Inge's birthday

Today we're celebrating Inge's 10th birthday! My, time is really flying... I remember my first blip ever on October 12, 2009, where I uploaded a photo of Inge at age 3. So much has happened since...

We are still at Resort Hof van Saksen for our vacation. Luckily, that's not far from where we live so pretty much everyone was here to celebrate with us. It was a great day, where the adults could enjoy conversation in the shade with cool drinks (it was after all 30 degrees Celsius out) and all the kids were swimming, playing or boating* in, on or near the lake. Together we had dinner at the restaurant on the resort and after that, when all the guest returned home, Nienke, Inge and Ellis went supping like they did yesterday.

Inge really enjoyed her birthday and was very happy with her presents so I guess we can call this yet another great day! The cake in this picture, by the way, was created especially for Inge. As you can see it has a horse theme and that's exactly how Inge wanted it. 

Tomorrow is our last full day at the resort. They're promising another scorcher so it will probably be spent at the lake again.

* my parents brought a rubber boat. And not just any boat, but the boat that we used to take on vacation with us when I was a kid. The boat is almost 40 years old and has been on my parents' attic for many, many years. My dad tested it last week and low and behold: the boat was still good! Seeing it today sure brought back some memories, even more so because my brother was also there for Inge's birthday. While watching the kids use the boat today, my mom told us of a time when I had rowed the boat right to the middle of the Presseger See in Carinthia, Austria. I was laying down and from the shore it looked like the boat was empty. A thunderstorm was approaching and everyone had to leave the lake. All this was happening without me noticing a thing. On the shore, my mom got really worried and she was about to jump in and swim to the boat, when I finally got up again and noticed my mom waving and screaming. Just as the thunderstorm clouds started rolling into the valley, I reached the shore and we barely managed to get back to the campsite before all hell broke loose. I know this story is probably of little interest to all of you, but I really wanted to keep a record of it. Sorry if you got this far and didn't think it was worthwhile :-)