First day at Broomfield Academy for Tyler

Everyone got up bright and early this morning as it was Tyler's first day at his new school.  Broomfield Academy.

The school is more like a real school in that they meet on playground, have structured lessons and have a uniform/dress code.

We think that Tyler will enjoy it, he did look like a 'real boy' on his first day.

Check out my uniform Mummy !!

Terry and Shane visit Colorado

One of my best friends Terry came to visit us over the long weekend of Thanksgiving. He even brought his son Shane with him which was a treat as i have not seen him since he was born.

It was a nice relaxing 3 days. We spent it mainly doing things with the kids. Shane and Tyler got along pretty well and Shane was showing Tyler the ropes on how to conquer the Ipad. He's an Ipad whiz.

The kids break the ice playing with Thomas

Shane showing Tyler how to play the Ipad like a pro

They spent many hours huddled over the Ipad

We played with play-doh

Went to expend some energy at Jumping Jordy's

They pretend to fight

Tyler showed Shane the way round the tunnels at the play area

More computer games

The one time we get to go out for a meal at a restaurant

One quiet morning when Tyler and Cody were in school

Shane and Tyler played really well the entire time they were together as Shane was a very pleasant and mellow kid. And Tyler must have liked him a lot because when he found out that Shane had left while he was still in school, he burst into tears. This is what i call affection. Never seen it before! :) And the next morning, he even told me he dreamt of him. Wow!! Unbelievable...

In fact, i shall record the conversation we had just for remembrance:

While we were driving home..
Me : Tyler, Shane has gone home to Chicago, OK?
Tyler : (looking a little sad).. Why?
Me : because his plane has arrived to take him home.

When we got home,
Tyler : Mommy, Shane is just sleeping upstairs, right? He's taking a nap.. right? Mommy??
Me : No, Tyler.. Shane has gone home..
Tyler : No...
Me : Yes, Tyler.. look at his shoes, they are not there anymore..
Tyler : wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........

Anyways, it was definitely a treat for me to have them for a few days. We promise to visit the next time around!!

Tyler completes a stickman

Tyler is advanced in many things, but he has never really got the concept, or drawn a stickman.  We have been working for the last few weeks with him on his stickman and he finally seems to get it.

Here is his best effort to date.

Stickman with Stickman?

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving this year was hosted by the Chandrasekaras. We each brought a dish to contribute to the feast and everybody gave their best this year and everything was super yummy!

As part of a short entertainment, Addy and I had a "who wears it better" event where we both wore our "shar pei" boots. I think those are the coolest looking boots ever!

Louisville Turkey Trot 5k

My second turkey trot of the year, this one is actually on Thanksgiving day.  I wasn't planning on racing today, but this event was free with a donation, so I signed up and luckily the weather was really pleasant for November.

I finished in 20 minutes 28 seconds finishing 52 out of 594 finishers and was back home by 10:30, so now I can eat turkey and roasties without worrying about it.

Last day at Goddard for Tyler

When Tyler came back from the Philippines we enrolled him back at Goddard school and for the last six months he has enjoyed being back at school and learning new things with Goddard.

Because of when he was born, he is in a class where he is one of the oldest, and some of the children are nearly a year younger than him so we took the opportunity of looking around to see what other options were available and we decided to move Tyler to a different school.

This was a tough decision, but we feel it will be better for him longer term and will give him a little more focus !!

His teachers at Goddard have been great and Cody is still going to school there, although he recently moved to a new class and is starting to settle in.

Tyler with his teachers

Siew Gin is a winner

Our kids spend their days drinking milk that has PediaSmart added in it to ensure they maintain their weight.  The company that makes it had a competition for people to write in and give thanks and winners would become a featured story and receive some free products.

Siew Gin wrote a great story and was one of the 5 winners chosen to be published.

Winner !!

Here is the story


"Give Thanks"
Greatest Lessons In Life...by Siew gin Mills

When I was young, my mom always told me that if I did all my homework, I would never have to work hard. What she forgot to mention was, oh yeah, don't have kids! But I suspect that was an intentional omission on her part. As crazy busy and hectic as my life before, it is nothing compared to after the kids arrived. I once thought I was invincible and had all the answers. But, faced with 2 children with eating disorders quickly put humility in me. Each day they showed me new ways to harvest more patience and forgive more easily. Every meal time encouraged creativity that I never knew I had. And most of all, every night I go to bed knowing they are the greatest gift in my life. So, this Thanksgiving, I am grateful to my kids for these great lessons in life, to my mom for keeping the secret and to PediaSmart for providing me the peace of mind that my kids are getting the boost they need to continue to prosper in all they do.

Just like Geronimo !!

Many years ago we visited Geronimo in Santa Fe and forever afterward we have used this as our basis of restaurant comparison, often uttering the phrase - it's no Geronimo...

One of my favorite dishes is the fiery chile prawns with crispy jasmine almond rice cakes and caper basil sauce.

Original Geronimo fiery chile prawns

Geronimo published a book which contains many recipes including my favorite one so I got the book for Siew Gin and have pestered her for years to make it.  Once in a while she would look at the recipe and say it was too long, too complicated etc etc, but I never gave up hope.

So this weekend I finally got the chance to eat home cooked Geronimo and it was as good as Geronimo if not better !!

Home cooked Siew Gin fiery Chile prawns

Siew Gin was inspired to make more items from the book, which can only be good news for me !!

Executive chef Siew Gin at Chez Millser
enjoying the fruits of her labor

So perhaps we now have a new catchphrase - it's no Siew Gin chile prawn.

Visiting the firestation

We wanted to visit the firestation when Grandma was visiting, but we didn't make it, so this Saturday we got up early, got the kids fed and headed to downtown Denver to visit the firefighters museum.

It is quite a small museum considering how big Denver is, in reality it is just one floor of exhibits.  Tyler was really excited and rushed to get dressed up as a fireman, Cody wasn't so interested.

Where is my hose?

Siew Gin had a good time riding in the kids fire engine, but I couldn't persuade her to slide down the pole.

Move over Mummy, let me drive

Cody showed some interest as the day progressed, and he and Tyler enjoyed exploring the fireman's locker.

Look at all the stuff
we found

We finished off our trip with lunch at Domo.   Both Tyler and Cody seemed to enjoy the food as much as the garden and we actually got a family picture.

Lunch is served !!

Kumon Update - 4A completed

Almost two months to the day since Tyler completed Kumon 5A, today he took his 4A test and passed with 96%.

His progress has slowed a little as it gets harder, but now he is actually reading small stories by himself and recognizing many words.

His writing is still messy, but is getting better each day, as his teacher said "Good job Tyler"

4A Completed

Here are the details of the 1st few levels


7A In the first level of the Kumon Reading Program, beginning readers build a sight word vocabulary through enjoyable "look, listen and repeat" exercises. Large, colorful illustrations help students grasp the connection between spoken and written language. Parents can help motivate children by reading with them every day.

6A Students continue to build a sight word vocabulary, adding longer phrases and more advanced words. Students begin to recite familiar words from memory in preparation for the transition to phonics study in Level 5A.

5A Phonics exercises help students learn individual letter sounds and consonant-short vowel combinations. Students increase concentration, improve hand-eye coordination, and develop writing skills.

4A More sound parts, including consonant clusters, are introduced. Students trace words and begin freehand letter writing by filling in missing letters within words. These exercises, as well as exercises that focus on rhyming words, help develop students' spelling skills.

3A Students develop greater pencil control by writing properly proportioned and spaced letters within box guidelines. Students develop their ability to read longer words through exercises focusing on syllables. Spelling skills are developed throughout the level, and for the first time, students demonstrate reading comprehension through matching exercises.

100,000 and counting

At the end of July I hit the 50,000 calorie mark for exercise, and today I just went over 100,000.  Good news is I can continue to drink those cokes, and lets hope it translates into a good Bolder Boulder time next year !!

100,000 and counting

Longmont Turkey Trot - 2 Miler

I ran the Longmont turkey trot this morning.  A perfect flat course for a change !! woke up to great weather, but reports on the radio said up to 70 mph winds.

I haven't done much training for the last month, so I wasn't confident of a great time, but I managed to finish 36th out of 639 which isn't so bad considering. I did finish fourth in my age group, so will need to get back into training as colder boulder is coming up soon.

Butterflies and Zip Wires

We wanted to visit the firestation today, but is was closed, then we thought lets go visit the aquarium, but is was closed, so we settled on visiting the butterfly pavilion.

None of us had been there before, even though it is very close to our house, and I was interested to see how Tyler and Cody would react.

Today must have been butterfly day, as there were a lot of people visiting, but we did get a chance to get close to the spiders and butterflies.

Only Daddy was brave enough to have the spider climb over him, and Tyler didn't like butterflies flying overhead, but he did enjoy the zip wire..

We finished off with a quick treasure hunt before heading home.

Where are the bugs?

Is that a spider in your hand
or are you just pleased to see me?

One day I will be
 a beautiful butterfly !!

I am a butterfly already daddy !!

Blue butterfly anyone?

Italian Dinner

As Grandma is only here for a few more days, and Friday is usually difficult to get a restaurant we went out tonight for Italian food at Trattoria on Pearl  This got good reviews on Yelp, but Siew Gin didn't think the food was great. I thought it was okay and it was certainly plentiful.

Sabrina, Siobhan and Damith also joined us to help celebrate Grandma leaving (well okay that wasn't how they phrased it), and we finished up with Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory

Who can look the most silly?

Of course it is okay to wear a hat in a restaurant Cody !!

Painting our own planes

Tyler and Cody came home from school early today, so we let them paint their planes. I am not sure that any of us would get a full time job doing this, but they turned out quite well, and once they were try they took great delight in launching them around the house.

Okay, ready to paint now !!

Yes Mummy, I am left handed !!

Mummy, Daddy left you half a plane to paint !!

I don't have a favorite grandson

Sushi Yoshi - Siew Gin eats the entire menu

Well not exactly the entire menu, but most of it !!

Siew Gin assure me that the food is good and well worth the trip to the abandoned strip mall to eat at Sushi Yoshi.

We saw only one other table occupied when we ate at the restaurant, and not quite sure how they make enough money to keep the business running, but it was nice to have a night out with the wife while Grandma took care of the kids.

Yes I will eat it all !!

Hammond's Candies Factory Tour

Fresh from our tea tour, what better than to follow it up with a candy tour.  Hammond's candies has been around since 1920 and it looked to me like some of the machines had been there since then.

This is a pot-luck tour in that it depends on what is happening on the factory floor at any given moment as each day they make something different.

It was interesting to me that they are making sweets for valentines day now, so candy must have a long shelf life.

Here are some pictures

An original machine?

Ready to deliver those candies

Anyone for Tea?

Where else apart from Boulder can you find a factory that makes 1.6 billion cups of tea every year.  Well I guess somewhere in China or India !!

We took the opportunity to visit Celestial Seasonings where we got a tour round the factory and saw a variety of rooms including my personal favorite the peppermint room..

All in all, it was very interesting to see the tea production line...

Outside the tea store

Balloons away

We had a lot of left over balloons from the party and Tyler wanted to let them go outside as he still remembers setting a lantern aloft when he was in Malaysia.

We didn't have a lantern, but we tied two balloons together, and then Tyler was in charge of letting them float into space.

Daddy, will it land on the moon?

Sapna finally cooks dinner

We have known Sapna for many years, and for many years we have been angling for a dinner invitation.  This weekend Sapna finally cooked dinner (well technically her mother did all the cooking !!).

The food and the company was great, and all joking apart we look forward to a repeat invitation soon.

Tyler enjoyed the Dosa and the rest of the family really enjoyed the Masala Dosa.

Here are some of the ladies getting ready to eat..

Ready for our dinner

Say Cheese

In a cheese themed week, Evelyn decided she wanted a cheeseburger for lunch, so we went to Red Robin Gourmet Burgers as it was the closest burger joint to where we were shopping.

As we often say it is no Geronimo, but it is great for the kids and grandparents..

Of course it will fit !!

Frasca

After visiting Alan's all time dream restaurant - Chuck E Cheese yesterday, it was time for the restaurant of my dreams - Frasca! Known to be the swankiest restaurant in Boulder, i was more than psyched when Alan sent me an invitation to it.

Dumping the kids with Grandma, we got half dolled up for our Frasca Experience!

Upon arrival, we were seated promptly seated by our very professional yet NOT snooty servers and then the feast begins! We started with the proscuitto plate which was fantastic. Then Alan went on with our usual restaurant competition where we compete to see who ordered the better dish and here are the scores.

1st course       Guiney Hen 2 ways with Polenta (Alan)
                       Cure King Salmon (Siew Gin)
                       The Guiney Hen was flavorful and went perfectly with the creamy polenta. My king salmon was a little salty but was interesting. So, 1 for Alan.

2nd course      Chanterelle Mushrom with Creamy Gnocchi (Alan)
                        Pasta with Spicy Sausage with rapini (Siew Gin)
                        The was a clear win for Alan because his Gnocchi was creamy and light and the mushroom was a perfect complement to the dish. Mine.. was ehhh... So, 2 for Alan, zero for me still.

3rd course      Some sort of Australian Lamb (Alan)
                       Poached salmon with salmon roe (Siew Gin)
                       The lamb was perfectly cooked(as it wasn't well done for once)  and even though my salmon was the best poached salmon i've ever had, i had to give up my last vote to Alan's awesome lamb.

4th course     House chocolates
                      Apple turnovers
                     I was too full by this point to eat anymore so, Alan had his chocolates and i took my apple turnovers home. But according to Alan, they were both OK.

So, Alan practically had a clean sweep this time around and i vow to pick better courses next time!

Anyways, it was a great treat for Alan and I to go out and do one of our favorite things and we hope to get another one while Evelyn is still around.

Chuck E. Cheese - Becoming an American

You are not truly an American citizen until you have visited and eaten at Chuck E. Cheese. It even says that somewhere in the things you have to learn before taking the citizenship test.

So as we had two children (well four if you include Mummy and Grandma) and it was Cody's birthday we took the chance to kill five mice with one birthday.

It wasn't what I was expecting, perhaps because the weather wasn't so good there weren't hoards of children running around, but overall it was pretty much as you would imagine.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, Cody loved the bus and burned most of his tokens riding it again and again.

After several hours of play we had amassed 85 tickets (prizes) which isn't a lot as the big prizes kick in at 10,000 tickets (okay maybe 300), but we did manage to get a 'rubber lizard' and a 'plastic fish'.

Here are the kids playing.

Tickets please !!

Lets squirt Daddy !!

Arts and Crafts

Cody wanted to paint and Tyler wanted to play with play-doh so we had an arts and crafts morning today.

Not sure either is a budding artist based on their creations, not sure Grandma was any better so we can blame it on the genes.

Can you see what it is yet?

Can you spot Tyler and Cody Pictures?

Grandma supervising proceedings.