Waterfall Hike

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010

Happy Merdeka! As part of the day off, we had a delightful hike to the waterfall. Thanks to our friends serving as our guides, all the kids made it to the waterfall. The pools above the falls were great for splashing, swimming, and even a water slide. How great to be out in nature!

On a funny note, yesterday Rania came home from school SO excited that Tuesday was going to be Malaysia's birthday. They made hats at school to celebrate Merdeka -- Malaysia's Independence Day. Rania decided she wanted to give Malaysia a birthday present. As for what she could give Malaysia, she promptly announced that she would give one of her stuffed animals.

The time, place and method of delivery for how to give Malaysia a stuffed animal remains in question.

Game Night @ Inskeeps

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2010

On Sunday evening we had a fun evening at the Inskeeps playing Settlers of Catan. Before the big showdown, we had fun swimming and getting Yellow Cab Pizza.

For the record, we ran out of time in the Settlers of Catan Game, so we had to set a time limit (on a school night to get the kids back). The moment the buzzer sounded, Brian was winning with 8 points. But in the few seconds after the buzzer sounded, in the subsequent building phase, his wife took away his longest road, putting herself and Doug in a two-way tie and Brian a point below.

While Brian claims to still be the ruler of Catan, the controversy surrounding this episode will surely live on in the annals of Catanian lore.

Tracy goes to Thailand

SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2010

Tracy returned from a nice short weekend getaway to Thailand. In addition to shopping, talking, shopping, seeing a few sights, getting massages and a bit more shopping, there was certainly lots of fun had as Tracy had a girls trip to Thailand.

Hopefully we can get some of her thoughts and pictures into this post! In the meantime, we'll keep the placeholder.

Times Square -- The Video

SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2010

Here is the video proof of our fun at Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

Times Square

SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2010

After church on Sunday, daddy took the kids to Times Square -- a great benefit of KL. It's touted as one of the largest indoor amusement parks in Asia -- and it is a great place for kids. As it is Ramadan, it was especially quiet, but we've greatly enjoyed occasional visits to Times Square on Sunday mornings -- after they open at 11 am.

The kids had a great time on the rides, and with so few people, they could go on the big swing time after time after time, and their bumper car rides lasted as long as they wanted. There was even time to play on the playground, take a train ride (through two tunnels) and even catch a few minutes in the movie theater. It was a fun afternoon.

First Day of School - In the Kids Voices - Rania

It is always fun to remember the first day of school -- but I've always wanted to record our kids voices for this day -- and finally remembered to do that. So here are the kids voices telling a bit about their hopes and dreams. Or at least what's up the first day of school. . . . (Please note that Rania is NOT going into Grade 3, but really into Prep-Junior or pre-school.. . . )

Jusco Fun

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

While Tracy was off in Thailand enjoying lots and lots of fun, Doug got to have a weekend with the kids. With the help of grandma, we all had a lot of fun. We went to Jusco for dinner, and were a bit surprised to find that the restaurant (Pizza Hut) was almost entirely empty at 6 pm, but yet nearly all of the tables were reserved. Due to Ramadan, everyone had already ordered their food, reserved their tables and were waiting for it to be ready right when sunset came (about 7:20 pm).

In the picture (below), you can see the sole group that was sitting and waiting to break fast -- nearly an hour and a half before the time. Empty tables have receipts on the table, showing that they've already paid.

So we had nearly the entire restaurant to ourselves -- other than we had a very small selection of available tables. As we got to the end of our meal, it was a bit bizarre to see the staff turning away people, even though nearly every table was available. Obviously, after a long hot day of fasting, people would rather not be right around the food for the last hour, making the day that more challenging. Interesting dynamics in a local experience during Ramadan.

We did have a wonderful meal, enjoying the pizza that we usually don't get due to gluten issues when Tracy is around. And another fun staple of the Jusco experience are the kids driving around in the little cars.

First Day of School - In the Kids Voices - Reeve

Here is the first born, telling of the his first day of school. Hopefully I can do better at capturing their own voices from year to year. I know that we LOVED to listen to old audio recordings of our voices. Hopefully the lack of video track makes it a bit more interesting.

First Day of School - In the Kids Voices - Gabi

Here is the middle child telling some basics about her first day of school. How fun to capture their own voices.

Swimming. . . Again

   

Further proof that the Quockerts are right in all things.  Here we are. . .again swimming. 

@ School

 

Thanks to Rania's teacher, we have some pictures from Rania's first week at school.  How fun to see her enjoying painting, reading, crafts and lots of the fun things at school. 

First Day of School

My goodness, our baby is growing up. . .off to school for the first time.  There were tears in mommy and daddy's eyes as we waved goodbye to Rania as she got on the big bus with her siblings.  Rania was a bit hesitant about her uniform not feeling right, but with some chocolate strawberries (nothing like a healthy snack) a bribe, she was all excited to head off to school. 



It seems like quite the sea change -- with all our kids in school; granted, only a half day for Rania, but still. . . .

Departing Toledo

Prior to our Sunday evening departure from Toledo, we had a fun time getting together for a nice Sunday brunch.  How fun to have the great time with cousins and family.

Ice Cream

Eating ice cream -- in the summer.  Outside under beautiful blue skies.  How can you go wrong!

Quockert Time

Of course, the great thing about summer is having time with family.  Many thanks to Jason's generosity, our last week in Toledo, Jason took us out to lunch.  It was fun to catch up on an adult level and hear stories that can't be captured in the chaos of kids.  The next night we had the chance to eat delicious kabobs, courtesy of the Quockerts.  And the kids had a blast jumping on the little trampoline and playing games.

How wonderful to see cousins reconnect so easily and so gracefully after time apart.  We sure do wish that we don't have to wait another year for such great interactions.  In the meantime, we are sure comforted by the powers of technology and the wonderful blessing called Skype! 

Camping @ Pokagon

 MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010

We had a wonderful weekend camping at Pokagon the weekend before July 19th.  The campground was packed for the weekend, and we had some louder neighbors right next door which lessened some of the fun. 

But we all got together, and with Barrie's ingenuity and engineering skills, we had a huge canopy, we had massive tents, and we definitely had lots of family.  It was fun to be hanging out in Pokagon, enjoying the great outdoors.

The first night, everyone surprised Doug with an early 40th birthday celebration.  Quite the surprise coming a few months before the dark day.  Black balloons, a cake, and even presents were part of the celebration.

The second day we spent on a lake at a nearby park where Jason has a friend who let us use his pontoon boat.  how fun to be out on the lake.  Pilot Grandpa Barrie did marvelously at steering his way around the lake, though we may need some lessons in dropping effective anchors.  The kids even got to drive the golf cart around as we made trips from the car to the swimming area and over to the boating area. 

It was a fun time, and our family had a spectacular time staying Sunday night when the campground cleared out.  It was incredibly quiet, we had a nice thunderstorm that cooled things off -- but wasn't too bad.  We managed to get most of our hot dogs cooked before the largest part of the downpour came.  With our surviving fire, Reeve demonstrated the masterpiece of the perfect s'more.