... so good for the kids to visit USA for the first time

Connie and I did the unthinkable (Singapore terms), we took Jon out of school for a week after his Sept school holidays so that we can have 2 weeks in US. We flew into LA, drove to Las Vegas and then on to San Francisco.

We did all the tourist stuff like Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios, etc in LA, Golden Bridge in SFO and Circus, Circus, etc in Vegas. Our stay in Excalibur in Vegas was also exciting for the kids (and the big kids, us). It was also our first visit to a factory outlet and we bought all sorts of stuff including crockery for our house.

The kids were excited to get autographs from all the Disney characters. This was the first of many visits to US for Disney, skiing and other vacations. 

At the end of days, the best legacy we can leave for our kids are memories of our good time though they may be too young to remember some of the trips.

... so good to have MacD as the party organiser for Ken's 4th birthday

We took the easy way out to celebrate Ken's 4th birthday. We went to MacDonald with about 30 of his friends from church. They took care of the food and entertainment. It is certainly a lot easier than to have it at home - with the catering and cleaning up.

They even made him the 'Indian' chief for a day with feather head dress and all.

Below is Ken with the spoils gifts that he got !!!

Following that the family took a short break at Turi Beach resort on Batam island. It was a really relaxing time for all after the hustle and bustle of the party.

... so good to take a small break (just the two of us)

Was sent to Sydney, Australia for training. So Connie joined me after that for a short weekend at Hunter Valley. We visited the VineYards for wine tasting. The unique experience was having lunch in a restaurant on the vineyard and they brought different wine to taste during the meal. We also visited some fruit farms - fresh peaches, apples, etc.

We stayed a night in a motel in the area and had a lovely steak dinner with local wine. Safer to stay the night than try to get back to Sydney after all the wine tasting and drinking at the meals. So good to have some couple time!