I dug up this old photo of Kitchie's 1st Year Apprenticeship class. Standing on the left is their apprentice manager.




A few months back, we enjoyed a 3-course lunch at William Angliss Restaurant prepared by Kitchie's 3rd yr class.

Entree
Main Course
Dessert
These will be the entry for Kitchie's upcoming cooking competition to be participated in by all students in her class this October. She practiced at home and after taking these photos for her written report, her dad and mom dug in, hehe.

I had a treat for the family on my birthday. I brought them to Melbourne Museum to view an exhibit about Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius erupted.

Click here to view a virtual recreation of a typical Roman Pompeii House. Their lifestyle were very modern considering it was 79 AD.

The body casts were quite disturbing and sobering to see up close. It's a shame as picture-taking inside the exhibit wasn't allowed.

Off we went to a Chocolate Factory in Philip Island called Panny's.


Replica of Cocoa Pods in trees


A chocolate collage of Dame Edna, a famous Australian comic character


1 tonne solid chocolate


Amazing chocolate falls, mmmm yummy


Michelangelo's David chocolate statue (huh?)


Luke catching some choco shapes coming out of the conveyor belt while Jake tasting some.These were designed by the kids out of a tube-like machine.

There were so many choices of chocolate blocks to choose from, so before leaving we bought what we fancied and we happily went our way.

We went to Warrnambool, more than 3 hours drive from our place, to take part in a Fishing Event sponsored by the Victorian Government. Warrnambool is a coastal resort and Victoria's fifth largest city. It is at the western end of the Great Ocean Rd. The fishing event was in Hopkins River.


Here, the kids are having a tutorial on how to throw a fishing line.



Among us, Luke was the first one who caught a fish. See him here, holding his catch but had to throw it back in. He was rewarded a souvenir for being one of the early catchers.


Jake catching his very first fish! However, they had to throw it back in the water as it was undersized. It was our first attempt at fishing (except Orly) and we had so much fun that we plan to do this quite often. Hopefully, we can catch some fishes for dinner in the future.

Jacob joined his school's team to perform at this year's J-Rock event in Hi-Sense Arena in Melbourne City. It is his first time to join such an event and it was very memorable for him and for us watching him perform as well. Around 14 primary schools performed during that night among other nights wherein other schools are scheduled to perform too.

What is J-Rock?

J Rock™ is a performing arts event incorporating dance, drama and design which provides Australian primary school students with an opportunity to express their creativity through music and dance by producing and eight minute performance. The focus of J Rock™ is o­n students learning the benefits of being active and eating healthy food in a fun atmosphere. Students, teachers, parents and communities work together helping to prepare the school’s performance reflecting the personalities concerns, hopes and dreams of those who create it.

J Rock™ offers students the opportunity to experience the thrill of performing live o­n stage and the satisfaction of working together in a large team while learning the importance of eating right and being active. The end result is a night of true inspiration and entertainment, displaying Australian children at their best.

Orly went fishing with a few friends at one of the top holiday spots here in Victoria, LAKES ENTRANCE. Fishing in Australia requires a fishing licence. A fine is imposed if you are caught fishing without one. Fishes caught have to conform to certain measurements required by law, otherwise it is thrown back in the water. A hefty fine if you are caught with undersized catch.

He only brought home about a dozen, as most of his catch were undersized. We enjoyed fish for dinner the whole week!

Our pet has since grown from the time we got him. He can fit in the palm of a hand before, look at him now!

We went to the Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by Cadbury Chocolate.
The boys enjoyed themselves. It should have been called Easter Egg picking, not hunting as chocolate eggs were spread across the grass. The faster they pick the more they get. The event was broken into age brackets to have a fair go for all children.

Although Kitchie was not able to join as 12 was the oldest allowed, she won 1 of 10 giant chocolate eggs in a raffle where she bought 3 tickets for 5 dollars! The egg weighs 6 kilos! It's almost been a week since, and the egg hasn't been eaten halfway thru yet.

We had fun touring The Enchanted Maze Garden

Beautiful garden landscapes along with a variety of puzzles
and maze for the kids to enjoy. The kids especially enjoyed
the souvenir shop and bought a few novelties to bring home.

People appropriately dressed in the 1800's attire. It's like traveling back in time.


Drum roll and some gunshots fired.


Kids pulling the fire engine from the firehouse, if you can call it that


In the schoolhouse with the teacher. It reminded me of Little House on the Prairie tv show.

We struck gold! Sovereign Hill is a recreated 1850's goldfields township about 2 hours drive from Melbourne City. We forgot to take photos when we were panning for gold, too excited to find gold, hehe...

Bird-feeding during the summer months. Enjoying one
of the hundreds of bike trails scattered around
Melbourne's suburbs. I had to ride Orly's bike as
Luke is still learning how to ride with his help.

Taken at the Ford Discovery Center in Geelong

The Bollards

Up on a ferris wheel enjoying the sites of Geelong
which is a 45 minute drive from our place