Aisya's 8th Birthday

Aisya and Mommy at the start of her birdthday weekend, enjoying mee kolok special at Aneka in town. Her birthday was actually 02nd July but she agreed to postphoned the celebration because Mommy was away on the exact date.

So we checked in at Marriot a week after her birthday and stayed there for some concentrated pool time with her brother.

These two can never have enough of being in the pool. Having a pool in the backyard is probably the ultimate birthday present, Daddy only managed with the 2nd best ... a swimming pool at Marriot which is only 5 minutes downhill from Hilltop, our home.

Google full of poolwater, happy as a clam.

Aisya at 8 years ... strong, wilfull and most thoughful when she wants to be.

Time flies ... especially when you have growing up kids.

This year we celebrated Aisya's birthday for the 8th year ... again she requested for a weekend at Marriot. It didn't matter to her that there'd be no cake, there'd be no singing and blowing candles ... so long we can spend the weekend in the pool!

Her birthday present from Daddy this year : a snorkeling set, which is too big for her face.


They never get tired in the water.

Big brother trying to make a point that he can swim ... NO HE CAN'T!

Surfing at Baraya Laut Resort

Ali and Aisya posing with the largest fruit bunch in the world in Bekenu after lunch. Ali had two helpings of maggie goreng and Aisya hardly finished half of her mee goreng.

Aisya being happy out of the house and free from house-chores after a full morning of frolicking on Baraya beach.

Body surfing at high tide on the quiet Baraya beach, there was no one else there other than us and a few fishermen from the nearby village.

Here comes another big one, Aisya's slightly struggling to keep up with her more boisterous big brother.

Little or not she comes on her own when in the water, intent on showing that she's as good as her bigger brother ... and she is.

Grandma is in town and with Mummy away is KL on business, we all decided to spend the weekend at Baraya Laut Resort, a nicely hidden nook along the Miri-Bintulu Coastal Highway not 30 minutes from our Hilltop home.

We had two outings to the beach over the short weekend. Enough for Aisya to exclaimed that we needed to move to Baraya and stay there forever! What tempting thought ...

Weekend in Kpg Punang, Lawas

Kpg Punang from the De-Havilland Twin Otter.

Aili and Aisya checking out the small scale aquaculture (barramundi) enterprise along Sg Punang.

The children are happiest when they are in the water on the beach, and Kpg Punang has a lot of beach.

Running around on the soft sands.

We spent three days in Kpg Punang homestay partly as a break for the kids and partly for Daddy and crew to do Asian Waterbirds Census 2010. The kids get to go on boatrides, check out the mangroves and mudflats, look at birds as well as run around the beach on the last day of our stay.

Rifki

One year old Rifki, Ali and Aisya's latest cousin, brother of Afiz and Irfan in Kpg Merkang, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan.

New home in Pasir Puteh

Aisya standing at the backdoor of our recently completed back extension of our family home in Kpg Merkang, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan. With Tok Wan' s passing away last year, the house seems even more empty and forlorn except for the one or two weeks in the year when we all gather here for Tok Wan's kenduri arwah (early July during Gawai holidays and November during Hari Raya Haji holidays). Both children look at these dates with high anticipation, the few days that they are free to run around the house and yard with their cousins, watch tv allnight long, secret maggie cookout past midnite and camping on the concrete courtyard.

Family in Kuantan

Aisya, Mak Cik Yah, Pak Wan Yasin and Ali sitting cozy on a sofa on family grounds in Kuantan on our annual drive-home break. Can't remember when the kids were last year, most likely the year before last. Brief opportunity to catch up and get together.

Last event of the schoolyear SR Agama Pdg Kerbau

Aisya receiving her prize from the Chairman of the school board.