Irrland in the Heat

One day of 80+ degree weather - off to Irrland (the amusement park near my mum's in Geldern) to try the warm weather attractions. Packed with a huge picnic enough to feed the people around us and then some. 

 Although the water play areas were very crowded, we found a nice spot in the shade.

 Sophie taking pictures of us.

 That is Sophie's finger. My mum was annoyed that she had not brought her bathing suit. 

 We took Sophie on the water slide nearby a few times, but the water they used to wet it with was brutally cold. Berit yelled out "bladder infection" as soon as she sat down in it for the first time. Of course Sophie insisted on sitting in our lap - stinker. So instead we organized some spray guns and checked out the huge water gunfight terrain with fill-up stations, a labyrinth, bridge etc. as obstacles. Berit and I, being the oldest warriors in the terrain, soon had a considerable number of enemies to spray. Sophie exclaimed at one point that she no longer wanted to get wet, but continued to happily spray us - little stinker.

 ...meanwhile a goat was born in the adjoining stables.

 Finally a couple of pictures of Irrland's latest project: a play airport. But we will save this for a shadier day (soon that is).

Now headed back to Geldern for a BBQ.

Irrland with Kiron and Luca

The big adventure park, Irrland, near my mum's has opened again for the season. We met with my older sister, Anke, and her two boys at my mum's - one big family - and trekked over to Irrland for the afternoon. It was a first for the boys, Luca and Kiron.

 Sophie is showing Kiron the mud pit, i.e. heaven!

 Then Kiron discovered the tractors with manure carts attached (how much more German can you get?)  and Sophie joined him for a race.

 Anke and Kiron wobbling on a three-wheeled go cart. They got about thirty feet before Berit took over for Anke. 

 It's much faster on four wheels. Sophie is becoming a pro at these carts.

 Oma and Berit guarding the food.

A trip to Irrland is not complete without a visit to the slides. Here is a glimpse of Andrew and Sophie on the right slide.

 One of my favorite parts was watching the piglets play. But like Andrew said, it must suck to be born a pig in Germany. We could smell the sausage being grilled nearby. 

 Running off the last bits of energy on the Schwabbelmeer (wobble sea)

 Although we had initially planned to take the train back home that night, we changed our minds and stayed another night. More time for play!

Andrew and Luca

 Kiron and Sophie

Dessert while Luca gets to read tonight's story.

Happy Halloween from Irrland (again)

Yes, I know, Irrland again. But the weather was beautiful and Daddy needed to give those slides a try before the park was going to close for the winter next week.

 Kisses for Daddy

 Sophie and I watching Andrew go down the really tall slide.

 And believe it or not - next this is Sophie with Daddy at the top of the really tall slide...

 ... and she did not chicken out. She even went again, but refused to go with me. I guess she felt more secure with Andrew. Fair enough. I would too.

 Then she went by herself on the much shorter Monkey Slide.

 I take that is why it's called the Monkey Slide.

 Grand finale at the "Schwabbelmeer" (Wobble Lake). It is filled with water, which makes running on it a tremendous workout. Here is Andrew running into Sophie's arms.

 And vice versa.

 Sophie and I tried letting us fall onto the Schwabbelmeer.

 Exhausted - showing off our Halloween face paintings (home-made). That is a bat on my cheek in case you couldn't tell.

 Sophie chose a cat and a Hawaiian hibiscus to match her dress. 

Digging into her second or third Halloween muffin of the day. Chocolate with orange cream icing, topped with crackling chocolate chips that popped in your mouth. Nom nom nom...

Irrland Encore

The weather is still nice (albeit cold), Irrland is still open for another two weeks and as there is not much else to do on a Sunday in Germany (all the stores are closed), we headed out for more fun this afternoon. We headed to some of our favorite spots but also tried some new places. My legs had more than a good workout.

 Sophie Vettel taking a spin on a go-cart. 

 Princess Sophie found the tunnel underneath the castle tower. She walked through it more than once even though I tried to tease her a little mentioning spiders and bats. At least she was able to walk upright as opposed to her ladies-in-waiting.

 Back to the horses! I will be nice and not post the funniest horse picture today of Berit trying to mount one of the taller horses.

 Sophie on the horse with the freaky-looking eye.

 Horse-surfing

 The slide tower with a built-in airplane!

 View from the top...

 ... yeehaw!

 Ice cream break.

 The two blondes. This time Berit was dressed to climb and jump and was able to join us on the bouncing clouds.

 About to jump on Mama.

No one left to play with me? She literally walked from one kid to the next and asked them if they wanted to play with her. A good time to head home and call it a day.

Irrland!

This post is of special interest for all our friends with kids who are thinking of coming to visit us. We will take you to Irrland! We came here for the first time during our visit in Germany in September 2010. As it was another gorgeous weekend, we headed out for some fresh air and fun for kids of all ages.

 First stop was the cart rental (we learned on our last trip that regular strollers will get stuck in the sand).

 Then a couple of laps on the bike.

 These wobble lakes (Schwabbelmeer) are all over the place. Filled with water, they make for some good exercise.

 Loads of animals roaming around.

 ...including this tall horse just waiting to give Sophie a ride.

 Berit almost breaking the horse's back.

 The fastest slides I've been on. Sorry about the cabbage head in front, but it's the only picture I have of the really steep slide in the background which I went on (without Sophie of course). This one shows Sophie/Meike racing Berit. Oh, and built into the structure is an old airplane, which are also to be found all over the park.

 Again, again, again!

 Climbing the volcano.

 The summit team.

 Another bouncing mountain. Insurmountable with socks.

 Are we having fun yet?

 We missed the pumpkin patch this year, but at least we found a three-dimensional hay labyrinth.

 Sophie walking on the water.

And last but not least: some hot chicks!