The Social Scene

Every weekend we seem to have at least one "social" thing to do. Last weekend Brooklyn's school put on an Art Fair for the Elementary school kids (and their siblings). They had face painting, jewelry making, origami, candle decorating, sidewalk chalk/painting, and much more. The kids had a great time and it got us out of the house for a few hours. This weekend Brooklyn has a T-ball clinic on Saturday and a Girl Scout event on Sunday. I have a feeling Girl Scouts is going to keep us very busy. This is a good thing, the more busy we are, the faster time will go by.

The boys had their first play date yesterday. A little boy from their school and his mom came over for an hour and a half. All three boys played very well together while us moms sat down, talked and drank tea. My boys have always had each other to play with, but it's nice to know that they can include another child while they play. Brooklyn, our social butterfly, has yet another play date after school today. It seems each week she schedules a play date with a different girl. This time she is going straight to her friends house after school. I won't see her until dinner time! Even I am starting to have a social life. I have lunch plans on Thursday with another mom from the boys school. It's nice that we are all making friends. We can only be stuck in this house with each other for so long before we all go crazy.

Amsterdam Pics

Jason in front of the Concertgebouw, the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum behind

I AMSTERDAM, and the bike stand outside of Amsterdam Central Train Station.

Pics at the Beach

Random pics from September

A cemetery in Wassenaar, a picture of one of many houses with the red and white shutters, the windmill a few houses down from where we live, and our family in front of our Ivy wall.

A Visit From Home

Last Friday, a good friend of ours came to visit. She flew over first thing in the morning and we didn't waste anytime. The best way to fight jet lag is to stay outside and keep busy. So, after she grabbed a quick shower, we drove to Amsterdam. We had the boys with us, so we decided the best way to see the city would be a canal tour. It was 75 minutes of going up and down canals while enjoying a Heineken (water for the boys). That night after dinner we took a bike ride to show her some of the town we live in. Then first thing Saturday morning, we had a sitter come over for the kids and we took the bus and train to get back to Amsterdam. We toured the Anne Frank House (again) and then went to the Van Gogh Museum. This was the first time, Jason and I have gone to see Van Gogh. We also got some great pics as we were walking around the city. Then it was off to the Red Light District. This is just one of those tourist things that if you do when visiting Amsterdam. You should walk through the Red Light District for the experience and so that you can say you saw it. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule to get back to the train station. We ended up having to run to catch our train. When I say we had to run, it was a sprint from inside the Red Light District all the way till we were actually sitting in our seats. We made it with only 2 minutes to spare. I guess it just adds to the experience. The next day, Brooklyn had a birthday party to go to. After dropping her off, the rest of us went to Delft. We were shocked to see a carnival going on in the square. This kind of ruined the ambiance of the place because the square is great for photo opportunities. But we did a little shopping and sat at a cafe for some drinks before coming back home. That night after dinner we took a bike ride to the beach and played in the sand as the sun set. Again, some great photos were taken. The kids, especially Carter, got too close to the water and his pants were soaked. We ended up taking his pants, socks and shoes off for the bike ride home. Because it was cold out, I sacrificed my fleece to use as a blanket for the boys. We zipped them up in their cocoon and rode home. They went straight into the warm bathtub, into their jammies, and off to bed. After the kids went to bed, the adults enjoyed a couple bottles of wine. On Monday the boys had school, so Michele and I got to enjoy some girl time. We did a little shopping in town and had a nice lunch outside a cafe. We have done quite a bit of bike riding while she's been here. We have also gone through quite a bit of wine. It's been wonderful having her here. It's going to be hard when she leaves tomorrow. I have to wait 4 weeks until our next visitors. Then it's back home in December for a visit!

The Weather

Every night before going to bed I check to see what the weather will be for the following day. This has become an inside joke for Jason and I. I check because I need to plan what Brooklyn will wear for school the next morning. The temperature forecast is usually pretty accurate. The joke is whether it will be sunny, cloudy or rainy. For example, the other night I did my routine weather check. The forecast said 71 and sunny. There was no rain anywhere in the forecast for the next 5 days. I was very excited because the boys had school the next day and the last time they had school I was caught on my bike in a down pour. So imagine my surprise when I was getting ready to take them to school and it was raining. No sun...just rain. The only way to get an accurate account for the weather is to look out the window.

As for riding my bike in the rain, I just have to laugh. I really don't have a choice. The boys need to go to school and get picked up at certain times. I can't just wait around for the rain to let up. Luckily, the carrier the boys ride in can be covered. So even though I am soaked to the bone, they remain dry. I take comfort in that I am not alone in the rain. Everyone is right out there with me riding their bikes. I have also had to endure some pretty strong winds. I pedal as hard as I can against the wind and I still barely go anywhere. I have also been almost blown off my bike. It amazes me that with the weather the way it is, so many people here use bikes as their primary mode of transportation. Like Brooklyn has said before, "It's the Netherland way". I can't wait to see what the winter will bring.

The Anne Frank House

Jason and I have visited the Anne Frank house twice so far. Once during my first visit to the Netherlands and again when Jason's parents were here for a visit last month. There is no photography allowed inside the museum, so a picture of the outside is the best I could do. I think that this is probably at the top of the list for "what to do when we visit Jason and Amy" so we will visit a few more times I am sure. We definitely want to take Brooklyn there when she gets a bit older, we don't think she would truly understand at this point. But years from now when she is reading "The Diary of Anne Frank" in school, we want her to have the full appreciation for it. We want her to have that experience of being in the actual room where Anne Frank wrote in her diary and was in hiding for so many years.

For those who don't know, the museum is the actual building that Otto Frank's company owned. It was an empty space in the back of this building in which 8 people hid from the Germans. "A secret annex behind a bookcase" is what Anne Frank refered to it as. You are able to tour the building at your own pace. There are videos and interviews being played throughout. Pictures and journal entries cover the walls. They have a few small scale models of what each room looked like and which room was used for what. It's eerie when you walk through the rooms and look out the few windows there are knowing the people in hiding looked out the same windows. Knowing they were hidden from the world for 2 years is hard to believe. You get a small taste of what it must have been like living in such small quarters, unable to go outside. It's very powerful and definitely worth the visit if you ever are in Amsterdam.