Last day of school

8th July 2010

Wow! Time really flies! Today was our last day of school, which means that almost a year has passed since I started Year 1. We'll have a long "summer holiday" and the new academic year will start on August 31st ~ I will be in Year 2 and Safiya in Kindy. We are really looking forward to that, definitely!

Since it's our last day, we had an end-of-year party in our own classrooms. Year 1 party starts at 10.30 whilst Safiya's starts at 11.00. Since mummy arrived early to pick us up, she managed to join Safiya and took some pictures.

Safiya's party kicked off with hitting a pinata. Everybody in Safiya's class had their turns but the pinata wouldn't break. As such, Safiya's teacher gave a bit of help (by tearing up the pinata discreetly) and finally the candies were on the floor.

Then, it was eating time...

As an appreciation for a great year, we gave little presents for our class teachers. With mummy's help, we also made some thank you cards that we coloured ourselves. Safiya's 5 teachers (one class teacher and 4 assistant teachers) got little bags of cookies, while my teachers got a mini cake each.

Yeayyy!!! It's holiday time!

Happy birthday Machar

7th July 2010

On this day, 33 years ago, a baby girl was born. We are really proud to have her in our lives, as she turns out to be a kind and loving aunt! Mummy's eldest sister, Machar, celebrates her birthday today. To mark the occasion, we had a small family dinner at Nini Laki and Nini Bini's home in Pengkalan Batu.

The main menu was ... ambuyat!

And of course, ambuyat cannot be eaten on its own. There must be other accompanying dishes, and since Nini Bini loves cooking (excellent at it too), she prepared lots. Take a look at these pictures below!

Hehehe... From the top; Sayur tarap, fish curry, udang galah rebus, stir-fried prawns, sayur jantung pisang (edible banana flower), crabs and kerabu jantung pisang (nini bini's style).

We had desserts too. As in the pictures below; bubur durian, kembayau and mummy's creamy chocolate and milo custard.

As if all of the above is not enough, we also enjoyed a delicious yam ice-cream birthday cake. Yummmyyy!

To Machar, hope your birthday brings more and more joy and happiness.

Remember that we always love you!

34 years and still going strong

5th July 2010

A huge congratulations especially for our lovely grandparents

Nini Laki & Nini Bini

in conjunction with their 34th wedding anniversary today

We love both of you very much and thank you for being an inspiration to us all

From your grandchildren
Syafi, Safiya and Safwan

Popcorn and movie

4th July 2010 (Part III)

At last, after lots of begging, my parents brought us to the cinema to watch Toy Story 3 in the afternoon today. Since daddy bought the tickets a day early, we managed to get the back row seat. The movie was funny and we really enjoyed it.

Thanks daddy and mummy!

Safwan's new toy

4th July 2010 (Part II)

Last week when daddy's youngest sister, [Mama Usu] had a sleep over, she gave baby Safwan a present from the UK. Only today that mummy had the chance to open it and she straight away gave the cute soft toy to our baby brother. He really likes it - especially since now he loves to suck his finger - now Mickey Mouse's nose is the substitute! Hehehe...

Thanks a lot, Mama Usu!

Not so lucky

4th July 2010 (Part I)

Last night, daddy and mummy were invited to attend a dinner hosted by Setia Motors Sdn Bhd - the local Hyundai motor vehicles agent. It was also the finale after a 6 months promotion by the said company for a lucky draw prize of a car, the new i20. Every buyer in that period is entitled to one lucky draw ticket, and our parents are of no exception since they did buy the Hyundai H1 just before baby Safwan was born.

Last night's event was held at the exclusive Grand Hall at the Empire Hotel and Country Club, and present as the guest of honour was HRH Princess Hajah Amal Umi-Kalthum Al-Islam, YAM Pg Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pg Anak Hj Idris as well as other family members.

The campaign was also to celebrate the World Cup, since Hyundai is an official partner. As such, football was the theme and the company's staff members were all face-painted with different flags.

The hotel really measures up to its quality in culinary expertise - last night's dinner, according to our parents, was delicious with lots to choose from.

There was also ample entertainment with appearances by some P2F contestants, The Seeds, "Michael Jackson" and the night's favourite; Kumpulan 69. Their jokes were funny and the audience had a good laugh.

Sadly, our parents did not receive any of the lucky draw presents. Apart from the car, there was also cash prizes, shopping vouchers, fuel vouchers, phone starter packs and so on. Oh well, at least our parents had a memorable night. Congratulations to last night's winners!

A friend's birthday party

3rd July 2010 (Part I)

At about 11 am today, Safiya and I went to Jungle Gym (again!) to attend my classmate's birthday party. We had lots of fun, as always. To Xavier and family, thank you for the invitation. May your birthday brings you lots more happiness, health and fortune. Hehehe...

Local fruits season is back!

02nd July 2010

After our school today, mummy brought us to Nini Bini's home for a short visit. Apparently the fruits season is here! We were delightfully surprised with what we saw ~ fruits like tarap, kembayau and durian were in abundance. Thanks to our grandparents' orchard, as well as our neighbours', we get to again taste our delicious local fruits.

The sweet and soft buah tarap

Kembayau - a hard plum coloured fruit that must be peeled (in a unique way) and immersed in hot water before eating. Usually taken with sugar.

The king of fruits - durian! This type has yellow flesh.

Souvenir from South Africa

1st July 2010

When daddy arrived home from work today, he brought a souvenir, courtesy of his friend who went to South Africa to witness the World Cup up close. Lucky him! It's quite a unique souvenir ~ got us puzzled there for a second trying to figure out what it is. Hehehe...

It's a type of headgear under the name of UMU, short for "Unite Mzansi Unite". Curious to know more, mummy searched through the internet and found this [information] about UMU:

Unite Mzansi Unite (UMU) is a campaign created by adidas to celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The project aims to inspire all South Africans to unite in celebration behind the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

For this campaign, adidas has created a giant yellow jersey a replica of the official Bafana-Bafana jersey. It is truly giant measuring 60m x 48m. The jersey has just started its amazing 7 month journey through the entire South Africa. It is a platform for all South Africans to unite and show their support by signing their name on the jersey. A custom made truck is transporting this giant yellow jersey through all 9 provinces of the country. This campaign wants to unify South Africa by giving as many South Africans possible the opportunity to make their mark, show their support and celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup as one.

Its time for South Africa to come together, to show our support and passion.
Its about showing the world who we are.
The passion of our people.
The warmth of our culture.
The spirit of our nation.

Unite Mzansi Unite!

Here's what we're talking about...

I became the model as my parents try on me different ways of wearing the UMU. Hehehe... I looked funny but somewhat interesting.

About a week more to go before the fever ends. Wonder who will win the World Cup this year?