L & H

Autumn in Delft

September is a nearly perfect month. Kids are back to school, the weather is crisp but comfortable, vacation destinations begin their cheaper shoulder season rates, and apple and pumpkin scents smell better than ever.

Some of late August and September's fun included the Tall Ship Parade in Amsterdam, Tom's birthday, Monster Truck Rally, visits from friends, a turn for Lucas in the Aqua Ball (video footage to come) during some bizarre carnival week, and Amy's birthday.

The Taylor family, from Connecticut, came to The Netherlands and stayed with us for a few days. While the dad, Todd, spent time with Tom talking shop about the present and future of Tom's Phd, Ricky, Ryan, and Sophie spent time exploring Delft and hanging out with the kids and I. Paddle boats in the canal and a trip to Zaanse Schans were 2 of the highlights of the weekend.

In other news- Lucas and Hailey have made great progress in their swim lessons. Both have advance to the next level and will hopefully have an official diploma before we leave.

Lucas has been enjoying soccer on Saturday mornings. The club sponsors kids 4-6 to learn the basics and have fun. The lemonade and frites afterwards are also a fantastic selling point.

Hailey tried her first ballet class this week. After much whining and apprehension, I've never seen a child happier to be dancing. She learned quickly and seemed to impress the teachers. I'm delighted with her coordination, confidence, and joy. She wants to go again- hooray!

No promises

I've been doing a lousy job with blog entries and would like to loosely recommit to the upkeep of this sight. Let me start with Tom- he's working extra hours and is under the gun to finish as much as possible before next summer. Lucas is still a mild-mannered boy, slowly coming around with his attitude towards school. His Dutch has improved and he takes pride in what he has learned. Right now he is a LEGO maniac- we've never seen a kid quite so adept at assembling structures on his own. Seriously- he looks at the picture, follows the steps, and completes, for example, a Star Wars spaceship in 30 minutes. He just took up soccer and has been enjoying swim lessons. He and Hailey are in fierce competition over any and everything as of late. Hailey loves schools and regularly corrects her parents' Dutch pronounciations. Her favorite thing to do is color and draw princesses. She likes to help with household chores and can climb like a monkey. Both were drilled in "smart lessons" over the summer by yours truly. It has paid off because they have both started to read a bit- "Ten Apples Up On Top" contains most of the high frequency words they learned via flashcards. It is exciting to see the wheels turning as they decode the text.

I've got an SAT seminar on the horizon and am humming along with the usual activities of life. Still like zumba, playing the piano, and movie nights with gal pals. I am particularly appreciating fresh produce and flowers lately because I know they will not be as abundant or inexpensive back in the US.

Normandy, France

Pegasus Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_Bridge

Normandy, France

In route to Normandy, France we made a stop in the coastal town of Etretat to behold the cliffs resembling an elephant dipping his trunk in the water. We ate waffles and mussels for dinner and enjoyed meandering through the town.

Austria/Germany Continued

April/May 2010

Lots of travel and and lots of fun!

Grandma Marti came for a visit in April. She offered to watch Hailey and Lucas for a few nights so Amy and Tom could get away to Italy to celebrate their 9th wedding anniversary. 2 nights turned into 6 nights because of the volcano that erupted in Iceland that grounded thousands of flights. Florence was lovely...as were Pisa, Luca, and Cinque Terre. The TRAIN ride home was a doosey, but the rest of our visit with Grandma was wonderful.

April 30th, Queen's Day in Holland, was celebrated with friends and food. Kids sold homemade cookies and Amy charged 50 cents to use our bathroom. The bathroom made more money...

Our Austria/Germany road trip began 2 days later...aboard another train. We drove to Dusseldorf and loaded in the Rav4 on the auto train and set up camp in our train cabin. Just as the whistle blew, another passenger joined us in the cabin of bunks; the train didn't seem crowded at all, but our cabin was certainly filled to the limit.

Arriving a short drive from Salzberg, we beheld beautiful mountains and enjoyed the scenery for the ride. Hotel Blobergerhof, set outside the city, offered a spacious apartment with comfy beds and a stellar restaurant in the main lobby. Kids were in heaven with chicken nuggets and Tom and Amy enjoyed weinerschnitzel and pork variations that were delicious.

The Sound of Music Tour consisted of famous filming spots, listening to the music in the van, and stopping for an unexpected alpine slide ride and a bit of apple strudel.

MORE TO FOLLOW

Easter Weekend

Still love dying Easter eggs as much as the kids...

We also got to go see Disney Princesses on Ice!

Two-Wheeling Twins

Lucas and Hailey can ride without training wheels! Due to the last year's practice on a skuut bike, both 4 years olds took off with ease and confidence on their first tries.

It's been exciting and fun for everyone, and we've been surprised by passers-by that want to take their picture.

Keukenhof 2010

Our first visit of the season, March 24th: