Tennis Talent Search

Today was the 1st Tennis Talent Search Day in the Year 2009 Series run by Tennis Victoria. The venue was at the nearby Boroondara Tennis Center.This was a "chance" for kids from 6-11 yrs to have fun, play tennis and unrelated tennis games while professional coaches will be on hand to assess all participants and perhaps be able to find the next Roger Federer or Serena Williams.

Reii wanted to give it a go and had me register her for this free event. It seemed a wonderful idea as it would provide an opportunity of good exercise and give her something memorable for her summer holidays.

Many of the kids who arrived looked "professionally" dressed with matching Nike, Adidas, Fila etc. Kids were separated into 4 different groups and had to do fun stuff like sprinting, throwing the ball as far as you can, tail tiggy,playing relay, shuttle run in a coordinated manner etc. The coaches were all very good with the kids and were able to direct, motivate, teach and play with the kids, all at the same time. It was a nice and warm day, probably sunny at 28 degrees but Reii got rather red on the arms and ears and she glupped all the water whenever she could during the short breaks. At the end of the 2.5 hr exercise, all the kids looked exhausted but they all had fun. They were also rewarded with a ShowBag consisting of a Tennis Talent Search Water Bottle, a nice Turquoise coloured wristband, a multi-coloured tennis ball and loads of information detailing the development pathways for kids who are interested in tennis.

Quoting Reii ~ "It was a tiring but fun day!!"

Today was the 1st Tennis Talent Search Day in the Year 2009 Series run by Tennis Victoria. The venue was at the nearby Boroondara Tennis Center.This was a "chance" for kids from 6-11 yrs to have fun, play tennis and unrelated tennis games while professional coaches will be on hand to assess all participants and perhaps be able to find the next Roger Federer or Serena Williams.

Reii wanted to give it a go and had me register her for this free event. It seemed a wonderful idea as it would provide an opportunity of good exercise and give her something memorable for her summer holidays. Many of the kids who arrived looked "professionally" dressed with matching Nikes, Adidas, Fila etc.Kids were separated into 4 different groups and had to do fun stuff like sprinting, throwing the ball as far as you can, tail tiggy,playing relay, shuttle run in a coordinated manner etc. The coaches were all very good with the kids and were able to direct, motivate, teach and play with the kids, all at the same time.It was a nice and warm day, probably sunny at 28 degrees but Reii got rather red on the arms and ears and she glupped all the water whenever she could during the short breaks.At the end of the 2.5 hr exercise, all the kids looked exhausted but they all had fun. They were also rewarded with a Goodier Bag consisting of a Tennis Talent Search Water Bottle, a nice Turquoise coloured wristband, a multi-coloured tennis ball and loads of information detailing the development pathways for kids who are interested in tennis.Reii said " It was a tiring but fun day!!"

To Our Family

Thank you very much for the goodies which arrived early this morning! Reii was awoken immediately to read Didi's note. As I type this, I asked Reii what she wanted to say.

Jie Jie said " The note from Di is like very loving. So Didi thank you too and I miss you. I hope you get well soon. And of course I remember the kick your butt song! Thank you also for the yummy food.I am going to keep the box for my own use."

We will not be opening both tubs - tho it is very tempting - but only till B sees them when he returns tonight. Then we will attack!!!!
Once again, Thank You for sending your love all the way from Singapore!!!!!!

Our One Day Old Pet - Peter

On Weds, I asked Reii to go throw some rubbish. She came back yelling that there was something "frightening" at the gate. I went to see what it was and was excited to see a stick insect on the latch of the gate, so we quickly took a box and captured it. We gave it some water and leaves and Reii named this beautiful green creature - Peter - after her tortoise in Spore.
We were fascinated by its look and stared at it whenever we could like when we were at dinner, when I woke up in the middle of the night (think he was asleep) etc. When B saw it at night, he proclaimed it was not a stick insect but a praying mantis. Alas! no wonder its eyes look diiferent from those stick insects' pics on the web. So disappointing.
Anyway, the next day, I told Reii that we would have to release it as praying mantis are carnivorous and needs alot of space to jump. My plastic container will not be an ideal environment. Besides, Peter was not even interested in the dead fly I threw in.
Reii was very sad and shedded some tears but she understood when I explained to her about "If you love something, set it free". We then opened the box in the garden but Peter hung around the box for a very long time. When Reii went out to check again, Peter was gone. So he may be loitering somewhere in our garden now.
Unfortunately, we did not take any of his pics. He is about 10cm long.
In that same afternoon, I caught a spider at the laundry sink. And what was his name? Peter! Again?!?!