The October Babies Turn Seven

As we moved into October, my little man turned seven.

SEVEN! I can still remember the day he was born almost like it was yesterday. Yet as I think over the details, I feel the passage of time keenly.

I unfortunately had to postpone his birthday party to the end of the month over fears of the near-apocalyptic haze we’ve been having around here. But I was glad that we were still able to bring the October Babies together for a quick outing-cum-celebration before all their real birthdays rolled round. Their seventh one together — we haven’t missed one yet!

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE
(Missing Bean!)

SIX

This year we opted for something a little more fun and decided to go trampolining at Amped at River Valley. We providentially decided on this before the haze descended, and it turned out to be perfect, given the weather. After our first visit to Amped at Katong, we visited the venue several other times before it closed. We’ve also been to Zoom Park Singapore several times but this was to be our first visit to Amped’s River Valley outlet. After way too many days stuck indoors, the kids and I were certainly raring to go!

Our verdict: This is an awesome space! Yes, it is a little challenging to get to without a car since it is some distance from the main road, but if you drive, there is ample parking, which is always a plus. Amped itself is well-sized and interestingly laid out. There is certainly more to do than at the original Amped in Katong. In addition to just bouncing on trampolines and trying out the parkour wall, there is also a dodgeball area, a raised platform from which you could plunge into a foam pit — cliffhanger, they called it — and another foam pit for slacklining. There was also a basketball section that was out of service when we visited. Plenty to keep everyone occupied!

Of course, best of all, it’s AIR-CONDITIONED! That’s such a relief when you so easily get hot and sweaty from a few minutes on the trampolines!

A huge space for jump-jump-jumping! At the far end of the room is the dodgeball area.

Airborne!

Getting up the courage to jump off the elevated platform. She wasn’t smiling soon after..

There he goes!

Super proud of herself for having done it! Proud of you too, sweetie!

Instead of slacklining over the pit, the girls are… building a fort?

I did some jumping too, and I must say I really like Amped’s trampolines — they were are nice and bouncy and feel of good quality! They were much nicer to jump on than those at Zoom Park.

Here’s a bit of trivia for you: The space now being occupied by Amped at River Valley used to be the school hall of Nan Chiau High School, which occupied the space till it moved to its current location in Sengkang in 2001. And I happen to know this personally because my mother was a teacher at Nan Chiau Primary School in this very location. I often went with my mother to school, hung out at the staff room and wandered around after school hours. The spaces have been re-organised since the school moved out but there was still some nostalgia for me to be back on this site.

Our hour ended all too quickly and we adjourned to Marche at 313@Somerset for lunch. But not before we got a quick photo!

SEVEN

We had a great time. I forget how much I enjoy being with these kids and mummies till we meet, and it’s never enough! Seven years of friendship, and more to come hopefully!

Happy Seven, Octobubs!