Lake Havasu

Dear has always wanted to go to Lake Havasu, a lake which is about 2.5 hours drive from home. As usual, what other places can keep a "fisherman" interested? Back home in Singapore, the beach is our usual weekend hangout as dear would fish at the nearby jetty. Now that we are in US and there isn't any sea, the lakes are his next favourite place.

I, however, wasn't really looking forward to it. It's freaking hot in summer! Like all other trips to lakes, I usually just sit down and watch dear and the kids fish. Fishing is just not my thing! Haiz... But I have to admit that it is indeed a good family activity! I see Zac & Nana benefiting from it. Fishing instills patience in them. Most of us go through life rushing from one thing to the next and at times, practising patience becomes a challenge for us. As much as I am all for fishing, there's one thing which I dislike - getting darker. I get darker after each and every fishing trip. I'm a Malay so I have been tan all my life. I definitely don't wish to get any darker than now. And thus, that explains why we kept having the trip to Lake Havasu postponed.

We finally made it yesterday though. Dear was still on leave, and the kids had nothing much to do during this break. Lake Havasu is actually a nice place. There are boats for rent if you want to venture out into the lake. And they have a designated area for visitors to suntan or swim. The highlight of Lake Havasu is the bridge there. It is called the London Bridge. Why is it called the London Bridge?

As we all know, the London Bridge was originally in London, England. In 1962, it was found to be not strong enough to support the increased load created by the level of traffic crossing it. The bridge was therefore dismantled in 1967. The founder of Lake Havasu purchased the bridge with the intention of turning it into a tourist attraction. Granite blocks from the original bridge were sent over. Construction began and the bridge was finally completed in 1971.

Anyway, back to my story... Dear, of course, brought along his fishing rods and tools. We found a great spot. And there's even a sheltered seat for me. Hehe.

All 3 of them started fishing while I kept myself busy snapping photos. The kids stood at the shore initially. A few minutes later, I saw them standing in the water, with the water level up to their ankle. I just warned dear to watch out for them since they were just behind him. I started checking out the photos which I took and when I looked up, the kids were already half-submerged in the water. I called for them to come out, but as usual, they didn't want to listen. Then, a while later, I saw both of them IN THE WATER! They were practically swimming! I almost started my incessant naggings. But when I saw their happy smiles, I just couldn't bring myself to scold them. They were having so much fun! It has been quite some time since I last brought them for a swim.

A fishing trip that turns out to be a swimming trip as well. What a day! By the way, dear didn't manage to catch any fish that day... Hehe.

Fishing @ Garden Lake

The kids kicked off their 1 week Fall break with a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Balloon Fiesta and White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, also in New Mexico. We set off early Saturday morning. A great trip, although me and Nana were not feeling very well. Took a lot of photos, but haven't had the chance to upload since I'm busy with some other stuff. Hehe. Will definitely post them once I find the time.

Anyway, we got back home on Monday night. Even before I finish unpacking the luggage or get over the tiredness from the journey, the kids started bugging for a fishing trip. Don't they ever feel tired? Dear took leave this whole week since the children will be home. So, naturally, he obliged to the kids' request. Since day 1 we got together, I knew that he is a fishing freak. Now, it seems that both my children got the love for fishing from their papa.

Zac can't wait to try out his new rod. He received a child-sized Spiderman rod as a birthday gift a few weeks back. It was from dear's fishing kaki, Chua & Elaine, his wife, who has now gone back to Singapore. Anyway, since Nana didn't have one, she politely asked Zac if he could share. Dear overheard it and went out to buy a Princess rod for her. She was so happy when she saw dear carry it into the house and kept thanking him.

I couldn't join them yesterday as I was still feeling weak. I woke up feeling worse than the past few days. It's weird why I'm taking such a long time to recover this time round. I've been coughing for more than a week now. Anyway, dear went ahead with the kids. Both of them caught 2 little fishes each, with their new rod. Not bad for a kid right?! Good job guys! Mama knew you could do it! As dear always say, good skills like these surely comes from him... At least, he's right this time round ;p

The move...

Hooray! We finally shifted into our new nest on 1st October 2010. The past week has been hectic for me. Busy packing and shifting, and I still had to do my daily chores as well as attend to the kids! It was seriously a lot of work! I thought I had very little stuff, but somehow the packing was never ending.

Instead of renting a van, we thought we could just squeeze everything into our Galant and Dodge, since we don't have that many boxes. Took us several days and trips to shift everything over. The only concern we had was the cupboard where the kids kept their books. Hmmm... How on earth are we going to shift that?

On the day that we were supposed to vacate the apartment, I was down with diarrhoea. Felt terrible & weak, but I still had to continue with the shifting. Lucky for me, 2 good friends of mine came over to help! I didn't want to trouble anyone, so I kept turning them (Selina, Echo & Ivy) down when they offered their help the week before. Selina & Ivy surprised me when they turned up at my apartment, and asked what they could do to help... Echo was stucked at home planning for her roadtrip as well as ours. Awwww! So touched by their actions.  Anyway, they helped cleared the barang-barang from my fridge (they said I could open a "Mama Shop" since I have everything) and shifted all the food items to my new house.

Just when we thought that all was done, we remembered that we still have that cupboard which we have not moved.  Ahhhaaa! Selina's driving an SUV, so maybe the cupboard can fit into her car. My strong dear carried it and tried to fit it into her car, but it was too big. Oh no! Should we dismantle the cupboard? But it'll be more work! Then dear said maybe we should try squeezing it into his old Dodge (the kids called it laopok car - laopok means crappy & lousy) since the kids will be sitting in my Galant. And guess what?! It fit!!! That settled everything!

Meanwhile, enjoy the following photos of our new crib...  

Exterior of The Pyramids



The 2 entrances into our house - garage & main door

Cosy Living Room

Balcony

Dining Area

The place where I spent most of my time - The Kitchen

Master Bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe

The restroom in the Master Bedroom

Our living room when viewed from the 2nd level

Kids' play / study / cosy corner on the 2nd level

Kids' Bedroom

The restroom outside the kids' bedroom

 

Check out that smile! They were the happiest ones after the move!!!

My very 1st entry...

I have always enjoyed reading blogs... Not that I am KPO! Haha. It's just that when I read what the bloggers have entered, especially topics related to their kids, I will recall pleasant memories when my own children were going through those phase. Oh, I truly miss those days! Their innocent smile, their babblings, the way they toddled... Practically everything from infancy till the time they turned into the terrible twos... Now that they are older (my boy has just turned 5 and my girl will be turning 4 next January), I am always busy scolding them when they quarrel or when they take a long time to finish their meal. Haiz...

Well, back to the blog topic, I have never thought that I will, one day, have my own blog. The very main reason was because I am not a linguistic person. I don't enjoy writing or in fact, reading. I don't read newspapers or books but I do read magazines! And when it comes to cooking books, I will not even browse through if there are no photos in it. I need photos to visualise! Haha.

The other reason was the fear of not knowing what to write... What if i run out of topics? What if readers find my entry boring? And lots more of what ifs... Hehe.

One night, while I was chatting with Dawn, I was telling her how cheeky her son's smile was. She suggested that I read her blog entry for that day. And so I did. It was hilarious! Her son, Sam, an 18 month old kid escaped from his playzone while his parents were busy cleaning up in the kitchen. The place was enclosed but he still managed to get out, not by lifting or opening up the panels... But, by squeezing himself in between the panel and the wall. Haha. After reading it, I had flashback of my kids doing something similar...

She then asked if I blog. Well, I told her the truth, about me not knowing what to write. Dawn, being a sweet friend, said "Just write about what happened that day. Write about your children. Write about what you did." And after that, she forward me the link to set up a blog... How can I not create an account if she has already provided me with some guidance???

So, here I am, keying in my very 1st entry... All thanks to Dawn!

Party in my tummy

Nana's favourite show at the moment is Yo Gabba Gabba!

So this song is a hit in the house now!