Fun At Euro Fun Park

My kids have not been to a fun fair before. So when we heard there was a fun fair nearby, we went there spontaneously. Euro Fun Park is the name and according to their website, www.eurofunpark.com, they are the biggest traveling fair in Malaysia adopting the latest European ride technology. They are now at the car park of the Bukit Jalil stadium and it's close to home which is more accessible for us. Pardon me if the photos are not taken well. I left my camera at home and although I had to use my Samsung Galaxy SIII, I'm not that good at taking photos using my mobile phone.

The Ferris Wheel greeting us at the entrance.

The kids went crazy when they saw what was awaiting them as they were nearing the entrance. We were pretty impressed to see how large the Ferris wheel was and couldn't wait to see what else was installed for us. 

The entrance fee to enter Euro Fun Park and on top of that you have to buy tokens to play the rides! Not cheap I tell ya.

All smiles. All set and ready to go on the first ride they chose. 

Formula 3000 ride. The kids enjoyed this ride a lot.

Battery car ride. Joseph's favourite. Look at his ecstatic face.

Only Elizabeth dares to ride on this Mini Swing. Bravo, my girl!

Another ride involving cars. This is what will happen when you have a car-crazy son. Round and round they go!

More rides!

A fun fair wouldn't be complete if there's not one game stall right? So many game stalls here. Close to 15 stalls if I recall correctly.

Last ride on Samba Balloon before we call it a day. 

It was a big fun fair and we're impressed with the quality and condition of the rides. Not old and dirty. Quite your money's worth although it's a tad expensive. That's the only complain we have. Maybe that's the price we have to pay to get that standard. Although it would be better if the price is lower. So if you want to go there, choose your rides wisely. :) And I heard it will be around until end of this month.

Elizabeth was not satisfied as she intended to go on more rides actually. As we were leaving, Joseph said "Bye bye, fun fair!" He must be satisfied. :)

Impromptu Art Lesson Again

As mentioned before my children do not go for formal art lessons. Now that Elizabeth is in Standard 1, they have art subject once every week. So far, the art she took home are very simple drawings and colourings using colour pencils. Then I noticed each time she gets a B for her drawings and I began to realise that maybe the problem lies with her colouring which is flat and there's no shadings. This calls for me to try my hand in teaching her basic shading using colour pencils.

I drew a picture of a bowling pin, a girl and a tree. Then I demonstrated to her how to do shading using just one colour for the bowling pin and got her to finish the rest of the bowling pin herself. Basically, I just taught her to use more pressure when colouring the darkest shade and release the pressure slightly as she move on to the lighter shade. So as to create a darker to lighter perspective.

Then we moved on to the girl and lastly the tree. This time applying different colours like dark green and light green for the tree.

I'm not the best teacher for art, haha. But hopefully she will learn and remember to apply it for her school art lessons next time. Good luck, sweetie.

Joseph on the other hand, will always request for a chance to splash some paint whenever he sees his sister is doing art too.

So here's his work of art. Hehe.

Enjoying himself making a mess.

Showing his effort. :)

Art Lesson

I did not sign up my kids for any formal art lessons. Maybe I don't want to burden my daughter with too many classes since she is already taking up piano and ballet. There's plenty of resources from the internet and I found this Colourwheel Clown Art Project to introduce the colour wheel to my kids.

First, you find a white card paper. I use a paper plate actually and cut it into a circle and then I drew the lines myself.

Then I asked them to paint the primary colours first. Red, yellow and blue on every alternate pizza slices leaving the other slices empty first. 

Next, I get them to mix the colours on a palette. Red + yellow = orange. So we paint the pizza slice in between the red and yellow, orange. Blue + yellow = green. Blue + red = purple. Same goes to the other slices. 

I then get them to paste the colour wheel on a art paper. Right in the middle. The colour wheel will be the body. Then the kids will have to paint out the face, hands and legs according to their imagination.

 Walla! Elizabeth's masterpiece.

Joseph's masterpiece. That naughty boy just wouldn't leave the clown alone. He enjoyed making it messy.

So that's one project you can do with your kids. Teaching art and some bonding time as well. You can introduce patterns as well like polka dots or stripes to the clown's socks if you like. 

Reading Is A Good Habit

Yes, reading is a good habit right? My girl is quite a bookworm and now my boy has more interest in books compared to before. Hopefully he will become a bookworm like his sister also. Maybe he will once he knows how to read more words. 

Two videos here that are precious to me and I post it up for memories since I have a memory of a goldfish. :D

Happy Friday!

Eep, I'm A Year Older

Yesterday was my birthday and although we always convince ourselves that age is just a number, we all wish that we could be 16 all over again right? Never mind, age gracefully as they say. ;)

We did the usual like singing the birthday song, cutting the birthday cake and dinner celebration. It's like any other usual day, I still went to work, my kids still drive me up the wall sometimes although they did some sweet things for me too and hubby helped with more chores. :) I don't intend to post any birthday celebration pictures because they didn't turn out quite nice. But instead here is a birthday note from my sweet daughter and a funny video of Joseph.

The front of the birthday note.

If you have trouble understanding her note because of the spelling and grammar mistakes, let me decipher it for you. "One little mother, the one I know. She loves me and cares me 1 million. I like to the same 1 million. From daughter."

This is the funny video of Joseph acting like a zombie or monster. I don't know where he got the idea from. Maybe the music from the book sounded quite dramatic. LOL. So tell me whether he is acting like a zombie or monster or ???

This CNY and Potty Training Updates

Many people asked me how was my CNY after I returned to work. I just told them it was ok. But in reality, it was actually horrible. But how can I say that because that would only encourage them further to ask me to elaborate. Obviously, I won't mention it also here but yeah there you go. It was a horrible CNY for me. I just wish I could turn back the hands of time but what is done cannot be undone.

I'm not sure what this post is going to be about. But maybe I should move on to other brighter things or just share some pictures. 

The kids with their cousins on the morning of the first day of CNY. The newest addition to the family and the center of attention now, their 5 month old cousin Zi Qi.

Elizabeth in some of her CNY outfits.

Yee Sang is a must for me every CNY. It's my favourite.

The CNY mall deco in Suria KLCC. 

The kids posing for pictures in Suria KLCC.

On another good note, Joseph has been diaper less throughout the night already! It could be between the mid of January to the beginning of February. A major feat for him and we're very proud of him considering how reluctant he was with the idea at the beginning of potty training. And how he likes to poo once we slip on the diapers for the night. He was already without the diaper during daytime and nap time for quite some time already. Then we realised that on some nights he's diaper was completely dry. That's when we decided to try taking him off the diaper at night and see how it goes. So far there were only two or three series of unwanted occurrences. It's been all good. Cross my fingers. Well, potty training is all about hits and misses. All we need is patience and no pressure. Joseph is 3 years and 7 months. 

Trip to Legoland Malaysia

I'm sure most of you know that we can find a lot of 'Kids Go For Free' voucher to Legoland Malaysia last year right? I'm not sure whether these vouchers are still available this year. But I got mine through Toys R Us, Munchy's biscuits and Dutch Lady's milk packet drinks. Wanting to make full use of those vouchers before it expires, we made a trip to Legoland Malaysia end of last year.

Prior to the trip, the kids already knew about the trip to Legoland Malaysia. They were so excited and they kept harassing me with questions like 'how many days more?' Haha. As the trip was at the end of the year that also means rainy season. So it was not a surprise that the weather started out cloudy that day. I was praying hard that it would not rain. We woke up early that day and after the buffet breakfast at the hotel, we left for Legoland Malaysia. We arrived so early, 1 hour before its operation hours(10.30am). Sounds 'kiasu' right? LOL. It wasn't on purpose but we started the journey early just in case we got lost. The pros for arriving early were the queue..there were none! Haha. Also we got to take our own sweet time for toilet breaks and take some pictures before charging in. But when the opening time was drawing near, the crowd became bigger and people were already lining up to go in.

Caught this picture of the children sleeping before I woke them up. Angelic? 

Kids already running in even though we were early. The parking  lot was quite far and you have to walk quite a distance. So many ticket counters to accommodate when the crowd is big.

The famous entrance to Legoland Malaysia. The kids already peering in the theme park, can't wait to go in. Then when the doors were open they were greeted by a green dragon. 

The first thing we did when we entered was to obtain the Park Map then we proceeded to the rental counter to rent a twin stroller for the children if they get tired. But even before the trip, I've already surfed their official website at www.legoland.com.my to get more information, look at their map and plan the activities. The children had their first ride at the Junior Driving School and Driving School. This is a very popular ride so do this ride first before the queue gets freaking long.

Joseph enjoyed himself immensely at Junior Driving School.  I think he went on the ride 4-5 times, I've also lost count. LOL. He was so happy that he could finally drive a car after being rejected at Kidzania. Cheers to Legoland Malaysia. 

Elizabeth however had a bit of difficulty at Driving School. Too many roads and road signs maybe? Rules to abide? She's a girl after all. Her cousin brother, Han Yang seems to be doing better. 

There were many interesting Lego creations around the park like the one at the picture above. It's Legoland after all, land of many many Legos. Haha. Too many that I didn't bother to take every single one otherwise this blog post will be too long. The Technic Twister Ride at the picture above is a very common ride in theme parks like those spinning cups. Suitable for young children although I'm not saying adults can go on the ride. Ahem!

The weather at this point was unpredictable. One minute it was sunny and one minute it was gloomy again. Thank goodness even if it was sunny, the sun wasn't scorching my skin. The Aquazone Wave Racers Ride looked like an interesting ride but too bad I didn't give it a try because Elizabeth chickened out and Joseph's height was not eligible for the ride. As you can see from the picture, the queue was getting longer by the minute. There were two islands for this ride and I don't understand why only one island was open even though the queue was getting longer. A lot of time wasted just queuing. The management should have opened the second island then it would make the queue move faster.

It was a relieved to enter the LEGO Academy as it was an indoor area and air conditioned. Good to get away from the heat for a while and cool down the body. We can build whatever we want in LEGO Academy and even proudly display our creations at their display area.

Then we headed on to another area of the theme park called LEGO Kingdoms. There we went to The Forestmen's Hideout (picture above). It's like a multi level playground so of course the children will enjoy. But make sure you keep an eye on your kids as they can get lost easily. It's a hideout anyway so you can expect them to hide away from you. Maybe I'm just paranoid after so many lost children cases.

Royal Joust Ride is suitable for younger children. They liked it and went on it twice. Merlin's Challenge Ride is a common ride at theme parks too. It can get too fast and I can see that Joseph was a bit terrified with the speed. 

I think there was nothing at Castle Stage but it is good background for photo opportunities though. Elizabeth enjoyed herself with Gong gong on Kids Power Tower Ride where you have to pull yourself up the tower with the rope.

We spent a lot of time at Build and Test when it started to pour. What a bummer. Then papa and the kids went on the DUPLO Express Ride and DUPLO Playtown while the rest of us went for a 4D movie experience at LEGO Studios. The kids still couldn't get over their 'scary' experience at Shrek 4D in Universal Studios Singapore. LOL.

The 4D move at Lego Studios were actually very kid friendly. The seats were stationary unlike the ones in USS. And there's no ticklish feeling like something is crawling up your legs too. LOL. It's all wind, rain or snow. No fire. That's why it's kid friendly in my opinion and the movies are not scary too. But still after much persuasion, the kids refuse to go and I can't force them right?

The movies available at Lego Studios. Take your pick or if you don't mind the queue, queue for all movies! LOL. Observation Tower and Beetle Bounce, common theme park rides too.

These three kiddos enjoyed it so much that they asked for a second round.

Surprisingly, Elizabeth enjoyed the Beetle Bounce ride a lot. I didn't put high hopes and thought I would have to calm two crying children after the ride. But it turns out I only have to calm one crying child after the ride (Joseph!) LOL. I think his experience would have been better if he had not been separated with his cousins during the ride. He didn't like the squirmish feeling in the stomach when the beetle bounced down I guess.

I heard Legoland is not Legoland if there's no Miniland. Mini replicas for you to 'wow' at. The Petronas Twin Towers looked like the real deal at one glance right?

Pharaoh's Revenge is an indoor playground. Lost Kingdom Adventure is a ride where you can find for lost treasure with the laser gun.

Legoland Express is a good way to hitch a ride around Legoland Malaysia just for the fun of it. Rescue Academy needs good team work. The parents can pump the lever to make the fire engine move and the children can spray water from the hose to the building to put out the fire. Parents can really burn a lot of calories for this ride man..phew!

Lego City Airport is another common theme park ride but still fun for younger children. Something new here is the boating school where you can maneuver and press the pedal to move the boat. Nice experience. Finally, I took a picture of the Lego Christmas tree. I'm not sure whether it is originally not lighted or it was because it was already closing time. Many people were seen spending a lot of time in the shops to buy some souvenirs or Lego toys before leaving the place. We were one of them...guilty as charged. Hehe. So go to Legoland Malaysia! I'm sure your children will enjoy it and you will not regret it..;)

Bento Workshop

This is an overdue post but I'll just talk about it anyway for memories sake. Last December, I signed up for a Bento workshop since it was the school holidays. Joseph was too young to join so I only brought Elizabeth along. I was searching for information on a preschool and it brought me to this website www.kidsdreamwork.com That's when I found out that the blog owner, Goh Ai Ping was an avid bento maker and she also started conducting some bento workshops. I was interested at once and signed up for one of her Christmas Themed Bento Workshops.

Elizabeth was excited to go to the workshop and actually she was not the only one. I was excited too. Haha. It was a small group of us as it was nearing Christmas and most people are away for holidays. Ai Ping was a very nice and pleasant instructor. She made sure we understand and follow her workshop at a comfortable pace. 

It was interesting and fun to learn how to do a bento and I think anybody can do it. You just need to be creative and have a lot of patience! Haha. I don't think I will have the patience to do it everyday as it can be quite tedious especially when you have pay attention to tiny details like doing the eyes or mouth. Children would enjoy doing it too. It's like playtime for them!

After doing the bento herself, she was quite anxious to try eating it. That's why bento works for some kids right? Hehe. To make it as appealing and appetising as can be right? The best is I made her happy that day. :)

I've bought some stuff for bento making actually before attending the workshop but I haven't gotten around to do it. After attending this bento workshop, I am inspired and I think I know where and how to start and go about it now..:)

Ai Ping and some friends have even started a facebook page and they are venturing into catering for  kids parties. You can check it out at their facebook page at Food Carpenter (Not a sponsored post, just sharing).

The ingredients and stuff needed plus the two cute food containers!

This is Ai Ping, the avid bento maker. Hehe. 

Elizabeth looking excited. We used Japanese rice and make the rice into a ball. Rice was mixed with soya sauce as a natural food colouring.

We managed to do Santa! 

We also learned how to do Rudolf the red nose reindeer and Frosty the snowman. The picture with the wincing snowman and reindeer are actually Ai Ping's. So pro right?

Participants so proud with their masterpiece! Pass ah? Haha.

This is the guru's masterpiece. We also learned to do Santa's stockings.

Ai Ping and the participants for the Christmas Themed Bento Workshop.