Go Yellow House!

Junior School Athletics Day today. Again. It really didn't feel all that long ago at all we spent all morning in the gym? Indeed, when I looked into it, last school year this day was in the last term of the year, and now in the first - hence the few months only in between.

Some snapshots before we left. I had sacrificed a bit of my scrap ribbon to make Linnea's pig tails extra yellow this year! She looked very cute:





Lucas ready to go:

A first, a last and a casualty

Last night was hash night, as usual on a Tuesday, but it wasn't just any old hash, it was the spooky Halloween Run. That means that we started an hour later and did the whole hash in the dark!
It's always a bit creepy in the dark, even though everybody has flashlights, because it's totally pitch black in the jungle and it's hard to see where you put your feet.

It was a special run also for another reason - I finally managed to convince my Danish friend Anne to come along and try it out. It's taken me a couple of years and it was really the last chance, since she's leaving for good in three weeks. So this was her first and last hash all at once.
Good on her for braving it finally, and in the dark!

Here she is, just coming out (photos are not excellent, I forgot the snapshot camera so had to use my iPhone):



The after-the-run down-down for the first time guests:



Happy we made it!



I've been a bit unlucky at the hash these past few weeks. Last week a big tree branch fell right on my head, completely knocked me over and gave me a big bump on the head. Last night I managed to crash land in a drain, before the run; and I scraped my leg and hurt my hand pretty badly. (I still completed the run though, a hasher through and through!)
Luckily we have a few nurses on the hash and a big first aid kit, so I got taken care of properly afterward - here's my injury:



And my bandage!



Let's hope it's not 'all things come in three'... I better be careful on next weeks run!

If the shoe fits

We are going to a 'White Tie & Tiara Ball' in a couple of weeks time, and today I went looking for a simple tiara that might fit my head (I've realized the comb ones are not for me, my head has a funny shape!). I wanted one on an alice-band and finally I found one in one of the big department stores.
I tried it on quickly to make sure it would stay on my head, and then went to pay. As the shop assistant charged me she made me giggle as she asked:
- Do you want to wear it straight away?
- Ehm... no.

*Smile* Well, she must have thought I looked like a princess!

Take 2

No, I'm still not ready with my gecko-bowl (and even if I was I'm not too sure I'll show it to you...). It really takes time sometimes with all the different steps of the mosaics. (Especially if you haven't done it properly from the beginning... hrm, hrm)
I've had to re-grout quite a few of the tiles off the top of the bowl that kept falling off because they weren't glued properly. Every time I re-grout, I have to wait at least 24 hours for it to dry again, and before everything is properly stuck down, I can't paint nor varnish it so it'll take a while yet before it's all done.

So, in the meantime, I've started a new project!
Here's the beginning of Mark Two:



I've learned a few lessons from the other bowl. This time I'm sticking with tiles all the same thickness; I've planned my colours so that my little fishies will really 'pop'; I'm spacing evenly for the grouting and I'm using ALL Paula's glue to make the tiles all stick PROPERLY!
This one will be a masterpiece!

A day to remember

As I said, yesterday we ended up staying all day at the Yacht Club; and even though we tend to hang there most weekends, yesterday will be one of those days to remember.

It was just such a perfect afternoon... The kids spent over six hours (!) just playing, fishing, digging for crabs, chasing each other around, swimming, climbing etc. They all stuck together and got along, kids of all ages; just came up to see us to get fed every now and then!
I love the life the kids have here, enjoying the simple pleasures: the sun, the sand, the water - and each other.

Linnea tried out kayaking for the first time:







The boys fishing of the jetty:

Such a hard life

I'm reading in the online Swedish newspapers about the recent snowfalls and how they are anticipating the coldest winter in thousand years (brrrr!) back home, crazy!
Meanwhile we are having a totally relaxed afternoon at the Yacht Club; bobbing around in the pool, digging for crabs on the beach and enjoying fresh orange juice and just chilling.
What a hard life!

(Edit at 19:37 - Ended up being an all-day-stay! Back home, 6 1/2 hours later after two meals, a few drinks and endless hours of chatting while the kids spent all day playing and swimming. Best way to spend an October day!)

20 at 5

Luckily I remembered our birthday tradition today, so I could start it with Linnea too: 20 questions to be asked upon every birthday.



1. What's your name? Linnea... (getting prompted "what else?")... Linnea Marie Watson
2. Where do you live? Here (getting prompted again) In Brunei
3. How old are you? Five
4. Really? *Nodding*
5. Why is it good to be five? Because I like that
6. What do you like to do? Sewing
7. What do don't like? Fighting, and goodies - they're not good for your teeth!
8. Why do you have to sleep at night? Otherwise you'll be tired
9. What are you going to be when you grow up? A mummy! (Prompted "what else?") And a zoo-keeper.
10. What does a police man do? Catch robbers
11. Where does babies come from? Tummies
12. Have I been a baby? *Nodding*
13. Which are your favourite clothes? My princess dresses and my new blue dress
14. What would you like Santa to bring? Kittens... or I mean, a dragon! And stickers
15. Where does Santa live? North Pole
16. Who is your best friends? Keira, Ben, Daniel, Ashley, Gemma
17. Which is the most beautiful word you know? Beautiful
18. What are you good at? Sewing, putting stickers on paper
19. When does mummy and daddy get angry with you? When I'm being mean to my friends
20. What are you going to do now? Play

(You can see what Lucas said at 5 here, and at 6 here.)

Busy day

This week has passed way too fast - we're already at the weekend again!
It's funny, these holidays that you decide to spend staying put, they always seem so looong that first weekend; then the days just roll past and before you know it - the holidays are nearly over already!

I've had an extremely busy day today. Played an hour explosive squash this morning, then back home for a quick shower and a snack before I helped Nicole out with a photo shoot of her kids for their Christmas cards.
Time for a quick coffee and another change of clothes and off to Radisson for a birthday lunch for Misuzu.



Really lush and lovely, gorgeous food...





... in nice company:



Since she lost her whole Pandora bracelet a while back (with last years' birthday bead from us...), we got her a new bead to put on her new bracelet (that her husband had got her) - made her happy!





Home again, twenty minutes to jump into hash clothes and meet Anna in the jungle for a near 2 hour hash rekkie. It's our turn to lay the hash again in a couple of weeks time. It all went really well, just a bit of tweaking on our out trail but apart from that I think we got it at this first attempt.

Now - I'm t-i-r-e-d...

You want a piece of me??

Anna was such a star going shopping boxing gloves for me in Singapore when she was there one a one-day trip on Wednesday.
You see, I realized already my first time at kickboxing I needed my own ones, since the ones at the dojo were all too big for me - and well worn down too. The other girls had pretty purple and pink ones that they had gotten overseas, so I sent Anna on the mission.
She got me glamorous golden ones! Yeah baby!

You want a piece of me?





Or maybe of me..? :)

Birthday celebrations, final part

Last night we took the kids to Jerudong Park, to finish off the birthday celebrations there. It was really, really lovely because there was a big group of us, with kids in all different ages. They had a ball!





The nice thing with Jerudong Park is that the kids are perfectly happy just playing on the play equipment and climbing frames; which is good because there are not many rides. Although the rides they do have, seem to amuse them enough!
Mini bumper cars:





Pirate ship:



And while the girls were on the beautiful merry-go-around...





... Daddy and Lucas went on Lucas' favourite - the paddling boats:



A great, late night - followed by curry with friends at our neighbours' house. The kids fell asleep on their sofa and we continued the birthday celebrations long into the night... What a day!

Birthday celebrations, part 2

Linnea got dressed for the occasion...



... and we went for a nice sushi lunch at Escapade. Sushi here in Brunei is very cheap and very yummy, we go at least once a week, if not twice or three times! The good thing is, there is something for everybody - both the big and the small likes sushi in our family.



And after sushi, time for cake:



(Unfortunately, these cakes weren't as tasty as they looked... My cupcake was all old and stale and Linnea wasn't keen on her Oreo cheesecake either... Quite a disappointment... We'll have to do a remake some other day!)

Good morning Birthday Girl!

We had set the alarm to 06.15 this morning, to try and actually wake Linnea with her gifts - but 06.05 I had a little face in mine... asking if it was her birthday now and if we were going to come sing soon...

So back to bed she went and fell "asleep" again - and we "woke" her with singing and all her gifts - happy girl!

She got many lovely presents both from Scotland (her cousins), NZ (Grandma & Granddad) and Sweden (Mormor & Morfar) - and from us of course.
A very spoiled and very lucky 5-year old!

We then went downstairs and had breakfast together at a beautifully decorated birthday table, a great start to her birthday!

Now we're off for lunch, Linnea's choice: sushi! Later to a café for cake and this afternoon we'll go to Jerudong Park for some more fun! What a day!

Beauty sleep

Humour

I've seen these drinks being sold at the supermarket here for a while now. Not until the other day did I actually pick one up to see what they were. They come in different varieties: Antioxidant, Rehab, Immunity, Multi Vitamin, Energy, Endurance etc.

I just had to buy this one, purely because of what it said on the bottle, ha ha:





Somewhere in Australia, there is a package designer with a very good sense of humour! :)

Crafty

Linnea got many lovely craft-themed presents yesterday. This morning while Lucas was at karate, we dug into the sewing kits together. We sewed a monkey and a polar bear!
It was pretty tricky for a 5-year old (well, even for a 36-year old!) but she did manage to do quite a lot of it (with just a little help here and there), and was pretty happy with herself for that!

The 5th edition

So, time for some photos from Linnea's 5th birthday party yesterday!

We all had a lovely morning at the Yacht Club! It was really, really hot, but luckily the kids never get tired of swimming, splashing and playing on the beach. They all had a great time and both the food and the cake got wolfed down in about 3 minutes each!

When we got home, Linnea opened her presents and then it was crafty time all afternoon - she got so many lovely gifts; card making kits, books, mirror making kit, Barbies, sew-an-animal kits, My Little Pony, stickers and envelopes, dress-ups, play-doh, foam kits - just to mention a few.
A very happy day!

The invite

This was Linnea's invitation for today's party. A Photoshop creation.
I'm pretty pleased with it!



(Photo: Brett Häggkvist)

Party Central

Today it's finally time for Linnea's 5th birthday party! Yay!

To host a birthday party here in Brunei takes quite some preparation. I've mentioned several times before that there's no one-stop-shop here (the style of British Asda, Danish Bilka or Swedish Coop Forum), where you could go to get everything you need from lawn-movers to sports equipment to chicken breast. Here you have to drive around a lot, especially if you are after specific things.

This year we've opted to host Linnea's birthday party at the Yacht Club (just like when she turned 2, just slightly bigger...) so there's no thinking about food or entertainment really, it's all taken care of. Easy peasy.

Still, I've had to organize a (big enough) cake, and made sure it has the right decoration on it as requested by the Birthday Girl. I've also been busy most of the week trying to figure out what to put in the party bags. Past parties I've put DVDs which have proven a hit, with the parents above all - something to do when they get home after the party and might need some quiet time..!

I had an idea this year (that I won't reveal, might save it for Lucas' party in January!), but I couldn't find everything I needed in the right amounts unfortunately. This year, 24 little friends have RSVP their attendance, and add to that the odd sibling here and there... It'll be crowded!

I'm very pleased with what I got though. All the invited friends will get a book each, I got a huge variety so they all get different ones; plus sweets of course. I've also catered with small bags of sweets for any siblings that come along so they feel a bit included too.





I hope it'll be well received! The goodie bag is nearly the most important part of the party for these 5-year olds, and Linnea has made sure she gets one too, of course!

Smile!

When I downloaded photos off my point-and-shoot the other day, I discovered a photo that I certainly didn't remember taking..:



Our tech savvy daughter has really learned how to use the camera well! And she has long arms! :)