Showing posts with label 3 years. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 years. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

{Travel Tuesday} Roadtrip to Queensland, Australia. PART 1.

PART 1: Getting from Brisbane Airport to Sunshine Coast, then to Gold Coast.
Free-and-easy road trip. 

source


In 2015, for the Jubilee long weekend in August National Day, our family flew to Queensland for a holiday.
We travelled to many places in 2015 because that is the last time we can jet off on a whim before Adam starts Primary school.
This trip is super backdated because I had made the photos into a coffee-table album and didn't have the energy to repeat another story about it!
Until now that is!

As for most flights with the kids, we took the redeye flight and landed in Brisbane in their morning.
The minute we touched down at Brisbane airport, we could feel the chilly winds on our skin and we had to quickly layer up with our parkas and bomber jackets.
Once we settled our car rental, we drove to PYO (pick-your-own) Strawberry Fields in Sunshine Coast, Qlds.
Our itinerary was to drive from Sunshine Coast to Gold Coast.


*In order not to make a wasted trip, please check out their website for the season!

pyo strawberry fields sunshine coast

PYO Strawberry Fields:133 Laxton Rd
Palmview, QLD, 4553
Exit 190 off Bruce Highway.

 It was a HUGE farm which wasn't populated. In fact, there were only a couple more families besides ours.
Lots of opportunities to pick big, juicy strawberries without bumping into others.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

[media invite] Visit Changi T3 for the Great American Vacation.

Changi Airport Terminal 3 has been featuring a different country for display and education purposes every school holiday.
This March holidays, they are featuring America.

Welcome to The Great American Vacation at T3!
Available from now till 3 April 2016, 12 noon - 11pm daily.

50 states of fun changi t3 american vacation

great american vacation changi t3
Thank you Changi Airport Group for the passes!

changi airport american vacation review
*Redeem passes to go on the carousell. How to redeem passes are explained at bottom of this post. 





veron zhen changi airport harley davidson american
Get your chance to ride on a real Harley Davidson with a simulator virtual reality headset for FREE!
No minimum spending and redemption needed for this.

veron zhen great american vacation
There is also a booth for you to try different types of cheese.


That's not all for the exhibition at Level 2 Departure hall.
Head down to Basement 2 for more carnival rides for the little ones - Train ride and Horse-riding.

There is also a face/ hand-painting booth which is free and doesn't require redemption.


My cowboys giddyup-ing around. Yeehaw Cowboys!


How to redeem passes to carnival rides?
*A minimum spending of S$60 in a maximum of 2 same-day receipts (S$40 for Changi Rewards members and Kids Pass holders, S$80 for all supermarket purchases) is required to redeem 1 carousel ride pass, 1 kiddy train ride and 1 galloping horse ride.

Redemption starts from 12pm and ends at 10.30pm or when the activity passes are fully redeemed; whichever is earlier.

Do you know how many states are there in USA?
Some argue there are 50, but upon some argument and online research, it seems that there are 52 states:
1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. Colorado
6. California (where San Francisco is, with the world's biggest Chinatown)
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida (where Disneyland is and where Walt Disney was born)
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii
12. Illinois
13. Indiana
14. Idaho
15. Iowa
16. Kentucky
17. Kansas
18. Louisiana
19. Massachusetts
20. Maryland
21. Missisippi
22. Maine
23. Missouri
24. Michigan
25. Minnesota
26. Montana
27. New Jersey
28. New York (Statue of Liberty)
29. North Carolina
30. New Hampshire
31. Nevada
32. Nebraska
33. North Dakota
34. New Mexico
35. Oklahama
36. Ohio
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania
39. Puerto Rico
40. Rhode Island
41. South Carolina
42. South Dakota
43. Tennessee
44. Texas
45. Utah
46. Virginia
47. Vermont
48. Wisconsin
49. West Virginia
50. Washington
51. Wyoming
52. Washington DC

Source: Google images.

Some other facts about planning your holiday to USA:
- 3 airlines that connect you to USA from Singapore Changi Airport - Delta Airlines, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines.

- From 1 June 2016, United Airlines will fly direct non-stop to San Fransisco (about 13 hours flight).
Time to plan your June summer vacation with your kids!

Changi Airport website here for more info on event highlights.
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Thank you Changi Airport group for your invitation, with special thanks to the PR girls who facilitated our visit today, and for your kind hospitality :)
This visit has been very informative and educational for us to learn more about America.

Look out for the next school holidays' exhibition and which country they will feature.


Friday, March 18, 2016

March holidays: exploring Forest Adventure at Bedok Reservoir Park.

Ever since Adam entered Primary one, school holidays are like Godsend to me.
When he was in kindergarten, school holidays were such a torture as having him home the entire time seemed such a nightmare.
Now, I look forward to having him home so much! No more waking up before the sun rises.
No more spelling to learn, homework to do. Which means Mummy can relax. YAY!

Today, Serene and I brought our boys to Bedok Reservoir Park for the tree-top climbing, Forest Adventure.


Getting there:
Park at Carpark A, opposite Aquarius Condominium.
From the carpark, walk towards your right.
You will walk past the kayak Water-Venture centre, just continue walking ahead and you will see Forest Adventure hut.
It is about 10 minutes' walk.
We reached at 0930am, just nice for our first slot of the day booking.



forest adventure bedok reservoir
The Kids Course looks daunting already to me.



forest adventure bedok reservoir
Adam and Xavier were all smiles until they got to the top and Adam had cold feet and chickened out.
No amount of coaxing from the instructor nor me made him want to go at it! *horror of horrors*
In the end, I let Adam come down and the kind instructor, CS, let Ashton put on the harness and have a try at the Mini Course.

forest adventure bedok reservoir
As Ashton was quietly observing below the tree canopy the whole time while Serene babysat him and I had to go up there to encrouage Adam, I was quite worried that Ashton may be afraid like his brother.
Much to my astonishment however, he took to it like a champ.
My baby boy just went and went, all on his own!


Thug-life expression says it all about this child of mine.

forest adventure bedok reservoir
I did not force Adam to go and I did not chide him for being timid/ useless/ scaredy-cat compared to his brother etc. I just let him decide on his own whether he wanted to do it again ot stop.

But seeing that his younger brother had completed the course on his own, Adam felt a little indignant and wanted to try again, so Ashton went another round in front of Adam to encrouage him.



On the other course....

More kids have joined us by 10.30am

Xavier is the one in fluorescent green and he enjoyed himself so much he went a second round.

forest adventure bedok reservoir
After completion, everyone gathered for cold drinks and a popsicle for Xav :)

A certificate for my happy threenager who did so well today.
I'm proud of you my boy!

termite nest bedok reservoir
On the way walking back to the car, the kids stopped several times.
On one occasion, they found some twigs which they used as boomerangs/ rifles/ broom (it had leaves attached).

On another occasion, they found a termite nest.

We tried prodding it and it's surprisngly very hard! Like a rock!

termite nest bedok
Not all termites are bad. Now we know.


Overall, I find this course very good for children as it builds their self-confidence and improves hand/eye coordination and gross motor skills.
It is also great fun outdoors, something different from the usual indoor playground setting my kids are so used to.
I will bring them again because Adam said he would like to try and conquer the course again.


If you are interested in bringing your kids for the Forest Adventure, do take note the minimum height requirement is 1m tall for Mini Course, and 1.1m tall for Kids Course.

The Grand Course for adults is open everyday except Mondays and PH.
However, the Kids Course and Mini Course open on weekends from 1pm to 6pm and during school and public holidays from 9.30pm to 6pm. Last departure is at 5.00pm.

Fees:
Kids course: $35/child per hour.
Adult accompanying on Kids course: $20/ adult.
Mini course: $15/child.
Additional hour: $10.

Please call 81007420 to enquire.



Sunday, March 13, 2016

March school holidays: Angry Birds Activity Park in Johor Bahru.

Started the March holidays with a jam. Literally.
We were stuck at the Johor customs for 5 hours. ZOMG.
Due to bad planning on my part, I had initially thought that we could set off at 0830am and still make it in time for a full day at Legoland, because being a Saturday, I assumed most people would have already driven in from Friday.
Obviously, thousands of other JB-goers also thought the same I did, and so we were stuck in a 5-hour jam.


By the time we reached JB, it was already 3pm so we changed plans and went to Angry Birds Activity Park instead, since we have never been there before.

angry birds activity park
Angry Birds Activity Park

Level 3, KOMTAR JBCC,
Johor Bahru City Centre,
80000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Opening hours: 10AM - 10PM daily, with several timings of 1-hour closure.

angry birds activity park
The indoor park covers 26,000 sq.ft. and is strategically located in the premises of KOMTAR JBCC, Johor Bahru City Centre's newest premier shopping, dining and entertainment destination.

angry birds activity park
They are having a March holiday promotion now. FREE ice-cream cone, meal voucher and 6R family photo with every ticket purchased.
Senior citizens aged 60 and above enter free.
We bought the family package for 2 adults, 2 kids for RM$280 (less than $95 SGD per family).





During their 1 hour closure from 5-6pm, we went for our meal with the free vouchers and went to select our family photo for printing.


angry birds activity park
When the Flock members re-opened the park, we went in again for our second round.



angry birds park
Parents also can play!


Hubby challenged me to play this jumping activity and I chickened out last minute.
So he had no choice but to go first HAHAHAHA.
*this is for children aged 10 and above.

angry birds park JB
He assured me it was fun and not scary at all (if you are at the top and look down, it actually looks scary and higher than it is!!!!) and forced me to JUMP!!!
The feeling like wanna commit suicide!

angry birds activity park JB
Our free 6R photo came with soft-copy also which you can scan into your Wechat.

 We then ended the day with a scrumptious seafood dinner at Taman Sentosa.
This is our favourite seafood place and the stall we frequent is still around. In fact, all the shops in the area also didn't change!

Their signature dish is the butter crayfish.

Overall, a great outing for us despite the last minute change of plans due to massive jam.
Despite being not-so-new, it was our first time there and glad the kids enjoyed themselves.

With the March holidays promotion, it is very worth it!