Monday- winners and losers.

I was woken up this morning by this.

She was tickling my neck. I slept with S, because J is sick and coughing, and she usually gets scared at night. Every so often she whimpers, and I just have to touch her head and she stops. 

Z ended up going into J's room last night to sleep because he was scared. I don't know how he slept with all the coughing, but he did. He is taking a nap right now...

We began the day by going to Coster Diamonds for a tour, but all they did was give us wristbands and let us in to wander around by ourselves. We saw some diamonds in cases, and saw some guys supposedly working, and then S had to pee. I had to walk all the way through the maze of the building in a hurry to find a bathroom without a line. Once she was finished, we walked back to find Z and J, but there really wasn't much to see at all. Z begged us for permission to buy a diamond, but we said no (of course). Pretty much a waste, but luckily a free waste of time. 

Next, we took two trams back to a different part of Vondelpark in search of two different playgrounds. 

The kids got hungry, so we stopped in a bakery on the way.

We found the first playground. The Vondelpark playground was designed by the landscape architecture firm Carve. Its footprints link two circular playgrounds (which were designed by Aldo van Eyck in the 60's).

 Here is Z climbing up one structure.

You can find the Vondelpark playground by taking Amstelveenseweg to Felvoroute, and it is right by the Vondeltuin cafe. It was a rainy cloudy day, so not the best day for really playing on either playground, as there was wet sand everywhere, and the rain made the bars really slippery. There were some tough kids still playing away, though. On a beautiful sunny day, it would be heaven for all families, with the climbing and sand pit and the outdoor cafe for parents.

The large view.

There is Z, in the orange grey jacket.

S wasn't really interested in playing on that structure. She was still a little small to be able to climb up it, so we searched for the next playground. 

The treehouse play structure!!!!

We found it, after a lot of whining on S's part. It is really cool! Head left soon after Emmalaan joins Flevoroute. If you look at Google maps, you will see how the paths create a starfish above the Flevoroute. It is in the lower segment that backs to the Flevoroute, and on the other side of the structure are water fountains in the pond. I think it is 75 meters in length that is all suspended above ground. 

J helped S go through it the first time, and then I went through it with her on her second time. 

Z loved it!

There is S, with J behind her.

Waiting for the tram after a long walk back (and lots of carrying S). Upon seeing the photo, Z couldn't believe J gave him bunny ears. Z thought HE was the only funny one. 

We stopped for a late lunch at Ted's, right near our apartment. It serves breakfast all day long. The kitchen was backed up, so we had to wait a long time. In my opinion, it was overpriced. The serving sizes were pretty small.

Z, making kissing noises.

Z had said he saw people outside who "kept marrying each other." I asked him what he meant, and he made a kissing noise. Funny. Now we are back home for a late nap time.