Good for us, Leonie is a champion of planning ahead. She had a few great options for us to avoid the “we should really not sit on our bums all day” trap ready last night, but we intentionally left the last choice between a fun park and a petting zoo-type place open until breakfast, so that Number 3 could give some input. Interestingly, he went for the “farm animals” option over the playground.
After a very nice and leisurely breakfast we still had time left to sort the kids out and let them go through some of their morning routines. Of course as always, I ratcheted the stress level up a notch. Instead of going in the two cars of our dear hosts, I thought it a great idea to finally show off puru hiko to someone else. That meant breaking the tent down – something that did not sit entirely well with Nina for a little while …
We got over it, though – and I got to both show off how quick the tent can come down as well as the fun to be had with an EV. Peter and our kids were with me, while Nina went with Leonie and their two rascals. Off to the Kinderparadijs Malkenschoten.
A bit of sunscreen and we were starting with some sheep and then straight for the petting zoo full of goats. Number 3 has a love-hate relation with them, this time apprehension won out for the most part. It has been over a year, to be fair to him.
So we made our way, leisurely, from enclosure to enclosure gazing at sheep, ponies and the odd chicken. All the while, we took the time to stop in between to give the kids time to explore the playgrounds and equipment along the way.
Unfortunately, around lunch time, we had to adapt a bit more. One of us felt quite unwell, and we hustled to get food into all the kids and get them moving towards the exit. The magic phrase was “go look at the donkeys” – since we knew they were near the entrance of the site. There was a bit of severe discomfort, to which I could thoroughly relate after having joined the 10% of people with this particular chronic ailment about two years ago.
Given the need for rest and the excitement for our little team of adventurers this morning, we all retired to an extended nap-time into the early afternoon. I took the tent setup as another challenge and had it up and ready for bedding before our hosts had their front door unlocked 😀
The rest of the day was pretty much perfect for what we expected out of a visit like that – the kids were mostly good, playing well together. Everyone felt much better after naptime and there was plenty of time to catch up and feel comfortable around each other. Even though we all communicated in our second or third language, there is a closeness we feel to Peter and Leonie, based on shared similar experiences, that is quite unique. It turned out it only incresed in the last few years, with all of us going through the experience of having two kids still sort of in the aftermath of our “big trips”.
The day closed out with lovely cold (non-alcoholic) beers and way too much Indonesian food. We were delighted and might have gotten carried away with the order, but it is really hard to come by Indonesian food in Germany (even though this batch was Chinese-cooked). We have fallen in love with the Indonesian cuisine on our “Home to Home” trip and tucked in until there was not room for a single extra bite.
We sat outside, enjoying the mild summer evening until the last light had set behind our tent. Thank you Peter, Leonie – what an excellent way to end another (little) adventure.
Good morning from the rooftent window 
Making the most of their time with the tractor 
Morning playtime 
Number 3 playing construction site with real sand (!!!) 
Right behind the entrance at Kinderparadijs Malkenschoten 
That glow in her eyes – enjoying that gives us back the 10 years we lost over lost sleep with them 😉 
Goats who stare at Men 
Momy, are you seeing this! 
Ok – you first. If they don’t bite your hand off … 
… maybe it is safe enough. But only the little one! 
They had humongous chicken and also tiny ones … 
two and a half little engineers … we could have left them here for the next hour, I think … 
bit rusty, needs some help 
Proud engineer, proud dad 😀 
this photo is misleading – I lived in new zealand, I am not afraid of sheep … 😀 
big enough to serve as a compfortable mount, if she tried 
therese were quite magificent – and pretty tall for ponies 
just a backup, he did not need any intervention 
he dared the mighty creek – legs crossed and go! mighty proud of him 
Childlike Flo on a zipline with the Agent in the carrier on his back 
Trying to feed the Agent 
The Agent of Entropy munching on a cheese bread roll 
Number 3 had to have ice cream before we could leave 
All of the kids loved watching the turtles 
Turtles in a pond 
Both big boys on a tunnel adventure 
There was a tiny calf in the cows’ enclosure 
Of course, Number 3 also gave it a go 
Flo on the tree stumps balancing and the Agent is almost in the midst of things 
Look, the donkeys also had a baby! 
The donkey enjoyed some pats 
Number 3 looking at and patting tiny lambs 
On the way out 
The food arrived. O.O Indonesian rice table for two persons 
Preparing for dinner. The kids had to be fed first 
The Agent in the dool’s pram 
The kids played so well together <3 
Masterly inactivity 
Evening talks with good friends
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