Yellow belt challenge

Oliver had another Taekwondo grading. This time to get the yellow belt. The parents weren't allowed to be inside. I wasn't sure how good his performance could be. We missed almost a month of lessons being back in Osaka. He came out with a big smile on his face saying "I think I passed!!"

We checked with the training branch a few days later - YES he passed!! Well done Oliver, we are very proud of you!!

Good bye Gabi, Rafi and Inti!

We are very sad to say goodbye to Luca's best best friend Rafi, Inti and their mummy Gabi. Their daddy will be still working here in Singapore for a while but in two months time he will be leaving too.

It is always hard to say goodbyes... Still we are very lucky to have the privilege to fly to pretty much anywhere in the world. Ecuador is definitely far away but it is still a possible destination. They will be there for the next 4 months or so then go to live in the Middle East.

Luca was extra hyper knowing this will be the last party with Rafi in Singapore. They have been best friends since they started pre-nursery when they were 2.  

The day they left to Ecuador we went to see them off at the airport. Rafa and Luca had last giggles together. 

Inti, Oliver, Ashley and myself:

I almost cried saying goodbye to Gabi but I stayed strong :( :( :( We talked about meeting somewhere in Europe next summer. I really hope it will happen. 

Best wishes for your exciting adventure ahead Gabi!! We will miss you all so much xxx

Good bye Gabi, Rafi and Inti!

We are very sad to say goodbye to Luca's best best friend Rafi, Inti and their mummy Gabi. Their daddy will be still working here in Singapore for a while but in two months time he will be leaving too.

It is always hard to say goodbyes... Still we are very lucky to have the privilege to fly to pretty much anywhere in the world. Ecuador is definitely far away but it is still a possible destination. They will be there for the next 4 months or so then go to live in the Middle East.

Luca was extra hyper knowing this will be the last party with Rafi in Singapore. They have been best friends since they started pre-nursery when they were 2.  

The day they left to Ecuador we went to see them off at the airport. Rafa and Luca had last giggles together. 

Inti, Oliver, Ashley and myself:

I almost cried saying goodbye to Gabi but I stayed strong :( :( :( We talked about meeting somewhere in Europe next summer. I really hope it will happen. 

Best wishes for your exciting adventure ahead Gabi!! We will miss you all so much xxx

Extra smile...

To make my coffee extra yummy. I love you smiles Luca.

Naima's 2nd birthday party

We got straight back into our social life here in Singapore. Ashley was invited to her little friend Naima's 2nd birthday party. There was face painting and a balloon art lady to provide entertainment for the girls.

The girls deciding on which pattern to get painted:

Here is Naima getting a pink glittery butterfly painted. She sat amazingly still! 

It took me over 30min to convince Ashley to get her face painted. She is always against getting things on her skin. Funnily enough Oliver was exactly the same. But for this pink girly party I really wanted her to have one done just like the other girls. I finally said "if you get one done, I will do one too" somehow it worked.  Well... After getting her face done, she was too excited about the butterfly on her face. So I didn't have to get one in the end - phew. 

They enjoyed pass the parcel: 

Lots of fun with the balloons too:

Time for the birthday cake! 

Happy Birthday Naima!!!!

Flying back to Singapore

It is always very exciting to fly back on Air Daddy. Here are the kids waiting to board the plane. They were trying to see if daddy was in his office.

As always they were very excited in the cockpit!

Even I got a photo taken!

Even though I am alone with three kids at the back, I felt much better travelling with Matthew. Thank you so much for safely flying us back to Singapore. What a great way to finish our amazing summer holiday! 

Last night in Osaka

So lucky to squeeze in a night out with the besties in Osaka. Chie and Yumiko used to work with me. 9 years since I left the company but still we can get along very well. I cannot believe how quickly the time flew.

We met up in the smallest bar in Osaka. Only 10 people or so can stand up around the bar.

After a couple of drinks we got into taxis to get some serious dinner!

Crazy drunk people in the taxi:

Chie's younger son Yuji joined us for dinner too. I haven't seen him for such a long time. He is so tall and so grown up now. 

This very small yakiniku/Japanese BBQ place was awesome. You use a charcoal cooker on the table and you cook the meat yourself. Super dooper hot but it was worth it. So yummy!

Now that the kids are older we can enjoy Osaka's night life again. We cannot wait to go back there and have more crazy nights with our crazy friends. 

It has been such a great summer for us. I miss Osaka so much. 

Swim, soccer and noodles

When the kids were at the Japanese kindergarten they made some good friends. Thanks to FB and Messenger we have been in contact with some families. Luckily we managed to meet up with one of the families before we left Osaka. We wanted to take the kids somewhere outdoors even though it has been so super hot. My friend Asami found the perfect place for us.

It is located in the mountains 30 minutes drive from our place, called "honoji no sat". It has accommodation facilities with hot springs.

It is built on an abandoned school property. Hence they have a huge playground and indoor gymnasium. During summer they put up a temporary paddle pool for the little ones which was just perfect for the kids. Oliver and Haruhito enjoyed playing soccer together too.

After being in the hot sun for several hours, we moved to the "Nagashi Somen" station we booked in advance to cool the kids down. It is a Japanese Summer tradition, putting some thin noodles (somen) on a bamboo flume and letting them flow along with water. You need to catch the noodles with your chopsticks as they pass in front of you.

We explained to the kids what to do:

And off they went!

Us adults didn't get much of a taste as the kids were very hungry and got most of the noodles in their bowls. Can you see how greedy Luca was?!

It was a perfect afternoon, which helped the kids bond together once again. Thank you Asami for taking us to such a cool place. We are looking forward to having you over in Singapore!!