A Prayer for Strength

My heart has been feeling burdened lately.

Starting from this week, life will be tough and will be so for the coming months or years...

Praying for strength, wisdom and patience that I may become the pillar for my family.

"... glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because Gold's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5

Sea World

13 June 2014

We met up with Chris and his family for another day of fun at Sea World. Ash couldn't stop asking about Adrielle-Jiejie after we bade our goodbyes last night and she was so excited to know that she will be seeing her again.

Our Bat Girl all ready to conquer another day of FuN...

The weather was a little gloomy in the morning and started with a heavy downpour not long after. Thankfully, the Fish Detectives show and Dora Musical managed to offer us some shelter from the rain...

We took a quick lunch of pizza & juice right after the rain stopped...

visited some of Ash's favourite animals...

and then went in search of rides suitable for each of the kid. Both Daddy and Kaeden came back giggling non-stop, drenched from head to toe from the latest ride known as "The Storm" which they went on multiple times. Hmmm... winter and dripping wet ain't really a good combination, right?

Here comes one of the plus point of staying at Sea World Resort... the monorail that runs through the park has a direct internal access to the resort! And so... we went back for a change of clothes and also for Ash to recharge...

We ended the day with a sumptuous Chinese dinner at Surfers Paradise together. It was great catching up with old friends on a table for eight now. Hope to see them again back in Singapore soon!

Creepy Crawlies

GH is doing Creepy Crawlies theme for this term's Show-n-Tell and has requested parents to help provide live samples of any of the above...

"Yeeks!" was the first thought that came across my mind when I read the memo but Daddy Walker seemed super enthusiastic about it. Well... lucky for him, insects are frequent visitors in our house hence definitely no big issue trying to catch one.

Ash's pet insect for Week 1 - Grasshopper!

Warner Bros. Movie World

12 June 2014

Theme parks were the last part of our itinerary and Kaeden was really looking forward to it.

As our tickets were part of the package deal from Sea World Resort, we were able to skip the Q at the ticket booth and proceeded straight to the entrance of Movie World.

Our first ride was the "Mysterious Island" 4D show... something not too exciting to start up our morning.

Yet, somebody couldn't wait to get an adrenaline rush! Poor Daddy Walker :(

Thankfully, Ash was still too young to go on such rides hence I have a legitimate excuse to stay on the sideline with her...

Coincidentally, we happened to meet the Liow's at the Hollywood Stunt Driver show and we spent the rest of our afternoon together...

... Chasing Super Heros & Cute Characters...

... Taking rides...

and simply chillaxing...

I realized Ash is another thrill seeker like her brother! She went for one of those water plunging roller coaster ride and came back asking for more! Too bad, most of the exciting rides in Movie World are not meant for young children like her with the exception of the one she went for...

They do have a Kids' WB Fun Zone which has rides suitable for her where she got to have some fun too. Setting aside one full day is definitely more than enough for Movie World.

An Afternoon @ StarVista

Kaeden remembered the Kampung Fiesta that was happening at the atrium. He asked in his ever sweetest voice if we could try to accumulate $50 worth of spending here at the Star so as to exchange for the entry pass.

Well, I gladly oblige by suggesting lunch at Bornga Korean BBQ, a place that the kids dreaded... Probably due to large amount of vegetables served! Haha

It was our 2nd time patronizing the restaurant and food was still as good as I remembered it to be. We ordered one Bibimbap for the kids to share and two servings of Samgyeopsal...

Indeed a satisfactory lunch for me! And definitely a boring lunch for our fussy eater who decided that sleep seemed more 'tasty' than the food in front of her...

Well, at least she woke up in time for some old school games and yummy treats at the Kampung Fiesta :)

Paradise Country

11 June 2014

Following the checkout from our awesome service apartment from Mantra Circle, we headed straight to Paradise Country where we got to see more of Australia's Native Animals such as the Koala, Kangaroo, Dingo and Emu.

The admission ticket has a lunch option which we took it up to save us the hassle of driving out for food since there wasn't any food outlet within the vicinity.

We were handed a copy of the farm tour timetable with all the activities planned out nicely for us. The kids wanted to try out Gold Fossicking which in my humble opinion, was a pretty waste of money. Nonetheless, I am still glad they had fun.

We approached the Kangaroo and Koala Enclosure next, where most of the kangaroos were spending their afternoon lazing around. Haha... it got Ash rather upset that none of the kangaroos were keen to be fed...

At the Sheep Sheering Show & Ram Parade... our brave boy volunteered to go upstage as "Muscle Man".

Our quick lunch @ the outback restaurant...

Last show of the day featuring stockmen and their dogs rounding up a flock of sheep, milking a cow and throwing a boomerang...

And then it was time to say "Goodbye"...

I felt that Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Paradise Country were both somewhat similar with the later being catered for tourist. The shows were intended for laugh rather than for educational purposes. For a real Aussie Native Wildlife / Farm experience, I would strongly recommend paying a visit to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary instead.

Accommodation for the next 3 nights in Gold Coast... Sea World Resort!

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary & Super Bee Honey World

10 June 2014

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary isn't the typical zoo we all known and seen. Instead, its a place very close to nature, close to the home of the Australian Native animals.

Past the entrance of the sanctuary, we were greeted by Australia's very own cuddly Koala Bears!

Aren't they cute?

There are a whole lot of activities for the entire family ranging from educational animal shows, animal feedings or just enjoying a ride on the miniature train that runs throughout the sanctuary...

Our favorite had to be the free roaming kangaroos at the Kangaroo & Emu enclosure! The kids were so happy just spending the afternoon feeding and patting the mob of kangaroos hopping around.

Super Bee Honey World is located just across from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Its a shop that not only sells various range of honey products, they have "Live Beekeeping Show" going on every half-hourly as well. Glad that we were able to make it for the last show of the day as it was an informative lesson on bees' behaviour, how honey were made and harvested. Different flavors of honey are available for tasting too!