Janelle turns 5!

This little girl loves parties, especially birthday parties. She loves gathering with the kids, sing birthday songs and having a share in blowing out the candles if possible.

She has become more aware of the days and was counting down to her actual birthday. So when the day finally reach, she was so excited that she didn't sleep in. Instead she was the first to wake up and asked me "Mummy, it's my birthday today, right?" with the excitement written all over her face.

After she affirmed with me that it is her birthday, she went around the house announcing it's her birthday, waking everyone up.

My hubs and I took leave to celebrate this special day with her and her wish was to play with her favourite cousin, Megan and she wanted water play. We planned to bring them to POLW but realised that it was closed for maintenance when we reached. Bummer!

The next nearest water theme park has to be Adventure Cove so we moved out of Beach Station to RWS, keeping our fingers crossed that the park is not closed for maintenance too.

We've been wanting to bring the kids there too but the fees were too high and we do not know if it is worth the entry fees. Nonetheless, we did not want to disappoint the kids so we decided to check it out.

Welcome to Adventure Cove! Lucky it's not closed for maintenance.

The park is huge too. There were quite a few zones that are suitable for kids. My hubs and I would love to try out the more thrilling zones but were unable to as we had to queue and being away from the kids for more than 5 minutes is not possible.

A selfie with my girl as requested. She was upset that I took selfies with my friends earlier on at a gathering and she was not in the picture. So she asked for a photo with me on her birthday. Simple wish that can be easily fulfilled :)

The first stop was the Adventure River. We grabbed a tube each and place the kids in front of us and off we float along the 620m long lazy river. Though floating along 620m may sound long but it is definitely not boring. There were many different zones and the one that the kids loved most was the Stingray Bay. We were in an underwater world where we could view the marine creatures swimming above and around us.

Nonetheless, I was not in time to grab my phone along the journey hence I was unable to take photos. Next station was the Big Bucket Treehouse which got the kids hooked onto going up the treehouse and sliding down the spiral slide with a SPLASH!

Spot my girl running up the treehouse by her own

The happy birthday girl picking herself up after landing with a big splash

That's my niece sliding down

Even the boys can't wait to get into action!

SPLASH!

That's the happy boy after the slide

These 2 girls just decided to sit there and wait for the bucket of water to drop on them

It took us alot of effort to pull the kids away from Big Bucket Treehouse to Bluwater Bay. We spotted the giant wave there and were excited about bringing the lil ones over. Just when we stepped into the water, the wave subsided. It took another 30mins before the wave came along again. We prep the kids by putting on the life jackets for them. The life jackets come in different sizes for toddlers to kids to adults.

Finally! A decent picture of one zone, Bluwater Bay. Spot the lil hut on the left side of the picture? That is the one of the many Cabanas for rental should guests want to relax and chill within.

My lil baby with life jacket

A group photo with the kids. Missing in this picture is my dad as he joined in the water fun to help to look after the lil ones. My mum and my sis were chilling at the beach benches then.

We had great fun surfing with the giant wave when it came. The lil ones enjoyed it so much that they requested to wait for the next wave to come again before they agreed to come out of the water.

A pity that my hubs and I were not able to go on other more thrilling rides but we had fun with the kids. Shower facilities are easily accessible, unlike most parks where there is only one main shower facility.

After a day of water play, we bought cake to celebrate Janelle's birthday at home. Well, she loves parties regardless simple or extravagant. My sister and niece joined in the celebration and it really made my girl happy as her favourite yiyi and cousin were present too.

No prizes for guessing right on the theme for the cake. I simply love to watch how kids enjoyed singing birthday song and blowing out candles together

Because it is her birthday, so she has gotten the balloon that she has been eyeing for the longest time.

Happy 5th birthday my little angel! You have brought so much joy into our lives, taught me unconditional love and make me strive to be a better person.

Mummy love you so much and my love for you will grow stronger as each day passes by. I hope you will grow up as a happy girl, stay healthy and be safe always!
 

My lovely angel!

Family Vacation to Gold Coast - Day 4, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Park and Robina Town Centre

As we realised that the kids truly enjoyed themselves at Paradise Country, we decide to include a visit to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Park where the kids can look forward to more wildlife animals in Australia.

We gotten the tickets at the reception in Bel Air and off we went to another wildlife park adventure.

We decided to have our breakfast at the cafe there. This lil darling spotted this frog and requested to have her photo taken.

At the entrance. The kids love to take photos especially during holiday.

We can get up close and personal with the koala by paying a fee to have our photo taken with them. If I can remembered correctly, the fees range from AUD15 to AUD40 with different photo sizes and items such as key rings, postcards and magnets included.

My hubs was pretty 'lucky' as the koala decided to poo on his hand after the photo taking. Hahaha! A pity we were not able to buy lottery there.

Photo taking with koala bear. The kids love it!

My girl simply loves the koala bears!

It took us a while to pull them away from the koala exhibit before we can move on.

The sleepy koala bears. They are almost everywhere in the park.

Being a tourist, we had the park guide with us and we realised that the park is huge! Well, we have absolutely no idea where to head to so we hopped on the tram ride for a tour around the park before we decide further.

While waiting for the tram to move off. Smile! We are on a holiday!

Not forgetting the kids with their grandma. The usual cheeky monkey faces.

Another tram on the track returning to the main station

The tram brought us round the park and we sat through the entire journey before we decided on our first stop. I wanted to visit the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital and let my kids learn about more about caring for animals.

There is no queue system at this station and everyone just hop onto wherever there is vacancy.

This is a huge iguana that is being cared for in the hospital. The kids were terrified of it though.

We chanced upon a koala bear on the operating table. From what we gathered from the rest of the surrounding visitors, it seems that the koala is having a difficult labour. The vet were very tactful in handling her though.

There is a corner for visitors especially kids to experience how they can care for the wildlife animals. Janelle was trying to bandage the koala bear's arm as she said the arm is injured.

The tram also rode past the Kangaroos enclosure where they are free to roam. Visitors can choose to alight at this station to pet the kangaroos, feed them and take photos. We had the experience of kangaroos being too full for feed in Paradise Country so we decided not to get any feed for them. True enough, we saw many feed on the floor and the kangaroos were not interested at all. In fact, most of them were taking their nap and getting lazy.

One of the recommended activties is to catch Air Asia Free Flight Bird Show hence we went on a leisurely walk to the show as the weather is good and we can view other animals along the way.

Meet Tasmania devil bear! They look very different from the Warner Bros Taz.

While waiting for the show to start, there is photo opportunity with the baby croc. I was cheated by my girl as she said she wanted my company to take photos with the baby croc and she promised me that she will hold the head (cos her mummy is scared!). When it was our turn, she changed her mind and volunteered her mummy to hold the head and she will hold the tail instead. Anyway it was an experience as I would never thought of getting my photo taken with the croc if it was not for my girl. Check out the little boy's curiosity of the croc!

The bird show was pretty interesting as it is unlike the bird show in Jurong Bird Park. We got to learn more about the birds especially in the wildlife environment. But I guess the kids are just simply not into birds as they were pretty restless throughout the show.

They were more interested in playing among themselves when the show was ongoing

Now, who say that owls only come out when it's dark?

Even the pelicans make a guest appearance during the show

Check out the vulture in the air! We were able to have a photo opportunity with the vulture after the show but I was still lil fearful of getting too close to it. Too bad we were not able to take photo using our own camera.

The park is really huge and we were not able to cover the entire place with 2 kids in tow. By the time the bird show was over, it was almost time to leave the park as it was nearing to the closing time, that is 5.30pm. Hence we took a leisure walk back to the park entrance to pick up our photos and gotten some souvenirs before we say goodbye to the wildlife park.

We knew that Robina Town Centre is one of the biggest fashion malls in Gold Coast and they are open till 9pm on thursday! Thus we decided to visit the mall for some retail therapy.

The mall is really big! My mum in law was getting sick of western food and craved for Chinese cuisine so we went to try Yum Cha in Robina Town Centre. The food was not bad but the taste is still the best in Singapore.

After which, we walked around the mall and ended up shopping in Kmart till the mall closed. The prices are more reasonable in Kmart and we gotten alot of clothings and books for the kids.

We returned to the apartments and prep the kids for bed before my hubs and I headed out to Jupiters Casino which is located near Bel Air. It was boring! Nothing interesting and the atmosphere is dull.

Conversations with the boy

At 2 years and 5 months old, this little cheeky boy has been saying the darnest things. We have been engaging in very interesting conversations lately.

Incident 1 - At KKH when he was running a high fever and there were blood in his phlegm.
Him: Mummy, I don't want to see doctor. I am not sick. Mummy, you sick? (Tell me if I should laugh or cry...)

Incident 2 - He refused to go school and I was trying to find out from him why.
Him: I don't want to go school
Me: Why do you not want to go school?
Him: Because I am sick (I couldn't believe he said that!)
Me: No, you are not sick. So you have to go school.
Him: No I don't want to go school. I want to stay at home.
Me: Why do you want to stay at home?
Him: Because I want to be with ah ma (grandmother). *Sounds so sweet huh
Me: No, you have to tell me why you do not like school? You don't like your teachers?
Him: No (Now I'm getting somewhere finally)
Me: Which teacher do you not like?
Him: Zhang Lao Shi (now we all know why)
Me: Why you don't like Zhang Lao Shi?
Him: Because she beat me.
Me: Beat you where?
Him: My buttocks.

Well, I did ask the teacher but she denied. Hmmm... how am I going to resolve this? Now my boy has phobia of school and simply refused to attend school :(

Family Vacation to Gold Coast, Day 3 - Seaworld and Surfer Paradise Night Market

The kids woke up excited! I told them that we are going to find sea animals and DORA! Yes, though I am not so sure about the link between Dora the Explorer and SeaWorld, it is always a joy for kids to see their familiar favourite character.

The park open at 9.30am and we reached there 10minutes after it was open (cos the GPS nearly led us the wrong way!). There was already a queue forming when we reached there. As we have gotten a 6-month season pass through an online promotion which offer better rates and gave us access to the 3 Worlds ie Seaworld, Movieworld and Wet N Wild, we have to join the queue to exchange for our season pass.

Welcome to SeaWorld! It has been a decade since I was there with my parents and siblings

While queuing to change our season pass at SeaWorld entrance

I guess they have thousands of sea gulls in SeaWorld as they were everywhere in the park and they are not shy to snatch food from the visitors. I was playing hide and seek with one of them when I was enjoying my churros!

Our first stop! It was one of the must-watch performances for my kids. 

 

We were in time for the Meet N Greet with Dora! See how delighted Janelle was!

The boy need a while to warm up though as he clammed up when I brought him near to Dora. But yet he was very enthusiastic in waving goodbye to Dora before we left.

As we were early and there was another 30 minutes before the performance starts, the kids couldn't resist the kids' rides at the Kiddy world located next to the Dora's performance area.

First ride of the day. The kids sat inside the cabin while the parent or guardian was supposed to sit on the open seat. Spot the kids inside the cabin.

This is one of their favourite rides as they went on it at least twice.

 

There is a lever that the kid can pull so that we can fly up high. And my boy can do it by himself. Guess he wouldn't miss out on anything when it comes to play and fun.

See how engrossed the kids were during the Dora performance

Dora's Best Friend Adventure. The kids simply loved it!

I spotted this rainbow ice-cream during Dora's performance as a little kid was savouring it. Hence I simply had to get it after the show though it was still very early at 11am. Yes, I allowed the kids to have ice-cream early in the morning before lunch. Well, we were on vacation and there are no rules during a vacation right? It's all about experience and having fun!

Up close and personal with the beautiful dolphins

This girl was just so happy in the park that she started skipping and hopping in her stride and singing at the same time. I loved to watch her skip away as this meant that she was enjoying herself thoroughly.

Next was the SpongeBob ParadePants. The parade was spectacular and amazing with the extravagant floats, stunning water displays and thematic boats. Another parade not to be missed!

We also visited the Shark Bay to see the magnificent sharks, sting rays and other tropical fishes.

Another show that must not be missed, Imagine!

These dolphins are simply intelligent and amazing. We really have to protect and save the dolphins from being endangered.

Another ride that Janelle loved! The ride move up slowly and drop down in a slow pace. Jayven wanted to go on the ride too but he did not reach the minimum height limit. She went on this ride again before we left the park.

Happy shoppers!

We also brought the kids to Penguin Encounter and Polar Bears Shore so that the kids can learn more about the different animals.

The park is relatively big and it was challenging to cover every area and catch every performance with 2 kids in tow hence we decided to skip some animal enclosures and shows. The park closes early at 5.30pm and we left the park at 5.15pm before the skies turn dark.

We did research beforehand and knew that there is a night market at Surfers Paradise every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday night. It took us a while to find the place as we were trying to google for the nearest car park to the market and we walked quite a distance to reach there. 

Finally! We reached the night market after a good 20 minutes walk

There are alot of stalls selling fashion and accessories, art pieces, handicrafts, beauty products and house wares. Nonetheless, the prices ain't exactly cheap considering that it is a night market. Not really for bargain hunters but more for treasure hunters and great for after-dinner walks.

The temperature was much colder at night but it felt good to walk along the beachfront with the cool breeze. We liked the place and decided to visit the beach again another day before we left.

It was the first night in Gold Coast where we gotten back to our apartment later than 9pm and everyone was exhausted after a long day out.

My sweet little girl

I have been travelling to and fro KL for the past week and hardly had time for the kids. Had an event yesterday and was planning to bring my firstborn to participate in Me & Mini Me run but couldn't work out. And she was really upset upon realizing that the event was over and she did not get to participate.

This 'sensitive deeply attached to mummy' girl requested for my time and asked me not to go work. But I have to travel to KL again (I am here now) and told her I have to be away for the next 3 days. She insisted that she want to send me to the airport and make me promise that I will wake her up before leaving for airport.

This morning when I woke up at 4.30am, she followed suit. I guess she must have been a light sleeper so that she can catch me before I left the house. This sweet girl just wanted to travel to airport with me and was behaving well throughout the journey.

Then just when I alighted from the car, she burst out into tears and refused to let me go. I felt so bad, really so so guilty.

My sweet little girl, mummy loves you and will spend more time with you whenever I can. Thank you for being such a sweet lovely girl.