We had another packed weekend aside from house hunting. Florian and I, together with Mum and Dad, hosted our friends for a BBQ dinner.

Of course, my BBQ maestro of a hubsy helmed the grill, sweating it out while we all basked under the cool air con indoors.

Florian and Pascal bought a big T-bone steak from Huber’s the day before.

It turned out a beautiful medium-medium-rare. And I mean it in the sense that it was in between medium, and medium-rare. Beautifully pink in the middle and very tender to the bite.

We also had another smaller piece of tenderloin, and a mix of sausages to delight the meat-eaters.

As well as grilled mackerel and grey prawns for the seafood-lovers!

Some pretzels to sop up the juices. These weren’t too bad. We bought them from the German supermarket frozen and popped them straight into the oven for 15 min at 220deg C. Still, they lacked the gorgeous deep brown specific to German pretzels. Taste-wise, I wasn’t too much a fan but everyone else said they tasted good. I thought they could have been a bit fluffier.

We also had balsamic roasted veggies on the side. Can never say No to them!

And for dessert, I made a gluten-free passionfruit-lemon curd tart. I was out of plain flour, so improvised to make a gluten-free tart base using ground almonds, honey, coconut oil and eggs.

Sunday morning, Florian and I tried to work dinner off with a visit to the new Thomson Nature Park. We met The Ongs there an hour later than planned since there were some delays – kiddies woke up late, we couldn’t get transport out, they had to find a parking space in the small carpark…

We followed the Fig and Ruin Trail which isn’t very long – 1.6km. But I think it was perfect with the young ones. Mel did a really good job although she tired out here and there and needed to be carried. Ella and Kaden made it all the way even under the heat of the nearing-noon sun.

We came across parts of the old Hainan village which was intriguing to me. Old walls and stand alone spiral staircases gave us a peek into the not-too-distant past.

There were amazing sprawling trees and a TON of mosquitoes (so remember to be generous with the repellant before starting the walk!).

We came back full circle with the girls happily playing with the mimosas, before we made back to the car.

As always, Florian and I enjoyed being in the company of Meli, Ella and Kaden, as well as YY Jie Jie and Jarod Kor Kor. I love how they are raising the kids up so well and admire the values they uphold. I hope that we will be wonderful parents like they are in time.

We had brunch together at AMK 628 Food Centre before exploring a Free Market under the void deck of the block beside. Thereafter, Jarod Kor Kor offered to drop us off at AMK Hub since we had to pick some stuff up there.

I love weekends like these when Florian and I have time with each other, with friends, and with family. They are so meaningful to me especially with life getting so busy sometimes. And with life being so short. These kinds of weekends help me to look forward to something, and to keep moving forward. Especially during periods where I need the support in the continual search for our rainbow.