De Splinter

Yesterday was Labor Day in Belgium. The kids were home and I didn't feel like doing nothing, so we took Papa to work and headed off for a day of fun. I did a little research online and discovered a park not far from Erwin's work, called De Splinter. That's where we went, and boy, am I glad we did. It was a treasure of a playground, all different areas for differing activities. There was a building center, a pirate island, a regular playground, soccer field, swimming pool, and a petting zoo. We spent nearly ALL day at this park, not even exiting the gates to discover the rest of the park in which houses this "playground". The boys LOVED it and even managed to swim in the pool. We built a hut from wood and captured some tadpoles. We played with the baby goats and wandered through the paths in the pirate forest searching for treasures. We had a picnic lunch sitting in the sun, and just had a really terrific day together. Kaeden came up with the reasoning behind the name: Mom, they have a bunch of wood where you can get splinters, so that's why they call it The Splinter. I was impressed as that didn't even cross my mind. Jari loved crossing the bridges onto the pirate island and manning the boat complete with skull and crossbones. I enjoyed the sunshine, getting a bit of color and moving our possessions from one playplace to the next. I'm so glad we spent the day as we did. It was peaceful and fun, and I came away feeling like the mom I want to be...involved, active, and happy. And so were my lil guys!

We went to pick Papa up from work and got to tour his office building. He is on the 7th floor with a really nice view of the city. We met his boss and saw his new desk and it was a great end to a great day. I wouldn't have traded it for sleeping in a bit later for anythign in the world.