How I Love to Go Up in a Swing!

This week has been, um, not so great.  The weather is back in the thirties with snow to boot!  Booo!!!

And our apartment that was supposed to be ready is NOT.  Double Boooo!!!

But we should be turnin' a corner soon... this weather can't last forever.  And our apartment should be ready next week.  Emphasis on SHOULD. 

BUT, I'm super excited because we just booked a trip to the NETHERLANDS for next month's tulip season!  We're going to take the bikes... it should be amazing.  (Emphasis on SHOULD.)    

So, last weekend when the weather was half way decent we found a great park just a five minute drive from post.  I have to laugh because playgrounds in foreign countries just aren't quite the same as back home.  They have different standards of safety and alternate definitions of "fun"... which are often a direct reflection of their culture.  

 So far from what I've noticed is that German playgrounds are more like obstacle courses... they require a lot of work.  This bridge, not so fun.  Caroline has to step over every single suspended log to get across it.  She didn't seem to mind. 

And this was my personal fave... 

It takes quite a bit of push power to get this thing going, hence the reason grown men are on it.  Oh, the things we'll do for our kids! 

Dad gets in on the action.  

They had a pretty fun zipline.  I saw a number of kids fall off of it.  And I literally had to sweep up a little toddler who walked right into the line of fire as Em came zipping down.  She almost clobbered him.   Would this fly in the states?  

Caroline lovin' life, this is right up her alley.  

 And what is this?  Couldn't tell you.

Nor could I tell you where the fun is in this.   

 And this was the ultimate worst piece of equipment.  What the h is it even supposed to be?  Both our girls wanted to climb up it and both ended up in tears as they crashed down to the bottom.  

Got to love the good ole fashioned merry-go-rounds.  Notice the overgrown kid on the left. I went on these all the time as a kid, but how often do you see them in the states now?   

And check this out... if you can't tell, this contraption is shaped like an octagon and all the swings face forward.  So, the kids are swingin' full throttle into each other's faces.  I'm sure it's designed so that you don't actually hit each other, but man, it sure looked  like they were going to.  

But really, we loved it because the girls loved it. I'm sure we'll be going to this park plenty over the next three years... and hopefully have no broken bones or scars to show for it. 

 And I can't complain about the yummy nutella/banana crepes that we inhaled.  That's incentive enough for me to go!