We went to Singapore Jurong Bird Park for the very first time as a family today. It was fun, Fun, FUN!

The ‘Birds n Buddies Show‘ was so good! I, the big kid, insisted on watching the performance twice; once at 11.00am and the other at 3.00pm. So do not be surprised to see photos of the show taken from different angles below:

Everything about the show was so entertaining. The most engaging item for the children had to be the battle between the two parrots. My boys were cheering so loudly for their White Parrot ‘Sunny‘ !

Well, we went for the other show too, ‘Kings of the Skies‘. Though Allan loves eagles and I love vultures, which are the stars in this show, we were not as captivated to the way the show was presented as compared to the Birds n Buddies Show.

But all of these were not as fun as FEEDING THE BIRDS!!! There were a few funny moments during the feeding time, but sadly they were not caught on the videos below. *sad*

They fed the Ostriches!
But before they got near to the mouths of the Fastest Running Birds in the whole world, they had a chance to hold their eggs. *smile*

Binbin had a shock at the strength of the female ostrich, when she ‘snatched‘ the banana from his hand. His facial expression was so funny! It was as if a giantic poo landed at his feet! *huge laugh* After that, he dare not feed the ostriches anymore… So sad, his funny expression was not caught on tape… *pout*

Check out the steady-boom-beep-beep Keatkeat feeding the male ostrich in the video below:

They fed the Pelicans too!
Keatkeat took many steps back and did the Javelin-Throw for his last fish in his packet.
He was so cool!
Too bad, I ended my video-recording too soon, hoping to save my video-phone battery life… which in the end, still died earlier than our time spent in the Singapore Jurong Bird Park. *sigh*
So that awesome Javelin-Throw was not captured in the video below too… *pout*

There was also another place where the kids could feed smaller birds, but they did not want to because the birds were TOO INTIMATE! *laugh*

The birds were all over the bodies of whoever that holds the cup of watery bird food. Even when there were no food on the lady’s head (below), the bird still stood on it. *giggle*

The kids did not want that to happen, lest the bird leaves a smelly souvenir on their head. *laugh*

So my kids merely stood a distance away from the ‘loving‘ birds for some photos-taking.

"My Soft Toy Parrot wants to Talk To You!"

Just like the Singapore Zoological Gardens, the Singapore Jurong Bird Park now has a water-playground too! The Singapore Jurong Bird Park calls it the ‘Birdz of Play‘.

What disappointed me was the price for the ‘Lunch with Parrots‘. Yes, I was expecting it to be on the high side, but I did not expect it to be that high:

We were definitely not ready to spend $68 for a lunch, so the boys ended up with a $5.50 hotdog bun as their noon meal.

We did not visit every section of the Singapore Jurong Bird Park because there were occasions when we were ‘hiding‘ away from the rain and the kids were so engrossed with the fake fossils discovery. They had so much fun sweeping the sand, we ended up resting under that shelter for many minutes.

The Ostrich was Peeping at Them while They were Busy Sweeping Sand.

Other birds we saw at the Singapore Jurong Bird Park which halted our footsteps:

What made my heart took flight in the Singapore Jurong Bird Park was my children’s willingness to hold bags, without complaining about tiredness, nor complaining about getting wet in the rain, nor complaining about melting in their perspiration. *Thumbs Up*

We remembered the last time we brought them to the Singapore Zoological Gardens, Binbin was still so young and he fell asleep when our exploration trip was not done yet, and Allan had to carry him and walked under the hot sun….

So to reward them, we grabbed the Buy One Get One Free promotion and bought two sets of $15 per set Soft Toys for my 6 year old and 8 year old. *smile*

Keatkeat's

BinBin's

Will we go back to Singapore Jurong Bird Park again? High Chance! But not in the near future that is….*wink*
Singapore Jurong Bird Park

First time into this Cinema for the kids too. Wearing the 3D glasses for the first time was such an amusing experience for my children as well. Many “first time” for them today I guess.

Binbin kept asking if we could keep the 3D glasses. He wanted it so much, he almost went to the staff and made that request himself. *laugh*

I hardly talk about Santa Claus and so to my children I did not get questions like, “But Mummy, I thought you said that Santa Claus do this and that? Why the movie is not like that?” Which was what I heard from the other children in the cinema.

*phew*

To my boys, its just a cartoon and since young they knew that most cartoons are unrealistic. Keatkeat said, “Santa does not have spaceship, he rides on sledge.” Binbin remarked, “And its not true that there are so many elves, right? Maybe a few. Its also not possible to wrap a bicycle when its moving! Who could do that?!”

“Well, wrapping elf did it!” I laughed and Binbin rolled his eyes at me. *laugh*

But Binbin continued to say, “I liked the way the wrapping elf said ’3′.” and he mimicked the wrapping elf’s action and expression when the wrapping elf said that he could wrap any presents of any size single-handedly with just 3 tapes. Binbin’s expression was so cute! *smile*

“I like Arthur’s shoes too! So funny! Hahaha…” laughed Binbin.
“I bought it from China.” Keatkeat mimicked Arthur’s tone and voice.
Binbin: “Did he say that?!”
Keatkat: “Yes! Didn’t you hear?”

*laugh*

Keatkeat: “I like how the elves scream “Santa! Santa! Santa!” and the way they delivered the presents to the different children all over the world.”

As for me, I like the story behind the movie. A story about making every child’s wish come true and no child should be left behind, without a present on Christmas Day. Afterall, Christmas IS the Season of Giving. *smile*

There were not many moments which made me laugh out loud, but many giggles along the way. It was a good way to end this busy day of ours. *smile*

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS THE MOVIE

Whereas, this new 7-metre tall tree house playground is right at the other end, where the Koi fish pond is. You would need to exit from the glass door nearest to the Long Beach Seafood restaurant at level 3.

So he was reluctant to slide down at first.

After a minute or so of assuring him that the material of the slide and the way the slide is structured is different from the one at Kidz Amaze, he was willing to give a go.

And he went again…

and again…

and again… *laugh*

The most satisfying part is to see your child conquering his fear resulted from his past experience.

Good job Binbin! *thumbs up*

New Playground at IMM

During the school holidays, the cinemas are often lined up with movies which steal the hearts of the young ones easily. This September 2011, one week school holiday, we went for two movies at two different countries! *wink*

Yes, you read it right. Two different countries. First was ‘Cars 2′ in hometown, Singapore and the other was ‘The Smurfs’ in neighboring country, Malaysia.

Movie 1: Cars 2 at Golden Village Jurong Point, Singapore.
With my Lobang Queen Sis, the six of us could enjoy this movie at S$24! Thank you sis! So, did my boys enjoy it? You bet! Even though they have been watching different mini sections of the movie on YouTube before they see it on the big screen, they still loved it!

Afterall, ‘Cars’ is the ONLY cartoon which they had watched more than 400 times in two years! So to fall deeply in love with Cars 2 is only natural. *wink*

Movie 2: The Smurfs at TGV Tebrau City Shopping Centre, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
This is our very first movie in Malaysia and our experience is more than nice, it was Awesome!

As it was not a school holiday period for the students in Malaysia, the cinema was pretty empty for the first show of the day at 11.25am.

The cinema was smelling clean and the seats were so comfortable. Furthermore, we went today, which is a Monday, so the popcorn was at RM5.00 only! Every Monday is ‘Happy Monday Popz’! Hooray! *Grin*

Have you catch a movie with your child this school holiday yet?

This is my favourite McDonalds outlet in Singapore by far! Not solely because it used to be where I worked at, rather because of its greenery. McDonalds Ridout Tea Garden at #01-580 Queensway. Its NOT the McDonalds at QUEENSWAY SHOPPING CENTRE.

There used to be a big signage ‘Ridout Tea Garden’ mount on the half-wall by the roadside, but was no longer there when these photos were taken.

It is about 10 to 15 mins walk from the Commonwealth MRT station, well, it depends on how fast your footsteps are. *wink*

It is a great place to hold a child’s birthday party. How do I know? Well, I used to be involved in several parties held there, whereby I served many hamburgers and fries to the excited kids. Aaawww… great memories! *smile*

It is probably the ONLY place where you can see tortoises and fishes being fed with french fries. *tongue in cheek* Nah! Its just that we often see the french fries packaging at the bottom of the pond. *laugh*

If your child is not fascinated by the different fishes swimming in the pond with the cutey tortoises, he or she might prefer the climb-in-slide-out play area. If your child is fond of greenery, just like my younger son, a walk in the big florist behind the McDonalds Ridout Tea Garden restaurant will definitely bring a smile to your child’s face.

Have your child been to McDoanlds Ridout Tea Garden before? Did your child like it?