Yacht clubbing without daddy

There are two good reasons why I don't go to the yacht club without Matthew. One, the kiddy pool is very cold (it is under a roofed area - very good for keeping the sun off kids but the water never gets warm) hence Oliver cannot be in the pool long enough to make it worthwhile. Two, the big pool is a little bit too deep for me to stand up - makes it very hard to get comfortable looking after Oliver in the water.

But yesterday I became a brave mum. While Matthew was out flying, two of us went to the yacht club for the first time. We had a lovely lunch together to start with (he loves the potato chips they serve, well... I haven't seen many kids who don't like chips).

It was such a beautiful hot day - without a dip in the water we could have got toasted. We put lots and lots of sun cream on and jumped in the water. I was lucky to find some of my friends there to help me until I got myself comfortable in the water. Once I got to the shallower end (even there I was tip-toeing!) it wasn't so bad in the end, especially since Oliver sort of learnt how to float by himself (with his floaties of course). We must have been in the water for almost an hour!



Oliver chilling out by the pool side - Need an another hair cut ?

We had such a great fun time together and you know what's great about swimming ? Oliver was so exhausted, he fell asleep on the way home. While he was asleep I had a very nice nap too. I haven't done it for a long time... I just love the lifestyle here...

Now we are both comfortable with the yacht club pool, I am keen to get out there more often.

Driving down to...

This morning Matthew and I had separate activities. I was invited to have nice scrambled eggs at Nicole's and the boys were invited to a playdate at one of Oliver's little friend's house. When we got ready Matthew asked me "would you like a ride to Nicole's?" - some of you might know she lives in the same simpang as us, maybe 3 mins walk. But as Matthew suggested I might get sweaty and yucky so I said "why not". He drove me down and when I got there I saw Boel's car parked outside the gate and just laughed.



Later I found out she had another place to go after this breakfast so she brought her car over but I just thought we are so well adapting to this country. Driving even to the neighbors so that we don't get hot and sweaty.

Of course Boel gave me a ride home - and we both laughed.

Last day of the term - Geckos

It will be an another year until Oliver can start schooling at JIS but we are already following the school calendar as Oliver goes to Geckos regularly. Yesterday was the last day of the term - Without the routine I lose track of which day of the week it is or even which day of the month it is. So I am very happy we are involved in the school system somehow.

We had our regular Wednesday activities - swimming and singing. As usual the singing session was very popular. Everyone was very involved and had a fantastic time.



Except for this little boy named Oliver who insisted on sitting on the see-saw whilst everyone else was sitting nicely as a group. But he was very cute shaking the bells and dancing along to the songs.



Then it was time for party!! One of the special treats for the children was "balloon animals" which I had practiced in front of my computer for the last week. At the last minute I lost my assistant - Matthew (he had to work...) so I was very busy pumping up the balloons and making them into different shapes. I had 5 things I practiced making - dog, giraffe, mouse, sword, and flower. Unfortunately I couldn't take any photos of me making the fun balloons as I was the one making them...
(My friend took some with her camera so I hope I can get some off her and put on the blog soon).



Some of my work



Oliver's little friend with my balloon flower.

All the parents brought some party snacks - they were all more than snacks. We had so much food! We could have a bake shop running!



Oliver nibbling on the party food.

Everyone seemed to had a wonderful time. I was very happy our party was a success and added a positive atmosphere to Geckos.

We have some renovations underway - it will be a great surprise for all the children to come back and experience NEW Geckos! See you in September everyone!

Water water water....

Tonights hash was at Jalan Dadap. It is the furthest hash site we can go plus we got caught in the traffic so it took us almost 45 min to get there. Luckily we were there just on time.

Since I had my eye surgery 3 weeks ago this was the first hash I have done. My eyes are much better and it felt great to get out and be in the jungle again. I never run/walk at this site but heard it would be a very jungly and pretty run. I was going to walk to the first check and come back but ended up doing the whole run - it was just very nice so I kept walking. It wasn't hilly like some of the runs but... we had to cross so many streams! My shoes were soaked after only 5 min into the run!

I truly enjoyed tonight's run. I am happy to be able to see and exercise again!



Crossing a stream



Nice pond



Long waterfall behind Tina (Tonight was her last hash here in Brunei...)

Cool morning

Tuesday is swimming day for Oliver, so the three of us went down to the RBRC this morning to join the baby and toddler paddle (strangely Matthew has been getting every Tuesday off if you are wondering why he gets to go swimming with us every week). I was feeling bit cool as there was quite a bit of cloud. When we got into the water, oh boy it was COLD! Well for some of you who don't live in the tropics maybe it was WARM but the water temperature must have been 23-25 degrees! (It was 28 degrees outside) So COLD!!

I had a friend from Indonesia when I lived in New Zealand and she was always complaining how cold it was even in Summer but now I can understand how she felt. We are so acclimatised here in Brunei.

I hope we won't get cold in the European Summer in two weeks time. Do we need to pack our jackets??

Roller coaster ride

This morning Oliver had his first time experiencing the roller coster ride at Geckos. This toy is very popular amongst the toddlers at Geckos. Due to the summer break already starting at other schools there weren't many children so was great time for Oliver to try it out. He was giggling and screaming so much more before I got the camera out to take this video. You can still see a big smile on his face.

Outdoor fun

Here in Brunei we cannot spend much time outside during the day (it's just soooo hot!) unless we are in a sheltered area or near/in the water. So for Oliver to spend time outdoors is very special (except for swimming - he gets to swim at least once a week all year around). Some of Oliver's friends and parents decided to go to Jerudong Park for a play and a picnic. We got there around 5 and it was just a perfect time of day. The sun was very low and there was a nice breeze. To our surprise there were quite a few families in the park. Usually we get to have the park to ourselves! Maybe making the admission free (you still have to pay for the rides) attracted more locals ?

The place is huge and there are so much equipment there. Oliver took his shoes off and walked around on the freshly cut grass, went on the slides, swings, and see-saws. He had a ball!!









There are some rides even Oliver can get on - like super slow caterpillar rides so we thought we will give it a go but unfortunately it was a prayer time and all the rides need to be stopped until it finishes (we respect the culture). While we waited it looked like it was going to rain so we had to give it a miss and head home.

We were there only an hour and a half but made us feel very refreshed. Of course it helped Oliver to eat well and sleep well! Double bonus for us parents!

Huge difference

Since we moved into this house two years ago, we've been frustrated with sloooooooow internet connection. Whenever I wanted to upload photos on my blog I had to wait for ever and ever in front of the computer.

But this morning Matthew looked into the problem and fixed it!! Such a difference.

Now I can spend more time in front of the computer doing stuff instead of waiting around and getting angry.

Full of people

It has almost become a routine for us to go to Geckos every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This morning we didn't make it early enough to join the swimming but managed to get there before the singing session started. When we walked into the room it looked pretty crowded as usual Wednesday, but by the time we all sat down to sing, the room was packed !!!

I found out later - there were 28 families (some of the parents bring two children) = over 30 children!!

We have been more involved in Geckos since I have volunteered to be one of the coordinators. It feels fantastic to see lots of new families wanting to join the group and seeing both parents and children smiling.

We have only 4 more sessions left in this term (it will be open again on the 30th August). My last mission for this term is to make balloon animals next week at the end of term party. I have been practicing making different animals in front of of the computer. I will let you know how my performance goes next week : )

Decorating his room with Dinosaurs

This afternoon Oliver had a great time decorating his own room with Dinosaur stickers. These stickers are just fantastic, they stick very well but still reusable. Plus they have a squishy feel to them which is great for Oliver to touch. To put the first few stickers, Oliver couldn't really comprehend these sticky things on his little fingers but he learned quickly how to hold them and put them on the wall. He was so excited he almost fell off from the bed.



Waiting for more stickers - come on mummy!



Making sure they won't come off the wall... push push push

5 more days...

I went to RIPAS (our local hospital) this afternoon to get another check-up on my eyes. Fortunately my vision is almost back to normal and everything is healing very nicely. But I still need to wear my uncomfortable glasses until Sunday... I am so used to wearing my contact lenses (I've been wearing them since I was 15ish) and I just cannot wait to go around without these glasses. Just makes so much difference in everyday life - right now I am wearing sunnies on top of my glasses (no it's not a new fashion thing in Brunei!),  or things don't suddenly go very foggy when bathing Oliver etc etc.

I am very grateful I didn't lose my vision but just hope the next five days will pass very fast and I can get back to my life with contact lenses.

Crocs are here!!

No I didn't drive across the border to Malaysia nor fly to Singapore. I took this photo in Mangis Hua Ho. Finally we get some proper brands available to us. And to my surprise they had a good range of kids and adults crocks at reasonable prices - maybe a littler bit more than what you pay elsewhere (right now they are offering 10% off the retail price so makes it almost normal prices) but hey we can buy them here!!

When Matthew used to fly to Australia overnight I gave him a list of what I would like from there, product code, picture and sizes etc. But since he doesn't do any long flights nor good overnights anymore my supply has been limited.

My friends with little toddler(s) had difficulties finding soft + airy shoes for first time walkers. Now its here I can take Oliver to the shop and he can even try them on!! (Well we did but ... the littlest size was still too big on Oliver's small feet ....)

Anyway it"s here!!

Hooray!

I knew it! While I was supporting my team in my dreams, the boys thrashed Denmark. 3-1. Im so proud of being Japanese. Now I have more games to watch and cheer for : )

Very sad about NZ not going through, (I even stayed up and watched the game...) Oh well they are born to be play rugby NOT to play soccer anyway.

Go Japan !!

Early tomorrow morning (2:30am Brunei time) Japan is playing against Denmark in 2010 FIFA World Cup. I am sure we will WIN this game!
I will be supporting my country in my dreams (yeah 2:30 am is a wee bit late/early for me) Go Japan!!

NZ is playing right now, so I better go and show my support : )

Summer holiday plans

Well everyday is Summer here in Brunei and Oliver is not at school yet so I am not sure this is the right term to use (especially it is Winter in NZ), but the Brunei Roses are going on a vacation!

Matthew's leave has been approved so we are busy organising tickets and dates etc.

Right now this is how our plan looks like.

✈ 17th July leaving Brunei to London (via Dubai - only an hour and a bit for stop over) arriving in London early morning on 18th July. Spend time with the English Roses.

✈ 22nd July leaving London to Barcelona (Spain) - few days in Barcelona then to Palma Majorca for few more days.

✈ 30th July Back to London for 3 days.

✈ 1st Aug leaving London to Brunei.

We will be in Brunei for 10days to recover from jetlag.... then....

✈ 9th Aug leaving Brunei to Osaka Japan! At this stage we are planing to stay there for one week.

Those dates may change but this is what we are planing to do. We have already got the tickets between Brunei - London part and are working on booking tickets to Spain.

Be ready Europe!!! We will be there very soon ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈