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.