Experiential Holidays!

This year we decided to change things around regarding the typical Christmas presents. We were having an experiential Christmas and here were the rules:

a. Each person got to choose one experience they wanted to have,

b. Everyone had to participate in all the experiences, and

c. There was one additional "surprize" experience as well (including Tia, TTmouz and Avi)!

The surprize required a 3.5 hour drive (south) and three night's hotel stay in Johor Baru, just on the other side of the causeway with Singapore. We drove down there and enjoyed the evening, swimming pool and all. And then, the next morning we were off. As we neared the place the signs started popping up but the girls, deep in conversation and chatting, didn't notice. Neither did they notice the huge sign on the side of the hill behind the place. But a little further over there was a multi-colored building which prompted Irini to say, "there's a castle!". It wasn't a castle, but a hotel made of different colored pieces... then, with a more curious eye, Irini looked up an read the big sign, "LEGOLAND". "Legoland?" It was more a question than an exclamation... but the question sure turned into excitement when we went in and enjoyed the day. 

Roller coasters, and walks through Lego built buildings, 5D movies and all sorts of fun games and the like. On day two there was the water park (cool!) and a bit more roller coastering!  It was the girls fist visit to an amusement park and this experience, for one, was a huge success!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

 

Old Friends... New Visits!

There are goods and bads with international living and the constant comings and goings which tend to take place when one has signed up for a life like this. Just two days after Amalia said goodbye to her friend Ella Kate there was an arrival... this time by Isabella who we hadn't seen in six months or so!  Isabella and her parents, Jen and Eryk (both very very good friends) cams into town  on their way around the world for the holiday's. KL was their first stop. For us it was perhaps the highlight of the holidays given that we're staying in town this time around. 

Jen and Eryk and Isabella arrived on our last day of school. They were in the apartment waiting when we arrived and, in fact, Isabella went down to the guard house to welcome Amalia and Irini off the bus!  They were, of course, delighted to see her. That was the beginning of the visit. Since then we've done all the little things that makes good friendships good. We did some playing, some art (batik!), some walking around, a whole lot of playing, sleep overs and, of course, good food. In there somewhere the adults also had some time to reconnect, to talk about both practical and philosophical topics and to organize future possibilities of the social kind. 

As they left this morning the hugs were strong as was the recognition that, though we have chosen to live far away from each other, the friendship we have forged is a wonderful thing!  Have a wonderful trip to the rest of the world, guys!  And happy holidays too!

End-of-Semester Celebrations

At the beginning of the academic year, when Amalia was starting off, she had a very positive attitude with regard to a new class where she didn't know anyone particularly well. She went in enjoying the new surroundings and, over time, made some great friendships. One such friend was Ella Kate, a girl who, as it turned out, would only be here for one semester. She played very well and stories of Amalia and Ella Kate came back home on a regular basis. As the year ended and the celebrations included, of course, quality water-based time, it was also our last chance to say "good bye" to that special friend. Thankfully the two of them were in the same group as they went from station to station and perhaps it was a fitting end to a great semester together. But there were other highlights as well, including Amalia's ever-developing skills with cartwheels (below). What a great last day of the semester!

Bouncin'!

Daddy really loves Tigger, lagely because Tigger is just an all round happy-go-lucky kind of guy. His big signature action, of course, is bouncing!  So one can just imagine how excited daddy was when, in a recent outing to the school over a weekend with Hailey, the girls stumbled into bouncy balls. Immediately they decided to become "fire", "earth" and "sky" (another hit for daddy) and bounce to their hearts' contentment. Happy girls, happy daddy. Overall a bouncin' good time!