Back to School

Today the schools start again in our region. Anakin said he didn't feel like it, but secretly he was just very excited to go to group 2. Once at school, luckily everything turned out not to be so bad.

What else have we done during the past three weeks of summer vacation?

Week 4

On Monday we went to my aunt in Zevenaar with something tasty. Anakin likes to go there too; he is always allowed to play on Uncle Ad's piano, which he really enjoys.
On Wednesday it was time again for the weekly shopping and for the six-monthly visit to the dentist. When we got home, Dad had a surprise for Anakin: they went to the cinema, this time to Binnenstebuiten 2.
On Friday my parents took Anakin to the Speelklok museum. That was super interesting. I enjoyed myself at home with the youngest, who slept a lot. Mommy happy! 😆

Week 5

That was exciting, because on Monday we had to report to the children's department of the Diakonessenhuis in Utrecht for an almond challenge test. Anakin has had an allergy to nuts since September 2021. But hardly anyone seems to be allergic to almonds 🌰, so we thought it was worth finding out. My little big guy did really great, ate everything neatly every time, and he turned out not to be allergic. So that also gives a little more space during the end-of-year celebrations: he can now eat filled gingerbread, filled cake, marzipan, etc.
Other than that we kept it quiet that week. We practiced cycling without training wheels during the weekend.

Week 6

This Monday we were able to go to the pool again to practice, because after the holidays the swimming lessons will of course start again.
Wednesday was the last time Anakin was allowed to go shopping, scan and pick out something tasty. In the afternoon we worked on ironing beads, a good exercise for fine motor skills. We bought some really nice diamond painting sets for Halloween at Action, so we finished one of those too.

We weren't actually going to leave during the summer holidays, but we still wanted to get away for the last weekend. Plopsaland De Panne seemed nice to us, but that is also a bit of a drive. That's why we booked a family hotel nearby.
We drove there on Friday. Unfortunately we had quite a traffic jam, both in the Netherlands and Belgium, but the room exceeded my expectations. The photos looked a bit old-fashioned, but we got a completely renovated room with a beautiful view. The only thing I could fault is that there was no air conditioning or ventilation. But yes, you get a bit spoiled if you have air conditioning everywhere in your own home.
That afternoon we went to the beach, which was literally just walking down the street.
Breakfast the next day was delicious and the people were super nice.
That day we drove to Plopsaland and I think it is highly recommended with small children. Mine are 1 and 5 years old and they both enjoyed it. We drive electric and we were able to charge our car easily in the parking lot there. Every now and then we were in a good mood, but overall we had a great time and there is plenty to do inside there too.

Kids happy, mom and dad happy and everyone slept very smoothly once back at the hotel.
On Sunday we drove to Dunkirk for a quick look around. Then we went home with a lot less traffic jam, all satisfied.