Emily Swimming

I finally got a video of Emily showing her swimming skills!

Halloween

I am happy to say that Halloween in KL is growing. This year there were many more shops carrying costumes, decorations and candy. Being from the US Halloween is normal to us but we are one of the few countries that celebrate it. Many of our friends and neighbors have no idea what trick or treating means. Thankfully Samantha is at an American school that embraces the fun of the holiday. On Friday night they had a carnival and trick or treat trail around the school. Then today Samantha wore her costume to school and had Halloween arts and crafts plus a party. Lastly I organized trick or treating in the neighborhood for tonight. We had a TON of children come out for candy.

This year Samantha was Fancy Nancy from the popular children's book series and Emily was Annie. Both costumes turned out really cute. I can hardly stand how adorable Emily was in the wig. Surprisingly she kept it one the entire carnival and trick or treating. Here are some pictures of them with their friends.

The last picture is of some of the weird candy. The orange thing is a "jelly". Looks just like a jello shot but without the alcohol. They are a big treat in asia. Not sure where the other stuff is from but some random stuff. I guess with a bag of Hershey's mixed candy going for $12 a bag you end up with some knock offs.

Enjoy!

New Milestone

Today, we had a break through at the Liskow house. Samantha learned to tie her shoes! She is giggly in the video because this was probably take number 5.

Rock Climbing

Last weekend Kyle and Samantha went rock climbing at a local indoor facility. I have taken Samantha a few times and she truly is a natural so I wanted Kyle to see it. He decided to climb as well. It amazes me that Samantha has no fear and scales the highest walls will little or no effort. At the end of the hour she was climbing down and later we found out from the instructor that it is really hard to climb down and avid climbers do it to for an extra hard work out.

After the hour was over Kyle's forearms were burning and he was ready for some advil. Samantha on the other hand was ready to go again. Emily even got a taste by climbing the little kid rock while I enjoyed a latte. Nice family morning.

Hari Raya

Both girls celebrated Hari Raya at school last week. They looked really cute in their outfits. Here are some pictures of them and their friends.

Face Painting

Today Emily came home as a beautiful butterfly from school. It seems there was a birthday party with face painting. It is hard to see the detail in the photos but it had glitter and was really pretty. She was so happy!

Kindergarten

Today was Samantha's first official day of Kindergarten. They went last week and had a staggered start with a few kids a day so they could warm up to Ms. Vukman. That was nice but I am glad they are on a normal schedule from here on out.

Her teacher is new to KL and to MKIS. She is from Canada and seems really good with the kids. She gets down on their level and yet is very firm with them. Samantha has four other kids from her last year's class in the same class this year so that is nice. Plus lots of new friends. I think she is going to have a good year.

Here are a few pictures of her with Claire, next to her new cubbie and with Ms. Vukman and the teacher assistant Ms. Hanita.

Bomba

Bomba, you ask?? That is "fire" in the local language of Malaysia. Today I went with Samantha's class to visit the local bomba station. It was really great. First let me say that I would venture to guess that not any of the fireman spoke English, however what they lacked in informational lectures they made up for (x2) in the hands on experiences.

First they set of the fire alarm and about 5 fire fighters came down the fire poll. Then they let teachers and mom's have a turn at the pole. Too funny. I should have got some pictures of that. Then the kids got to spray the water hose. They just thought that was awesome. The poor pedestrians walking by got a slight shower every now and then. Five year olds don't have the best control on a high pressure hose. Then the kids got to ride in the lift. Now they were really cool. And lastly the entire class (16 kids and 2 adults) piled in the fire engine and they turned the sirens on full blast and drove them in circles around the parking lot. You have to look closely but you can see all them in one of the pictures. The bonus part was trying on the uniforms. Samantha didn't want to, but the other kids were really cute in all the gear.

I am not sure if it was after the pole sliding, spraying the high pressure hose or walking over to the lift did the all the moms say "we certainly would not be doing all of this at fire station in our country". When Kyle got home and saw the lift pictures he went into his safety engineer mode about how everyone would need to be tied off with hard hats etc. It was pretty funny.

All in all, everyone was safe and had a fabulous time.

Oh I forgot to mention that when Samantha was up in the lift the fireman hit a button and then Lady Gaga was blaring one of her top songs. I think they really had access to a radio on the lift. It was so funny. I guess everyone should be able to dance and jam while working, right?

Sorry

Today the girls were playing at the neighborhood play ground with friends when Emily comes over to me crying. I look down and her face and shirt are soaking wet. I was a little puzzled because there really was no water around. Then the truth came out, Samantha spit water all over her. I just about lost it and started in on the whole "unacceptable" speech. I told Samantha she had to go straight to her room when we got home and back to her room right after dinner. She cried and screamed and then eventually stomped up stairs. But before she went she asked me how to spell a few words.

When it was finally time for Emily to go to bed, we walked up stairs and Samantha was sitting in her doorway waiting. She gave Emily this sweet note. Sisterly love...

Sneak Peak

We had a photographer come to our house last weekend and she got some good shots. We really need to do it more because with kids you never quite get everyone looking good in the SAME picture. Here are a few of the good ones.

Spider Woman

Samantha has been on spring break this week so we have been doing lots of fun things. Monday we went and had pedicures with her friend Hali. The girls decided that they wanted ladybugs on their toes. Thankfully the nail techs around here are true artists so they painted Samantha's toes pink and then tiny white ladybugs on each of her toes. You can imagine how tiny they had to be considering the size of her little bitty toe nails. She LOVES them!

Then Tuesday we went rock climbing a local indoor place in one of the malls. It was fabulous. Samantha was a natural Spider Woman. She climbed strait up to the top no problem. Coming down was a little tricky but she managed. We are definitely going back and taking Daddy the next time. Got some cool pictures.

Check Up

Yesterday I went for my annual check up. One of the local hospitals has a Health Screening department that we heard was really nice. Kyle went a few weeks ago and I went yesterday. I was checked in and then escorted around to different "stations".

Colour Vision Test

Regular Vision Test

Blood Tests

Height/Weight

Blood Pressure

Urinalysis

Overall check with doctor

EKG

Digital Mammogram

Abdominal Ultrasound

Chest X-ray

Everything looked good and I go back tomorrow for the rest of my results. The crazy part about ALL of this is that it was $250 for everything! No insurance claims either. I think my copay for the mammogram could have been that in the states.

I guess paying $15 for a pack of bacon does eventually pay off.

Horseback Riding

This morning we took the girls to go horseback riding. There is a really nice equestrian center very close to our house and they do pony rides on Sunday mornings. Emily was galloping all over the house saying "giddy up" but of course when we got there she was too scared. She watched the from afar. Then there was brave Samantha. Who would have thought right? She was a little nervous at first but then jumped right on and had fun. Nice morning event.

Once we were back in the car Emily blew air through her lips and made a perfect horse noise. It was so freaking cute. Maybe not the next time but maybe after that, she will ride.