Featherdale Wildlife Park

At the entrance armed with a passport to collect all the stamps at the various stations. This kind of mission thrilled me to bits.


Our first stop - Koala station! See how interested this koala was in Wei.


It was the first time I saw koalas. Very excited but also very cautious. Hence, that was the nearest I was willing to stand durng the photo shoot.


I was extremely thrilled when I found a koala with the name of Rusty (same name as my beloved dog whom I missed terribly during the trip). Rusty, the koala, was as cute as Rusty, my dog.


Wei wanted to pose like that when I took a picture of her next to the kangaroo. Do they look alike?

The park was very well-maintained and clean. I liked the several sinks found at different stations where visitors could wash their hands. A very relaxing and pleasant visit.

School kids' groupies

Being lecturers, Ling and I always set objectives and outcomes for about everything we do. Our objectives for this trip include (in this order):

1. Spending time with the children.
2. Enjoying Sydney at our own pace.
3. Reading and writing over good latte.

So, we were immensely thrilled this morning when Emmet and JY gave us free reign to send the two older kids to school. Needless to say, we wanted photos along the way. Gamely, the kids humoured us by posing with their smiles and grins.

We made them stop for photos...

Outside, along the school.

At the school gate.

And snapped pictures secretly at the school compound (we didn't want other kids to think the kids had such odd relations: already kids are rather socially awkward). Sharon tries to fit in too, but stands out like an overly-protective adult.

Here, Sharon tries to counsel Ethan who is upset with a girl who was holding his hand the day before (he gets harrassed like this even in Singapore).

“I don’t like school. There was a girl who held my hand too tightly for the whole day.” (Ethan)
“Did you tell her not to hold your hand too tightly?” (Sharon)
“I did but she still held it tightly.” (Ethan)
“Is she an Australian or Asian?” (Sharon)
“She is a Chinese like me.” (Ethan)

The most handsome boy in his class takes off his hat. Sigh, we're such hopeless groupies.

First Sunday with the family

We had a great Sunday with the family when we first arrived in Sydney.

Our first stop was the Opera House. We had a picnic lunch there. Healthy sandwiches, salad and fruits all prepared by Jinying. It was really hot but the company of the lovely children soothed and calmed us.



There were big birds trying to snatch our food, but thankfully, we had a superhero with us. Ethan, the Muscle Man (I like to call him that because he would always flex his muscles to show me how muscular he is), used Emmet's shoe to chase away all birds so that the family could eat their lunch in peace. Many thanks to the Muscle Man.









Our second stop was the Fish Market. It was quite an amazing experience seeing those fresh, bright coloured and huge seafood.







Our third stop - HOME where we had a barbeque dinner in the garden. Cool! We indulged in wine, fresh oyster, prawns, tuna, sotong ball and sausages. Yummy... When the adults toasted with their wine, the BEET paused and gave us the "I feel so left out" look. Emmet then served them with "children wine", i.e. soft drinks. Later, they had a little toast all by themselves.







Fantastic Sunday. Thanks, Emmet and Jinying.

Ice lollies

A simmering Saturday at 34 degree celcius: Emmet thinks we brought the hot weather over. The kids were out in the yard having Ribena ice lollies - the doctor's prescription for Ethan's stomach virus that was later passed on to Bernice. It's cool (pun intended) to be ill in Sydney. Even cooler for healthy siblings (see Manny's glee).