Desaru and Halloween

We took another road trip to Malaysia! This time we went to a very small town on the coast called Desaru. It was a very quiet little place and we were one of about four families in the entire hotel! The hotel was right on the beach, so that was nice and the pool was great. We even rented jet skis and took turns speeding around with the boys. We only stayed for a couple days but we did manage to eat some "deep fried butter lobster" and visit the Ostrich Farm and it was amazing! Having already eaten by the time we got to the Ostrich Farm, we decided against the ostrich satay - maybe next time.

Also, last month we entered the boys into another swim meet at the American Club. It was the first one for Jonah and he did a great job! He came in second place in the freestyle by about one second! So close! And he and Matt came in second in their "Piggy Back Class" where Matt had to swim across the pool with Jonah on his back. Hilarious! And finally, Jonah entered the "Kickboard Class" and did not fare so well. We learned it is far easier for him to swim the full length of the pool than it is to float with a kickboard. It was so funny and we could not contain our laughter at the side of the pool - Jonah was not amused.

Ethan also entered three classes - the freestyle, the backstroke, and freestyle relay with Matt - he came in First Place in all three events! Yahoo!! It was very exciting and we've got lots of ribbons and medals to show for it. :)

The last few photos are from Halloween this year. Although Liam wore his Thomas costume a few times, they all eventually decided on Star Wars characters - Ethan was Rex, Jonah was Jengo Fett, and Liam was Yoda. It was a crazy evening because just as the kids were about to head out trick-or-treating, the skies opened and the torrential downpour began! It lasted for about 1 1/2 hours so we sat around waiting. . . and waiting. Finally it slowed down enough to run around to a few houses and then stop by a friend's house for a nice visit before we took Matt to the airport for a two-week trip to the US! It was a very hectic evening. The best part of the day was the boys winning First Place in a costume contest at a local restaurant! They got a great goodie bag which included a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant - nice!

I have also included some recent photos of Jonah's field trip to Little India in celebration of Deepavali. We had a great time and Jonah even got a really cool Henna tattoo on his arm. And also included are some photos from our recent trip to the zoo!

Sidenote - don't have any photographic proof but wanted to mention that Ethan recently tried out for the U10 travelling soccer team at SAS and made the team! Yaaaay! We are all very proud and excited. Now we just need to schedule that extra activity into his other soccer team, hockey, swimming, and tennis practices. . . no problem!