Janne turns 7!

On Thursday, Janne turned 7! The birthday girl requested breakfast in bed, a fun day and for dinner a visit to the pancake house. So that's what we did. For the fun part of the day, we went to Toverland. Tomorrow will be the family birthday party. So, as always, Janne had a three-episodes birthday.
Breakfast-in-bed for the birtyday girl

Birthday presents; she was very excited about the big 'step'

Janne's birthday party

As usual, Janne's birthday is in the middle of summer break. So, as usual, we had her kids birthday party several weeks early. On July 6th to be precise (Happy Birthday Henri!). This time, we opted for a stress free, no-preparations-needed event. After cake and gifts, we took the kids to a nearby animal park and we closed the afternoon by decorating and eating pancakes. The kids loved it!

Happy Birthday to Janne

The decorated pancakes looked great but must have caused the enamel on the kids' teeth to crack!

Fun in the Zoo

Ultimate Dance Experience Dance Show

Janne started dancing about a year ago. Before summer break, they gave a performance to show off all they learned in the past year. It was great to see how much fun all the girls had in dancing, both talented and less talented ones :-)

Dancing in black and red to 'Hello' by Martin Solveig & Drogonette

Jumping around to 'Wij gaan lekker springen' bij Kids DJ

Big sis watching the show at leisure

Swim certificate C and Survival

Another quarter has passed and both girls were ready to test for the next swim certificate. Janne received the C certificate, Emma her Survival certificate. Both passed and both move on to the next level or certificate. Janne will now start practicing for Advanced Swimming level 1 and Emma for diving.

The test for Certificate C starts by somersaulting fully dressed (including rain coat) into the pool

She did it; congratulations!

Pushing a 'raft' across the pool as part of the Survival Swim test

Waiting in line for the next test item

Roefelen

Today, the girls went Roefelen. On Roefel-day, local businesses open their doors to the elementary school kids, so they can experience what it is these companies do. Emma got to go to a small theater, a florist and a camping site. Janne and her group visited city hall, the police and a sporting goods store. All visits are free of charge and the organization is run by volunteers. It's a great way for kids to get a feel for the grown-up world of local businesses.

Listening to the police officer in the holding cell

Weighing a bullet proof vest

Klein Zwitserland

Today, the teachers at Emma and Janne's school had a study day, so the kids had a day off. We went to speelpark Klein Zwitserland (play park little Switserland) in Tegelen, Limburg. There were challenging adventure climbs, great play equipment, a nature learning trail, some really high swings and a fantastic minigolf course. The park is situated in the forested hills of Limburg, which makes it even more fun. It really was a fun and active day out for the girls and we can recommend the park to anyone with active elementary school children :-)

Pirate climbing tower

Lots of climbing was done today ...

... and great fun they had!

Showing off

25 years Op Dreef

At Emma and Janne's school, this week was celebration week, because elementary school Op Dreef was founded 25 years ago. There were school trips, a funny day, a sports day and an evening celebration, including performances by all groups. Emma couldn't join the performance of her group, but Janne fortunately could. They did a great job, especially taken into account the limited prep time they had. It was so much fun to see all the groups perform the different dances and acts they had prepared!

Presenting group 3a!