Nothing is wrong with this picture, just a few too many !?
Monday, 21 February 2011
Babies mummy!
Oliver had a great time pushing the baby dolls in the stroller at Geckos today.
Nothing is wrong with this picture, just a few too many !?
Nothing is wrong with this picture, just a few too many !?
National day craft
This coming Wednesday is National Day here in Brunei. I thought it would be nice to run a craft session with the kids at Geckos so I cut out some paper and took it to Geckos this morning.
The little ones loved sticking the pieces together with some glue and sticky tape to make their own Brunei flags!
Here is Oliver with his flag.
He looked very cute in his gumboots, carrying his suit case with his Brunei flag!!
When I was cutting the pieces for the flag I wondered what the Brunei flag means so I quickly Googled it. According to world flags 101 this is what it represents.
The coat of arms on the Brunei flag is a crescent (symbol of Islam) joined with a parasol (symbol of monarchy), with two gloves on both sides. Below the crescent is a ribbon. The crescent and ribbon have Arabic inscriptions which translate to "State of Brunei, Abode of peace" and "There is no deity but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God".
I learned something new.
The little ones loved sticking the pieces together with some glue and sticky tape to make their own Brunei flags!
Here is Oliver with his flag.
He looked very cute in his gumboots, carrying his suit case with his Brunei flag!!
When I was cutting the pieces for the flag I wondered what the Brunei flag means so I quickly Googled it. According to world flags 101 this is what it represents.
The coat of arms on the Brunei flag is a crescent (symbol of Islam) joined with a parasol (symbol of monarchy), with two gloves on both sides. Below the crescent is a ribbon. The crescent and ribbon have Arabic inscriptions which translate to "State of Brunei, Abode of peace" and "There is no deity but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God".
I learned something new.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Hornbills
We had a lovely walk at Pantai Muara. The sky looked quite stormy but the rain didn't come while we were walking so it was very cool and breezy. As usual we took Oliver's little push car and walked along the paths.
Suddenly Oliver pointed at the tree and took off in that direction, we weren't sure what he saw at first but these guys were in the tree!!
Unfortunately I didn't have my big camera with me so this was taken with the iphone, I hope you can zoom in enough to see the great beaks they've got.
I have never seen them in the wild so I was very excited! We believe they live in the park - now we have another exercise we can do when we walk down Pantai Muara : )
Suddenly Oliver pointed at the tree and took off in that direction, we weren't sure what he saw at first but these guys were in the tree!!
Unfortunately I didn't have my big camera with me so this was taken with the iphone, I hope you can zoom in enough to see the great beaks they've got.
I have never seen them in the wild so I was very excited! We believe they live in the park - now we have another exercise we can do when we walk down Pantai Muara : )
Mochi tsuki
On Saturday night we were invited to participate in mochi-tsuki, the traditional mochi-pounding (rice cake making) ceremony. It was organised by the Japanese Association here in Bandar.
It was great to see so many Japanese families gathered together, especially the kids. They were all very excited.
Some ladies had been working hard in the kitchen and had steamed the glutinous rice. Then it was time for pounding, starting off with pushing the pile of rice between the two wooden hammers to make them stickier.
Then they had to pound for quite a while until it was very very sticky...Halfway through they already looked very exhausted. Somehow Oliver was very scared of the process, maybe the noise or the big hammer going up and down? Matthew had to take him outside as he was getting very hysterical : (
And time for the little ones to have a go!
Finally done! The kids did a great job making them into round shapes.
We had them in soup with soy, red bean paste, and soya bean powder. They were so fresh and yummy!!
The last time I saw this was maybe when I was at kindy or at primary school. My parents and grandparents all had mochi making machines so we never did this ourselves at home. I love the fact that being here in Brunei, away from home, we get to see and appreciate more of Japanese traditions.
It was great to see so many Japanese families gathered together, especially the kids. They were all very excited.
Some ladies had been working hard in the kitchen and had steamed the glutinous rice. Then it was time for pounding, starting off with pushing the pile of rice between the two wooden hammers to make them stickier.
Then they had to pound for quite a while until it was very very sticky...Halfway through they already looked very exhausted. Somehow Oliver was very scared of the process, maybe the noise or the big hammer going up and down? Matthew had to take him outside as he was getting very hysterical : (
And time for the little ones to have a go!
Finally done! The kids did a great job making them into round shapes.
We had them in soup with soy, red bean paste, and soya bean powder. They were so fresh and yummy!!
The last time I saw this was maybe when I was at kindy or at primary school. My parents and grandparents all had mochi making machines so we never did this ourselves at home. I love the fact that being here in Brunei, away from home, we get to see and appreciate more of Japanese traditions.
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Me and daddy time
Since the new swimming lesson term started in January, somehow Matthew has had every single Tuesday available to go into the pool with Oliver. Which is a great thing as we are in the rainy season and the water level in the pool is higher (and it's cold - for us anyway).
Oliver is loving the special time with daddy. He giggles a lot and knows the routine so is very comfortable in the water .
He can go underwater and kick a little bit now.
And out!
(Thanks for the great photos Keira!)
Monday, 14 February 2011
New look for a playdate
This afternoon Oliver was invited to a playdate with 5 girls (plus 1 baby girl, 2 baby boys). The girls were very happy playing shops, carrying handbags, wearing necklaces etc.
Meanwhile, Oliver found a new thing for himself - A bike helmet!!
He might be worried the girls will play with his hair : )
Meanwhile, Oliver found a new thing for himself - A bike helmet!!
He might be worried the girls will play with his hair : )
Happy Valentines Day ♥
Hope everyone had a special day!
My little Valentine is fast asleep in his room and I am waiting for my other Valentine to come home from his work.
Happy Valentines Day to you all!
From the Brunei Roses ♡
My little Valentine is fast asleep in his room and I am waiting for my other Valentine to come home from his work.
Happy Valentines Day to you all!
From the Brunei Roses ♡
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Lunch out
Oliver and I had a lovely lunch today at a Sushi restaurant in Times Square - the new shopping complex near the airport (Matthew is away until Monday night).
He ate so well - some egg sushi rolls, edamame beans, and miso soup (his new addiction!). And so I did of course!
He ate so well - some egg sushi rolls, edamame beans, and miso soup (his new addiction!). And so I did of course!
Friday, 11 February 2011
Private Air show
One of our friends told us there will be a private air show somewhere in Jerudong this afternoon performed by the Brunei Air Force. And also told us that the best viewing spot will be at JPMC (the private hospital).
Oliver had a busy day at Geckos in the morning so he was actually still deep asleep in the car when we got there. We weren't sure if the show would be definitely happening nor how long it will last. So we had to put him in the buggy and wander around.
We decided to just go down to the beach and see if we can see anything. By this time the boy whose nap was interrupted was not too impressed but awake. Suddenly we heard the "boooom" noise from the sky his eyes opened wide and boy he got sooooo excited! Pointing at the planes and following them with his eyes.
There were three Pilatus (according to Matthew they are Pilatus PC-7) planes zooming into our sight.
The whole show lasted only 10min or so but it was just fantastic! For the first 5 min there was only us on the beach (it was a very private show you know). They did some formation fly pasts, loop the loops, dives, and other manoeuvres.
It was a great surprise for Oliver and we certainly enjoyed our very private air show!
Oliver had a busy day at Geckos in the morning so he was actually still deep asleep in the car when we got there. We weren't sure if the show would be definitely happening nor how long it will last. So we had to put him in the buggy and wander around.
We decided to just go down to the beach and see if we can see anything. By this time the boy whose nap was interrupted was not too impressed but awake. Suddenly we heard the "boooom" noise from the sky his eyes opened wide and boy he got sooooo excited! Pointing at the planes and following them with his eyes.
There were three Pilatus (according to Matthew they are Pilatus PC-7) planes zooming into our sight.
The whole show lasted only 10min or so but it was just fantastic! For the first 5 min there was only us on the beach (it was a very private show you know). They did some formation fly pasts, loop the loops, dives, and other manoeuvres.
It was a great surprise for Oliver and we certainly enjoyed our very private air show!
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Our new driveway
Yesterday the workers finally came back and sealed our driveway. We were starting to think they had forgotten about it but they came back with big machines.
And the most surprising thing was they picked the right day for it. It has been raining all day for so long, and then it suddenly cleared up and became a perfect day for them to work with sticky tar.
Oliver was very excited screaming "ohhhh" and "wow!!" Great entertainment for the day: )
And the most surprising thing was they picked the right day for it. It has been raining all day for so long, and then it suddenly cleared up and became a perfect day for them to work with sticky tar.
Oliver was very excited screaming "ohhhh" and "wow!!" Great entertainment for the day: )
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
He can go fast !!
Check this out! Oliver can go very very fast!! Don't miss the "legs up" part : )
They are finally sealing the driveway today, Big machines are back and working! I will post some photos later.
I think he will drive even faster with this new driveway!
They are finally sealing the driveway today, Big machines are back and working! I will post some photos later.
I think he will drive even faster with this new driveway!
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Totoro weekend
The rain has kept us inside the house for most of the weekend. I know it is not good for Oliver to sit in front of the TV but he is in love with Totoro...
I put this DVD on for him to watch for 10min while I was in the kitchen. He doesn't normally sit still on the sofa long anyway.
But this time, he sat there and watched and watched!! Smiling and making noises to the TV : )
In the end we watched the same DVD 5 times in 2 days, with some parts fast forwarded.
The story is MEGA famous in Japan, it is about this strange creature that lives in the forest next to two little girls' house.
It is produced by an award winning anime production company called Studio Ghibli. I loved the story when I was young, and of course my nephews and nieces do too.
Now it's Oliver's turn!
I have a funny feeling we will be watching this a number of times...
Oliver cannot say Totoro instead he says "Tot!", very excited young boy!
I put this DVD on for him to watch for 10min while I was in the kitchen. He doesn't normally sit still on the sofa long anyway.
But this time, he sat there and watched and watched!! Smiling and making noises to the TV : )
In the end we watched the same DVD 5 times in 2 days, with some parts fast forwarded.
The story is MEGA famous in Japan, it is about this strange creature that lives in the forest next to two little girls' house.
It is produced by an award winning anime production company called Studio Ghibli. I loved the story when I was young, and of course my nephews and nieces do too.
Now it's Oliver's turn!
I have a funny feeling we will be watching this a number of times...
Oliver cannot say Totoro instead he says "Tot!", very excited young boy!
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Wintery rain
It has been very cool and rainy for the last few weeks. All the recent rain makes me feel like we are in the middle of winter. I hardly use aircon and when I am in bed I am actually under my duvet at night.
Right now I am in the office writing this post with a cup of hot chocolate and looking at the endless rain.
Nice and cosy...
Lion dance
We saw this beautiful Lion Dance at Miyuki and Hao's house last year. They invited us to their place again and this time they put on an extra performance!!
Waiting for the lions to arrive - Oliver was not sure what to expect, he was roaring a lot tho.
They arrived with loud fire crackers and loud music, by this time Oliver was holding onto Matthew very very tight.
The lion came in and went into all the rooms. We were encouraged to touch the lion for good luck, Oliver was just too scared...
Then the lion danced around at the entranceway and did special tricks with oranges (By this time my ears were ringing from the loud music, they were extra noisy!)
Took the oranges and threw them to the owner of the house.
Lucky he caught it without dropping!
They peeled the oranges and put them together in a special way, then presented them to the owner of the house.
This second lion came (again with the very very noisy fire crackers, can you see the smoke?) and started to get on the stilt. It was very artistic and skillful - amazing to watch!
So high up!
As you can see there was a lettuce for the lion. Unfortunately by this time, Oliver was crying his head off so it was hard for me to take photos. But it was a fantastic performance, one person held the other and he bent over to get the lettuce (he was the lion head part) on the stilt!!!
I am sure their house is full of good luck and we hope we got some of the luck home with us : )
Thank you for having us, Miyuki & Hao.
Miyuki, Kyoka, Keiko, Ukail, Matthew and Oliver.
Waiting for the lions to arrive - Oliver was not sure what to expect, he was roaring a lot tho.
They arrived with loud fire crackers and loud music, by this time Oliver was holding onto Matthew very very tight.
The lion came in and went into all the rooms. We were encouraged to touch the lion for good luck, Oliver was just too scared...
Then the lion danced around at the entranceway and did special tricks with oranges (By this time my ears were ringing from the loud music, they were extra noisy!)
Took the oranges and threw them to the owner of the house.
Lucky he caught it without dropping!
They peeled the oranges and put them together in a special way, then presented them to the owner of the house.
This second lion came (again with the very very noisy fire crackers, can you see the smoke?) and started to get on the stilt. It was very artistic and skillful - amazing to watch!
So high up!
As you can see there was a lettuce for the lion. Unfortunately by this time, Oliver was crying his head off so it was hard for me to take photos. But it was a fantastic performance, one person held the other and he bent over to get the lettuce (he was the lion head part) on the stilt!!!
I am sure their house is full of good luck and we hope we got some of the luck home with us : )
Thank you for having us, Miyuki & Hao.
Miyuki, Kyoka, Keiko, Ukail, Matthew and Oliver.
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