Catching up with Larie

Yesterday I took my first ever music exams for saxophone (Grade 1) conducted by the Australian Music Exam Board (AMEB).  I was pretty nervous going to the venue (Sydney Conservatory of Music) but I was also quite prepared.   It turned out better than I expected.  The judge gave me A+ (High Distinction).

I had to play 3 pieces for the judge and she also asked some questions to test my ability to read and recognise notes.  I think I did pretty alright.  My mum was so proud of me, she can’t stop talking about it. Read the rest of this entry »

Mama and Ninang are 2 of my closest family after my parents.   We spend many times with them since we live very close by to them.

Mama is mum’s mother and Ninang (Tagalog for godmother) is mum’s sister. Read the rest of this entry »

We enjoy going to Balmoral beach because it’s not a very big beach and it’s more kids friendly.

It’s winter time in Sydney but as you can see, it doesn’t look like a very cold afternoon.  Read the rest of this entry »

At the start of term 3, we have the biggest event in school – the International Day.   It’s also a day I look forward to because I get to dress up in traditional Filipino costume.

That’s my new costume this year courtesy of Ate Maxine who bought this in Manila when she went home recently.   Thanks Ate Maxine for this beautiful costume. Read the rest of this entry »

My dad brought me to Flower Power last weekend and I enjoyed going around and checking out so many different plants.  We ended up buying a few and dad told me that they will be my responsibility to look after.    I have discovered my love for plants and I enjoy watering them regularly.

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My family did a day trip to Hunter Valley.  It’s been a while that we havent been there.  It was great fun and we also passed by the place of Auntie Lelet and Uncle Bernd.

We left Sydney early morning and it was very foggy on the highway. Read the rest of this entry »

This winter break, I attended the Brent St dance camp.  It was so much fun, 5 days of dancing, motivational talks from great dancers/choreographers, with a bit of singing as well.

I have a few friends who did the camp which made it more fun. Read the rest of this entry »

Taronga Zoo in Sydney is said to be the zoo with the best view in the world.  But besides the view, it really has many interesting animals.

The giraffes seem to enjoy the view the most because of their long necks. Read the rest of this entry »

Last term in school, we learned about eminent people.  We had to choose one eminent person, study his/her life and his contribution to society and learn everything about him or her.   I have chosen Benjamin Franklin.

Mum helped me put together my costume, thanks Mum.

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Early this year, my family moved to a new place.  I love our new home because it has more room and has a bigger yard at the back

This is our dining and kitchen area. Read the rest of this entry »

On the first week of December, my family went on a holiday to Club Med Lindeman Island at the Whitsundays in Queensland.  We stayed there for 7 nights and it was one of the best times I ever had.

From Sydney, we boarded a plane to Hamilton Island and took a boat to Lindeman Island.   We arrived at the place early afternoon.

 The boat trip to the island was not very long, about 30 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

We celebrated Christmas and New Year in Sydney.

Mama and Ninang joined us for our Christmas Eve dinner.  I helped my parents prepare some of the food and drinks. 

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It seemed 2008 went very quickly.  There were many special events in my family and at school that happened during the year. 

My dad surprised me one day with a brand new bike after he taught me how to bike at Centennial Park.  I was so excited to ride my new bike.  At first, I rode it almost everyday when I can.

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One of Mum’s favourite things to do is decorating cakes.  Every time I have my birthday, Mum always makes me some pretty cake.  Depending on the theme of my party, Mum would always make sure that my cake matches the theme.  I enjoy helping Mum every time she decorates cakes.  She always lets me decorate my own cake and I love that.

These are examples of cakes that Mum has made in the past, for me and for other people.  I love them all and I am sure you’ll agree that Mum does this very well.   She decorates small cupcakes as well as bigger or layered cakes. 

This is the cake that my mum made for my favourite teacher at school, Miss Ross, for her birthday.

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I convinced my parents (again!) to have a birthday party.  My mum and I agreed to invite a few friends to the movies and go to Max Brenner after that.  Mum researched the best place to do that and she finally decided to have it at Bondi Junction at the big shopping mall.  There is a movie house there and directly underneath it is a Max Brenner shop.

We had this 2 days before my actual birthday and 8 of my friends came along.

This is my invitation card – cool huh!  Mum and I spent hours perfecting the card, yes – it’s all hand drawn.  We just love doing this part.

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My dad is the one who kindly manages my site and I  love him for that.  So to show how much I appreciate that, I thought I should maybe give him some space on my website, hehe.

During my Auntie Ammed’s wedding 2 years ago in my dad’s hometown in the Philippines. Read the rest of this entry »

I just turned 2 years old when I made my first trip to the Philippines.  I don’t remember the trip but it’s good that my parents took time to take heaps of photos as evidence.   It looks like I have met lots of family members and seen new places.

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We are learning about poems this term and I created my first few poems.  We learned the different kinds of poems like free verse, haiku, limerick and couplet.  Below are the 2 free verse poems I have created.  My mum and dad were very surprised to hear my poem for the first time.  Mum even shed some tears when I recited the ‘baby chick’.  You be the judge.

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One of my interests is learning to play musical instruments.  I started with violin when I was 3.  This year, I started learning saxophone and loving it.  I tried learning the harmonica too on my own by getting a book with instructions on how to play it.  I am in the process of convincing my parents to buy me a guitar because I am very keen to learn it.  Here are some of my musical pieces.

Larie on Violin – Rosin on the bow

Larie on Saxophone – Advance Australia Fair

Larie on Saxophone – Hunter’s Mountain

Larie’s string concert at school

We visited the family of Tito Dick and Tita Dinna in San Francisco in Sep 09.  It was great to see Ate Arianna and Ate Alexa again because I cant even remember the time we first met when I was only 2 years old.

This was the day that we arrived in San Francisco – our first meal with them. Read the rest of this entry »

Before going to San Franciso, we went to Ohio first because my Mum had to attend a 5-day work summit in Dayton.  While they are working, me and my dad explored some parts of Ohio.

At the Chicago airport on the way to Ohio Read the rest of this entry »

2009 was yet another busy year….

Tita Cryz, a former work mate of my dad in Manila visited Sydney and we caught up with her and showed her a bit of Sydney. Read the rest of this entry »

At the start of 2009, I started going to Brent Street dance school to learn hip hop.  At the end of each year, they have a big production number where all the students get to perform in a major theatre venue in Sydney.

This was in front of the venue at the Sydney Theatre Royale Read the rest of this entry »

On the second week of Jan 2010, I joined a week-long dance camp at Brent.  It was a full-on dancing, singing and musical theatre.  I enjoyed it so much and it was extra enjoyable because I had two of my good friends from school who also attended the camp.

This is with Matt Lee, one of the judges in the TV show, So You Think You Can Dance. Read the rest of this entry »