December is always a busy, joyful time for our family. Not only is it the year end school holidays and the season of Christmas where we exchange gifts and laughter, it also marks the birthdays of Ariel and Asher.
Yup, these two middle children of mine have birthdays just two days apart and since it's just a couple of days to Christmas, we usually combine their celebrations and have a overseas trip, staycation or bring them to a local attraction of their choice. That said, they know fully well that holidays are expensive and staying in a four or five star hotel is something out of our reach, so we usually opt for something that is affordable yet fun.
Since both of them are water babies and love swimming, I asked them if they would like to celebrate their big days at D'Resort even though we've already been there several times. I mean, a chalet stay is kind of the cheapest staycation to us and since we can enjoy a discount here using our NTUC membership and get daily complimentary tickets for 4 to Wild Wild Wet, it was the one of the best ways we could hold a 3D2N celebration on our sunny island.
Not surprisingly, they replied with an enthusiastic "Yes!" since we always have so much fun here in Downtown East. Here's sharing more about our Splishy Splashy Celebration as Ariel turns 11 and Asher turns 8.
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First of all, just so you know, this is not a sponsored post. I'm documenting our experience so that the kids can reminisce in future and it's a habit for me to always write about their birthday celebration, no matter how simple or elaborate it may be.
Also, for those who are wondering how our family of six fits into the room, yes, we only booked one room (if not, the cost is not justifiable) which comes with two queen beds. What we do is combine the beds and push them to one side (just make sure you put them back in their original positions before checking out) so that the kids and I can all fit snugly on the bed. The hubby doesn't usually stay with us and would bunk over in his office or head home, but if he is free and decides to join us, we will either squeeze or bring along a sleeping bag so he can sleep on the floor which is pretty spacious. Yup, the sacrifices parents have to make when you have many kids.
Checking In
The room is usually only ready at about 3pm but since we only have 3D2N to play, we never fail to make the most of the first day. What we do is to check in at the counter in the morning, deposit our luggage, get our tickets to Wild Wild Wet and off we go to the water theme park!
Why do my kids love Wild Wild Wet so much? Well, I think our family is quite fond of outdoorsy activities and love being in the sun - sunblock is a must! Most kids I know love splashing around in water and so do mine since a young age. We love the variety of rides in Wild Wild Wet, how colourful the park looks, the fact that it has a Kidz Zone dedicated for the little ones, more thrilling rides for the older ones as well as plenty of family-family ones.
Check out the big smiles on the two birthday kids!
They love playing in the Kidz Zone even though I think Ariel will outgrow it soon. But the fact that we still have a three-year-old toddler in the family means that the older siblings have plenty of reason to go down on the kiddy slides as they accompany and play with him. Does Ansel love the slides too? You bet he does!
We would always play for a couple of hours before getting our lunch from the food kiosk within Wild Wild Wet. Although we've never booked a cabana in order to save cost, we always get a table to ourselves and that is good enough. The food sold here is mainly western fare like nuggets, fried chicken and fries and sufficed to fill our tummies before we head out for the second round of fun.
This trip marks a milestone for the newly minted 8-year-old boy because he was plucky enough to go on the most exciting ride in the park - Free Fall! This is a ride that scares me as well as many other adults and teenagers - my kids have seen a handful of them back out at the last minute and some even question my kids on why they are so brave and not afraid of heights.
Just seeing how tall and steep it is makes me feel certain that I would prefer to stay below and film the kids in action, haha. Check out Asher's first experience in the video below! He walked past a older group of teenage boys on his way up who asked him how old he was and were surprised to know that he just turned eight, and the lifeguard also measured how tall he was and told him that he just barely hit the minimum height.
I was worried if he would be scared and told myself it would totally fine even if he chose to back out when he reached the top, but guess what? He came down once and then said it was so fun and he ran up to do it again. Oh wow, my used-to-be timid little boy is now fearless. Ariel also went on it but this girl has always been a daredevil when it comes to rides. Well done, my dears!
My friends always tell me that it's a blessing that Angel still hangs out with us at this age and I ought to be thankful for that. Indeed, I'm glad that she still joins us on family outings and trips, even if it means doing kiddy stuff like going down baby slides. This big sister dotes on the little one a lot and having him also means that she gets to be a mini Mama to him and will help me to look after him so that I can bring the rest on other rides.
These pictures of my oldest and youngest baby are so precious to me and it's a symbolism of how fast time flies in motherhood. I love how she encourages to go down on the slide on his own instead of accompanying him every time, I love how she does the heart sign with him, I love how she hangs out with him at the kiddy playground meant for toddlers and would jump into the water with him and make a splash.
We spent not just one, but two days in Wild Wild Wet since we had the complimentary tickets and both days were exhausting but filled with lots of fun, laughter and memories. I spent lots of time capturing those happy moments so that I could compile into a video for them to remember. Just so you know, those few seconds of seeing them slide down involves many, many minutes of waiting for their turn.
For instance, at Kraken Racer, I never knew when they were coming down so I had to keep waiting, filming and then deleting if it was not them. Multiply this by the dozens of rides they took and it's a pretty long, patient wait. Still, the final video was worthwhile and I told them for the next visit, I will be chilling in the water with them, enjoying the rides with them and not whipping out my phone, haha.
These memories, they are so priceless though.
Moving on, even though it was a combined celebration, we still made sure to hold individual cake cutting ceremony for the two kids. Since Asher's birthday came first, he chose to eat at Hai Di Lao and that was where we had dinner on the first night. He loves the 手工面 and would giggle every time the 师父 came over to do the noodle dance.
i surprised him with a jelly cake since he loves jelly but it turned out he wasn't that fond of it as he doesn't like cheesecakes. But he appreciated my effort in walking a long way to get the cake for him and was thankful for everything.
We sang the birthday song for him, the staff gave him a paper crown and banner, the siblings gave him handwritten cards and we took some family pictures to remember this moment.
After dinner, I announced that there was a surprise for the birthday boy and it was...... a late night MOVIE! Yeah, I had booked tickets for Aquaman 2 as I knew how much he wanted to watch the show. We usually watch shows on Netflix these days to save cost so a trip to the cinema is greatly cherished. The show turned out to be pretty awesome and all of us enjoyed it.
While walking back to our room after the show, we caught sight of this play area complete with ball pit, playground, giant Jenga and inflatable balls and spent some time playing despite it being midnight already. Such fun-loving, playful and happy memories are what kids will remember when they are older, right? I hope so.
The next day, we made our way to Gallop Stable right beside Wild Wild Wet and the kids had the chance to feed the beautiful ponies. I wish we could get closer to them but for safety purposes, through the window was the best we could get, well, at least they loved eating the hay.
While the girls declined to go on a pony ride, the boys gamely agreed and took turns to hop on after putting on the safety helmet. All was peaceful and smooth during Asher's ride but when it came to Ansel, I almost got an heart attack.
The reason was.... this being his first ever pony ride, it was unfortunate that the pony got agitated due to the presence of other ponies and started swerving a little. Just when I started to get nervous, the pony jerked violently and as a result, Ansel got flung backwards which made me scream at the top of my lungs thinking that he was going to hit the ground and get injured. He would have fallen off the pony if not for his one foot which got dangled in the foothold. Gosh.
We all got a scare and I could see the fear on his face when he recovered to a sitting position but thankfully, with lots of encouragement and assurance, he finished the ride. Phew. I was so thankful to see him safe and sound at the end, other than a little bruise on his foot. I guess that is how our kids grow up, learn and be a little more resilient, right?
For our second night dinner, it was a mum-and-kids outing as the hubby had to work. We decided to go for mookata as we really enjoy the food here. Despite the chef hubby not being here to cook for us and that Ariel had an accident where she slammed her finger in between the balcony doors just before this, we had a relatively smooth and tasty dinner.
To cheer the birthday girl up and forget the pain for a while (it was bleeding quite badly), we had ice cream and went to the arcade for some late night fun. I used our points to exchange for a couple of cute gifts for her, including a keychain and a pen, and was glad to see the happy smile on her face.
On the third day, we were supposed to check out by 11am so I got everyone to wake up a little earlier because it was Ariel's actual birthday! After packing the luggage, setting up the cupcakes that we had bought the night before, as well as arranging all the gifts and cards we brought along for her, we had a cake cutting ceremony in the comfort of our room.
This girl is like me in more ways than one and being simple-minded is one of it. She was delighted just to have a red velvet cupcake and mini rainbow cake, and was delighted with each and every gift. We also received good news that she had achieved the Scholarship and Character Awards, which were testament to her hard work in the past year and the fine young lady she is blossoming into.
After checking out, of course we could't head home straight away since it was Ariel's special day. She had decided on the activity she wanted prior to the trip and that was to go.... indoor climbing! So we headed to Upwall Climbing in E!Hub@Downtown East and the kids started scaling up.
The hubby was initially against the idea because Ariel's thumb was still hurting and it was likely to bleed again if she exerted too much strength. The thing was, I asked her what she would prefer to do and she said she wanted to stick to climbing as she really wanted to challenge herself. The staff also assured us that the thumb is is not used as much as the other fingers and since the wound was at the nail part facing out, it would likely be fine. So I decided to respect her choice while reminding her to be cautious along the way.
We had a break for lunch and the kids chose to eat prawn noodle soup since it was just next door. But guess what? Since there was no time limit, we headed back to Upwall Climbing so they could climb somemore. Yes, they are quite perseverant when it comes to indoor climbing.
We like that there isn't a big crowd here and there is quite a good variety of walls with different difficulty levels to cater to all ages. A couple are quite easy to conquer and suit Asher but the difficult ones can be very onerous even for seasoned climbers. The girls challenged themselves to some of the tougher walls and one of my favourites was this Christmas Tree wall.
While Asher scaled a considerable height and Angel missed only the last step, Ariel was the one who, despite some difficulty along the way, hung on and conquered till the very end. The last part was very tricky as the 'orange slices' which made up the star at the top were not good to step on and thus not many people could reach the last handhold. So it really made me beam to see how Ariel kept trying and touched the top not once, but twice. You go, girl!
In the late afternoon, the hubby and I had a slight argument because while he wanted to head home to drop off the luggage, catch some rest before heading out for dinner later, I wanted to head to the beach or go cycling because I knew that was what Ariel wanted. I mean, her smile vanished and she had that look of disappointment when Papa said we were going home - simply because that wasn't what she wanted to do on her birthday. But guess what, all these cues are always only picked up by Mama because I guess I am sensitive like that. Since it was her day, I wanted to listen to her and make her wishes come true.
So I voiced it out for her, got reprimanded but eventually, we compromised on going to Pasir Ris Park. We took a stroll and it so happened that we passed by another Gallop Stable so we stopped to feed the ponies here. This time, instead of hay, we fed them carrots which had to be placed on shovels and it was quite a fun experience for the kids.
And because we love the birthday girl so much, we made our way to the bicycle kiosk so that we could rent bikes to cycle for the next hour. Yup, we got ourselves two bicycles for Asher and Ariel (they are the two most enthusiastic ones when it comes to cycling) while the rest of us shared a quad cycle. This was a first for Ansel and he was pretty happy to be sitting right in front and pretend to steer the bike.
For me, I didn't just sit on the bicycle all the time. In fact, I got down quite often either to take photos or videos of everyone. Yes, it's my specialty to capture these moments for keepsake, haha. I made the kids laugh out loud when I pretended to run at the 'speed of light' and sprinted a distance forward so that I could take a video of them cycling toward me. The hubby said I was likely running at the 'speed of chicken' instead but oh well, haha, at least I tried my best.
The two birthday kids wanted to ride on the quad cycle too in the end so we made the unwilling hubby put their bicycles in the car so he could drive straight to the kiosk while we cycled to meet him there. Haha. Thanks, dear! The kids and I huffed and puffed as we cycled up and down slopes, sang, made funny faces to the camera and enjoyed the rest of the evening.
So we finally reached home late at night after a full 3D2N of fun and not only were our tummies full, so were our hearts. Please know that we love you very much, dearest Ariel and Asher!
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Dear Ariel,
Happy turning 11! It's hard to believe that you are almost a teen now because I still vividly remember the cute, chubby and big-eyed baby who came into my world in 2012 and made everything better. You are my rainbow baby and I will always be thankful for how you took away some of the pain in my heart and gave me so much joy instead.
You have a kind, generous heart and I hope that is something that will never change no matter how old you grow. I am always heartened by your sweetness, thoughtfulness and you are way more creative than you give yourself credit for.
Thank you for being a wonderful daughter and I know the road ahead won't be easy, especially with PSLE next year, but we'll get there somehow and we'll do it hand in hand. I hope you enjoyed your birthday celebration to the max even though it wasn't anything fanciful or lavish. Actually, I know you did because you are a 知足常乐 girl and may you always be contented with what you have.
Happy turning 11, my dear!
Love, Mama
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Dear Asher,
My little prince is 8 years old already! How can that be? Even though you are not that little anymore, I love that you still like me to call you that, that you still give me hugs and kisses every day and don't feel shy about it even when we are in school, that you are so sweet to always think of me and will write me sorry notes when you did something that made me sad.
I know it's not always easy controlling those emotions and avoid getting into outbursts and meltdowns, and I know you have been trying hard. I just want you to know that even if I chide you from time to time, I love you to the moon and back and that is something that will never change. So let's try hard together and remember that Love and Hugs can overcome everything, yeah?
You are my darling son and I love that you are such a friendly and sociable boy who can easily whip up a conversation with strangers. You are also a great brother who dotes on Ansel and play with him every day, it's no wonder he adores you as his Korkor and looks up to you. I love the 'shows' that two of you put up at bedtime for me and you always have so many ideas and cute songs that you write yourself.
Please know that we love you very, very much and that our family will always be here to support, protect and cheer you on as you grow up day by day, okay? Happy turning 8!
With hugs and kisses, Mama
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Till the next birthday post! Check out all the highlights of our Splishy Splashy Celebration here!
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Read more on Ariel's birthday parties here:
Ariel is 10 - A Long-awaited HolidayAriel is 9 - It's a Feeding FrenzyAriel is 8 - It's a MAGIC Party!Ariel is 7 - Let's have ICE CREAM!
Ariel is 6 - The Ocean is Calling
Ariel is 5 - It's a Shopkins Tea Party
Ariel is 4 - A Royal Princess Party
Ariel is 3 - Sofia the First Birthday Bash
Ariel is 2 - Let's Get Frozen
Ariel is 1 - Turning One Under the Sea
Read more on Asher's birthday parties here:
Asher is 7 - A Long-awaited HolidayAsher is 6 - Soar High and Dive DeepAsher is 5 - Abracadabra, it's a MAGIC PartyAsher is 4 - It's a Batman PartyAsher is 3 - Let's have an Arcade PartyAsher is 2 - Just Keep SwimmingAsher is 1 - Having a BALL of a time
