London Baby!

Last weekend I was able to get away for 4 days with my neighbor Melissa. We took the train from Holland to Brussels, then under the water over to London. It was a nice change from flying. Our first night there was a little rainy, but that didn't stop us (we are used to living in the Netherlands). We went to see the Houses of Parliment, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. We also had fish and chips at a near by English Pub for dinner. Then on Saturday we got up bright and early for our 12 hour Harry Potter tour. We started our tour at Stonehenge. The sun was out and we were one of the first groups in. We then went to Lacock, Oxford, and ended back in London. Our tour guide was great and full of information. Sunday we got some great pictures with sun and clear sky's. We went to Buckingham Palace, saw the Horse Guard parade, and toured the Tower of London. Then we walked along the river to Covent Garden. We ended our day with a traditional Sunday roast in another pub. We had a great time. London is one of my favorite cities I have seen so far while living over here.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Yesterday was a busy day and the clean up continues today. It rained so hard and for almost the entire day. The water in front of our garage door was half way to my knee. I knew the garage would be flooded but at that point there was nothing I could do. Around dinner time the rain slowed and the water went down so I was able to begin the clean up. I had to empty the garage and sweep out as much water as I could. It's impossible to get it entirely dry, so for now I am waiting for a sunny day to come along to finish the process.

Unfortunately, the garage was not the only place to flood. We have a small storage area in the house under the stairs. We call this our "Harry Potter room". Well, this flooded also. So today I am trying to dry that area out. Luckily, we don't store much in this area so nothing was ruined. It's just work for me. Another rain like yesterday and I will be back to square one! Ahhh, the Netherlands.

Back to School

It's that time of year! Now I have all 3 kids in school everyday, all day. After they get on the bus in the morning, I do a little happy dance back to the house. I have the whole day to myself! Sure I still have my household chores and grocery shopping that needs to be done, but it's quiet. Nobody is asking me or this or that, and when I clean it stays clean for awhile. I am taking advantage of this time to do things for me. I am taking a Pilates class, a Tex/Mex cooking class, and a few day trips here and there. I have also scheduled a long weekend away to London.

The kids are also very happy. They are ready to run out the door 15 minutes before the bus comes. B loves 2nd grade and is making new friends. The boys are in separate classes and love to see eachother on the playground for recess. Things are working out well.
It's going to be a great year!

Date Night (What an Adventure!)

Jason and I took a train into Amsterdam last night for a date. This is the first time he and I have gone by ourselves to Amsterdam since before we moved here. We had dinner at Casa Di David, Jason's favorite Italian restaurant in Amsterdam. We shared a bottle of wine, had appetizers, dinner, and dessert (of course). It was perfect! After dinner we strolled along the canals back to the train station. We got there earlier than expected, so we checked the schedules to get on an earlier train. We found one that listed our destination, so we hopped on. As we were sitting there waiting to go, a voice came over the intercom explaining something in Dutch. We watched as a bunch of people jumped out of their seats and got off the train. We assumed they were on the wrong train but knew that our destination was listed so thought we were fine. Again, the voice came over the intercom. This time stressing (still in Dutch) what they had said earlier. At this point I turned and asked a fellow traveler what the message was. "This train is only going as far as Harlaam" they respond. Well, that was not our destination. So we jumped up to get off the train. The doors closed just as we got off.

So then we were running to a different platform in order to catch the another train heading to our destination. We made that train with time to spare because it was running 5 minutes late. Jason was falling asleep on the train as it was a very quiet ride (after all it was late). For some reason, again they announced why in Dutch, the train stopped for awhile. This is the problem with taking public transportation. There is a ripple affect. If your train is late you might be late for your next connection, the bus in our case. So when we finally made it to the bus station, we ran to catch our bus. Luckily, the bus was also running late so we made it on. However, this was merely a bus we needed to take for a connection to the bus which would ultimately get us home. We were the last people to get off the bus, somewhere we had never been, in the middle of nowhere. We then needed to find the right bus stop for our final leg of the journey. When we made it to the stop, we were so proud of ourselves for navigating our way through all the train and bus schedules that finally brought us to this point. With smiles on our faces we see our bus approaching. Than we watch it drive right past us!

We were at the right stop. We were standing up with our tickets in hand. We have no idea why the driver did not stop. So we checked the schedule and the next bus would not be by for an hour. We were in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, so we began walking. As a side note for those of you who have never been here, nothing (not even a gas station) is open at this time of night. We saw a sign that said our town was 4 km (~2.5miles) away. We figured that wasn't to bad of a walk, it was a nice night. Unfortunately, after we had been walking for a while (in heels and dress shoes) we came to another sign that said our town was now 6 km (4 miles) away. We knew we were walking in the right direction because we had driven this way before. At this point we tried to get a hold of our neighbor to see if he would come pick us up. We were walking on a bike path along side a street surrounded by nothing but fields. Not really where you want to be in the middle of the night, but I guess it's better than downtown in a big city. Well, we couldn't get a hold of our neighbor, so we tried calling 3 different taxi companies (all as we are still walking). No luck there either. After walking for an hour, we came to another bus stop. The bus would be there in 6 minutes. Ironically, it was the same bus line we would have been on if we would had sat for an hour at the first stop. But then we wouldn't have gotten all that exercise!

For some reason, Jason and I laughed through this entire journey. Sure our feet were killing us (and I probably won't be able to put a pair of shoes on for a few days) but it was an adventure. Just another experience for us while we live abroad.

Summer Back in the States

The kids and I spent most of our summer back in the States. The last week of June we flew back and spent a few days in Dayton. The weather was hot so we enjoyed a day at the pool and a went to the Newport Aquarium another day. We were in Cleveland for the 4th of July. It was nice to see the fireworks since we missed them last year due to moving. Jason flew back to Holland and the kids and I stayed with my parents for the next 3 weeks. We had playdates with old friends and spent many evenings up at the pool. I was able to go out a few times with good friends! The last week of July, Jason flew in so we could all drive to Hilton Head. We spent a week there with my parents, my brother and his family, and the Dones family. This was our first time there and it was HOT! Never the less, we did some bike riding, rented a boat, took the kids to ride ponys, went out to dinner, and the older boys even got in some golf. At the end of the week, we drove back to Cleveland just in time to attend Foleyfest (something else we missed last year due to the move). Then we ended our long summer vacation in Dayton. I had a day out with a great friend which included pedicures, good food, shopping, and a movie. The day before we left, we went to a dinner theater to see "Cinderella" with the kids and Jason's parents. All in all, we had a full summer. To top it all off, we had an uneventful flight home in which the kids slept the majority of the time.

Now we are adjusting to the time difference and getting back into the swing of things. We are all very excited for the start of school!

It's Soccer Time!

It only comes around every 4 years and I have to say I am very excited to be in the Netherlands to enjoy it. The World Cup is a big deal here. Before the games even started, houses and stores were decorated to the max. Streamers with orange flags cross over streets from house to house. Orange hats, boas and shirts dress all the mannequins in store windows. To say the Dutch are excited is an understatement. Today I walked into town an hour and a half before the game was to start. There was orange everywhere! Kids had their hair colored orange. Men and women wore orange hats, scarves, and shirts. The candy store was selling soccer ball candies and chocolate soccer players. I wouldn't be surprised if the stores closed during the game. Everyone was hustling around to get their errands done in order to be in front of a TV at the start of the game. I must admit, those 90 minutes fly by. I enjoy watching the games and find myself cheering more for Holland than for the USA. The kids even sit and watch it. If we stay here much longer we will definitely be a soccer family.

One Year Down

We have now lived in the Netherlands for one year. Time has gone by fast and we have had many great experiences as a family. So far we have toured many cities in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. We have also visited France, Austria, and Malta. With in the next year we plan on adding a few more countries to our list. We have enjoyed having visitors from the States and have made many new friends. The kids had a great 1st year of school here and have made friends from all over the world. They have learned many new traditions from different cultures. What an experience it has been. We are looking forward to our next year here and all it has to offer!