Packages From The Netherlands

… are the best!

We are all stocked up on chocolate, cookies, clothes and such!

Thanks Ellen, Oma and Opa!!

Yes, We’re Still Here!

We’re just experiencing busy days and computer issues.

More about May and June to follow soon!

Easter 2011

I am a little ashamed to admit it, but for us Easter is one of those last-minute holidays.

Back in the Netherlands we don’t have an Easter Bunny bringing goodies, and in the Catholic church it pretty much rivals Christmas in importance. I used to work at the bakery in a grocery store on Saturdays and the Saturday before Easter was busier than the day before Christmas.

This year we colored eggs the night before and the Easter Bunny had some last minute shopping to do. He opted for Easter cookies in stead of chocolate bunnies, which Will thought was a little weird. And the chocolate eggs weren’t his favorite brand (he prefers Hershey’s over Dove, we need to work on that!).

But other than that we had a great day. We had a great breakfast. Kris had invited us over for a yummy dinner and the kids got to go egg hunting in her yard. Luckily Granny and Grampy made sure the Easter Bunny had stuffed his eggs with Hershey kisses, Cadbury eggs and Rolo’s. (Mom and Dad are very grateful!)

More Europe

Here are some more pictures from Europe, courtesy of my dad.

Trevor & Tessa at the beach in Scheveningen.

Tessa & tante Karin

Keukenhof

Tessa did not like the sand on her feet.

Will loved it.

Trying to get a four-generations picture.

(And if you look very closely you can see me in the picture behind us, on the left with the green jacket. It was the early nineties.)

Ice cream @ Florence.

Opa with Christian and Tessa.

Tessa’s morning routine: breakfast at her own little table.

Wind-swept hair in Kinderdijk.

I am still trying to organize all of them and am still waiting for more pics from Opa and Ellen.

So stay tuned!

Europe In Pictures

We’re On Our Way…

… to this beautiful land!

Zoo Time

With Dianna, Stephanie and Dana in town, it was time for another fun outing. Together with the Aaron’s we met up at the zoo.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures, just these:

 

Bryce National Park

This past weekend (President’s Day weekend) we went on a quick road trip to Bryce National Park. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn for 2 nights. Kris and Keelie came with us for one night. The plan was to go snowshoeing. Bryce had gotten a lot of snow the previous days (which caused most of the park to be closed, unfortunately).

The kids and I actually didn’t get to snowshoe. We had accidentally left the baby carrier at home. (Yes, that should have been the first thing to pack!) We tried carrying Tessa in a sling, but she is starting to get too heavy and big for those. So Trevor went with Kris and Keelie. Will, Tessa and I played in the snow for a bit, then in the car, and then we just went back to the hotel and watched movies. Ruby’s Inn has a pool, so Will had a great time practicing his swimming. Tessa LOVED the water. She would just float on her back and let the water run in her ears. It made her really calm. If Will would pick up a few pointers from her, his swimming would improve.

Will and Tessa both reading the first evening there!!

 

Waiting for Trevor, Kris and Keelie to come back from their hike.

 

Dinner time! Tessa pretty much finished everything on that plate. She used both hands, spoon and fork. Will showed her his love for ketchup, so now she wants ketchup too. She licked it of the fries and even dipped the mac & cheese in ketchup.

 

Monday we drove back home, taking the scenic route, along Hwy 12. (For my family that was here for the wedding, it’s the road where we got out and threw snow balls, and where we stopped for lunch.) It is such a pretty drive this time of the year. We saw a herd of elk, a bald eagle, and hundreds of deer.

It was a fun trip, but I’d like to go back again. To go snowshoeing. Maybe without kids next time!

 

New Year’s Eve In Eden

A quick post about the days around New Year’s Eve.

Dean and Kris invited us to Eden for a few days, where Dean has a timeshare condo. We had dinner at Happy Sumo for Kris’ birthday and after that we drove north.

It was bitter cold, but that didn’t stop Will from going to the hot tub as often as possible.

We rang in the New Year with Keelie, Josh and Natalie. (Keelie made the most amazing Jalapeno Poppers!)

And New Year’s Day we had to walk off all that good food (and some their hangovers). We went snowshoe-ing, for the first time with Tessa. She was wearing so many layers that she could barely move, but she seemed to like it. Will had a blast, although he was happy to be back at the condo with a hot chocolate, and made another trip to the hot tub.

 

Christmas 2010

Finally, more than a month overdue, some pictures of our Christmas celebrations.

We had a great Christmas Eve; deep-frying turkey in the snow (courtesy of Dean), eating way too much other food before the turkey was done (7-layer bean dip (Kris), chips and artichoke dip (Keelie)), unwrapping a Christmas book (Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus), and watching movies.

The next morning both kids were extremely patient. Honestly, I don’t know how Will could wait until 10.30 to unwrap presents. We had breakfast and then it was finally time. Tessa wasn’t too interested in it all. I guess she didn’t really understand all that paper yet. Will got some surprises, so all in all it was a good morning. Later in the day Kristi came, as did Jim. We had dinner with the Wood’s and Stephanie dropped by for a little while.

One of Will’s gifts was very appropriate…

“Watchoo talkin bout Willis!”