Hokkaido Day2: Lake Toya, Bear Ranch, Mt. Uzuzan

The bus brought us to Lake Toya, a volcanic lake, we all hopped off to have a look at the view and take pictures. It was sooooo cold, we quickly had our pictures taken and hopped back into the bus 

A short ride later, we arrived at the bear ranch. There was a souvenir shop which we walked around for a while, then headed to look at the bears. We bought apples and snacks for them. The bears were really cute, the moment they see you with food, the will stand on the hind legs ans wave at you to throw at them. You both had a wonderful time throwing food at them. Mei-mei was lousier with her aim. Daddy managed to throw right into their mouths several times.

Daddy bought some ice-cream for the both of you (he shared with Mei-mei) while waiting for the rest of the group to finish with their shopping:

And here is Mei-mei chasing daddy everywhere for ice-cream, despite her already trembling from the cold. The people who saw her were laughing at her antics:

We were given lunch before heading up the ropeway. Here is Mei-mei's feast (Wow!!):

We were all given this wonderful spread:

And this was the view of Mt. Usuzan from the ropeway:

It was so cold up there that daddy's camera could not work. It froze. Poor daddy he was so sad that he could not take pictures.

There was a pathway to walk further up the mountain. But it was too cold that daddy had to turn back with Mei-mei while we continued on. Here's a wefie we took:

After that we hopped onto the bus to head to Noboribetsu.

Hokkaido Day2: Morning in Rusutsu Resort

We woke up and dressed up as we wanted to have breakfast and head out to play in the snow again. Here you are posing with an antique car:

And then.. everyone had fun in the snow:

Attacking Chim Poh

Having fun

Attacking daddy

Having fun with daddy:

We headed to the outside of the resort to enjoy the view. Here is the mountain.. so lovely:

On our way back, you requested for a picture with the "talking tree"

Then we checked out and hopped on the bus to head to our next stop.

Hokkaido Day1: Rusutsu Resort

It was such an early morning. And a good thing we opted to stay in Sama-Sama Hotel. We all woke up, showered and headed to the airport via the free buggy-shuttle. The tour was very well arranged and we met with our tour leader who had everythng ready for us all. Checked in and went to the departure hall where we headed to the Plaza Premium Lounge to have breakfast. 

Soon it was time to get ready to get into the plane. We all got to sit together in a row. Mei-mei had special food for child and it was even specifically listed as "No Peanuts". Look at this:

But you were not feeling well during the flight, complaining about your jeans being tight (I think you had a bloated tummy). And just as we were about to land.. you decided to vomit! Yup... sigh. The stewardesses who were already seated and belted and to get up and give us lots of wet towels, tissue paper and bag to throw the yucky stuff into.

Once we landed we headed to clear immigration and while daddy waited for the bags, we headed to the restroom to change. Luckily I had packed extra as the tour leader had informed and reminded us to pack spare clothes as the earlier flights had to be stranded in the airport due to heavy snowfall.

Finally we got into the bus for a rather long ride to the Rusutsu Resort. It was a massive resort and the tour guide showed us the many restaurants which we could dine in. We decided to have dinner in the  Restaurant Oktober Fest. Here's the only picture I took of the food we ate:

Oh and of course the Sapporo beer:

Dinner was a bit hurried as we had arrived late and the restaurant closed at 9pm!! (Last serving)

We headed back to our rooms to suit up  and keep our bags after dinner so that you both can enjoy the snow.. 

Mei-mei all smiles as she plays with snow for the first time

Well, Ko-ko also seemed as delighted as Mei-mei

Christmas Dinner

Dinner was planned to start at 3pm. But in the end we started at around 6 pm. First on the menu is crostini.. cheese and tomatoes on baguette. We also had a ham platter. All these served with white wine:

Earlier, daddy had already cooked the pasta sauce. It was for Spaghetti Marinara. After we had eaten the appetizers, we continued with the main course with red wine:

Here you are wolfing down the big pate of pasta:

And here is Mei-mei enjoying her "tomato sauce"pasta. She said that it was the best pasta:

To finish the leisurely Christmas dinner, we had a cheese and dried fruit platter:

And the finale for the night was opening presents for you kids. As we had to leave early the next day, you guys got to open your presents on Christmas eve.

Movie Time

We took a day off earlier than the shut down to spend some time with you kids as we had not taken a day off the whole school holidays. Movies and a little Christmas dinner shopping was planned. Since the movie to watch was "Rogue One: A Star Wars Movie" which would not have suited you, I booked tickets for "Sing" for you and me while Ko-ko watched with daddy.

Brunch was a yummy quick lunch in Mandarin Cafe followed by a quick drop by Citibank and then we headed to Gurney Plaza. 

Here are some pictures of you all posing with the props before movie time:

You said I did not take a picture of you with the WHOLE prop.. so have to take another picture:

Tried to take a picture for the both of you while daddy queued to buy water, but could only take of Ko-ko as you were too short.

Had to wait for daddy to carry you so that I can take a picture with the both of you:

As usual halfway through the movie, you complained and said that you wanted to go home. But after some persuasion, you stayed and loved the ending. You were dancing to the songs being sung in the finale.

Before going home, we quickly stopped by Cold Storage to pick up some stuff which daddy needed to cook our Christmas eve dinner.

Cycling Fun

Safe and Sound

Ask you to hold on to the bread, and thjs is what it get!!!

Christmas in Queensbay Mall

We'd seen the beautiful Christmas decorations in Queensbay. So 2 weekends ago we brought you all to Queensbay. Had yummy kai see hor fun for lunch then we headed to the central atrium where the decorations were put up. Here's what you both got to enjoy:

You had a go at the Nerf shooting game and won yourself something.

Daddy bought you 2 tickets. The 2nd time around we made sure tou got to sit on the front seat where you rang the bell throughout the while ride.

Here you are posing with the toy daddy won you in the "Claw" game.

And here you are with the toy you won.

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Happy birthday to the world's best daddy. Had a wonderful time preparing with the kids: planning on the cards and sneaking the birthday present which Mei-mei let out of the bag. We managed to keep it a secret until 5 minutes before it was time to surprise daddy...

Handmade is the Best

On Saturday we spent time planning and making daddy's birthday card. First round was with Ko-ko while Mei-mei had her nap. We Googled and come up with this "i Pad" sine we could not afford to buy him an actual iPad *grin*

Here's the final results:

*we thought to put "disgusting" for one of the "D"... but thought better of it...

Here's the back which looks like an iPad:

And Ko-ko posing with his completed project:

After Mei-mei woke up, we also worked on her card. Here's the items you picked from my craft box. Helped you cut the words and put the glue while you stuck thrm on the card:

And you added the words inside the card :

And you posing with the card too:

Evelyn's Interesting Statements

1. Going to work
When I was in mummy's tummy I also get to go to work with mummy.

2. Let me tell you a joke
Once upon a time..... the end
You said you learnt this joke from Lynette.

Mega Sports Camp

For Mei-mei it was her first time attending the sport camp. For Ko-ko it was his 6th time attending. And as usual this was a fun event. Friday ended with you both and HZ getting a treat from Ah Ma: lunch in Wendy's.
To my surprise there was even a medal/trophy stash for the both of you.

Gift for Your Teachers

You decided that thete were a few teachers who you wanted to make gifts for. So on the final weekend before school holidays we made 2 flowers: for Miss Florence and Miss Bernice and a caterpillar for Mrs. Koong.

Here you are,  busy painting the egg carton which will be the gifts.