Hochsauerland Holiday

This year we decided we needed a quiet family vacation, so we booked into a Centre Parcs Resort in Hochsauerland about 2 hours from Darmstadt.  We'd heard great reviews about Centre Parcs; they cater for families and have a whole range of activities for kids.  Brandon and Teah are a bit young to participate in all the activities but they still have fantastic playgrounds and a wonderful indoor swimming area.  Brad was happy because he was able to braai every evening, I came down with a cold but still managed to relax and read a few books.  Overall it was a good trip.  We have lots of photos of Brandon playing but unfortunately not too many of Teah since she was sleeping a great deal of the time. 

There was a Kids Club at the Resort, we took Brandon one morning and the theme was painting - here he's playing in the teepee (nothing to do with theme).



Here's our little Van Gogh





Or is he the next Monet?



After dinner, one night, Brandon decided to demonstrate his artistic skills again.



He also thought he'd try to impress the girls who were in the restaurant.  He kept calling this little girl 'Leelee' which is what he calls Emilina, one of the girl's in his playgroup



There was a kids show one afternoon.  It was Brandon's first experience of a live performance.  Before the show started he thought the chairs were marvellous and started rearranging them.  When it finally began he was mesmerised.



Riveted



 



Playing next to the baby pool.





Yes, my dad bought me these stylish orange armbands - mom thought he'd get something cuter but apparently this is all there was.  At least you can't miss me!



Swimming in the big pool!



Very busy with my bucket!



Demonstrating exceptional focus on mixing sand in the bucket! 



There was a great tractor in the one playground. 

















And they said holidays were fun????

 

I'll just nap, as I usually do!




And these are the choices we have...




The playground



I can do this with a little help from Dad!

Back on the balancing beam!



I made it to the top, now I can check out the view.




Playing in the sandpit and upsetting the other kids by taking their toys.



Dad's little shadow is trying his best to do everything Dad does.



His Majesty  Our little guy makes a graceful descent from the tractor - check out the pointed little toes.




The little slide




The big slide




These little boys stayed in a cottage nearby, there were at least 5 of them (from two family's) and Brandon loved following them around.  Here he's got his bunny for support but bunny was kept out of sight.  It was quite funny, Brad braaied every night and the boys would always come and have a little chat with him (language is no barrier for children).  The one boy mentioned that their dad didn't live with them (we'd noticed they were with only the two moms).  One evening one boy. very proudly, came to tell Brad they'd also had a BBQ, it seemed their mom had to go and buy a braai and cook them some food just like we'd been having.




Woohoo, it's Scoop from 'Bob the Builder'




Playing with Teah



Our little cutie!



Smile, it's lunch time!

All this playing builds up an appetite!





Vivarium

On Sunday it was the annual IKEC (International Kids English Club) trip to the Vivarium. Brandon had a great day, he especially enjoyed watching all the older children play. He also insisted on walking around the entire place barefoot like a good South African boy , much to the amusement of the German folk - many of whom were rocking the ever so stylish socks and sandals look. Brandon got to pat the goats and we watched the great big tortoises being fed. It was very cute, the tortoises were all moving out of their little pond to go and eat the fresh fruit that had been laid out for them, it just so happened that they were all eating in a row and we watched one enormous one make his way over to the food and find a place in the line, Brandon watched in fascination and when the tortoise finished maneuvering into position, he pointed and said 'park'. 'Yes', we said, 'he's parked'.

We're still waiting at the entrance for the rest of the group to arrive but Brandon felt the need to break into the picnic basket and have a little snack to pass the time. Still waiting to go in but feeling a little overwhelmed by all the bigger children so Mr Bunny came out to keep Brandon company.

Kissing Mr Bunny

Finally made it inside but haven't got further than the playground yet. Teah dropped off just after this and didn't get to see any animals.

Peek-a-boo

I-see-you

Oh no, my feet are dirty now - I don't want my shoes on but I can't understand why my feet keep getting dirty. I'll just wipe them on this wood.

The funny thing is every time I put my feet in the sand I get them dirty - it's weird???

I'll stand on the wood instead

This bridge looks dodgy, I'll wait and see if this kid makes it across.

Brandon enjoying the garden

Ever since we started frequenting playgrounds in Germany, Brandon has wanted to climb up a slide on the 'slide' part. He's seen so many older kids do it and everytime he's near a slide, he attempts to do the same. This weekend he finally succeeded, we have a little slide in the garden and he got to the top without having to use the stairs.

Here I go! Nearly there!

Hooray, I did it!

Time to go down!

Whooooosh!

Spring Has Sprung

We spent some time in the garden this weekend. It's lovely when the sun is shining, we only hope that the good weather lasts.