Last Sunday of March 2013

On the day that our family and friends in Ireland are celebrating Easter, we want to share pictures of what we did today on this family day.

There are not too many days when the kids get to have chocolate immediately after breakfast and today is one of them. Honestly don't think that you can get a better Easter Egg than the proper Cadbury ones and all three were very suitably impressed.

After lunch we all watched a movie. Here's something that will shock many, it was our first ever family movie together. We are not big movie goers and either myself or Donncha have taken the kids on occasions but we have never been together as a family hence the need to document this. "The Croods" was very entertaining except we all nearly froze in the cinema!

And to finish the day we had a simple dinner of burgers, chips, baked beans and mushy peas with Hariz sans Iman who has gone to a sleep over. Special mention goes to Ayden who laid the dinner table all by himself and to Jack who started off the washing up.

We couldn't have had a better family day and we wish all our family and friends in Ireland and beyond a Happy Easter!

Family Day in Miri

For the first time ever our family joined us in Miri for the day. We had a hectic family lunch with a full range of food ordered followed by a stop in the hotel and shopping for the afternoon. All the kids were so excited to be together!

Kids Favourite Playground

We're in Miri for a short break and as usual first stop was the Yacht Club for lunch and the playground. And soon after we arrived an unwelcome visitor was caught hanging out in the wrong spot. We are joined by our special friends again and Iman, Jack and Ayden just love helping out with the little ones.

A Big Family Surprise!

A few weeks ago Fatin showed me a message from Amin about booking a flight home and surprising the family. Nice idea but I didn't think too much about it. This morning Jasmine (unaware of the surprise) invited the family over for lunch and conveniently Amin was on Skype except he was upstairs in his bedroom. Skype connection goes and Amin walks into the room. I wasn't there but saw the video and there were screams and tears from Mum and the Grannies. The biggest reaction was probably from Amin's nanny who has been with the family for 20 years! The little ones are over the moon and will enjoy Amin's company for the next 2 weeks. Lets hope Amin left his sleeping head back in Loughborough this holiday!

Happy St Patrick's Day 2013

Happy St Patricks Day to our family and friends all over the world. We had an unexpected visitor call round for a drink on this fun day. Slainté!!

A Licence to Use a Pen!!

There are a few milestones in Year 5 of the Junior School. A few weeks ago we saw Iman go on her first ever school trip out of Brunei. Earlier this week she was excitingly talking about the "Pen Licence" that gets handed out for Year 5s. That's right... A special Licence to use a pen! And it will only get given out to the person that has neat writing. So with much excitement Iman came out of school yesterday with her very own licence! I'm a true believer in the fountain pen so that will be our next goal!

What Are We Good At?

There's a lovely display outside Ayden's classroom at the moment. Each child writes about what another is good at. Ayden wrote about Mithya and Isra wrote about Ayden. It's great to create such positivity especially about each other! And love the drawings too.

Encounter with another Pit Viper

Most people who have never ventured into the jungle think that the place is crawling with snakes. In actual fact to see one is a great privilege as one rarely does. Donncha on his walk with a friend this morning spotted this guy. I'm glad I wasn't with him as I would have freaked but at the same time I'm a tad bit jealous! This is not the first time Donncha has seen a pit viper but more than often they are the snakes that are spotted probably because they don't move away.

Throwback Koh Lanta

Today has been one of those "need a holiday" days - one with a lovely villa, good friends, amazing views and excellent food. Happy memories of Koh Lanta.

McCarthys are Crossfit Kids

Since I started Crossfit a few months back, the kids have been very curious as to what exactly we do there, especially on the days when I struggle to walk afterwards or wince when one of them pounces on me. So without a doubt when Mike started the trial Crossfit classes for kids; Iman, Jack and Ayden were in the queue to try it out. They had their first class yesterday morning and as with a normal crossfit session they did a warm-up, learnt a skill, performed a WOD (workout of the day) and finished with a relay race for extra fun. All three of them loved it!

Jack and his two front teeth

Jack's two front teeth have been ready to go for a couple of months especially one that has been drastically protruding forward due to another tooth growing behind. Yesterday he came running home ecstatic that he had lost a tooth but much to my disappointment it was not the one that really needed to go. But we didn't have to wait long as he came running in again today very distressed that the tooth was halfway there but needed more help. Jack does not tolerate pain very well so it took a while but eventually he managed to pull it down with a bit of help from Daddy! Hence the Tooth Fairy is called out two nights in a row!!

Big Miri Trip

At last the trip Iman has been anticipating for months is finally happening. Her Year 5 group are heading to an outdoor centre just outside Miri and spending three days doing fun activities. They will sleep in two big dormitories, one for the boys and one for the girls and the talk for most of the week amongst Iman's friends is who is sharing bunk beds with who - bunk beds being a novelty for Iman and most of the others. We managed to get a couple of photographs before she joined her friends and stole a few more when she didn't expect it! A few anxious parents there this morning as for many it's the first time away from their parents. But there's one thing for sure, they will all go away and have a blast!

Sports Day 2013

If the day ahead of them does NOT involve sitting in a classroom, Iman, Jack and Ayden all bounce out of bed eager to get to school which was the case last Friday in anticipation of the Junior School House Sports Day. 

For Jack now in Year 3, it was his first year participating in the track and field events. With the older Year 4 and Year 5s, Jack and his mates took part in long jump, chest pass, T-ball throw, and 100m and 400m races. Jack did well in the 400m coming third overall. This was Iman's second athletics day and she came second in the 400m and third in the long jump.

For Ayden, the morning took a different format this year than the usual races in the gym. They had activity stations on another field and Ayden keen as usual completed all his activities with gusto giving all his 110%!

What was probably the most exciting result of the morning was Blue House winning the house trophy and Iman as Blue House captain was very excited and proud to receive the trophy in front of the whole Junior School. Go Blue House and Captain Iman!!!