Broga Hill

I've never heard of Broga Hill until one fine day when Sock Hooi (my ex-room mate from varsity days) called me and persuaded me to hike up the hill with her and some other friends. I said OK but was quite worried whether my legs can complete the hike. I talked to Evan about the hike and he was interested to go too. Great!

We woke up early in the morning at about 4:30am and left our place at 5am. Arrived at Broga Hill within 45 minutes. Lots of people were already hiking up the hill and the place is pitch dark. The people there were mainly youths and there were a few families with young children. 

My stamina was not so good (was panting after 15minutes hike!) so I decided to stop at the first peak of the hill (there are 4 peaks). Evan was really gung-ho and he went up higher with the rest and then eventually came down to rest with me. He provided some comic relief to everyone with his dramatic expressions while climbing.

We took lots of photos..... lots of lalang there. Managed to see the sunrise just before 7am. Drank Milo and ate 2 muesli bars for breakfast. Prior to the hike, I just had an oats drink.

Evan developed skin rashes where the torch headband was on his forehead. Too sweaty I supposed..... applying some bethamethasone cream now to control the rash.

rubber tree at foot of hill

We hiked down the hill at about 8 plus. Going down was much faster - taking only 15-20 minutes. At the foot of the hill there were stalls selling coconut water and 100 plus. We sat down for chit chat at the tables there. 

For the adventurous, can check out the Rabbit Fun Land just opposite the hill or drive to Broga town to try out the ABC or street food.

Not to be missed at Broga is the grilled fish! There's this restaurant is located in a secluded area behind the famous Chinese temple. Freshly caught fish from the pond and grilled over charcoal - extremely delicious! Many flavours available e.g. chilli, herbal, tom yam. Rice and other vege are also available to add on.

Would recommend the hike for families or even for father-son bonding. As for me, had an enjoyable time catching up with Sock Hooi and also Irene. A big thank you to Sock Hooi who helped Evan hike and Irene who provided the transportation.

Kids E World

The kids had a blast at the newly opened Kids E World, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley. We bought 5 weekday passes for RM100. Can be shared between siblings or friends. Validity period is for 3 months. Socks need to be worn - even by adults who are accompanying the children.

What we like :

1) Very spacious

2) Clean toilets

3) Large play area for the very young i.e. babies & toddlers

4) Free Wi-Fi (starting next month)

5) Cafeteria

Overall - the set-up for the older kids play area is pretty much the same as Critterland except that Kids E World is smaller. If comparing the slides, Kids E World's one is better! 

Kids E World will be offering various classes e.g. music, dance and art -all starting in September. Of course, children's party packages are available. Plus there's also a KEW Club membership program. Just visit their website for more details!

Birthday Celebration at STSDS

Another birthday celebration - this time at the dance studio. Toiled on this mini  cake for half a day..... from baking the cake (lemon & poppyseed  cake with lemon glaze) and then covering the cake and cakeboard with fondant and then modelling Evan's favourite Angry Bird and an evil Pig ready to devour those eggs! The ballet class ended 10 minutes earlier to allow enough time for the birthday celebration.

 Evan - trying to split but not flexible enough. 

We didn't serve the mini cake cos aaargh! it was too cute to eat! So 'sayang' to put  a sharp knife through the cake. Anyway, I brought ready-cut slices of the cake and served those instead. The entire mini cake was presented to Evan's ballet teacher : Ms Alice Yap who very generously presented Evan with his birthday present : a pair of black ballet shoes - which he wore during the class!

Marissa also joined in the eating - she was pretty excited too even though it was not her birthday! Evan distributed the party packs and shook hands with his friends. Glad I made the last-minute effort to prepare the cake and all cos Evan told me that he enjoyed the celebration very much.

Joint Birthday Celebration

Today's Evan's 6th birthday! He had a joint birthday celebration with Abigail in kindergarten today. Abigail also celebrates her 6th birthday on 18th August!

I baked some mini cupcakes frosted with white chocolate buttercream. In the photo it looks lemony yellow cos I colored the icing.

Evan distributed the party packs to his friends and finally exchanged party packs with Abigail. Each party pack contains a Lego coloring sheet, dust-free eraser, choc wafer and a Lego sticker.

Marissa enjoyed feeding herself an entire slice of the Hello Kitty cake! Evan gladly walloped her mini cupcake. I baked extra cupcakes for the After School Program children as well. The party ended within half an hour. Most of the kids could finish both cakes and some even polished off whatever was packed in their snack box from home.

Medieval Lego Birthday Party

Evan will be turning 6 on 18th August! We had an early birthday celebration for him on the 14th. Will let the pics do the talking...........

Medieval castle 'cake' with and without the Lego minifigs.

It's actually a 'dummy cake' - styrofoam covered in fondant.

Took me about a week to complete - little by little each day.

Reason for dummy cake : gives me more time to complete the decorations which are quite overwhelming for me doing it the first time.
'Cake' can be displayed and kept or recycled!

Ordered a fabric bunting from Snazzy n Such for wall decor. Will be hanging this in Evan's bedroom after the party.

 Cupcake tower & carrot cake behind the birthday cake

Party food from Dish Deli & Tony Roma's : Fish Pie, Chicken Murtabak, Asian Salad & Fried Mushrooms. Prepared cocktails sausages, croissants, grape juice and grapes

Larry printed labels for the food - this one a mistake - should be 'Crispy' and not 'Grilled' chicken.

Lego party packs

Some of the kids posing with the birthday boy.

Post party supper - instant noodles!

Marissa says she wants this for me (cos I like the red one)!

Evan's favourite pressie - ANGRY BIRDS!

Next up, joint birthday celebration in Evan's kindergarten together with his classmate : Abigail..... stay tuned.

Ballet for Evan

Yes - you read it right! Ballet for Evan! He's currently taking ballet classes  on a weekly basis at Sole to Soul Dance Studio. He attended trial classes together with Marissa on the same day (but different class cos different age group).  Since he is interested to continue lessons - we signed him up for the beginners' ballet for boys' scholarship program.

Here he is posing with his ballet attendance book before the class. The children are rewarded with stickers after each lesson and they collect them in this book. It's important to wear the appropriate clothing for ballet, hence Evan wears a leotard and tights. His ballet shoes have not arrived yet cos have to pre-order - there are none in stock in his size.

Only 6 students in this class : 4 girls and 2 boys.  2 were absent during this particular class - I took a snapshot from outside the dance room. Parents can view their kids throughout the lesson. Ms Alice - the principal of the dance studio - usually has many props for the kids e.g. wands, feathers, pirate swords and glittery strings - as above.

From what I've observed, Evan tries his best to dance and follow the instructions although his movements are more comical than graceful. Well, at least he is having fun......

More and more independent

"I can do anything that's everything all on my own!" is Marissa's favourite phrase now.... thanks to Lola of Charlie & Lola (book series by award-winning author & illustrator Lauren Child. She wants to be more and more independent. Feeds herself most of the time..... climbs up stairs on her own.......  but she doesn't want to go to sleep on her own!

She is officially weaned from nen-nen cos she's a 'big girl' now. She doesn't wake up for night feeds any more (although she does wake up crying at night needing a little comforting in the form of me patting her back to sleep). So, I devised a plan to help her get used to sleeping on the pull-out bed in Evan's bedroom.

Not too difficult - bought a Hello Kitty pillow and bolster for her and that very night itself, she slept in her 'new big bed' and she has been doing so ever since!  Photo above shows Marissa taking her afternoon siesta.

Wilton Method Fondant & Gumpaste Graduation

I've successfully completed my Wilton Method Fondant and Gumpaste course. I took the course at ICCA Section 14 PJ. My instructor was Azalia Zainal. 

The course content is mainly on flower making using gumpaste - also known as flowerpaste. The flowers taught in the course : rose, calla lily, chrysanthemum, carnation and daisy. All pretty simple, straightforward and basic.

If you are wondering which cake is mine...... it's the bright red one topped with daisies.... and it's actually a dummy cake (styrofoam). Was too lazy to bake a real one!