[Personal] Read more with Molly, the Mobile Library Bus

Our neighborhood got a visit from MOLLY, the mobile library bus. I like this initiative by the National Library Board that makes borrowing books easier in places where there aren't public libraries nearby. It would probably take 25 minutes to get to the Jurong Regional Library, which is our closet library.

Although compact, the Molly mobile library bus offers similar experience as visiting the public libraries, with book borrowing and returning facilities and colorful shelves stocked full of books. Good to know that it is fully air-conditioned inside and is very kids friendly too as the books can be reachable at a child's height. The borrowing process is exactly the same as in the public library. 

We borrowed 6 books and walked home to keep them first before we headed out again for the rest of the activities that were organized. 

We first played some simple games at the multi-purpose hall before the committee started this story telling session in both English and Chinese. The story they told today was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. It's awesome how they came prepared with the props, like the very cute caterpillar plushie and even a real caterpillar in a container! One child even got to keep and bring back the caterpillar to look after. The rest of us also received packets of chips.

Next, my girl went for the sandwich making session while I waited outside. After she's done, it was just in time for a quick snack break as well. Yummy egg butter sandwich.

The last activity of the day was the LEGO Toy Block Building Competition. This was what my girl built and everyone walked away with some prizes too. We won a cute watch band. Overall, a great day for my girl to spend her Saturday! Thanks to the committee for organizing! 

XOXO

[Personal] Lunch at Gin Khao + Eco Movie Screening of A Plastic Ocean presented by Marina Bay Alliance

After coaching, boss treated us to lunch at Gin Khao, a Thai restaurant. This is actually the first time we had Thai food with boss because usually we would go for either Chinese or Japanese food. So we thought that he don’t like to eat Thai food. A refreshing choice. 

Food was great and we ended up having a small debate on what fish they used for this dish. 

After work, my mom brought my girl from school to meet me at Raffles Place as I've registered for tickets to an Eco Movie Screening hosted by Marina Bay Alliance. We love having the Kagome juice and this is for the campaign to pledge for a healthier lifestyle with Kagome. 

The film screening was held at Marina One West Tower, Auditorium hall at level 3. Before the film screening, there were some mini workshops booths outside where we can do some tote bag painting, natural scrub making and complimentary Ben & Jerry ice cream. Didn't really take part in these workshops as we were on our way to find dinner. We did have our share of complimentary Ben & Jerry Ice cream ! One thing about this place in the CBD is that dinner options is literally very few. I thought I remembered there's a food court at level 2 but turns out the food court has been replaced by a buffet outlet called Overeat. Looks great but we don't really have enough time to go for buffet so we just settled with some small bites. Have also feedback to the organiser that they should include some F&B booths too . 

A Plastic Ocean is a multi-award winning film where Journalist Craig Leeson teams up with scientists and researchers and diver Tanya Streeter as they travel to twenty locations over a period of four years to explore on the state of the oceans. The main focus of this is on plastic pollution. 

At the end of the movie, there was a Kahoot game and my girl is actually one of the top few and won a mini eco prize. I think she kind of tikam the correct answers to the questions. Went back to have McDonald for late dinner but was being chased out after a while as there was an power shortage or something like that. 

"Eight million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the oceans each year and this threaten both people and wildlife. The plastic crisis is so serious that we could be ingesting around 5 grams of plastic that was found in our diet - that's the weight of a credit card!" 

XOXO

[Personal] Family Day Out to Fort Siloso Tour + 365 National Steps Challenge + DIOR Christmas at Orchard

 I am quite active when it comes to participating in the community events so when one of the RC committee members told me there's a family day out event, I just purchased three tickets ($10/ticket) on the spot.  

The Family Day out event is a half day outing with a one-way transport to Sentosa. We had to meet at the RC at 8.30am to board the coach bus. Here's a photo of my girl running towards the coach bus as she was afraid the bus would leave without us. 

It was a fully guided tour to explore Fort Siloso. We set off with a scenic stroll along the 11-storey high Skywalk Trail among the treetops to Fort Siloso. The beautiful harbour below will move to Tuas in 10 years time. 

Next, we witness the largest collection of coastal guns left behind in Singapore. These are guns with the load emulsion in front and not canons as some may think they are. There are a total of 3 fortress built by the British but only Fort Siloso was preserved. 

These exhibitions may not be too suitable for my girl as it's more on the history of Singapore. 

Good thing is one of her best friend in class was also on this tour so she just hanged around with him and his sister throughout the whole tour.

This is an old photo of Fort Canning. A lot of people guess Chinatown but the hint is actually the light house behind.

Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily towards the end of the tour and my girl was so concern for her best friend because he did not had an umbrella, so she shielded her all the way. 

We ended the tour with a round trip journey on the Singapore Cable Car - Sentosa Line. My girl had actually ride on the cable car before when she was 2 years old but when asked her about it, she couldn't recall it anymore so it's a good opportunity for us to ride the cable car again as a family. The whole duration to and back is about 30 minutes. 

After the cable car ride, we took a shuttle bus out to Beach Station and the buffet lunch was held at Good Old Days. We were lucky to find a long table so the two families can sit together and the kids can eat and play together. The food is quite nice but limited choices. The RC members told us that next trip is most probably going to the Jurong Bird Park in January before it shift to Mandai. This one I may not join as January is a busy month with Chinese New Year coming up.  

I continued to stay in Sentosa for the National Steps Challenge, Healthy 365 Feel Refreshed with Every Move Challenge. Coincidentally, this is a one day only event at the Sapphire Pavilion, Siloso Beach. As we've been out the whole morning, I asked my hubby and my girl to go to the library at VivoCity to wait for me while I complete this challenge. Gotten my game card and was told to hurry down to the Tanjong Beach at the other end to get the Bonus Chop. Hopped on the Sentosa tram and made a new friend. Like me, she's also heading to the Tanjong Beach for the bonus stamp. We chatted alot and we walked back from Tanjong Beach instead of taking the tram. Along the way, we made another new friend so the three of us completed all the challenges together. Even though in the end, all the lucky draw has been fully redeemed, I still enjoyed the long walk and chat. Both of them stayed in the East and even asked me to join them at Tampines for dinner but I had something on. 

After this, I met up with my family at VivoCity and we head down to Orchard to meet my friends, Jessie, Meryl and their other half. We had arrange to do our Christmas gift exchange and also to take photos of the Christmas decorations at Orchard. My girl was starting to feel sick and was coughing non stop thus I only managed to take photos at Dior and ate dinner with them at ION before we had to go back home. 

XOXO

[Event] Bounce Into the Spirit of Christmas at Jumptopia™ Festive Village by Kiztopia

Jumptopia™ Festive Village by Kiztopia is back for the second consecutive year at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Hall C from 22 November 2022 to 3 January 2023! With seven action packed zones, this brand new bouncy castle wonderland provided families yet another fun place to bring their kids to during this year end holiday and upcoming festive season. Last year, the inaugural Jumptopia™ Festive Village attracted about 100,000 kids and adults visitors over a 45 days period from 19 November 2021 to 2 January 2022.

Spanning over a 45,000 square feet area, the seven zones in Jumptopia™ Festive Village are specially curated and buzzing with joyous festive spirit. With a total of 10 giant inflatables that stand as high as nine metres, stage performances, a 'snow' play area, a Christmas Market and a cafe selling pizza and drinks, there's bound to be something for everyone.

My family went down on a Thursday evening and we took some mandatory shots at the entrance before we enter. So excited! 

"We are excited to be back at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, for the second year running, with a bigger space to offer a more varied and engaging range of activities for the whole family, from toddlers to teens, and the young at heart, alongside our well-loved bouncy castles experience!", said Ms Heidi Tian, Founder and CEO of Kiztopia.

"We would like to thank our like-minded partners and sponsors, including Haribo, Johnson's, Pizza Express, Samsung and Yakult, who have joined us in our commitment to continue to create new experiences to enhance the concept of play for kids. Jumptopia™ Festive Village is a great opportunity for families to bond and show their love during this year-end school holidays and the perfect place to bask in the spirit of Christmas filled with fun, joy and laughter", added Ms Tian.

  Christmas Themed Giant Bouncy Castles

Spot the familiar Kiztopia Friends helming the Christmas-themed giant bouncy castles, complete with presents, treats, surprises and Santa Claus! Get ready to challenge Santa's reindeer squad to an adrenaline pumping race at Tiger's Sleigh; drool over life sized gingerbread man, cookies and candy-coated pretzels at Bell's Gingerbread House; take on a magical train ride at Drago's X'mas Land, or soak up the Christmas spirit with an instaworthy shot against the vibrant Ferris wheel at Mark's Carnival, and so much more. Each bouncy castles have a maximum capacity of 50 children at any one time and is suitable for children aged two years old and above.

So Much Fun for the Little Ones Too 

Not leaving out the toddlers, two giant inflatables are specifically designed for children aged one to three years old at the Toddler Zone so they can also get in on the Christmas celebration. Toddlers can had a bouncy good time too at the brightly coloured ball pit or challenge themselves at the fun mini obstacle race course. Nevertheless, even my 5 years old girl also enjoyed herself very much at the toddler zones. 

The Party Continues at the Activity Zones

 Besides the bouncy castles, this year's edition will also feature stage performances such as Magic Show, Balloon Show, Live Band, Christmas Caroling and more. A Christmas Market is also available for visitors to shop for a memento to remember this fun-filled experience or a gift for a loved one. At the Samsung Eco Park zone, adults and kids can learn about sustainability and check out their Eco structures display or join in their mini craft session. Leading Chinese language learning school, LingoAce has a booth for kids to bring home a 3D pop-up fable story book and exclusive merchandise when they complete an online game challenge in LingoAce Escape Room. 

There's also arcade games at the Timezone corner for visitors to power up their experience. Good thing I brought along our Timezone card and the father and daughter had a great time playing those arcade games! 

A dedicated Food & Beverage zone operated by Pizza Express offers visitors food and drinks and a time to catch a breather from the jumping. As we had not eaten our dinner yet, we decided to get ourselves some pizza and snacks to fill our tummy. 

At the Winter Wonderland area, dressed up your kids as little Santa or Elf and check out their timing for some foam party snow time. 

We also took photos with the Sunshine Bread's Santa Sleigh and at the Foodpanda Pau-Pau filled Christmas tree. Look out for the Foodpanda mascot, Pau-Pau for more photo taking experience to wrap up the awesome Jumptopia™ experience. Big thanks to Popmedia and Kiztopia for the kind media event. We had a really fun time and felt that the two hours really passed too fast inside. 

Ticketing and Packages

Jumptopia™ Festive Village admission tickets can be purchased via the official ticketing partner, klook at https://bit.ly/jumptopiafestivevillage. A single ticket is priced at $36 per kid/adult and a special Family of 4 package for four admission tickets is availbale at $128 (U.P. $144). Children 12 months old and below may enter for free with each paying adult. Walk-ins, subject to tickets availability, are welcome. And for the very first time, there are Birthday Party and Corporate Event Packages available for families and companies to throw their very own Jumptopia™ party at Jumptopia™ Festive Village. For more details, please visit http://kiztopia.com/jumptopiafestivevillage. 

The Safety Measures in Place

The health and wellbeing of visitors remain Kiztopia's utmost priority and it is committed to provide families with a clean and safe environment. To ensure that visitors remain safe, Kiztopia has implemented the following measures: 

- Hand sanitiser stations throughout the venue
- 10 minutes of thorough cleaning and disinfection of all areas, especially high touch surfaces and common areas, after each play session
- Deep cleaning and proper chemical fogging of the entire venue at the end of each day

Do stay tuned and follow Kiztopia's online social media platforms: 

Website: https://kiztopia.com
Instagram: @kiztopiasg
Official Hashtag: #JumptopiaFestiveVillage

Jumptopia™ Festive Village

Location:
Sands Expo and Convention Cenrtre, Hall C, Level 1 
10 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018956

Date: 22 November 2022 to 3 January 2023

Operating Hours:
Monday to Thursday - 10:00am to 8:00pm
Friday to Sunday, PH Eve & PH - 10:00am to 10.00pm
Black-out date/time: 27 November 2022, 6:00pm to 10:00pm

No. of Play Sessions (2 hours per play session): 
Monday to Thursday - 5 Play sessions daily
Friday to Sunday, PH Eve & PH - 6 Play sessions daily
(Time slots include 10 minutes of reset/cleaning between sessions)

XOXO