the last quarter of the year
I am sitting in the study room updating my blog as I watched the grand opening ceremony of the Commonweath Game 2010, hosted in New Dehli, India. Before this, I was watching a short snippet of the life of Mrs Lee Kuan Yew aka Madam Kwa Geok Choo who passed away yesterday afternoon, on 2nd October 2010. There were many tender and touching moments when the Minister Mentor spoke fondly of his beloved wife. It is touching to see the love and strong bond they shared through the years. One thing he says is so apt and interesting "In the West, you try to marry the one you love. In the East, you try to love the one you married. I attempted to do both" For the Lee family, this is going to be one very sad weekend. My condolences to the family for the loss of a dear figure. May they remain strong in this difficult time. Those we love never go away, they always remain close to our hearts. May they find comfort in the treasured memories of good times spent together.
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Now, let me reminisce the activities we did over the weekend. We did the usual sending the girls to their enrichment classes, spent time with the kids to make them happy, settle whatever errands we need to run and if possible, find some bit of time to rest and to be with the rest of the family. We did some work with the two older girls. We tried to encourage them to write short stories and at the same time try to coach them on the Language. With the year end examination round the corner, my primary concern is their essay writing, both in English and Mandarin. For Anna, this is her very first examination and I did not want to stress her. Preparation is kept to a minimum and I just went through the oral notes that she brought back from school. She was also nursing a running nose and hence, I just got her to rest as much as possible. For Andrea, she was quite keen to write as long as I did it together with her. She is a fast learner and at times, I find myself lagging behind. I am sure she is going to be a better writer than myself soon.
We brought the kids out for a short excursion on Saturday to the Bukit Timah Ryder's Cafe. The girls were perked up by the sight of horses and a stray rooster.
I always find the colonial black and white building very charming.
Roaming around the compound in search of horses for the kids to see
The little one was most amazed and kept repeating "horse, horse" when she saw one.
The two girls attempting to get as close as possible to the colourful rooster without frightening it away
Ashley waving and saying "hello" to the feathered friend
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On Sunday, we got the yiyis to come over for a simple dinner and also to celebrate small yiyi's birthday. Small yiyi brought along one big fish and a section of a big stingray. She had gone fishing the week before and was relating her interesting adventure over dinner. As usual, the girls were elated to have their cousins over.
The yiyi with the nieces.
They did not stay very long after dinner as the next day is a school day and it is examination week. Let's hope the girls have more fun after the grueling examination period.
........................................................................................................................
Now, let me reminisce the activities we did over the weekend. We did the usual sending the girls to their enrichment classes, spent time with the kids to make them happy, settle whatever errands we need to run and if possible, find some bit of time to rest and to be with the rest of the family. We did some work with the two older girls. We tried to encourage them to write short stories and at the same time try to coach them on the Language. With the year end examination round the corner, my primary concern is their essay writing, both in English and Mandarin. For Anna, this is her very first examination and I did not want to stress her. Preparation is kept to a minimum and I just went through the oral notes that she brought back from school. She was also nursing a running nose and hence, I just got her to rest as much as possible. For Andrea, she was quite keen to write as long as I did it together with her. She is a fast learner and at times, I find myself lagging behind. I am sure she is going to be a better writer than myself soon.
We brought the kids out for a short excursion on Saturday to the Bukit Timah Ryder's Cafe. The girls were perked up by the sight of horses and a stray rooster.
I always find the colonial black and white building very charming.
Roaming around the compound in search of horses for the kids to see
The little one was most amazed and kept repeating "horse, horse" when she saw one.
The two girls attempting to get as close as possible to the colourful rooster without frightening it away
Ashley waving and saying "hello" to the feathered friend
******************************************************************
On Sunday, we got the yiyis to come over for a simple dinner and also to celebrate small yiyi's birthday. Small yiyi brought along one big fish and a section of a big stingray. She had gone fishing the week before and was relating her interesting adventure over dinner. As usual, the girls were elated to have their cousins over.
The yiyi with the nieces.
They did not stay very long after dinner as the next day is a school day and it is examination week. Let's hope the girls have more fun after the grueling examination period.