Happy New Year!

To all our family members and friends,

We would like to wish all of you Happy New Year!
We hope that your wishes and resolutions will come true for 2010.

Best wishes,
Azroy, Ayu, Melur and Arman.

Boxing Day Sale

December 26... Boxing Day... the day when stores put everything they have on sale. To empty out their inventory so that they can re-stock for the new year. In Vancouver, there'll be loads of people on the streets downtown and at Metrotown... shopping from one store to another. Mommy and Papa used to hire a baby sitter since it'll be too hectic to take care of Melur and Arman, and move about with so many people around us at the same time.

In Kingston, things are a bit toned down though. Not that many people. We put some thought into it... we think the small crowd here is because (1) most of the people are locked up - Kingston has a number of correctional facilities - people in jail can't go out for a shopping spree, (2) the students from Queen's and RMC all left for home, and (3) whoever lives here would rather drive down to Ottawa, Toronto, or Montreal to shop.

Nevertheless, it was a good haul for us this year. Papa made the first dent **big smile** into our finance by waking up at 7am and going straight to Canadian Tires and Future Shop. He bought his workout bench, weights, and disk cover. We'll have a small mini-gym here.

Afterwards, we all went out around 11am. We went to several stores... we had a list of things to get. Mostly clothing for the kids and Mommy. We ma

naged to get everything except for Arman's pajamas. But Melur had this natural ability to pick up the cutest thing... and asking "Mommy isn't this cute?" Argghhh.... and Mommy is such a sucker... So, all in all... we spent quite a bit... but we followed our list of things to get... except for Melur who got twice as many things that were on her list plus a cap. Oh well, she does look great in her new skinny jeans :D

Papa's new dumbbells... you can adjust the weights from 5lbs to 40 lbs

Our new family game... monopoly. The kids went to bed crying because we didn't let them play this game tonight... it was just too late guys, there's still tomorrow.

Arman's Science Project

Arman came back from school about a week ago with a note from his teacher. He has to submit his science project... His project is that he must learn about a chosen body part. Arman chose the "heart". And his project must include: (i) a model made out of clay, newspaper, etc. (ii) a diagram, and (iii) an oral presentation. Pheeewww.... seems hard core for a six-year old doesn't it? Well, Arman, Melur and Mommy spent the past Sunday making a model heart made out of clay. And Papa helped to search for diagrams of the human heart from the Internet... Arman prepared a short report... and practiced reciting it at home. Here it goes: "Hello. I am presenting about the heart. The heart is between your two lungs, right about here (point to chest). Its job is to pump blood to your body. It beats about 72 beats a minute. The arteries take the blood from your heart to your body. The veins take your blood from the body to your heart. The heart pumps the blood into the lungs. I can keep my heart healthy by exercising and eating good food. The most important thing I learned today is to exercise and eat good food. Thank you for listening to my presentation." His presentation was this morning... He said his presentation went well...:)

First Piano Recital

The kids are taking piano lessons in Kingston... We used to have Mike for piano in Vancouver. He was very nice... so patient with the kids, especially with Arman. Now we have Debra. She's nice too. The music lessons are part of the school program. Parents pay for the lesson fees, and the kids have their lessons during school hours. We are lucky, since one of Mommy's friends has to pick up her son during office hours to send him to his music lessons, and then, send him back to school afterwards. Yup, that’s how it is in Kingston... lots of kids, and not a lot of qualified music teachers. The younger kids end up taking music lessons in the mornings (during school hours), while the older ones take lessons in the afternoons. Anyway, Melur and Arman had their first recital. Quite a lot of kids performed... probably around 20 or so. The room was filled with parents. Unlike Mommy and her "abang balik kampung" tragedy, Melur and Arman were confident performing. They practiced quite a bit... and played without a snag.