When it comes to mango slushie..or any slushie, we usually have to stop him from downing too much, the condition is that he must share.
And Daddy usually doesnt complain about having to help out either ....so, here comes the suck-down, it's a race to the bottom...
Have always had a fondness for fondue. We wanted to get a chocky fountain actually just for the heck of it, it was only $20 but sold out at ALDI, so we improvised for christmas eve dinner. Samuel decided that we could still use our small induction cooker with a tiny steel pot to make our chocolate fondue dip and so we bought some cooking chocolate and melted it and viola, very nice fondue for Jordie's fave marshmallows, bananas, nectarines,... strawberries very expensive this time of year, so we opted for rockmelons (cantaloupes) instead.
This was our Christmas dinner spread: seafood pasta, salads and smoked salmon+ of course the fondue.
The smoked salmon was simply divine.
Very nicely smoked with delicate flavour and not too salty, with subtle crispy skin. We bought it from the Mudgeeraba Christmas Farmers' Market on the same morning from a smokehouse owner and it was a real yummy treat for us.
After dinner, our 'Manna' neighbours from across the street, sweet Ann & Mike came across when they heard us singing carols around our piano and passed us lots of other sweet goodies like cupcakes and trifles... ooh overwhelming... . No, we didn't intentionally start out singing for our 'desserts', they just wanted to bless- again..
More than ever this year, I appreciate family, friends and all that I have. I am so blessed to be here today, with a loving hubby and son and thank God for His provision through all the seasons, and especially so for this season.
Me and some girl friends had been mumbling about getting together for some time. So, after a a friend's exams at Bond, we decided it was a good time to hang out. We had a great time at the beach yesterday and the weather was lovely.
It was our first time using the BBQ pit at the beach so we didn't really know what to expect. Oh well, we just went and did it.
The GC beaches have pretty good facilities for picnickers and barbie fans. (The Aussies call BBQ 'barbie' by the way). They come equipped with plugpoints, 2 BBQ electric tops, 
and tap at the side (the one we got couldn't turn on tho..) and a sink for washing as well as a hot water boiler for making coffee and stuff.. 
with picnic benches and shaded areas as well in case it rains. Since the rest were late, we decided to start the cooking first. 
Jordie soon found himself surrounded by hungry ibises hankering for foodscraps...
The gals came with their boyfriends and it was our first time together actually. We had never met the guys prior to this but we had a great time getting to know each other.
The weather was so nice and windy, we didn't realise just how lethal the sun could still be to the skin. So, here's the price I paid for fun in the sun... with no protection.... Duo coloured very painful arms and chest... OUCH!
Had been teaching him to play it and he's actually getting good at it.
Now... his colour must always be white, as good conquers evil.
Here, looks like he's winning....
then daddy makes a surprising comeback....ooh trouble! FOCUS..FOCUS...
Today was Jordie's graduation day from Prep School. Next year he goes to Year 4 and another campus, Junior School (for Years 5-6). So off we went to the Gold Coast Convention Centre for his ceremony. The Convention Centre is on Gold Coast Highway located right next to the Conrad Jupiters Hotel & Casino. It is joined by a pedestrian walkway to the convention centre.
The venue is used to host many expos, job fairs, exhibitions and seminars.
His ceremony was held in a medium-sized auditorium, but it was nice, comfy and well-airconditioned with a sizeable stage. He was rather nervous as he was also the class rep presenting a speech before hundreds of people, but when it came to his turn, he did well. He spoke very clearly and articulately and we were very proud of him, even though he looked kinda serious. But then, that's Jordie for you,.. very serious, businesslike and down to earth, never quite the dramatic sort but that's ok,...he's not exactly the entertainer but he gets the message across loud and clear. I tried to get a good shot but unfortunately they didn't turn out well.
This was taken from the projection screen, so rather blurry, but at least big enuff...
But we were pretty impressed with the effort put into all this. The team of violin beginners from Year 3 did a nice piece of performance on stringed instruments. ..
Two girls from Year 3 MC'ed throughout the whole event and they did a great job, very clear and well-prepared. They also had some choir and singing performances. I liked the way the Year 3 kids sitting all across the auditorium clapped to "Celebration" song in accompaniment to a slideshow reminiscing whole of Year 3 activities. The beauty of digital enables nice presentations. Their last song was a lively piece too called "Reach for the Stars". I am reminded by this title of the Leo Burnett logo, the co. which I used to work with long time back. Leo Burnett's motto was "When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either".
The same day, Year 6 students were also graduating into Middle School. (sounds like Middle Earth...hobbit land)..so we had to scoot out of the hall for the next batch of graduands. We got home pretty late, 6:45 pm, aargh..dinner uncooked!! So for now instead of Reaching for the Stars, I reach for the Wok.
