Happy to See Poppa & Grammy

December 5th Poppa and Grammy arrived from the USA to celebrate Sinterklaas (some more) with us!

Traditional Dutch Dress

Our holiday cards will be quite late this year due to shipping problems from shutterfly; however, here is a sneak peek at what's in store...

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.