We took the kids to Legoland yesterday.

When I say "we" and "the kids", I mean my brother, his wife and I took all of our kids (except the littlest one) to Legoland. On a hot, hot day, right smack at the beginning of the summer break in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

So it was hot and crowded. Long lines at all the best rides, of course. Really, I loved the Jungle Tour but standing in line for 45 minutes for a 4 minute ride is kind of lame. But the kids absolutely loved, loved, loved it and proclaimed me the best mom in the universe, so I declare it a complete success.

Highlights:

Leah rocked the race car building competition. Her little car did really well and beat most of the other much more complicated contraptions.
Pyramids are most stable in an earthquake.
Gold washing - Alan found a pyrite, and David and Jacob got a "golden" medal. They loved it so much.
Jungle Ride - splash! Leah was absolutely terrified and clung to me but afterwards, she giggled and laughed and wanted to go back right away.
Every child now owns a brand new Lego T-shirt. Because that is important.
All the kids are just now sitting at the breakfast table building their little sets they got at the end of the day for exemplary behavior.
The boys passed their "driver's test" and are now in possession of a real Lego driver's license.

Because it was so hot, I was burdened down with water bottles and left my big camera behind. But I used my iPhone to make a few shots, so here you go:
(It's a gallery, click on the arrows to view the next image!)

We left around 6:30 pm or so and stopped at the next Autobahn oasis for an evening meal. Food is very expensive at Legoland and also with the heat, ice cream and mini carrots were the only things the kids were willing to eat. They were ravenous at the oasis, and a bit tired and wired. I promptly managed to lose my youngest child - bad memories of losing Alan at an oasis 10 years ago came back to me. I didn't panic but I had this little mantra playing in my head, "If I don't find her in two minutes, I'm calling the police. If I don't find her in 90 seconds, I'm calling the police..." I found her. But I had to lean into her that walking off by herself to go *outside* to play on the playground right next to the truck area is NOT a good idea.

We came home at 10:30, exhausted but happy. We'll do it again, but with Daddy next time, who manages to drag the kids on rides which they refused this time. I am sure they would have loved the Ninjago Dragon Rider -- my brother and nephew really enjoyed it. Next time - it's always good to have a reason to come back.