Phew! Bear turns 6, Easter and Windmill, Zoo and Castle

Before any festivities could begin haircuts were in order. Luckily Grandma isn't too fussy about the scissors she is asked to use and the small folk lined up for new 'dos...and Grandad too (who had to look respectable for the coming cruise). If you look closely you will see the Monkey has a fat lip after falling from the slippery dip at kindergarten the day before in a face-first plunge to the bottom. It nicely highlights the cut that will leave a scar on her eye from a fall a few weeks before. Am seriously thinking of enforcing the wearing of a full face helmet.

Then the fun began. The Bear turned 6 and was lucky enough to be visited by a whole sway of the family even though we are on a different continent at the moment. Bless retired grandparents. We have officially moved into the lego phase and the Bear had been dropping hints for weeks about the lego castle he wanted. Everytime he mentioned it I had to make sure not to do the dance of joy as I had already bought it.

Two cakes, a visit to the icecream cafe and about three burritos later the Bear's 6th birthday drew to an end and he fell into bed a little bit older and with the well wishes of many floating in his head and many plans for his wonderful booty of presents. A huge thank you to everyone for the thoughts and gifts sent to our Bear.

As it was Easter holidays, amazing weather (over 20 degrees C and sunny) and grandparents were here, the Bear had to be happy with just looking at the cover of his lego box for a few days as his mother (yes me) kept saying, "Don't open it until we get things sorted or you'll lose pieces". As a diversion we caught the boat to the zoo where we sent a lovely day wandering from playground to playground, bumped into Fraulein L and family, ate ice cream and occasionally saw some animals.

When folk come from such a long way and you have saved up all the activites until spring, a full programme is in order so off we went again (on public transport of course as neither of us want to drive here) to see a castle. By sheer chance this castle had the exact same drawbridge as the one the Bear had begun building from his Lego....thankfully I had allowed building to begin.

Someone bought the Bear a sword...

Found the full face helmet we were looking for. Should prevent any future facial injuries.

There was about twenty busts that lined the way between two castles and the Mouse was fascinated by this particular one and kept saying "Papa/Daddy".

I blame the goatie beard and the nose.

And still the sun shone and it didn't rain.

So Easter Sunday -after discovering the easter bunny had been very nice and left not only eggs in the garden but special treats in the house - we grabbed baskets, hopped on the bikes and headed to the Muhlenhof (windmill) for an Egg Hunt.

All the foreigners where surprised by the Easter Bunny's dedication to his work in hiding the eggs and the use of real eggs. Efforts were made to eat them even though this Mama feared E. Coli and (thanks to Tante J) I now know what the bug looks like. So the 2 or 3 egg per kid rule wasn't hard to adhere to and we even re-hid some.

One brave soul made it through the egg and was still able to eat icecream later.

They bred 'em tough in the US.

Three reasons to find a windmill and move in.

As the festivities drew to an end we where lucky enough to spend a wonderful afternoon in the garden of Familie N where more cake was eaten and the weather was so warm that the "Dancing Clown" sprinkler came out and the kids ran under the falling drops squealing with delight. A wonderful weekend drew to an end and the littlest one just couldn't stay awake any longer. Even when she was taken out of the bike trailer and put on the lawn.

Just when we thought all magical visits were over, the wobbly tooth finally fell out and was cleaned so well that it earned two gold coins from the Tooth Fairy.

Luckily I live in the age of computers and I have avoided smudging the margins with the chocolate coated marzipan that quickly disappeared whilst I was writing this post.

Guess who turned 2!

That's right our Mouse turned 2 today! Excitement has been rising for the past couple of days with big brother and sister asking the Mouse what she might like for a present and generally talking up the benefits of birthdays. The Mouse quickly realised something good was coming her way and jumped on the birthday bandwagon. A pile of presents from near and far greeted her as she walked into the lounge room and the fun of today began. The Mouse says a big thank you for all the cards, gifts and wishes that were sent to her on her very special day.

'Mannchen" sagte die Maus

A beautiful sunny day in the garden to sing 'Happy Birthday' and enjoy eating cake.

De Efteling - Dank u wel

waiting for grandparents

April is our month of visitors from home and birthdays. First visitors to arrive were Grandma and Grandad Fitz. As Herr Fitz unexpectedly popped out for the week for work the kids and I were in a bit of a flurry of organising and house cleaning. Luckily things went smoothly and we got to sit in the sun (me with a cup of tea) and wait for the grandfolks who bravely and very cost efficiently made their own way here from Cologne. We let them lighten their suitcases a bit and whisked them off to Amsterdam for a couple of days where Herr Fitz joined the adventure.

Sun shiny Amsterdam square

Those not known for their map reading skills prove together they can do it.

THEN: We went to Efteling!

We got off the bus after a rather long trip through many villages and even a few fields and all for the bargain price of 3 euros each and were greeted by the long avenue leading up to the main entrance, yes Grandma we heard you sigh at the length of the walk. Ok, I will admit it the word giddy could have been used to describe my mood. Welcome to my world folks. This is the world where the sun shines and music - that makes you want to skip - is piped through speakers or even through red and white mushrooms and castles tower in the near distance. It was at this point I really wished I had worn my red cape and was carrying a small basket instead of a large suitcase. Nevertheless we walked grinning up to the gates and then went even further on to our fairytale accomodation.

Best entrance to a holiday park EVER,

even better than the wistful illustrations on the internet believe it or not.

Our woodland cottage was just like the one in the background.

As the weather was so wonderful those over the legal age indulged in a quick beer while waiting for our cottage, quickly dropped off bags in said amazing cottage and without jackets we raced off to the theme park. Yes it was over 20 degrees celsius in April and sunny. Armed with maps of all shapes and sizes we thought it best to get the aerial view and headed straight for the "Pagoda" to get the lay of the land. Luckily this ride is nice and leisurely with no sudden drops, darkness or hidden rollercoasters. Two huge days where the Bear bravely went on his first rollercoaster and I bravely went on it the next day to see what it was like...really dark at the beginning. The Monkey rode the water rapids and was astounded by the magical fairy and troll world right at the end and the Mouse kept pointing at the 'Pirate Ship' saying 'fun'. A week before her second birthday she had to make do with the pirate ship merry-go-round ride. Whilst Herr Fitz and I did lose major good parenting points by taking the kids on the Fata Morgana-we even asked some other parents who had come out if it was ok for little kids but really it wasn't that great for our kids and to tell the truth Herr Fitz and I are still a little scared from the experience. We did however redeem ourselves by venturing throught the giant eagle gate in what I considered to be the smaller folks section to find out what the ride was. It was a rollercoaster in total darkness...I was laughing when we came out but only for the sake of the children. From there all went on the cup and saucer ride which the Mouse though was fantastic (I worry about her daredevil attitude) but left everyone else a little queasy, the kids ate giant lollipops and we found the monorail ride through the Laarfs village (just as well as the Bear had seen it on the internet and it was on his list).

First stop the Pagoda to get the lay of the land.

The kids try to be bigger but really the pedal trains were their favourite. Oh, and the water rapid ride where Grandad got wet first much to everyone's amusement. Except Grandad's.

A peaceful boat ride to start our fun.

The Bear's first rollercoaster/ spooky house, luckily Dad and Grandad were there too.

Please note the wearing of t-shirts, yes it was that warm the first day.

Tulip time in Holland ahhhh.

Back to parkas and beanies the second day but still sunny and loads of fun. Here Herr Fitz and the Monkey test their driving skills on the old timer cars.

Have to love a world where there are small carts to tow kids around. Grandma was a little upset there wasn't a grown up option.

At last Grandma found a way to travel in style.

We never did find the talking tree but had a wonderful time!

World Gone Crazy

This needs no words!

Craft Stars made by the Bear even though he missed the game as it was on to late.

Watching it with some Australian friends and some German friends made it even better.

Who knew Mark Schwarzer could speak German, the after game show proved educational.

This is what happens in our town when spring pops up for one day and the temperature hits a scorching 23 degrees (c). Yes we wore t-shirts!

Unfortunately while enjoying the beautiful weather by skipping hand in hand with her brother and friend in the city the Monkey fell over and forgot to let go of the others hands and landed on her face. A quick trip to the hospital was in order. Herr Fitz carried her through the city as it was the quickest way there and was very nicely accompanied by a friend who, by the way must think our kids have major balance problems as last time we met up with their family the Bear had a head injury and ended up in hospital...turned out it was a stomach flu not a concussion even though he banged his head on the heater whilst playing with the Monkey...for the record. Luckily they weren't at the hospital long and it required only glue and tape not stitches. On their return there was a distinct smell and when I quietly asked Herr Fitz why he smelt like vomit he retold the tale of the Monkey vomiting on the way back and not just over him but over the friend who had helped us as well. Luckily he has four kids and seemed to take it in his stride.

The Mouse had a lovely time at the playground but did ask after her sister by saying "Monkey Ouch".

So that was Saturday, Sunday it rained again and we had a relaxing day at home to RECOVER.

Spring. Fair. Gherkins!

I swear it is getting warmer.

Have no idea who the jazz ballet boy in the background is. Looks like he is having fun.

The weather is slowly warming up and we are seeing that our thick jackets may be put away for good soon. While our own loose tooth boy goes to his school prep group on Tuesdays at kindy the girls and I try to catch the sun and warmth at the playground. The last two weeks we have managed this, the first time alone and with a little warmth and sun and this Tuesday just gone we met our lovely Family N friends and shared massive amounts of sun and warmth and the loose tooth boys joined us too. All five kids had a picnic up on top of the fort...away from the mamas who definitely would have said "don't try to eat gummy bears all at once".

With the beginning of spring and the start of 'summer time' which brings the lovely long twilight we are managing to pack more and more into the day. After an impromptu trip to town and lunch at a pizza restaurant and ice cream to follow then we sat on our terrace and relaxed in the afternoon sun...not quite warm enough yet. Then as a last minute idea we headed to the fair-Send- for the early evening. The kids have entered the 'we want rides' phase and they got two rides. A merry-go-round and the dodgem cars. Luckily the lovely Frau F and Herr M joined us so I managed to to avoid the dodgems again. I still remember being a kid and panicking as I had no idea how they worked ie token in them - wait...I have the same fear of vending machines after an incident at a public pool when a packet of chips failed to fall...but I digress.

Always happy when the kids choose a rocket ship ride. The Bear is driving.

The Mouse was spellbound by this ride...our little thrill seeker.

The Send fair posters say it has been around for 1200 years. As a salute to this we didn't buy the kids a balloon, we didn't buy them plastic toys, we didn't even buy them the gingerbread hearts that probably were around then. No we were really nice parents and bought them...actually it wasn't even us it was Frau F who bought them...you will never guess..... GHERKINS

There were 5 different flavours but even I couldn't try the mustard one that had been peeled and looked like an eel.

Oma was nowhere to be seen - she sent Opa and the old Onkel.

Luckily the kids still like us.