A letter to grandpa

ES brought back this from school last few days. Her teacher asked them to write a letter to someone whom they haven't met for quite awhile.

She decided to write a letter to grandpa:

Dear grandpa,

I want to see you. I can't wait to see you.

Love, Christine

She also wrote a note to grandma...

Continue to explore DIsneyland Park...

Can't imagine I still haven't finished writing on our trip to LA. Really busy with the kids, spend mire quality time with them... After a day trip to San Diego, we continue to explore Disneyland Park, final day in LA. The park was full of Halloween decoration as Halloween day is apporaching.

At the entrance...

Met Alice, Chip 'n' Dale near the entrance.

Entering Adventureland....

With the twins, we only choose those not so " adventurous" places, like Jungle Cruise.

We boarded a trsuty tramp steamer for a 7-minute guided tour of jungles from around the world.

Brimming with exotic animals...

Next, daddy and ES went to explored the Tarzan's Treehouse, a 150-ton mammoth tree, with 450 branches containing over 6,000 leaves.

In this 80-foot-tall tree, they experienced Tarzan's wild life upbringing and showcase his improvised living conditions.

On the way, we met Tigger....

And Pooh. MS was so excited to walk together with Pooh...

ES: Can you pls sign on my autograph?

Jack and the Neverland pirates? The pirates were performing on the street. One of them tried to " steal" daddy's wallet. haha!

The girls met handy manny too...

We went for Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular too. It is a broadway-style musical based on the classic animated DIsney film, Aladdin! MSLS did not really enjoyed it as the music was quite loud. It is indeed a nice musical comedy, but Mummy fell asleep during the show. Opps, maybe it was so dark inside, just like in the cinema and it is so cooling.

One of the favourite places that the girls like to visit is Disney Junior - Live on Stage at Disney Adventure Park. The show included Disney Junior shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins and Jack and the Never Land Pirates. Popular characters come to life with enchanting puppets, bright visuals, whimsical scenery and catchy songs.
The girls had watched this show for twice during our trip!

The shows ended with colourful strips dropping down, and MS enjoyed playing with it.

Since Halloween was approaching, there was a face painting corner. ES requested to for it again.

Tea time - Turkey leg! It was super awesome and super juicy! It is USD 8 and enough to feed 3 adults and 3 kids!

MSLS were too tired and taking their afternoon nap. Daddy, Ah Ma and ES went to explore Tomorrowland. It is a spaceport where the imagination lands each day to glimpse otherworldly wonders, embark on fantastic voyages, and witness the pioneering of the human spirit.

The girls having fun while waiting for the evening parade.

Goodbye to Disneyland... after the evening parade.

Last few weeks, ES told me that she needs to pack her luggage as she needs to follow her classmate, Malia to disneyland! lol! Think she missed it so much! She told me she wanted to go there again!!!

Bicycle trailer

We decided to buy a bicycle trailer last weekend. On Saturday night, daddy assembled the trailer in the living room. And guess what? The girls had fun playing in the trailer when they wake up on Sunday morning.

Ready..... ( trying to hold each other's hand )

Set, go......

I had been cycling since primary school. Cycled to school is kind of enjoyment as I can go anywhere! ( hahaha! ) I used to take my younger sisters for a ride, cycle to grocery shop when mum wanted to buy something, cycle to art class... After I know how to drive, and with the busy working schedule and kids coming along, I stopped cycling.

It was a great idea when daddy proposed to buy a bicycle trailer. The girls have a chance to go jalan jalan and I got the chance to exercise. Yippeeeee!

Fusilli with pecorino romano and black pepper

Saw Giada cooking Fusilli with pecorino romano and black pepper from food network last few days. It is easy to cook with short preparation time, that is what I always look for. Cooked this for Friday dinner, together with grilled salmon and MSLS were so excited as Fusilli comes in a special shape and they are not taking porridge for dinner.

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound fusilli pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
• 5 cups baby spinach leaves (5 ounces)
• Freshly ground pepper ( i omitted this )
• 1 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (6 ounces)
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese (8 ounces), at room temperature

Method:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic and discard. Add the spinach and 2 teaspoons pepper, and cook until the spinach has wilted, about 1 minute.

Remove the skillet from the heat and add the pasta. Add the Pecorino Romano cheese and 2 teaspoons each salt and pepper, and toss until coated.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the reserved cooking liquid and the mascarpone cheese until smooth. Pour over the pasta and toss until coated. Season with salt.

Transfer the pasta to a large bowl and serve.

It came out to be a bit salty. But it smells good when added in romano cheese. Suggest not to add in salt and put less romano cheese next time.



去哪里？

MSLS: 去哪里？

Lately they like to ask " Where are we going?" in Mandarin if they are asked to change their clothes or showing any other signs that we are going to take them out.



San Diego

After 3 days in LA, we drove down to San Diego for day trip. Our target for the day was Sea World. We went there before, but we just want to share with the girls again.

Here we are after 2 hours drive from LA,

Our first stop was to view Shamu, the killer whale. The killer whales glide beneath the surface of their million-gallon pool and passed by in front of ES.

ES was so excited about it!

After that, we went for the Shamu show - One Ocean. In the show, the majestic killer whales join us on a journey into a world that drenches our senses in the vivid colors, vitality and global rhythms of the ocean. Dancing fountains set the stage as we connected with thrilling sea creatures and realize we are all part of one world, one ocean. 

The next stop was Sea Lion LIVE. The girls enjoyed hilarious live-action TV and music spoofs performed by SeaWorld’s resident sea lion comedy team—Clyde and Seamore.

There was a show on underwater world filled with amazing acrobatic creatures, delightful characters and other mysterious sights and sounds. Marvelous music and special effects in a place where the cirque meets the deep blue sea.

After the show, we took a photo with the performers.

One of the funniest show was Pets Rule. It is ahigh-energy show with lots of laughs, surprise twists from a cast of unlikely characters that delight, charm and tug at the whole family's heartstrings. Dogs and cats, ducks and doves, potbellied pigs and a few surprise animal guest stars had shown us that SeaWorld’s famously humane training techniques aren't just for big stars like Shamu.

We continued with The Shamu Story after that. It is a presentation that provides us with an entertaining and educational experience. We got a behind-the-scenes look into various training sessions instructed by the trainers. This seasonal show gave us the history of Shamu while providing facts about killer whales all in an entertaining way.

 Don’t underestimate the power of these whales…they can splash up to 16 rows of seats, properly named the “Soak Zone”.

Before we leave, the girls went to Sesame Street, Bay of Play.

They really enjoyed themselves as all of them slept on our way back to LA.