The Philatelic and Peranakan Museum Day Trip!

The boys have finished their school books and are now officially on holiday! We celebrated by purchasing the traditional Lego mini-figures they get when they finish each workbook. After visiting ToyHunt at Century Square mall, we took the MRT to the Philatelic Museum near Fort Canning. It is a really lovely museum!

The boys posted a very special post card to someone who inspires them to collect stamps too! We wish you could have joined us at the Philatelic Museum but maybe there is one in Toronto too!

 As PRs, we get free entry to museums in Singapore. With the savings, we treat ourselves to little gifts in the souvenir shop...like adding to our stamp collections! What fun choosing stamps!

 Nearby the Philatelic Museum is the equally lovely Peranakan Museum. We had a fun visit there as well and enjoyed a freshly squeezed lemonade in jars!

 On the way to the MRT, the boys were intrigued by a drop of water on a lily pad that eventually rolled off! Singapore has many delightful buildings left over from days gone by...luckily. I hope they preserve the shophouses. I love the ones covered in green foliage with hanging lanterns. These are the scenes of Singapore that I love so much.

To end a perfect day, we met Papa in Chinatown for a Vietnamese dinner! Our adventure in Singapore is coming to a close as we try to balance packing and celebrating with friends and saying good bye to some of our favourite haunts. On that note, it's time to stop typing and enjoy the beautiful day outside!

Project Fun! LegoLand Malaysia!

 The four of us took a break from everything and headed to LegoLand Malaysia for a day of fun on Sunday! It took a few hours to get there due to taking the MRT across the island and trying to work out the various buses. In the end, an elderly gentleman drove us the last leg. I think it was Santa Claus!

 The boys were over-the-moon! I love how they walk with arms around one another...brotherly love!

 Papa sat in the very last car, the tail of the mini dragon. We lost count of how many times we did some rides! I could not get a photo of us on the river ride as we got soaked and our camera would have too!

 We conquered the big dragon roller coaster! I was holding on for dear life. It was crazy good fun!

 The two boys and the one big boy took time to create their own mini-figures from buckets of bits and pieces. Super cool and a good activity to avoid the rain. Welcome to rainy season!

 We also escaped the rain by seeing some 4D movies. But unfortunately we were wet and cold from the rain and then the air con and during the movies, they soaked and dumped snow on us! Frightfully frosty!

 Papa became very competitive during the ride where we had to shoot the scarab beetles in a temple of doom type cave. I was not amused!

 Christmas carols sung by Malaysian children and adults ended the night in a festive way.

 Waiting for the bus back to Singapore, the boys have fun inside the Legoland hotel's lobby!

We got home pretty late but guess who woke up first thing to assemble his early Christmas present! You guessed it, our very own wood rooster-loving Lego builder! What a wonderful 2nd Advent!

Starting to say good bye...

There is definitely a process of saying "good bye" and it is a bit melancholy despite the giggles! As long as we laugh more than we cry, that's the ticket! We have made some very good friends over the years. We went to our last movie, "Justin", with Kristie and three of her four boys, Ronin, Cache and Kai. Baby Levi stayed home but when we meet in NYC or T.O, by then he will be able to join the party!

 It was fun to see the movie at the brand new theatre at J-Cube, Jurong East. Awesome seats!

 A good bye hug after lunch. Bon voyage, Kristie!

Another good bye: The boys had their last art class with Aunt Tanya from South Africa. They painted tea towels which was a big hit. I brought gingerbread cookies and icing for snack time.

 Pit really enjoyed telling me about one of his tea towels. Frunty loved his skateboard design!

 Thank you to our art teacher, Aunt Tanya! The boys enjoyed their classes with her boys, Liam and Chad, and our American friend, Christian.

 Papa says it is a good sign that we are a bit melancholy. It means we make some good friends and had some great experiences and are sad to end that chapter. When we remind ourselves though of all the wonderful family and friends back home, the melancholy lessens.

 It is also time to say good bye to kaya toast and nasi lemak breakfasts together with Papa on the way to work! Except I have already researched and we can find these foods in Toronto! It is a treat though to wake up and say, "let's go for kaya toast". Five minutes later, we are in a cute, traditional cafe with some hot coffee! It really is the little things we are going to miss most!

Good bye girlfriends: Last girls' night out. To thank Tanya for her art classes, Cassandra and I took her to the Supply and Demand restaurant near the Esplanade and to "The Nutcracker" afterwards. I also treated Abi and Jessi for their 13th birthday with Nutcracker tickets!

 Happy 13th Birthday, to the lovely twins, Abi and Jessi from New Zealand!

 It is also time to say good bye to stuff! Bikes that are too small, toys no longer used, and other items found a new home with a Philippino family and some children who flew over from their country to Singapore for Christmas. Papa has also been selling items here and there. It is good to sell or give away items that are no longer needed so our home in Toronto will not be so cluttered.

At the end of the day, we are together and going on our next big adventure...introducing our boys properly to the all the joys of living in North America! I am taking this tree, that I found in the garbage at D'Manor, to place on our front porch next year back home!