Trick-or-treating at Redhill was AWESOME! The kids were thrilled that there was lots of American candy (although James was most excited to receive White Rabbits).
James decided to be Luigi again. His costume finally fit properly. (The third time is the charm.) However, he wanted to have Flood (from Super Mario Sunshine). I was very proud of my work. I bought a bunch of random stuff from the hardware shop and took out the (massive) powerdrill which we have at the flat.
The kids are still wheeling and dealing to procur the candy that each likes most.
We spent today on a junk with friends. After a great lunch at Po Toi, we swam in Stanley Bay. James had a blast jumping off the roof of the junk.
James turned eight last Friday. When asked about what type of cake he'd like, James stated that he wanted the same ice cream cake which we had back in the US. Since that wasn't possible, we had two options: Haagen Daz or our own creation. James choose the latter and off we went to Taste to see what flavors of ice cream were available. No Ben & Jerry's. James then chose Dreyer's Cookies and Cream. We bought bars of white chocolate, Oreos, and butter.
Back home, James and Claire helped to create our masterpiece. We made an Oreo crust. James carefully counted out 24 cookies and put them in the food processor. After they were pulverized, we added melted butter. James and Claire enjoyed shaping the pie crust. After letting it chill, we added one container of ice cream, then white chocolate pieces, and then the second package of ice cream. The finishing touches were the Oreos on top.
Can you tell that James was thrilled with his cake?
A bath and pajamas were required after he devoured three pieces of cake! James was also pleased with his new games - one for Wii and two Gameboy Advance games which can be played in his (very) old DS. (I don't know what it is but James LOVES retro games...there are three Gamecube games coming as well as Gamecube controllers and a memory card.)
James received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion today at St. Anne's. Father Wurth was the celebrant today as he also was at Claire's first communion. Father Wurth baptized both kids as well as married us (in Macau).
The GQ award (if there was one) would have gone to James in his snazzy new suit made by Crazy Horse Tailors in Wan Chai. James looked very debonair and as he walked all alone up the aisle to say the greeting before Mass, I overheard one person said, "That boy looks very pious."
James has matured a lot in the last three months, and he was excellent during Mass. He was exasperated by the length of the homily, however, and couldn't understand why it took so much time when it was written as a single word in the First Communion booklet!
And with our family:
Congratulations to James!
The kids came to the Hockey 5's finals with me on Saturday. They were fantastic! After my final, we went out to dinner and then did some shopping. For some reason, this tiger caught James' eye at IKEA. The tiger joins the pengiun, the dragon, and the Yoshi egg, James' companions at bedtime.
April 29th, 2011 was not only the royal wedding, but it was also Claire's birthday. (And Bobby's!) Claire decided to invite two friends for a sleep over.
Dinner was at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Middle Island. We had the entire place to ourselves due to the wedding (there was an event at the main club) and the weather which had been wet. The kids loved the barbeque and the marshmallows!
There was ice cream cake and presents back at the flat. Claire was thrilled with her newest Waldorf doll, another beauty from Quirky Tree.
“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
--Jacques Cousteau
