Baby Raccoons

Hubby dear was on his way to the Laundry Room, one block away, when he heard some noises coming from the tree outside the Laundry Room. He looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see two baby raccoons, playing on the lower tree branches. He ran home, grabbed the camera, went back and took a couple of photos.

They were two playful babies! And sure were making a lot of noises! Hubby dear showed our two little neighbours and their mom the raccoons. The two little boys were so fascinated, that they stood under the tree for almost half an hour, watching the baby raccoons. The raccoons did went higher up the tree when they saw a crowd =)

I remembered last year, two huge raccoons were trapped in the trash bin while scavenging for food late at night. It was easy for them to climb in, but there was no way they could climb out after that! They were afraid, and they were cuddling each other very tightly when we spotted them in the bin. Although they were considered to be pests, we were not keen to have them killed by the garbage trucks that would be coming later. Not knowing how to rescue them, we called the police. A police officer came and put a thick long stick into the bin. Moments later, the two huge raccoons climbed out, and disappeared into the woods behind our neighbourhood.

Seeing the baby raccoons this afternoon, makes me wonder if they are babies of the two raccoons trapped in the bin last year =)

Summer Vacation - Boston

Summer vacation is a three-month affair. Imagine, no school for three months! Hence, the kids here equate Summer to School's Out! I still remembered visiting my boy's class in First Grade, and when we introduced Singapore as "Summer all year round", one boy asked "Does it mean there's no school for the whole year?!".

With such a long break from school, we had to plan some activities for the boys. A vacation inclusive, as the housekeeper (that's me!) needs a break from her 24/7 work too! We had actually make plans to visit Yellowstone National Park in August. However, an email from a dear old friend of hubby dear led to an early vacation in June, to Boston! Hubby dear's old friend would be in New York for a business trip, and asked if we were keen to meet up. He could meet us either in New York, or Boston. Hubby dear eagerly and happily agreed to the meet up ... Boston, it would be!

Our accommodation was at the Beacon Hill area, and getting there from the Airport was a breeze! We chose not to drive, as parking could be a headache in downtown Boston. Walking is the best way to explore the town, and if you are tired of walking, take the subway, bus or train! We bought a 7-day MTBA link pass each, at $15. Kids under 11 travel free with an accompanying adult. Sweet, isn't it? And so, we spent our 5 days in Boston, walking and taking the subway =)

After we got out from the subway, we walked along the busy street (lots of cars on the road!) towards our hotel. I had to stop a couple of times, partly to adjust the weight of the luggage on my back, and to admire the architecture of the buildings at the Beacon Hill area! I'm in love with these red-brick buildings! Here's another shot of the buildings along Charles Street, on a slope.

And don't you just love the Post Office?

And through the lovely Public Garden ..... to meet the Ducklings!

Make Way for Ducklings is a children's book by Robert McCloskey. This bronze sculpture in the Public Garden, of Mother Duck and her eight ducklings, is constructed by Nancy Schon. On the day of our first visit to Boston and the Public Garden, we saw that the ducklings were dressed in the Bruin's jerseys! Yes, that was the day of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup, with the Boston Bruins playing against the Canucks from Vancouver, Canada. Bruins' fans celebrated their victory late into the night. I was nursing a terrible sore-throat that night, and was woken by the noises, ahem, I meant the cheers of celebration, and only managed to fall asleep around 2am, when things quieten down.

Ducks and ducklings, swimming leisurely in the pond on a warm Wednesday afternoon. The boys spent almost half an hour standing by the pond, taking photographs of the ducks and ducklings, of birds and squirrels. Here's a picture of the Garden by the pond.

We saw wedding couples taking photographs by the pond. An old man was busking, playing a wedding song for the bride and groom, with his bored-looking dog lying beside him.

And we were off to find dinner. Something nice to fill the stomach, after all the walking. Something nice to treat ourselves, since we were on vacation. Hubby dear opted for seafood, and hence, we ended up at Legal Seafood.

Hubby dear ordered a seafood combo ... the bowl of rice was not captured in the picture. Even without the rice, it was a huge portion! The food was not bad, but in my opinion, the seafood combo hubby dear had at Monterey was a lot better.

I ordered some fish dish with rice, while the kids had their kids' meal of pizza with fish and chips. Even the kids' portion was huge.

We were so stuffed after dinner! Luckily, we got a workout walking back ... it was a 30-minute walk back to our hotel. The boys would have to sleep early, since they had woken up early to catch the flight to Boston. Tomorrow will be another day of walking ... we will be going on the Freedom Trail!

School's Out!

School has ended, and Summer is here! Summer camp, swimming, tennis, soccer ... you name it, they've got it in the programme at the local sports and recreation club.

My boys' swimming class will only start in two weeks' time, while my friend's kids will only be going for their Summer Camp next week. We decided to bring our kids to the Olbrich Garden, for a day of fun and play, since the sun's out! A day of fun awaiting ... for two moms, four active boys, and a very sweet girl ...

We love the flowers in the Garden! Take a look at these beauties!

The kids were tired after the walking, and we took a short break under the shade of this huge tree.

Love the green, love the colors, love the space and the clear blue sky!

The boys were happy to be running up and down the slope ... but we had to be careful not to disturb the birds ....

We had fun, and the afternoon passed by quickly. The boys were exhausted by the time we got home. They really dislike walking in the heat, but with good company, they have no complaints =)

SPAM Musubi

My boys love eating SPAM, the western version of Luncheon Meat, and they love sushi too! They get to have sushi for their lunch regularly, but not SPAM. SPAM appears in their meals when Mom is extremely exhausted, ill or there is no more ingredients in the fridge for preparing meals.

This is the Hawaiian version of the Japanese Onigiri. I found this recipe from House of Annie. With the temperatures going up to a high of 33 degree Celsius, and feeling like 38, I just don't feel like cooking! I have only 30 minutes to prepare lunch, after bringing the boys home from their swimming class. Hubby dear had a meeting to attend in the afternoon, and had to be out immediately after lunch.

Ok, I'm finding all sorts of excuses to make this =p

But seriously, this is a no-fuss meal, and it's so easy to prepare!

To feel less guilty, I replace the original SPAM with the less sodium type, and use soy sauce that has less sodium =)

• Cut SPAM into pieces (not too thin).
• Do not discard the can. To be use as a mould for later.
• Heat up a pan. No oil is required.
• Put the slices of SPAM onto the heated pan.
• Mix 1 tablespoon of soy sauce with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.
• Drizzle the mixture onto the slices of SPAM.
• Heat the slices for a couple of minutes.
• Flipped over, and again, drizzle the soy mixture onto the side facing up.
• Heat for a couple of minutes.
• Remove and set aside.
• Using the SPAM can, scoop some rice into it and press the rice down. Put a slice of fried SPAM on top of the pressed rice.
• Invert the can onto a broad nori strip.
• Wrap the nori strip around the rice and SPAM slice.

What about the vegetables?

I had some leftover strawberries from baking the Fruit Pastry Cake. I cleaned and cut them up and threw them into the mixing bowl of lettuce trio. WOW! They instantly brighten up the bowl of salad! Mix some honey and mayonnaise together, and you get your salad dressing =)

The cold salad went very well with SPAM Musubi, on a very hot and humid day! The boys love their lunch! Both the musubi and salad were gone in seconds! Tasty!

Hear the Buzz, DUCK!

It was a very hot day, with temperature at a high of 33 degree Celsius, but feeling like 38. People were either hiding at home with their air-conditioning system on at full blast, or out participating in some water related activity.

I brought the kids to the Splash Park, since our kind neighbour offered to drive us there. There were so many parents and kids at the Park! The boys had fun, and I was glad to be out of our furnace-like apartment. However, a fun day turned out to be a painful day for me! I was stung on the finger by some insect, probably a bee! OUCH!

The sting was so painful that I almost dropped the camera I was holding.

I was walking across the grassy area from the playground to the splash area when I got stung. The only thing I could think of, when stung, was to quickly brush off whatever that was clinging onto my finger! I didn't even see what stung me. When I finally looked at my finger, it was very red and very swollen =(

I endured the pain during our two hours at the park. As I watched the kids play, I overheard some adults saying that they too, were stung by bees.

Ok, it shouldn't be that serious, since they were talking about the bee stung like mosquito bites .... Applying cold compression did help to relieve the swelling. The swelling should subside the next day.

Two days later ...

The swelling didn't go down!

The condition had worsened!

The skin around the insect bite was still red and swollen, and the swelling had spread to the second joint of the finger! No good! Little red spots started to appear on the reddened skin, and the itch was unbearable. I decided to seek medical care at the emergency clinic. If I was back on the little red dot, I would have seek medical attention on the same day ... Sigh!

Verdict? I had a skin infection called Cellulitis. The insect bite probably transmitted the bacteria on the skin, and started the infection.

I was put on a dose of antibiotics, and the swelling should improve within 48 hours ... and it did after half a day ... I'm relieved!

And I am staying away from the Park for a while.

... Hear the BUZZ ... DUCK!

Summer and Fruits!

I love Summer in the woods ... warm under the sun, and yet, cool with a slight breeze. No, not the warm air that circulates on the little red dot!

The other reason I like Summer, is because we get all kinds of fruits! All types of berries, navel oranges, apples, and watermelons!

However, summer in the woods this year is hot!

The high has been at 32C!

Where did the cool breeze go?

It is hot and humid, just like back home.

I have to get the kids to drink plenty of fluids. We eat less, and ice cream is a regular on our table. It is difficult to get fruits that can please everyone. Some like berries and oranges, others like apples. Juicy watermelon is great on these hot days, but both the boys refuse to eat them! I love watermelon, but I can't possibly finish a huge watermelon on my own!

What is the solution to getting the boys to increase their fruits intake?

A juice extractor!

All of us love our cold watermelon juice.

The boys love their mixed fruit juices ... apples, navel oranges and carrots.

I love my celery and green apple juice!

Everyone is happy!

Cheers to a healthier diet!

Food Paradise, Here We Come!

We were excited, very excited, at the thought of having ... Roti Prata, Fishball Noodles, Chicken Rice, Bean Curd, Butterfly in 30 hours' time! Yes, we are flying back to Singapore for a three week holiday!

The boys were briefed on how we were getting back to Singapore :

3-hour Coach to Chicago, 17-hour flight to Narita Airport, Japan, and another 8-hour flight from Japan to Singapore! There was no complaint from the boys when I woke them up at 1.30am. They would be missing out 9 days of school, and were looking forward to meeting their grandparents. They were all excited the moment they woke up!

We were blessed with good weather ... there was no rain!

I couldn't imagine standing at the unsheltered bus stop, in the rain with two kids and two suitcases at 2am, waiting for the coach with the wild wind blowing *Teeth Chattering*!

The ride to Chicago was smooth and we arrived safely at Chicago O'Hare Airport Terminal 1. We didn't alight at the International Flight Terminal. ANA's International Flight check-in was done at the domestic airport ... very strange indeed. I was glad to have done my homework beforehand, or we would have to pull our suitcases and travel from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1. We might have lots of time to spare at the airport before checking in, but it was always unpleasant, at the start of a trip, to find that you had arrived at the wrong terminal!

I thought all went well, until boarding time.

Police security started random questioning and all passengers had their passport checked twice! Some passengers were picked to have their hand-carry checked, just outside the plane entrance! This sudden checking caused a flight delay, and it didn't help that there was a thunderstorm. Our flight was further delayed. We were hungry, and sleepy. I was glad I had some museli bars with me, to feed the hungry boys!

It was a smooth flight from Chicago to Japan. We arrived in Japan in the afternoon, and saw the sun setting on the way from Japan to Singapore! The sun looked a huge egg yolk, dropping down behind the clouds faster than I thought! It was beautiful! The last time I saw something as beautiful, was 12 years ago. I was on the flight to Nepal, and my jaws dropped when I saw Mount Everest "hanging" in the air .. you must be sitting on the "correct" side of the plane to enjoy this awesome view.

Well, it was 11.35pm, June 1 when we arrived in Singapore!

We enjoyed the food on board ANA, the inflight entertainment, and the friendliness of the service staff. But we didn't quite enjoy the tight space. On the whole, it was a better flight experience when compared to our flight to the States two years ago =)

My dear pal, Jean, was at the airport to welcome us. Not only did she send us home, she brought along a Pandan Cake and some "ZhongZi"! Yum! Thanks a million, Jean!

It felt good to be HOME!

We went to bed at 2am, tired but happy!

... Sweet dreams ....

无花果梨子瘦肉汤

The weather in the woods has been crazy.

When we thought that Lady Spring had finally arrived, we went out in our short sleeve T-shirt and a light jacket, only to find ourselves grabbing for a thick coat the next day, as Old Man Winter turned around to say HI!

As we moved from one week of long sleeve shirts to another, we suddenly found ourselves baking under the hot scorching sun, perspiring as I sat in front of my laptop surfing the internet, with the thermometer reading went up to 32degC. Short sleeve tees, shorts and sandals is the way to go.

After baking in the heat for the last few days, I decided we needed some cooling soup, as darling son KW had started coughing slightly from the ever changing weather. I must be crazy, to be cooking soup and baking in the heat, that's everyone says to me =)

The recipe was adapted from 小小米桶的写食厨房. This soup is definitely a keeper! The subtle sweetness from the pears, topped with the sweetness from the dried figs ... wooooo ... It is plus that it uses only three ingredients! It's suppose to be "rehydrate the body", especially when the weather is dry and hot 。。。 清热润燥 。。。YUMMY!

2 Pears

12 Dried Figs

2pcs Southern Style Spareribs

1 litre Water

1. Blanch the spareribs and rinse them under cold water.

2. Wash the dried figs and pears.

3. Fill a pot with one litre of water.

4. Cut and remove the core of the pears. Do not remove the skin.

5. Put all the ingredients into the pot of water.

6. Bring the water to a boil.

7. Lower heat and simmer for another 1.5 - 2hours.

I only added a litre of water, as the pears were very juicy. The soup was very sweet, due to the sweetness of the pears, as well as the dried figs added. Mmmmm .... I want more!

A Rare Visitor

It was a chilly summer morning. I was walking towards the kitchen when I caught sight of something flying across the grass patch outside our apartment ... 

It had a distinct red tail. Two fluffy white legs ... looked like it was wearing a pair of white fleece pants, very appropriate for the chilly morning. A sharp hooked beak. A bird of prey. 

I admit I was a little afraid of it due to its size. It surely looked huge from far when it had its wings spread out. While taking the photographs, I was moving toward it, inch by inch. As I proceed cautiously, I noticed there were a couple of times when it stopped moving, only to turn its head in my direction, before walking towards me, in a rather clumsy manner, then stopping to look for food on the grass. 

Seriously, I had no idea what kind of bird it was. Uploaded the photographs for hubby to see, and he suggested, after checking on the internet, that it could be a red-tailed hawk! I think he is right. The size, the colour of its body and tail, the beak. 

The bird could be injured, since it was sighted by my neighbour yesterday. It could be out looking for food, while using the woods in our area as a recovery point. 

I hope the bird recover soon. Seeing the bird and following it to the next block of apartments was a good start to a chilly "autumn-like" summer morning .... 

Cicadas

"Knock, Knock" 

My neighbour's face peeked through our living room window. 

"The cicada are coming out of their shells! Do your boys want to see it?"

"I have never seen them coming out of their shells before!" she spoke in great excitment.

There were like three cicadas on the tree.

The first one was already out. 

But its green wings were not spread out yet. 

Neither did it move. 

The second one had its head out of its shell.

The third one moved a little as we went nearer. 

There was a little crack on its body.

We waited for a while.

The first one started climbing!

The second one had half its body out already!
I could a little green peeking out from the shell.

The third one now spotted a even bigger crack.

Ok, I don't really know much about cicadas. I know they are called "Chan/2" in chinese. Did a little homework on the internet and this was what I found :

Most cicadas go through a cycle which lasts 2 to 5 years. 

The female cicada cuts slits into the bark of a twig to lay her eggs. When the eggs hatch, the newborn nymphs drop to the ground and burrow. Cicadas live underground as nymphs for most of their lives. The nymphs feed on root juice, and have strong legs for digging. When they are ready to emerge as adults, they construct an exit tunnel to the surface. They shed their skin (molt) on a nearby plant. The skin remains clinging to the plant, after the adult cicada emerge. 

I would love to video the process. But it was too long a process. 

Found a file from Wikipedia, showing how the cicada shed its skin. 

Look carefully at how the wings "unfold" as the adult cicada emerge! 

Cicada Molting

My little boy pulled the molted skin from the trunk. 

See the hole on the skin?

The adult cicada stayed on its molted skin, supposedly drying its wings, before it spread them out and started climbing up the tree, away from its skin. My little boy, not contented with just the skin, pulled the cicada off the trunk and tried to deposit into a glass jar, for his friend, who was afraid of the insect, to have a closer look. It was then, that I realised how strong the grip of a cicada can be. I had to use a stick to pull it off my boy's fingers! 

It was an interesting start to our day ... I'm sure I will miss all these "Live" lessons when we move out of the woods next year .... 

A "Sweet" Day!

Our tomatoes and peppers have finally ripen!

Not all of them, just a handful.But it's enough to get us excited.

The cherry tomatoes are firm and sweet! The pepper although a little small, has a very strong pepper scent when you bring it to smell.  The big tomato is juicy and sweet too! Only one has ripened so far ... We will wait patiently for the many others to do so since it has been warm the last few days =)

Our neighbour gave us one of her cucumber. It was huge! 

I am looking forward to our cucumbers growing bigger.

Will they be as big as hers?

Members of Our Little Garden

Introducing to you, the members in our little garden =)

Marigold

This plant was brought back by darling son from school, for Mother's Day.

We were pleasantly surprised to see two big orange flowers greeting us when we came back from our vacation! We were glad we had the marigold, as it attracted bees, to help pollinate our other plants. 

Cilantro

Chinese parsley, or coriander.

We cut a handful of fresh leaves from the garden whenever we eat our noodles. But after a while, the stem turned woody, and little white flowers started growing. The fresh leaves stopped growing by then. We threw the plant away after a while.

Big Sweet Tomato Plant

We planted the big sweet tomato plant at the end of spring. We didn't think it would survive, but it did! We are now waiting patiently for the green tomatoes to turn red =)

Cherry Tomato Plant

We planted the cherry tomato plant, thinking that our big tomato plant may not survive. We were then told by our neighbour, that it was too late for planting tomatoes. It might flower but there might not be any fruits. We were a hopeful lot =) 

We thought we could just try, since the seeds had already germinated! I'm glad we didn't give up!

Pepper Plant

Planted the pepper plant together with the big tomato plant. It was doing well, till we caught bugs eating the leaves. After a while, we thought it might just stop growing, since there were just too many leaves with holes on them. We were excited when we saw the first flower, then awaiting patiently for the plant to fruit. 

Cucumber Plant

We planted this very late, since at that time, the temperature was appropriate for growing cucumbers. We were informed that we would need a structure for the plant to 'creep' up.

Only, since there was only a few leaves, we thought just a few short sticks would do the trick. When we came back from our vacation, we were surprised to see leaves 'overflowing' from the pot! It was really messy, as the plant had no structure to 'climb'. It was also interesting to study how the cucumber grow from the flower =) At this time, the biggest cucumber measures 5 inches, and is expected to grow up to 10 inches! 

Our Little Garden

I don't have green fingers. Neither am I an experienced gardener.

I don't like ants and insects crawling in and out of the plant pots. 

Hubby dear was the one who did all the work =)

He sowed the seeds. He digged his fingers into the potting mix.

He transplanted the plants when the pots were too small. 

He caught the bugs, who were eating the leaves. 

See how the garden has grown from little plants in many pots in Spring, to tall and bushy plants in Summer? 

Although I occasionally helped out in watering the plants, and the boys too, I must admit that seeing the plants flowered and fruit, brought joy and happiness! Each morning, we will count the number of cherry tomatoes we have, the number of cucumbers, and not forgetting the big tomatoes that are about to ripen. I am looking forward to eating them! And for me, it is a very educational lesson, learning about shoots, shapes of leaves, colours of flowers, pollution, and how temperature affects the growth of plants. 

And yes, growing some plants when we are back at our tiny island, called the little red dot,  would be nice =)

Train Delay!

It was time to say goodbye to the beautiful Yosemite National Park. Another day of travelling ... by bus to Merced Amtrak Station, by train to Emeryville Amtrak Station, and by bus again back to downtown San Francisco. We were due back at our hotel by 4pm. Not too bad, as we could bring our dirty clothes to the laundromat for washing, eat our dinner, collect the clothes.

All went all, till we were almost at our destination, Emeryville Amtrak Station. The train suddenly pulled to a stop! A girl two seats away from us started screaming!

"I saw him! He must be knocked down by the train!"

We were not sure what exactly happened. The announcement came, a long while later, informing us that an accident had happened, and that the train would be delayed. The girl screamed again, upon hearing the announcement.

"I'm right! I knew there was a man there! Oh my god, he's dead!"

The electrical power was switched off. There was no air conditioning. People were walking about, looking out of the train window. There were policemen standing near the train tracks. There were police talking photographs. The ambulance had arrived. There was a car near the crossing section of the train tracks and road. We were held up for almost two hours! The mother of the girl was unhappy that such an accident happened, and she called AMTRAK to complain about the delay, as well as how traumatized her daughter was after witnessing the accident. Well, the customer service at Amtrak gave her a refund, for the delay. After the call to AMTRAK, the lady told everyone on the train, that we should call AMTRAK to get a refund, for the delay. Which we did, the next day =)

It was a painful wait ... waiting for announcements, waiting for the train to move. We were finally informed that the driver who tried to beat the train lights was not in a life-threatening situation, although his car was smashed badly. We still had to continue waiting, as train traffic that day was pretty heavy. SIGH. Luckily, we were given free bottles of water and some snacks. We were very tired from yesterday's hiking, and hungry.

A simple day of travelling turned nightmare .... we were too tired to dream that night ....

Yosemite National Park Day 2

Today, we are going to take a look at ourselves at Mirror Lake, then follow the Mist Trail to Vernal Fall to cool off!

After having eaten very little yesterday, we decided to have a good breakfast since we were going to have a long day ahead of us. The following greeted us as we made our way into the cafe! Black Bears!

"Gor Gor, let's fight the bear!" Grrrhhh!!!

Squirrels, big and small ... they are everywhere!
After breakfast, the boys stayed outside the cafe for a while, "playing" with the squirrels. There was a big family of squirrels in the lawn outside the cafe, looking for leftover food as their breakfast.

It's amazing how a good night's sleep worked wonders for the little ones. They were so energetic, even though they woke at 6.30am! Although the morning air was chilly, the hot chocolate/coffee and muffins kept us warm. Now they were more willing to pose for photographs, and were running and making funny faces.

Darling son KW even had a try on our DSLR camera! We took a long time to walk a 100 metres ... we were always stopping to admire the scenery, and to take photographs.

The walking trail to Mirror Lake was closed, due to a recent rock slide.

We walked along the bike path instead.

We barely walked for 10 minutes when we saw this house .... it's a toilet! Just right, as both the boys needed to use the toilet, which was good, as we wouldn't want them to be needing one when we reached the lake.

We saw two deers along the way to the Lake. They were tame, and not afraid of people. They did eye us with suspicion. The kids got a chance to be real close to them! This was better than bringing the kids to the zoo.

It was a pleasant walk to Mirror Lake. It was cool. There was no heat and humidity to tire us out. We took our time to walk, and read the information boards.

Not much water in the lake, as it was a hot summer. But we could still see our reflection .. It would have been a lovely sight in Spring, when the melted snow flowed down to the lake.

It was almost time for lunch when we made our way out of Mirror Lake.

We brought bagels and peanut butter jam, as well as apples with us. We had a quick bite and continue to our next destination .... Vernal Falls. We were not sure if the kids could make it there, as it would take 2-3 hours to and fro. But the boys were full of energy after lunch, despite an uphill climb! Our little darling started off running, but eventually, walked by dragging his feet. Our big darling was faster than his little brother, and most of the time, he just lie against the rock to rest while waiting =)

Scenery as we climbed up the cemented, winding path to Vernal Falls Bridge.

After a draining 2+hours walk, with many stops for drinks and snacks, we finally reached the Vernal Falls Bridge. There were so many people taking photographs at the bridge! As usual, we had to wait before we got a space for photo taking. Despite the place being crowded, we were glad to be there, as there were bathrooms and water fountains for us to refill our water bottles! The kids needed to go to the bathroom too! While resting, the boys ended up playing with the squirrels, trying to trick them with "fake" food. We had to get the boys to sit down to rest, to ensure they were ok before we continue our climb up to Vernal Fall. Actually, we were not sure if we could make it to the top of Vernal Falls. We all agreed that at any one point we could not go on anymore, we would just stop and go back down. We also needed to take note of the time, as we had consumed most of our food, and the idea of having to carry two boys downhill was an unpleasant thought.

This part of the climb was tougher! It was uphill climb. The stone steps were very narrow, slippery and wet. My old knees felt like they were going to give way any time! Darling son KW was suddenly energised when he saw these stone steps! He was hopping from step to step. We had to tell him to slow down and wait for us, and his little brother. He would sit at the side, and say hi to all those who passed him! We had to rest frequently ... this view of the waterfall was taken halfway up the hill!

After a short rest, we were ready to continue our climb ... the steps get more and more slippery and wet ... camera had to be kept as the thunderous splashing of the waterfall drew nearer.

Although we were very tired by then, we were very excited to see not one, but two rainbows! The photo-taking had to be quick as water splashed onto our camera .....

We were very near to the top of the waterfall! Probably another 400 metres ... uphill .... another half an hour, including resting?

We finally made it to the top of the waterfall!

Look at us ... all wet ... perspiration and water from the waterfall.

View of our trek from the top of the waterfall!

I couldn't believe that we had climbed that far!

The boys were very pleased with themselves, when we showed them how far we had walked. After a short rest, they started climbing up rocks and chasing squirrels!

Going down was a lot easier ... the hike took us close to 4 hours! We started after lunch, and by the time we reached the bus stop, it was almost time for dinner! We still had a little time to spare, so we let the boys watched the deer, spotted near our camp.

I didn't think we could do so much in a day! Never underestimate the abilities of children .... and I'm really proud of them! It was a tough day, but they didn't complain much about being tired while walking. They had their share of joy (and tiredness). As parents, we were happy to have their company, and complete the journey, to the top of the waterfall, with them.