Tango no Sekku - Boys Day 2017

Another fun Japanese celebration day for our kids. May the 5th is Children's Day in Japan. It is for both boys and girls but having had Girls Day on March the 3rd, May the 5th is considered Boys Day.

As Girls Day is celebrated with Hina kazari, the traditional Japanese dolls, on Boys Day the family carp shaped flags called koinobori are used. If you live in Japan you put up these great big ones in your property.

In the Rose residence we use these $2 carp flags from Daiso to decorate and I made some koinobori pancakes for the kids.

The biggest one being the father, then the mother and the little blue one is normally considered as the boy in the family. I really should have got one more blue and pink one to represent our family!

I forgot to bring Oliver's bigger size outfit from Japan. It looked awkward but at the same time it was kind of nice to see how much he has grown over the year. 

Mummy trying to get some sibling photos.

And more:

Finally they were allowed to sit and enjoy little presents and the breakfast. They each got a can of Japanese cookies and a toy.

Oliver got a finger soccer game set:

Ashley got a flamingo notepad:

Luca got some special straws that he used straight away!

We normally celebrate this special day at dinner time as well but there was an adult function we were going to attend so I had to make sure I made lots of their favourite sushis!!

Happy Children's Day our little beautiful amazing monkeys!! We love you so much xxx

Backyard fun

The best investment we made last year. Fencing up the backyard towards the little road next to our empty section and buying this trampoline.

The kids were up early - even though it was quite cold for them they went straight onto it. It was nice to hear them giggling and having so much fun together for such a long time!!

Story time

It is so nice to see Oliver can read both English and Japanese books to Luca and Ashley. The best part is he really enjoys doing so.

Tonight he was reading a Japanese story from his textbook to them.

The story was slightly too long for them maybe... these two are so funny.

Japanese photo shoot

When we were in Japan in August I managed to get some pictures for Shichigosan, a Japanese tradition to celebrate your children's growth and well-being. For girls 3 and 7 years old and for boys 3 and 5 years old. Luca being 5 and Ashley being 3 (Oliver is 7 but 7 is only for girls) I took them to a special photo studio to get some photos.

The actual data I got was much better quality but they are all on a CD and my computer no longer has a CD/DVD drive. I still need to take them to a friends place to put them onto an SD card so that I can download the original files onto my computer. So far I haven't got around to doing so... What am I doing everyday?!

I did print them out though. They came out very nice (I took pictures of the photos with my phone) I am very happy with all of the shots I purchased.

They dressed Oliver into this outfit as well but they couldn't offer me the special package deal I bought for Luca and Ashley. So I only have Oliver in this group shot (I could have got his individual photo taken but the packages he could buy were over $400!).

We are very lucky to have such wonderful kids. They are growing up way too fast though. I wish they would slow down. We love you all so so much xxx

One lovely afternoon @ the pool

It was such a beautiful afternoon. The kids had a ball splashing in the pool with their friends. We do have such a great life here. I love it...

Another Try for the Crusaders!

Rugby crazy little kids were super happy when the Crusaders got another try! They are so enjoying the fun rugby weekends.

Muscles

While Matthew was in Japan, our nephew Rui (16) visited the house and had dinner with him. He was showing off his muscles so he sent us a picture. 

The kids were very impressed and wanted to send some pictures back...

Very funny kids we got.

Mother's day 2016

It wasn't such big thing to celebrate Mother's day as it was Ashley's actual birthday and our focus was more on it. But look what I got from my beautiful children!!!

Oliver made this card with his own writing in Japanese. I was almost in tears when he gave this to me! For some of you who cannot read the message here is a translation for it. 

Dear mummy

Thank you very much for preparing such yummy lunch box for me. Thank you for being kind to me. I love you so much Mummy. From Oliver

Luca made me a flower out of an egg carton. He said he really wanted to put a pink mini pompom in the middle but there were only a limited number so he got a purple one for me instead. Inside the card, there was me and a sparkly love heart :)

And Ashley made me a little handbag. She was very proud of herself making a present for me!

I am so grateful to have such lovely children. I love being a mother!

Children's Day 2016

On May the 5th we celebrate Children's Day in Japan. Every year since Oliver was born, I have made an effort to dress the kids in the Japanese outfit and when possible made some special dinner.

Somehow this year the day creeped up on me and I only realise it was the 5th after 5pm. I didn't have much time to do anything really. I was lucky to have this special nori/seaweed from Japan. It is cut into the shape of the carp streamer which is traditionally flown to celebrate this special day. So here is the koinobori dinner prepared in 5min.

Kobayashi girls also celebrated the day with us. 

Koinobori - Carp streamer:

My beautiful boys:

Ashley has outgrown her pink outfit. Hence she had to wear the black one that both her brothers used to wear.

Looking forward to celebrate this special day for many more years to come. 

I went through both my old blog "Brunei Roses" and this current one to find some photos I took on the same day for the last 6 years. 

2010 - Oliver 3 weeks before his first birthday:

2011- Oliver, almost 2 years old:

2012- Oliver almost 3, Luca 11 months. We moved to Singapore this year. 

2013 - Oliver almost 4, Luca almost 2. 

We were in Osaka. I was very very pregnant with Ashley on this day (only 3 days later she arrived!!)

2014 - Oliver almost 5, Luca almost 3 and Ashley 3 days before turning 1. 

And these pictures are from last year. Oliver almost 6, Luca almost 4. Ashley growing so fast. 

I had fun looking back on the old blog posts. I must find the time to make my blog into family books one of these days. I have been saying "one day..." for the last 6 years.