Our KB outing

Hari Raya is the best time to catch up with family we don't often get to see. Last week Hanna and I took the kids to KB to visit our great-aunt and cousins.

It is Nini Tengah's second appearance on the McCarthy blog having appeared with her younger sister here. My late grandmother never told us much about her youth and her family and we learnt quite a lot that morning including how my grandparents met. And contrary to us thinking that they came from a family of 6 siblings, there were 12 of them altogether but only 6 survived into adulthood . And only three survive today with the passing of their eldest brother A. Haji Mahmud in his late nineties during Ramadan.

At our Uda Jita's house who is one of my father's first cousins

And at Usu Ahmad's house. He is the younger brother of Uda Jita. His youngest daughter is the owner of this blog.

On the menu there was ambuyat, a Bruneian staple. It resembles white sticky gooey paste which is eaten with a sambal sauce. Delicious but an acquired taste. Jack loves it and tucked in right away!

Fun raya evenings

The big discovery for the kids this raya is fun with sparklers. Even Iman who is not very keen on fireworks is enjoying them. And I have been trying to take photographs of them which is proving to be very challenging!

1st Day Pictures 2009

We had a long but enjoyable first day of Hari Raya. We started the day with the boys going to prayers at the mosque with Donncha, the cousins and Grandpa. It as their first and they did well until a toilet break was required.

After some breakfast - and that was nice after a month of fasting! - we fitted in more family photographs.

And this was the calm before the visitors hit. Our first guests arrived about 10:30 and flowed on till the last visitors left by 5:30. I estimate the number of visitors for the day to be between 250 and 300.

Fasting nearly over....

Today is the last day of Ramadan and tomorrow will be the first day of Hari Raya. Last night the whole family broke fast at my parents house awaiting news of the moon sighting and we took some family photographs which with the little ones is always a challenge!

Dad with the three oldest grandchilren

Jack receiving his green packet which he was very excited to open!

A very shy Ayden with Mama

Donncha and the boys with matching shirts and haircuts!

Best smiles from Ayden and Kaka Tin

The second part of the evening was all about loud bangs. Donncha and I went out earlier without the kids to stock up on our fireworks. We let off the smallest box and it was pretty impressive so looking forward to the bigger ones. Not bad for under 100 euro!

The fun stuff

Ayden, Iman and Jack watching from a safe distance from inside. They still dislike the loud bangs but get excited about the whole thing. More to come tonight!

Last of Ballybunion pictures

Each evening after dinner in Ballybunion, the kids would insist on heading down the town for some ice cream - so armed with jackets and jumpers, off we would go to buy ice cream.

Ballybunion is not exactly the warmest part of Europe but it does offer easy access to some of the most interesting geographic landscapes available in Ireland. We loved heading down to the beach and enjoyed the freedom of the open beach but as one would expect, we never really expected it to be particularly warm.

One morning, Donncha and the kids headed to the beach to pass some time while Maria was sorting out the mess back in the caravan. A quick call and a great opportunity for a photo - it was interesting to see people walking on the beach long after we had left and wondering what or where was Brunei !

Happy Days - until next year !

Late Saturdays early Sundays...

is a common theme for parents with young children. We try to get a few extra hours sleep on a sunday morning by keeping the kids up later on saturday night. And it never works! The boys have been up since 7am and have been playing outside ever since. With the amahs away I am trying to man the fort at the doorsteps and it's getting a bit hot and sticky and it's only just 9am!

After school activities

Top of the agenda when Jack get's home from school is tennis with Ayden. They take turns (sometimes) hitting their tennis balls against the garage wall.

After an hour or so they get on their bicycles and cycle around. Ayden has been cycling with trainer wheels for at least two months. And he got his bicycle back from Jack who is now on Iman's old bicycle.

Up at my parents by the fishpond. Iman wanted a picture with the sunflower.

The kids have befriended the paper man and have taken liberty to riding on his motorbike down the drive. He goes slowly and is very obliging though I don't actually think he understands a word we are saying!

And on this particular day Jack took the hose from the gardener and helped to water the plants - of course with a hidden agenda to start getting wet themselves! But imagine by this stage of the afternoon after being outdoors playing in the heat for at least 3 hours boys smells are very overpowering so playing with the waterhose eventually leads to an outdoor shower and clean smelling boys again!