Glorious Gold Coast

We survived our first trip!!
The flight there was good. The plane was rather empty and we get extra seats for the kids to sleep. The kids were excited for the first two hours and then felt asleep for the rest of the journey. It was a midnight flight and that helped.

First time on air plane. Chloe was fascinated with the window.
Cosy on the same seat...for awhile.

On the first day, we took it easy. Arrived at 7am, picked up the rental car and went to a park while waiting to check into the apartment. The weather was pleasant for outdoor. We went to a gourmet market for food and bought some food for dinner. The food was delicious.

Beautiful beach but we were not geared for it....it is winter and too cold for tropical people like us.
Keeping themselves busy while we had lunch.

On the second day, we went to the SeaWorld. Chloe shown more interest than Lucas but unfortunately Chloe was sleeping for most of the time. On third day, we went to Movie World. Lucas loved this place. Initially, we thought Lucas was to afraid to try the rides but he proved us wrong. It is like Universal Studio but much smaller scale. On the fourth day, we took it easy by driving to the vineyard, mountain. It was a very pleasant stay, and if it rained less, that would be perfect.

Carousel was pretty much the only thing Chloe can do. She does not fulfill the height requirement for most of the rides.

Movie World was where the kids really had a great time, especially Lucas. We spent 2 days in this theme park.


Lucas liked this roller coaster so much that he rode for 7 times. Dominic was commented that he felt dizzy after all the roller coaster rides with him.

He went to watch stunt driving show (I had to stayed outside with Chloe as she was asleep and the noise level for that show is high) and got so excited that he told me what had I missed.

He loved this free drop ride so much that he went for the ride 4 times.

Admiring the rainforest as we walked on the skywalk.

Then we spent 2 nights in Brisbane, about an hour drive from Gold Coast. The was nothing much to do in Brisbane for kids. We took the ferry for sightseeing and hop on hop off at certain interesting places.


We took the water public transport for sight-seeing. It was different than the usual walking.


While waiting for me to inquire on the tickets for kids' play in a theather.

On Brisbane ferris wheel....

We took refuge in a restaurant while waiting for the rain to stop. The kids posed when the rain stopped.

Enjoyed playing with their cousin in Gold Coast.

Overall, we all had a great time. We also agreed that one week holiday is the longest we can take with the kids. Anything longer will stress the parents out. Lucas liked is to much that when we get home he said to me, 'Mommy, I still like Australia very much. Can we go again next year? Next December?'

Australia, Here We Come

Yes....we are leaving for Gold Coast, Australia for a week starting tomorrow. I'm done packing the check-in luggage. 2 hand carry luggages to go. We got this super duper discounted ticket (RM2500 for 4 of us) and will be flying budget airline. The downside is there is no entertainment system and no much food (and not free) available. Let's see after this experience, if we will still be using budget airline.


Chloe admiring the older children in her ballet trial class.


Their favourite dessert, gummy bears.

Common Enemy

My kids have already gang-up to bully me. Their common enemy is me, and it gives them so much joy and laughter to run me down.

Lucas: Chloe, you are a stubborn stubborn girl!
Chloe: NO! You are stubborn!
Lucas: No, you are the stubborn one!
Chloe: Mummy is the stubborn one.
Lucas: (giggling and whispering) Yes, Mummy is the stubborn one.
Chloe: (giggling and satisfied)

Chloe: You are very naughty, ko-ko.
Lucas: NO!
Chloe: YES!
Lucas: Mommy has gone crazy (giggling)
Chloe: (giggling) Mommy has gone crazy.

Half-Way

Lucas is half-way through his school holidays. He has lots of programmes that make me more exhausted than him. I sent him to proper swimming lesson where a qualified instructor teaches him on one-to-one basis. On the first lesson, he started making a fuss about not wanting to go even before the lesson starts. We persisted and he survived the first lesson. The teacher said he was a bit nervous about going underwater. On the second lesson, again he started making fuss before the lesson. Some miracle happened in the pool - the instructor managed to 'break' him and now he is looking forward to his next lesson. In fact, he wanted to go swimming today but I'm just too tired to take 2 kids to the pool again.

He asked for piano lesson and of course I found a class for him. Now, he had drum and piano class on Saturday. He liked the piano lesson better because there is theory and the teacher gives out stickers!! Dominic is not impressed with his piano teacher and kept wondering if the teacher knows how to play piano, but Dominic was very impressed with the drum teacher. He is considering of learning drum himself.

Lucas is such an expert in playing his iPad games than even adults cannot beat his high score. His Ninja Jump score is the highest and Dominic is trying very hard every night to beat Lucas's high score. Even my sister is trying to beat his high score. Can one earn a living by playing computer games?

I sent Chloe for her baby ballet but it was not very successful. She is still abit young and the teacher is not very baby friendly too. Will have to wait for another few months and try again. In fact, I need to introduce her to classroom environment first. Will be sending her to playschool twice a week starting September.

Meanwhile, I have some time to catch-up with my reading. Have been buying more novels for myself. Next week, we are going to Gold Coast for a week with the kids.