double Drop” (blue) slide, which had a ball pit exit, and stands 20 feet (6.1 metres) tall and has a length of 48 feet (14.6 metres).   The red slide is called the “Demon Drop” slide, and is not for the faint-hearted.  It has a vertical drop of 24 feet (7.3 metres) and spans 75 feet (22.9 metres).  Pete got on it a couple of times, and I got on just once (because Pete dared me to).

Since Hannah was not old enough to get on the Hyperglide Astra Drop on her own, she would either sit on Pete’s or my lap while we rode on the mats.  Ethan would go over and over again, each time gaining more and more confidence.  Initially he needed our help to carry the mat up, but in the end, he would carry the mat up by himself.

Here’s a video I took of Ethan riding the Hyperglide Astra Drop all by himself:

And after a two-hour PLUS workout, we headed nearby for a totally satisfying reward: The Rasa Sayang Seafood Buffet Dinner. *burp*

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Logos Hope: Second Time’s a Charm!

September 4, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | 2 comments

Mommy: Ethan?
Ethan: Yes, Mommy?
Mommy: Guess where we’re going later today?
Ethan: Where?
Mommy: We’re going to visit a floating bookstore on a HUGE ship! (trying to make it sound really exciting)
Ethan: Errr…no!  I don’t wanna go!
Mommy: But … why? It’s gonna be really fun!  Can you imagine a bookstore in a ship?
Ethan: NO!  I don’t wanna go on a PIRATE SHIP!!!

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Well, we’ve since made it clear to him that it’s NOT a pirate ship and we’ve reassured him that there will be NO pirates aboard the Logos Hope.

So.

Both Ethan and Hannah got all excited to get on the famous Logos Hope, which holds the biggest ever floating bookstore…and what happened when we arrived at Swettenham Pier on the first day of Raya?  The queue to get into the ship was like a mile LONG!  I remembered going onboard the Doulos years ago, and there was NO queue at all!  Things certainly have changed.  Or perhaps it was the public holiday.

In any case, we decided to come back another day, which we did, and that day was a day after Merdeka Day.  It was still a public holiday, but we were praying that the queue would not be as long.

Hurrah!  The queue was like a tenth of the LONG queue we encountered the first time, and we promptly got in line.  After about 15 minutes, we had already gotten our tickets and were on our way onboard the ship.

As we entered the bookstore proper, it was as if the air-conditioning stopped working altogether.  There were so many people that it was so difficult to move around and browse to our hearts’ content.  Add to the equation 2 kids with minds of their own who wanted to see different things at different times and you can imagine how nerve-wracking it was.

But despite all this, we still managed to land some cool stuff, some chosen by me and some personally selected by the kids.

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There was also a pictorial exhibition section in the ship called the Journey of Life, which depicts a modern day story based on The Prodigal Son.  I had wanted to take more pictures but because of the influx of visitors, I could not get all the pictures…just a few random ones of the kids…

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The cafe on the ship was also packed full of hungry visitors…so we did not stop there.  It was a memorable day for the kids and although it could have been a more relaxing visit if there weren’t so many people, we had great fun!

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What Can a One-Day Trip Achieve?

September 3, 2011 in Celebrations, Ethan, Hannah, Vacation | 1 comment

Quite a lot, apparently.

August 31st (Merdeka Day) this year saw us making a one-day trip to Taiping.  Cousin Jonathan would be having his 4th birthday celebration, and Ethan and Hannah were really excited to go celebrate it with him.

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The *long* wait for the cake to be cut and served was incredibly excruciating…

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…but definitely a worthwhile wait!  All the 4 kids really enjoyed the cake… 🙂

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The idea for the game I initiated, “Who can stay quiet the longest?”, was eagerly received by the kids…

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Later in the evening, we took the kids to one of the huge playgrounds in Lake Gardens where they worked up a sweat (and appetite).

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Just in case you’re wondering, Ethan is saying “1 Malaysia!” and was asking Jonathan to do the same, but Jonathan wanted to hold up the “peace” sign instead.  Hannah and Phoebe, meanwhile, were just contented to look pretty for the camera.

And there you have it…all in a one-day trip 🙂

What Did I Do to Deserve a Great Kid Like This?

September 2, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 1 comment

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I’ve always thanked the Lord for blessing us with a great kid like Ethan, who’s wise beyond his years, caring and forgiving, and sometimes his words and actions do strike a chord in our hearts.

He may be very active and boisterous, but deep down he is a gentle spirit, who puts others above him and who is an obedient boy (most of the time).

Just a few days ago, when he saw how upset his cousin Jonathan was when he did not get what he wanted for his birthday, Ethan told me in private, “Mommy, maybe we can get Jonathan a real Finn McMissile for Christmas.  Then he will be happy because he will get to play with it like a real car!”

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And today, when Hannah tried to snatch Ethan’s new Cars 2 water tumbler (check it out, by the way…it’s way cool!), Ethan again whispered to me, “Mommy, I think we should get Hannah a new tumbler too…because her tumbler is leaking!  We can get her one for Christmas…”

Such love being displayed for someone his age is really admirable, and I could not ask for anything more.  Ethan is indeed one-of-a-kind and we love him dearly…

“For somewhere in my wicked miserable past, I must have done something good…” ~The Sound of Music~

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