Kitchen
Living Hall (photo taken at the dining area)
Dining
Garden / Patio
The layout of the house ...
will post more photo later ...
6 years ago
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Royal Melbourne Show 2008 - Part 1
Today, we went for Part 1 of the Royal Melbourne Show (www.royalshow.com.au)... why part 1? coz we have a promo ticket where we get to enter twice for the same price - but they take our picture and print it on the 2nd ticket so we can't give it away... haha...
well, the place was quite crowded, and there was just so much to see and do
the kids seemed to especially love the animals everywhere. Here's Ryan at the Alpaca cage:
and Noel bravely did some face-painting
and he became super-spiderman... that is, spiderman face with superman clothes =)
which Ryan refused to do, but still cheered him on
there were also ducks...
we watched some horses
petted some animals
posed for a picture ... no, its not a real ram =) there were sheep, but the kids didn't sit on it for obvious reasons =)
Ryan milked a cow!
we didn't have time to ride the ferris wheel, but that might be the next thing we do in part 2 - if Joey's ok with it =)
what do you think this is? Believe it or not, its a fowl!
well, we did what they called a 'Farm Trail' for kids - which makes the kids go from one area to another, to answer questions and get their Farm Trail card stamped at each 'station'.
At the end of it, Ryan got his certificate, a McDonalds box of cookies and McDonalds voucher for a cheeseburger (or orange juice or salad... so we're sticking with the cheeseburger)
And Noel got his too!
we were trying to get a picture with Po, the Kung Fu Panda, but the sun was right behind, and getting lower.
by the time it was our turn, the sun was in a really bad spot...
but we did play some games
and win some prizes
one thing to note though, don't park at the 2hr parking zone, if you know you're gonna stay longer than that! =) ladies and gentlemen, we present.... our first parking fine!
well, the place was quite crowded, and there was just so much to see and do
the kids seemed to especially love the animals everywhere. Here's Ryan at the Alpaca cage:
and Noel bravely did some face-painting
and he became super-spiderman... that is, spiderman face with superman clothes =)
which Ryan refused to do, but still cheered him on
there were also ducks...
we watched some horses
petted some animals
posed for a picture ... no, its not a real ram =) there were sheep, but the kids didn't sit on it for obvious reasons =)
Ryan milked a cow!
we didn't have time to ride the ferris wheel, but that might be the next thing we do in part 2 - if Joey's ok with it =)
what do you think this is? Believe it or not, its a fowl!
well, we did what they called a 'Farm Trail' for kids - which makes the kids go from one area to another, to answer questions and get their Farm Trail card stamped at each 'station'.
At the end of it, Ryan got his certificate, a McDonalds box of cookies and McDonalds voucher for a cheeseburger (or orange juice or salad... so we're sticking with the cheeseburger)
And Noel got his too!
we were trying to get a picture with Po, the Kung Fu Panda, but the sun was right behind, and getting lower.
by the time it was our turn, the sun was in a really bad spot...
but we did play some games
and win some prizes
one thing to note though, don't park at the 2hr parking zone, if you know you're gonna stay longer than that! =) ladies and gentlemen, we present.... our first parking fine!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Blessings of Home...
I'm not really sure where to begin... we've tried searching for a house, and even made some offers, but as we told our LifeGroup (a.k.a. cell group), our prayer is that if it is not meant for us, by all means, shut the door. So, as doors shut around us, we continued our search for a home, content to know that all that isn't meant for us wouldn't land on our laps... ok, fine, we were not that great... although we did feel peaceful and content deep down, up on the surface we were, as all humans are, getting annoyed, frustrated, and completely confused to the point that we couldn't really figure out what we wanted anymore. haha... so, when Joey asked what I wanted for my birthday, I instinctively replied, "a house?" =D
we've been to a couple of 'inspections' as they call it, where you go to the house, look at it, and if you're happy, make an offer which the agent will present to the seller to see if they accept/counter offer etc. While I'm on this topic, let me also explain that a lot of things here are 'area based' and I can't think of a better way to phrase it. Before choosing a house, you first need to choose a suburb, or a range of surrounding suburbs - because real estate agents are assigned to different areas - they only sell/rent properties in that area (which consists of a few suburbs close to each other) - unlike in KL, where you can have an agent seeing to your property in Bangi and Subang Jaya at the same time, it doesn't work that way here. Same thing with schools - you choose the one near to your home, or around that area... and that is one driving factor for house prices too. if your're in an area with better schools, the houses cost more. if you get a cheap beautiful house further away that is not in the 'area', you cant take your children to school there. One more thing to consider were the freeways. From our office, if we are headed north or west, we would end up driving through towns or really jam packed 'main' roads with only 2 lanes... which will increase driving time, compared to heading east (coz our office is near the eastern freeway), where even if you live further out, you can drive at 100kmh along the eastern freeway, and if you need to stay further east, they have the eastlink(toll) that connects to the eastern freeway too. so, getting to a house 30km east is way faster than getting to somewhere 30km west.
So first, we needed to properly choose a suburb - coz when we called to enquire about prices, the real estate agents will ask, which area do you want to live in? and if you say 'anywhere in Melbourne, north, south, east or west...' its a pretty bad idea - no one takes you seriously. And we found that out the hard way =) we replied that we're looking at anywhere from Deer Park in the west to Bayswater North in the north east area... so, after much thought and school searching, we decided to either live in the Manningham area (north east, 20-30km from the city), which had relatively good schools, and the prices weren't insanely high compared to Balywn North and Glen Waverley where the most popular schools were. The other option was to remain in Heidelberg Heights where we live now, which is actually nearer to the city (about 15km northwards, slightly east) - the schools weren't as 'good' but the prices were about 70k less in prices. Eventually we decided on Manningham, which covered the suburbs of Bulleen, Templestowe, Lower Templestowe, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Donvale and parts of Mitcham and Ringwood etc... Our church is in Lower Templestowe, and there are some nice schools in Doncaster and Doncaster East, so we decided to focus on these 3 suburbs...
The first house we fell in love with was in Doncaster East - a townhouse with 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms (one of which is an 'ensuite' meaning the master bedroom has its own bathroom) and 2-car remote controlled garage. It wasn't very near to the eastern freeway exit, but there was a direct road to it, and it was with a bunch of houses that were all newly built, so it was pleasant to come home to. The houses in Doncaster east ranged from 500k to about 700k onwards depending on the size, new or old, how many rooms, land size etc... this one was going for 549k. we made an offer, but it was nowhere near good enough and it got rejected. To be honest, it was good of our agent, John, to actually put together our offer, because it was apparently not reasonable, and we could see it on the face of his colleague as John was helping us out with the offer anyway.
We also saw another townhouse in Doncaster East that had an awesome location - really close to a primary school, with a playground and bus stop in front of the house, it was relatively new and also had 3room, 2bath and 2 car remote garage - but the the rooms and living areas were really small and cramped. So, although it was asking for 509k, we decided to pass on this one.
The 2nd townhouse we really liked was in Lower Templestowe - near to church, and nearer to work than Doncaster East, it was brand new and had 4 rooms, 2bath - but no ensuite, (master bedroom has no connecting bathroom - the 2nd bath was in the hall downstairs), smaller hall and smaller 'usable' backyard space because of the way it was designed, but there was alot of premium add ins to the house... one other problem was that it had only 1 car space in the garage - meaning one car had to be parked on the driveway right outside the garage door (its the only space to put the 2nd car), so we have to keep reshuffling the cars to get one in and one out. So, not very practical, but the house was gorgeous, and it was in an area with nice houses all around. This one was going for 520k and we offered just under $500. They wanted us to add in extra cash on top of the sale price, and we offered an extra 10k, but it still wasn't good enough for them. They asked for another 8k more, and this was the one that we told our LifeGroup that if it isn't meant for us, we are happy not to get it. Anyway, it was sold to someone else within the next 2-3 days.
Next, there was a piece of land for sale in Doncaster East - actually, someone with a large land was selling off their backyard. It was going for 270k and to build a house on it would cost about 250k (without blinds, oven, stovetop, dishwasher etc etc) depending on how much the ground slopes etc - anyway, we made an offer subject to the plan that we want fitting on it. well, the land was too small. called a couple of builders, but they could not fit in the plans we wanted. also, one said that because the house was at the back half of the land, they were not willing to build there at all - something about increased costs of moving the materials to the back etc. so, that didn't work out either.
anyway, dad skyped us to wish me happy birthday on Wednesday, and I told him about the house hunting and stuff, and he simply said to just get something we were happy to come home to. My reply was, "err... Dad? there's that price factor....", to which he said 'Don't worry...'
'yeah, very funny', I thought... However, as I look back now, I believe something happened in the atmosphere...
I hung up the skype call shortly after and Joey and I sat down chatting about the all the real estate agents we had been dealing with, and we both agreed we liked one in particular - John. He was always courteous and professional, made us feel like he was doing his best for us and had actually called me earlier that day to let me know that there was another house for sale. We did look at it, but it wasn't something we liked. As Joey and I continued talking, our house phone rang - which was strange, coz we don't usually give out our house line number (simply coz we don't use it - we use our mobile phones)... I picked up the phone, anticipating either a wrong number or Marjorie, and to my utmost surprise, it was John. I was trying to tell him that we didn't like the other house he told me to look at, but he said he was actually calling to see if we wanted to re-present the offer that was rejected earlier. We said sure! The next day, sometime in the evening, he called to say congratulations...! Somehow the seller had a miraculous change of heart all of a sudden, not to mention that John's colleague that we mentioned gave us a look that seemed to show 'unreasonable!', ended up also having a change of heart that night we were skyping with dad, and he was the one to re-present out offer to the seller the next day. We rushed over to pay a partial deposit after work and I called Debbie and Marjorie to tell them the news! We were so excited, we wanted to go see the house again, and John kindly took us there, which is really kind of him, because he could have just said it was after his working hours. His work was done and everything was signed, but he still looked after us. that is one great agent. Marjorie came along to look at the house too! Up til now, I still can't believe it, but it seems like we've got a home, and its nothing short of a miracle. All I can say is that it is God's blessing, and I believe He will also bless the seller of the house and the agents involved in making all this come true.
With God, all things are possible, and he truly looks after us even more than he provides for the sparrows in the fields =)
p.s. Dad, if you read this, I must say I personally believe that when you gave us your blessings, our heavenly Father did likewise. Thank you!
we've been to a couple of 'inspections' as they call it, where you go to the house, look at it, and if you're happy, make an offer which the agent will present to the seller to see if they accept/counter offer etc. While I'm on this topic, let me also explain that a lot of things here are 'area based' and I can't think of a better way to phrase it. Before choosing a house, you first need to choose a suburb, or a range of surrounding suburbs - because real estate agents are assigned to different areas - they only sell/rent properties in that area (which consists of a few suburbs close to each other) - unlike in KL, where you can have an agent seeing to your property in Bangi and Subang Jaya at the same time, it doesn't work that way here. Same thing with schools - you choose the one near to your home, or around that area... and that is one driving factor for house prices too. if your're in an area with better schools, the houses cost more. if you get a cheap beautiful house further away that is not in the 'area', you cant take your children to school there. One more thing to consider were the freeways. From our office, if we are headed north or west, we would end up driving through towns or really jam packed 'main' roads with only 2 lanes... which will increase driving time, compared to heading east (coz our office is near the eastern freeway), where even if you live further out, you can drive at 100kmh along the eastern freeway, and if you need to stay further east, they have the eastlink(toll) that connects to the eastern freeway too. so, getting to a house 30km east is way faster than getting to somewhere 30km west.
So first, we needed to properly choose a suburb - coz when we called to enquire about prices, the real estate agents will ask, which area do you want to live in? and if you say 'anywhere in Melbourne, north, south, east or west...' its a pretty bad idea - no one takes you seriously. And we found that out the hard way =) we replied that we're looking at anywhere from Deer Park in the west to Bayswater North in the north east area... so, after much thought and school searching, we decided to either live in the Manningham area (north east, 20-30km from the city), which had relatively good schools, and the prices weren't insanely high compared to Balywn North and Glen Waverley where the most popular schools were. The other option was to remain in Heidelberg Heights where we live now, which is actually nearer to the city (about 15km northwards, slightly east) - the schools weren't as 'good' but the prices were about 70k less in prices. Eventually we decided on Manningham, which covered the suburbs of Bulleen, Templestowe, Lower Templestowe, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Donvale and parts of Mitcham and Ringwood etc... Our church is in Lower Templestowe, and there are some nice schools in Doncaster and Doncaster East, so we decided to focus on these 3 suburbs...
The first house we fell in love with was in Doncaster East - a townhouse with 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms (one of which is an 'ensuite' meaning the master bedroom has its own bathroom) and 2-car remote controlled garage. It wasn't very near to the eastern freeway exit, but there was a direct road to it, and it was with a bunch of houses that were all newly built, so it was pleasant to come home to. The houses in Doncaster east ranged from 500k to about 700k onwards depending on the size, new or old, how many rooms, land size etc... this one was going for 549k. we made an offer, but it was nowhere near good enough and it got rejected. To be honest, it was good of our agent, John, to actually put together our offer, because it was apparently not reasonable, and we could see it on the face of his colleague as John was helping us out with the offer anyway.
We also saw another townhouse in Doncaster East that had an awesome location - really close to a primary school, with a playground and bus stop in front of the house, it was relatively new and also had 3room, 2bath and 2 car remote garage - but the the rooms and living areas were really small and cramped. So, although it was asking for 509k, we decided to pass on this one.
The 2nd townhouse we really liked was in Lower Templestowe - near to church, and nearer to work than Doncaster East, it was brand new and had 4 rooms, 2bath - but no ensuite, (master bedroom has no connecting bathroom - the 2nd bath was in the hall downstairs), smaller hall and smaller 'usable' backyard space because of the way it was designed, but there was alot of premium add ins to the house... one other problem was that it had only 1 car space in the garage - meaning one car had to be parked on the driveway right outside the garage door (its the only space to put the 2nd car), so we have to keep reshuffling the cars to get one in and one out. So, not very practical, but the house was gorgeous, and it was in an area with nice houses all around. This one was going for 520k and we offered just under $500. They wanted us to add in extra cash on top of the sale price, and we offered an extra 10k, but it still wasn't good enough for them. They asked for another 8k more, and this was the one that we told our LifeGroup that if it isn't meant for us, we are happy not to get it. Anyway, it was sold to someone else within the next 2-3 days.
Next, there was a piece of land for sale in Doncaster East - actually, someone with a large land was selling off their backyard. It was going for 270k and to build a house on it would cost about 250k (without blinds, oven, stovetop, dishwasher etc etc) depending on how much the ground slopes etc - anyway, we made an offer subject to the plan that we want fitting on it. well, the land was too small. called a couple of builders, but they could not fit in the plans we wanted. also, one said that because the house was at the back half of the land, they were not willing to build there at all - something about increased costs of moving the materials to the back etc. so, that didn't work out either.
anyway, dad skyped us to wish me happy birthday on Wednesday, and I told him about the house hunting and stuff, and he simply said to just get something we were happy to come home to. My reply was, "err... Dad? there's that price factor....", to which he said 'Don't worry...'
'yeah, very funny', I thought... However, as I look back now, I believe something happened in the atmosphere...
I hung up the skype call shortly after and Joey and I sat down chatting about the all the real estate agents we had been dealing with, and we both agreed we liked one in particular - John. He was always courteous and professional, made us feel like he was doing his best for us and had actually called me earlier that day to let me know that there was another house for sale. We did look at it, but it wasn't something we liked. As Joey and I continued talking, our house phone rang - which was strange, coz we don't usually give out our house line number (simply coz we don't use it - we use our mobile phones)... I picked up the phone, anticipating either a wrong number or Marjorie, and to my utmost surprise, it was John. I was trying to tell him that we didn't like the other house he told me to look at, but he said he was actually calling to see if we wanted to re-present the offer that was rejected earlier. We said sure! The next day, sometime in the evening, he called to say congratulations...! Somehow the seller had a miraculous change of heart all of a sudden, not to mention that John's colleague that we mentioned gave us a look that seemed to show 'unreasonable!', ended up also having a change of heart that night we were skyping with dad, and he was the one to re-present out offer to the seller the next day. We rushed over to pay a partial deposit after work and I called Debbie and Marjorie to tell them the news! We were so excited, we wanted to go see the house again, and John kindly took us there, which is really kind of him, because he could have just said it was after his working hours. His work was done and everything was signed, but he still looked after us. that is one great agent. Marjorie came along to look at the house too! Up til now, I still can't believe it, but it seems like we've got a home, and its nothing short of a miracle. All I can say is that it is God's blessing, and I believe He will also bless the seller of the house and the agents involved in making all this come true.
With God, all things are possible, and he truly looks after us even more than he provides for the sparrows in the fields =)
p.s. Dad, if you read this, I must say I personally believe that when you gave us your blessings, our heavenly Father did likewise. Thank you!
Birthday!
So what did I do on my birthday?
Well, at work (yes, I went to work!) I brought some cakes - it is our office tradition that you bring some cakes on your birthday and put it in the kitchen and send an email out to either your team or all staff ( I guess depending on the amount of cake you brought. hahaha)... anyway, I did that... was fun getting 'happy birthday' greetings all day.
after work, past 5pm, we decided to have dinner out... it was actually an idea we were thinking off all day - but I wasn't sure if we were gonna really do it... I was thinking of calling Debbie, Caleb and family (Anna too) as well as Henry and Marjorie, but considering the fact that it was past 5 by the time we decided, I only ended up calling Debbie (etc) - coz I kinda knew she was on standy for a last minute decision =D
So, we managed to have a fine time at dinner together at Shoppingtown Hotel, where I've been to dinner with my colleagues before. To add the finishing touches to a great night, Henry and Marjorie stopped by and surprised us not just with their presence but also with a thermal full of bubur cha cha =)
now, if only Debbie or Anna could please send me the pictures.... hahaha...
Well, at work (yes, I went to work!) I brought some cakes - it is our office tradition that you bring some cakes on your birthday and put it in the kitchen and send an email out to either your team or all staff ( I guess depending on the amount of cake you brought. hahaha)... anyway, I did that... was fun getting 'happy birthday' greetings all day.
after work, past 5pm, we decided to have dinner out... it was actually an idea we were thinking off all day - but I wasn't sure if we were gonna really do it... I was thinking of calling Debbie, Caleb and family (Anna too) as well as Henry and Marjorie, but considering the fact that it was past 5 by the time we decided, I only ended up calling Debbie (etc) - coz I kinda knew she was on standy for a last minute decision =D
So, we managed to have a fine time at dinner together at Shoppingtown Hotel, where I've been to dinner with my colleagues before. To add the finishing touches to a great night, Henry and Marjorie stopped by and surprised us not just with their presence but also with a thermal full of bubur cha cha =)
now, if only Debbie or Anna could please send me the pictures.... hahaha...
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tesselaar Tulip Festival 2008
Last Sunday, we went to Silvan to see the Tesselaar Tulip Festival
Although I've been told its better at Canberra, this place is much nearer, and it was still great for us since we've never been in a field full of tulips before...
this blog is gonna be quite crowded with pictures, so I'll try to write less =) but we did have quite a lot of photographers that day... all of us took turns at taking pictures!
this picture was taken by Ryan:
And this one was taken by Noel:
here's our tour guide - his name is Nick, he's 11 years old and he's a really cool tour guide!
we went gnome hunting together, so the kids could win a candy prize =)
some things were toooo attractive, we just HAD to take pictures, even if it wasn't tulips...
and this is by far the best decorated tree I've ever seen:
we also took a bite .... here's the tiny pancakes with butter, maple syrup and icing sugar (sorry, we ate the croquettes before we remembered to take pics of it... but it was really yummy... good recommedation from our tour guide!)
then there was a really huge gust of wind that blew the plate away... yes, it can get super windy... and although the pancakes were heavy enough to fall on the table/other plate, the empty plate went flying in the wind, sprinking some icing sugar on Noel on the way... not sure if u'll need to zoom in to the pic to see it though =)
we also took a ride in the horse carriage... it didn't go far, but the kids seemed to love it anyway!
and Noel thanked the horse for the ride! quite literally actually. he went to stroke the horse and said 'thank you for the ride!'
both of them love flowers, apparently. Noel likes touching them...
and Ryan's trying to blend it =)
anyway, the tulips were gorgeous. i LOVE tulips!
they even had miniature windmills...
and I don't know what this tree is called, but its pretty...
aside from tulips there were also a lot of daffodils...
and Ryan and Noel chose a tulip pot each to bring back. They were 2 for $10. Ryan took a bright red one and Noel took a yellow one.
ok, that's most of it. I'm sleepy. gonna sleep now =)
Although I've been told its better at Canberra, this place is much nearer, and it was still great for us since we've never been in a field full of tulips before...
this blog is gonna be quite crowded with pictures, so I'll try to write less =) but we did have quite a lot of photographers that day... all of us took turns at taking pictures!
this picture was taken by Ryan:
And this one was taken by Noel:
here's our tour guide - his name is Nick, he's 11 years old and he's a really cool tour guide!
we went gnome hunting together, so the kids could win a candy prize =)
some things were toooo attractive, we just HAD to take pictures, even if it wasn't tulips...
and this is by far the best decorated tree I've ever seen:
we also took a bite .... here's the tiny pancakes with butter, maple syrup and icing sugar (sorry, we ate the croquettes before we remembered to take pics of it... but it was really yummy... good recommedation from our tour guide!)
then there was a really huge gust of wind that blew the plate away... yes, it can get super windy... and although the pancakes were heavy enough to fall on the table/other plate, the empty plate went flying in the wind, sprinking some icing sugar on Noel on the way... not sure if u'll need to zoom in to the pic to see it though =)
we also took a ride in the horse carriage... it didn't go far, but the kids seemed to love it anyway!
and Noel thanked the horse for the ride! quite literally actually. he went to stroke the horse and said 'thank you for the ride!'
both of them love flowers, apparently. Noel likes touching them...
and Ryan's trying to blend it =)
anyway, the tulips were gorgeous. i LOVE tulips!
they even had miniature windmills...
and I don't know what this tree is called, but its pretty...
aside from tulips there were also a lot of daffodils...
and Ryan and Noel chose a tulip pot each to bring back. They were 2 for $10. Ryan took a bright red one and Noel took a yellow one.
ok, that's most of it. I'm sleepy. gonna sleep now =)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Fathers' Day 2008
Last Sunday was Fathers' Day here in Melbourne... and though the kids still owe Daddy a present (shopping was not on Joey's list of fun things to do), we had a pretty exciting day. You guys won't believe how it began - Joey woke up at 5.45am to be in CityLife Church together with Henry Bong and team to set up the audio equipment for the Sunday Service. Yes, it's the first time, but apparently it's not gonna be the last!
Joey came home to get us, then we went to church for the 9am service, where the Senior Minister, Mark Conner was preaching that day (http://www.markconner.typepad.com/).
After church, we went home to prepare for a picnic with Caleb, Debbie n family... and Joey managed to grab a few minutes of much needed sleeeeep =)
Caleb and Debbie arrived just before the rain did. So, we had some indoor games first (ok, fine, we didn't plan anything, I don't deserve any credit for having a backup plan - like bees to honey, the kids naturally went straight for the Wii remote controls... hehehe). Fortunately for the picnic plans (and unfortunately for the drought), rain here doesn't last long (nor does it pour buckets of rain all down at once). So, once it slowed down, we got into the car, detoured to pick up some pizzas (which, if u get the ones on sale on Sundays, can range from $3.49 to just under $9 per large pizza... we ended up choosing 2 of our favorite large pizzas, including the special pastry crust we were trying out for the first time, and 2 boxes of brownies, which altogether cost less than $18.00).
Armed with Pizzas, Brownies, Chicken Wings, Sausages, Snacks and Juices, we were on our way to Ruffey Lake Park! One problem though - it was still raining. So, we told Ryan he better pray for the rain to stop, or else we'ld have to go home instead of having a picnic, and without a second thought, he quickly prayed for that. Who can guess what happened? Seriously, God truly honours the prayers prayed with such childlike faith. When we got to the park, the rain had stopped, and the kids ran straight for the playground (which had those big sail-looking shades so it wasn't wet).
There are hot plates provided for public use in the park (just hold down the 'on' button for a few seconds) which we knew about, hence the presence of the uncooked chicken wings and sausages... anyway, it's a pretty cool (err... I mean, hot... haha) facility! Note: the building in the background is the restrooms.
Joey cooked the sausages n chicken wings
and Caleb watched over the kids and took pictures,
while Debbie and I took a moment to enjoy the breeze and think about what a great way it was to spend Fathers' Day (with one father cooking, the other taking care of kids and the 2 of us relaxing). Hahahaha! Well, our magical moment lasted about 10 seconds then we went on with setting up the picnic. =)
The parks here are very well equipped. Besides the awesome playground, public cooking facilities, and restrooms nearby, there are also sheltered areas with tables and chairs,
and even drinking water fountains! (Just twist the tap once to turn on, and again to turn off)
As much as the kids enjoyed the food,
they definitely enjoyed the playground much more!
After we packed everything up and were ready to go, the rain began to fall again, and we happily returned to our cars, with memories of a successful Fathers' Day picnic...
p.s. thanks, CalebDebbie, for the pictures that you recognize on this page ;)
Joey came home to get us, then we went to church for the 9am service, where the Senior Minister, Mark Conner was preaching that day (http://www.markconner.typepad.com/).
After church, we went home to prepare for a picnic with Caleb, Debbie n family... and Joey managed to grab a few minutes of much needed sleeeeep =)
Caleb and Debbie arrived just before the rain did. So, we had some indoor games first (ok, fine, we didn't plan anything, I don't deserve any credit for having a backup plan - like bees to honey, the kids naturally went straight for the Wii remote controls... hehehe). Fortunately for the picnic plans (and unfortunately for the drought), rain here doesn't last long (nor does it pour buckets of rain all down at once). So, once it slowed down, we got into the car, detoured to pick up some pizzas (which, if u get the ones on sale on Sundays, can range from $3.49 to just under $9 per large pizza... we ended up choosing 2 of our favorite large pizzas, including the special pastry crust we were trying out for the first time, and 2 boxes of brownies, which altogether cost less than $18.00).
Armed with Pizzas, Brownies, Chicken Wings, Sausages, Snacks and Juices, we were on our way to Ruffey Lake Park! One problem though - it was still raining. So, we told Ryan he better pray for the rain to stop, or else we'ld have to go home instead of having a picnic, and without a second thought, he quickly prayed for that. Who can guess what happened? Seriously, God truly honours the prayers prayed with such childlike faith. When we got to the park, the rain had stopped, and the kids ran straight for the playground (which had those big sail-looking shades so it wasn't wet).
There are hot plates provided for public use in the park (just hold down the 'on' button for a few seconds) which we knew about, hence the presence of the uncooked chicken wings and sausages... anyway, it's a pretty cool (err... I mean, hot... haha) facility! Note: the building in the background is the restrooms.
Joey cooked the sausages n chicken wings
and Caleb watched over the kids and took pictures,
while Debbie and I took a moment to enjoy the breeze and think about what a great way it was to spend Fathers' Day (with one father cooking, the other taking care of kids and the 2 of us relaxing). Hahahaha! Well, our magical moment lasted about 10 seconds then we went on with setting up the picnic. =)
The parks here are very well equipped. Besides the awesome playground, public cooking facilities, and restrooms nearby, there are also sheltered areas with tables and chairs,
and even drinking water fountains! (Just twist the tap once to turn on, and again to turn off)
As much as the kids enjoyed the food,
they definitely enjoyed the playground much more!
After we packed everything up and were ready to go, the rain began to fall again, and we happily returned to our cars, with memories of a successful Fathers' Day picnic...
p.s. thanks, CalebDebbie, for the pictures that you recognize on this page ;)
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