Last Few Days

Everything is packed. Here I sit in my kitchen on a folding chair borrowed from the neighbors. All I have is my computer and the internet. This morning I had one last coffee with Robin. I said good-bye to a few familiar faces around town. Tomorrow we will be back for the truck to pick up our shipment. I am already not looking forward to unpacking all the boxes when they arrive in 6 weeks.

During our final weekend here Holland, we have been very busy. On Saturday, we had the boy's final Baseball game followed by a picnic at the ABF. That night we went to dinner at La Toscana for one final meal in Noordwijk (which Carter made memorable by splitting his chin open). Sunday, we took the kids to the Naturalist Museuem and had one last dinner with the Rider family. Then on Monday, we went to the Amsterdam Zoo (for the first time). The kids are enjoying their time in the Holiday Inn. The indoor swimming pool and play area are big hits with them. The breakfast buffet every morning is also great. They are so spoiled right now, they aren't going to want to leave.
This has been a great end to a great experience.

Moving Day

It amazes me that 2 years have past already. Our time in the Netherlands is coming to an end. Yesterday was my last bike ride to C1000 for food. I said good-bye to Ed the flower guy and the candy man. Funny that these were my two favorite people on the Langstraat. The kids are having their field days at school and saying good-bye to friends. Brooklyn had her last Girl Scout meeting. Jason had his last band practice. I think everyone is doing a good job getting closure. This weekend will be a picnic at the ABF where we say a few more good-byes. The kids only have 3 1/2 days of school left.

The packers are here now and we are heading to a near by hotel to finish out our stay. It's best for the kids I think to keep them out of the house where all their things are packed in boxes. Besides, the hotel has a pool and a play area. It'll be like a mini vacation for them, only they still have to go to school.

We will miss it here, but we have a lot to come home to. We are looking forward to being with our friends and family again. I think I have about 12 albums full of Europian memories. I am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone 2 years ago and made the move over the pond. It was an experience I will never forget.

Checked Rome Off the Bucket List

We just spent three days in Rome and it was wonderful. We stayed in an apartment near the Piazza Navona, with great restaurants and gelato shops close by. The Hop on/Hop off tour bus served as our transportation for two days which worked out perfectly. We went inside and walked around the Coliseum, made wishes and tossed coins into Trevi Fountain, climbed the Spanish Steps, and saw amazing sights in between. We had all the spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, and all other things Italian you could. I had the best Cannoli ever (although it could have also been the ambiance of eating it next to a fountain in Italy)! It was an amazing trip, and was made even better because we had Uncle Bill there with us. For every meal, bus trip, or plane ride, there was a fight over who sat by Uncle Bill. He was the favorite of the kids.

Someday, I hope to return to Rome. It is definitely up there on the list of my favorite cities in Europe. I Luv Roma!

Bruges, Belgium

Another easy day trip from our house is to Bruges, Belgium. This was our second time there, and probably not the last. It truely is a fairytale city. Our friends from Boston wanted to experience another country while they were visiting us, so it was a no brainer where we would take them. Once we arrived, we climbed to the top of the Belfry (kids included, very impressed with them) for a wonderful view of the city. Then we took a canal tour were you can see and hear about the town's very old history. One of the best parts of the day was sitting in the market square, eating warm Belgian waffles covered with hot Belgian chocolate and powdered sugar. Everyone should exerience that once in their lifetime. We finished off our trip with dinner before a relaxing drive home (the kids were so worn out, they slept the entire 2 1/2 hours!). I think our guests enjoyed it as much as we did.

De Zaanse Schans

This past Frday we had some friends from Boston fly in to visit for a few days. One of the day trips we took with them was to De Zaanse Schans in the Netherlands. It is an outdoor museum with many of the typical Dutch things to see. There were several windmills, all serving different purposes. We were able to go into the paint mill and watch how everything worked. Then we climbed up a ladder to the top for a better view of all the other windmills and the "town". We watched how wooden clogs were made and were surrounded by every color clog you could think of. There was also a cheese shop that offered samples galore. We spent a few hours there and warmed up inside with lunch. Our friends got there wooden clog and windmill pictures, that is a "must do" when you visit Holland. It was a nice trip and I am sure we will visit again when we have warmer weather.

The Boys are 5 years Old!

Well, I have survived the last of the birthday festivities. The boys turned 5 years old this week, but the celebrating started last Sunday. We had a birthday party with friends from their school, 10 little boys in total. Although I had the entire two hour time period planned out, the kids had plans of their own. They did enjoy the treasure hunt through the house, and the basketball relay held their attention for a bit. What they really wanted to do was play with all the toys in the house. So I gave up after an hour and a half of trying to keep them on task and just let them play. It was a chaotic afternoon, but the boys enjoyed themselves.

Then the Tuesday before their birthday I took treats in for Nolan's class. Since I can't be in two places at once, and they are not in the same class, we decided neither would celebrate at school on their actual Birthday. Thursday, I took treats in for Carter's class.

For their actual birthday, the morning started with their bedroom filled with balloons. Carter came running into my bedroom shouting "I am five years old!". They only had a half day of school, so we invited a little girlfriend of theirs over to play that afternoon. She didn't come to the "all boys party" the Sunday before, so it was nice that they had a chance to see her. Next, the boys skyped with Namma and opened the presents she and Papa sent for them. We also saw Papa on skype while he was at work. Then I made their birthday dinner, we had cake, and opened more presents. Thursday evening, we skyped again with their other Papa, and they opened more presents.

Tonight after dinner, the last of the cake and birthday treats were eaten. It is very tiring having all three of the kid's birthdays so close. At least I am done for the year.

My Baby Girl is 8yrs. Old!

This weekend we celebrated Brooklyn’s 8th Birthday. It started on Friday when I took brownies into school for her Birthday treat. After sharing her treat with the class, the children sang “Happy Birthday” in both English and in Dutch. Then she was able to pick out a pencil, bookmark, and book from the class Birthday Box. We finished off the celebration by me reading a book to the class. It was very nice. Then on Saturday morning, Brooklyn woke up to a room full of balloons. This is a tradition in my family, one that I hope continues forever. I still hope that on the morning of my birthday each year I wake up to balloons! On Saturday night, Brooklyn had 4 friends over for a slumber party. We had pizza and cake, played Freeze Dance and Musical Chairs, the girls put on a talent show for us, and we ended the night with a movie and popcorn. They were up in Brooklyn’s room around 11:00pm and they finally fell asleep around 1:00am. The next morning they were all up by 7:30. I made them breakfast while they lounged around watching television. The last little girl was picked up by 10:00 am. All in all, they did very well. I survived my first slumber party as a mom.