Monday morning walk with Iman

This monday the walk was at Morley Movers which I have posted pictures before. As it's the holidays Iman came with me and despite the walk being just under two hours she did remarkably well. We came across some obstacles like this fallen tree top below and maybe because of recent rain the stream was not as clear as it was before.

Our normal crossing place was too deep so we actually walked across the waterfall. A bit slippery but not as bad as it sounds.

And the star of the morning

No run!

I am annoyed ~ I was supposed to lay a run with Smurf and Trailblazer today but I have come down with a tummy bug so will have to give my usual Tuesday evening a miss!!!

Here are some photos from the weekend that I never got round to post. Iman and Jack spent most of the day with Alexandria who lives in our neighbourhood and Luke who came for a play. Our plan was only to stay for 15 minutes but Iman and Jack ended staying the whole day. And it became Jack's first playdate out of home!

School's Out!

The holidays have started!!!! We've been looking forward to this for a while.... lie-ins, pool days and also our trip to Ireland!!!

Yesterday Iman's and Jack's years had their class parties and instead of sending in a plate of food as usual I sent in cupcakes for each child to take home. Kitchen Of Jasmine did a fantastic job as usual and was hassle-free for me. No leftovers to take home and it went down a treat with everyone!

Iman's class

And today Iman and Jack went into school with presents for their teachers and class assistants. Instead of trying to fidde with wrapping paper I bought material and got little bags made at our local tailor!

Going off track

I'm one of three laying the run for the hash next week. Went for a recce this morning and we did some walking off trail - wasn't too comfortable walking through the long grass especially as I couldn't see what I was treading on but Yann did a good job with her parang unlike the blunt blade I was carrying around. 

Step by step sushi

A Japanese friend kindly invited a group of ladies to her home for a demonstration this morning and bearing in mind the McCarthy children and Japanese food I jumped at the chance. We learned to mix the sushi rice with special sushi vinegar and to roll using seaweed paper with various fillings. Tricky but not too difficult and I was proud of my first ever roll.  But saying that I will now have to try it by myself at home - no pressure! Thank you to our lovely hostess Ikuyo and Virginie for helping her. 

Hashing Heaven

Its the week that all mad hashers dream of - a hash every evening for a week. Most hashers only belong to one hash group or chapter and hash once a week though some belong to two or three. This week for the 7 in 7, hashers pay a fee to hash on all 7 runs. We started with the kids hash last sunday (and I forgot my camera). Monday was Tutong which was a gruelling 1 hr 35 run up and down plenty of hills. Last night was our Ladies run and we had a great run and a good laugh afterwards. There's a good handful of people who will do all seven runs but I have only signed up for 4 so one more run to do before I get that tshirt!

Double Celebration Evenings

We're coming to the end of the school year - thankfully. Yesterday and today Iman and Jack's year groups held their celebration evenings. 

Jack's kindy year performed a couple of songs and also made a presentation about dinosaurs - Jack had his own line to say! So so proud of him.

Iman's class performed  this song here but the main highlight of the show for us was Iman being one of 8 MCs for the afternoon! She was cool and calm under the spotlight...something her parents can't claim responsibility for!

Boys on Fathers' Day

The kids were so excited to give Donncha their cards that Father's Day was a day early for us. Even Ayden had a card that he made at playgroup and proudly gave to his Bapa. And Jack gave Bapa a special mug that he decorated at school. And best of all we spent our Father's Day at our favourite hangout - the beach!

The Highland Games

I make no excuses for ignoring the blog - blame it all on Facebook and Farmtown!

Last saturday we headed down to oil town Seria for the Highland Games. This is an annual fixture for the expat community that side of Brunei but virtually unheard of our side of the country. We only heard of it from the Cowleys (who used to live here) and told our Scottish friends the Donnelly's about it. Apart from themselves and another family I recognised, we did not see anybody else there and we somehow did not feel like we were in Brunei. I have never been to a Highland Games before and didn't know that although there are over a 100 of these games in Scotland, there are not so many abroad.

It was a fun day and we'll go again - except we will skip the puncture on the way home!

My favourite picture of the day - Jack and his Abang Alexander!

Sharing soup

I had my dinner close to the kids bedtime so decided to take it upstairs, I know very bad. We had a little picnic of soup and fruit in front of the telly and both Iman and Jack tucked into the mushroom soup even though they both had a big dinner. And Iman polished off the fruit too! If only mealtimes was this simple everyday.

Ready at last

The Thai boys finally finished the gazebo this morning with a final coat of varnish on the floor. The kids were excited, we were excited and we spent most of the morning pottering in and out. Already this evening we had the Cowleys over for an early sunday soiree. Next on the list will be lights, fans and more action! 

Progress on Day 2

The Thai Bobs have been working very hard today.

Alarm clock set

Half term's over and its back to school tomorrow :( It's been a quiet half term with Donncha away for work for the first part of the week and Iman unwell with fever and cough since Friday - no school for her tomorrow. Unfortunately with Iman unwell we couldn't do anything for the weekend which was very unlike us. Still nice to laze around and do nothing - yes the kids were on the PSPs and I maybe tended to the "farm" more than I should!

Something to be excited about is our outdoor area is really happening. After talking about building a verandah for a number of years now, we have actually gone for it. I will soon update on progress with pictures.

What Dragons eat

The McCarthy family are big fans of fresh fruit and living where we do, we have papayas, mangoes and melons on almost a daily basis. But by far the children's favorite is the red dragon fruit. This strange looking fruit is a good source of fiber and vitamin C. It has a wonderful sweet (and sometimes sour) flavour and I think it is very refreshing. 

The kids though love eating it for the red colour it gives their tongues and they eat more and more to get a deeper red. This is a game we all play and as a good source of vitamins I hugely play them up to it. I could go on about this red colouring but we won't go there!