Zwarte Piet & Sinterklaas

Mid November Sinterklaas arrived in the Netherlands from Spain. His Moroccan helpers, "zwarte piets" (black Petes) help him deliver treats, candy, and eventually gifts on December 5th. In Delft there was a fun parade and activities for the children. In America, we wouldn't paint our faces black...but in the Netherlands, it's just part of the celebratory fun to be like Pete.

3rd Birthday...Nov 14th

Lucas and Hailey celebrated 3 years of life with a loosely themed Knight and Princess party. Our talented friend, Claire, made the castle cake and joined her daughters and some other friends to enjoy the festivities. Presents were a huge hit and greatly appreciated by Hailey and Lucas.

ICE SKATING in Amsterdam!

Open Air Museum

Running through a giant maze, visiting a "farm", and riding an old-fashioned bicycle

By the Way

I realize we've been slacking on good postings...I think we may have a Halloween picture or two and hopefully something else to report soon.

Lucas and Hailey will celebrate their 3rd birthday next week (Nov 14th) and they can hardly stand the excitement and anticipation of opening gifts. Amy is enjoying new friends, playing racquetball again, and going to Delft's open markets.

Who Dressed Hailey?

A) Hailey

B) Lucas

C) Daddy

D) None of the above

Hailey and Lucas get Dizzy

Hi everyone,

We stopped a park in Sterebek, Belgium (where we were staying) to let the kids get out and romp. Really cool park - lots of great playground architecture - Hailey and Lucas found a spinning mushroom that... well... see for yourself...

Mussels in Brussels!

G'day!

October 2nd thru October 4th was spent exploring the lovely city of Brussels! We spent Friday exploring the Grand Plats, Brussels' city square. The gilded buildings were beautiful. Our trip to Brussels would not be complete without Waffles, Mussels and Frites (Fries). The Belgians double fry their frites, making them extra tasty, especially for the kids. We also saw the "Mannequin Pis"- a statue of a little boy peeing (we now know why Hailey has had so many accidents lately). We also stoped by the Comic Book Museum which, coincidentally, was celebrating the 50 year anniversary of the beloved Smurfs - who knew they were Belgian?

Belgium

Kinderdijk

Description to follow

Kermis

The Carnival- KERMIS comes to town twice a year. This was Lucas and Hailey's favorite ride. Our collective favorite treat was a ball of fried dough with powdered sugar "alebolin." Some people prefer it with apples or raisins, but we quite liked it in its pure form of heart-stopping bliss.

Parade Day

Sixty-one marching bands paraded through Delft center last weekend. Another military family, with the same PhD agenda as Tom, just moved to the next town over in Nootdorp. They also have twins (Kayla & Hannah, who turned 3 in May). Corey teaches at the Air Force Academy and Sara is in the reserves since the kids were born; they also have a 7 month old son. It's nice to have friends with stuff in common.

H & L on Wheels

FYIs that are better late than never

No, Mr. Dongal!

Throughout the streets of downtown Copenhagen, Lucas and Hailey kept shouting and laughing when one would say "No, Mr. Dongal." When mom was singing "Old Macdonald" Hailey wanted a different song, but instead of saying "No Old Macdonald" it came out "No, Mr. Dongal." Again, this may not be funny to anyone else but us.

Copenhagen August 2008

The highlight of the trip- beautiful buildings, lights, and stages...awesome amusement park rides...wonderful restaurants...tasty treats...everyone felt and acted like a kid.

Copied from the Cophagen Encounter tour book: "Haul yourself to the top of the 34.8 m- high, red brick 'Round Tower' and you'll be following in the footsteps of such luminaries as King Christian IV, Denmark's famous Rennaissance king who built it in 1642, and the hoofsteps of Tsar Peter the Great's horse, all the way up the tower's unique cobbled, spiral ramp to the open-air platform at the top."

We all enjoyed a gradual ramp versus stairs to get to the top of this observatory tower.

Copenhagen

We visited the Louisiana- a modern art museum and the kids slept through...they woke to make their own "sculpture" in the children's museum.

Copenhagen August 2008

A 17th century castle with furnishings and and portraits

spanning 300 years of the Danish Royal family. The crown jewels are kept in the basement and the garden outside contained a random variety of sculptures and greenery.

Schieveningen- SEA LIFE & the beach

SEA LIFE is an aquarium we visited last week and this beach is on the same street. Hailey is looking at a bull shark's egg and all of us are looking at a crab. And, of course, Lucas and Hailey are always happy at the beach.

A Trip to The Rotterdam Zoo

We were surprised by how open and trusting some of the exhibits were... some guests were practically feeding camels out of their hands! Who knew carrots and white bread would be such a hit for these desert beasts.

Rain, Rain- Don't go Away!

THANKS FOR THE RAINCOATS, SLOOPA!

Basic Info I've Learned in 6 weeks- A brief reflection probably more for me than anyone else

• It can be rainy, sunny, windy or cloudy in a 2 hour period (up to 12 times a day)
• Some famous artist (Vermeer, Van Gogh) lived and painted in Holland
• William the Orange was assassinated and buried in Delft
• Kids start school at 4 years old and daycare (vs. preschool) is available from 0-4
• Almost every person I’ve met can speak English
• Everyone is riding a bike (fast) and has somewhere to go
• Stores are open for about 40 hours max, so 9-5 and 10-6 are common shop hours. A few grocery stores are the exception and Friday nights most stores in Delft stay open until 9.
• I love to walk around the market. Stands set up for Thursday and Saturday offer a great variety of fruits, vegetables, cheese, meats (most are a mystery to me), fish, bread, candy, & nuts; in addition toiletries, clothing, purses, artwork, jewelry, antiques, toys, dishes, records & whatever else people think they can sell are also displayed at stands or along the canal/road.
• I live in a great row house (town house)- it’s 3 floors, has a view of the Oude Kerk (Old Church)
  It’s in the city center and I can hear live music on the weekends from it
  There is a canal 11 feet from my royal blue front door,
  There are 2 toilet closets (w/sinks), a bathtub paired with the washer dryer, and a toilet/shower combo on the 3rd floor
  Laundry cycles take 1 ½ hours to complete and the washer/dryer cannot be run simultaneously
  Running water temperature reaches boiling in an instant
• There are no telephone poles and electricity is run underground
• American sitcoms & movies have Dutch subtitles but cartoons are dubbed in Dutch
• A few random stores carry a blue & white "P" sign for legal parking in blue line zones- the trick is finding the store, but the pass only cost 1 euro vs. a 60 euro ticket!
• Motorists generally obey speed limits, you only pass on the left, and cameras catch you speeding and spendy tickets are sent a month later for traffic offenses
• The Dutch are sharp dressers- jackets & shoes are particularly smart and funky
• Dollars do not equal Euros
• There are flies but only occasional mosquitoes near our house, which is surprising because there is water (standing and flowing) everywhere and it does get humid
• People seem to really like kids and are generally amused by their antics (good or bad)
• Customer Service is not really a "service", no one is in a hurry to help and you must usually insist on getting what you want
• The streets are pretty clean and I've not seen any homeless people or anyone asking for hand-outs
• Teenagers have respected the kids and I by purposely not smoking in front of us
• The Delft Ikea stock EVERY item in its catalog
• The vanilla soft-serve ice cream here rivals any I've ever tasted

Amy gets a bike

May not be a big deal to the Dutch, they all have bikes, but my last bike was my maroon Huffy 10 speed gifted to me by my folks on my 12th birthday. At that time, a bike was new found independence...it still feels that way now. I was surprised that you truly don't forget how to ride a bike and it's fun to move through the city at a quicker pace than walking.

Madurodam

A minature replica "city" of Holland's major attractions/landmarks

Canal Tours in Leiden

Monday, August 4th we celebrated Coast Guard Day by boating down the canals in Leiden. We weren'r sure how H & L would do on a five hour excursion, but we were pleasantly surprised by their stamina and interest. We ducked under low bridges where everyone had to "hit the deck", the kids "drove" the boat, we met some other Coastie families, and enjoyed a picnic half way through the trip. Unexpected sun and a little wind made it the perfect day to cruise on the water.

Playground Movie

We've finally got an internet connection and Vonage working. Feel free to call us at 860.464.4023. Remember, we're 6 hours ahead of you East Coasters! We plan on updating this more frequently now so check back soon!