Zaanse Schans and Keukenhof Gardens

This weekend we're going to the Netherlands to see the tulips, so I'm praying that this time, no one is sick. I'm also coaching Livvy that I want her to wear the dress I give her to wear and to smile for the camera. I hope she does. I believe that when she is older, she will value this photo that I hope to take. I almost got it last year, but it was a big fight and the good memory isn't there for me.

We're staying at a Eurocamp for one night. I'm hoping it's as nice as the one we stayed in in Italy.  We were going to stay for two nights, and I was going to take Monday off, but I ended up signing up for training that week and couldn't take the Monday off. It's okay, though. Our timing has the potential to be perfect this year. Most of the sicknesses are out of our house (except for colds and allergies), and the weather has been fabulous. I hope it sticks!

... We went and came back. It was a great trip. We started out at Zaanse Schans, which was even prettier than I'd expected. The weather didn't cooperate at all there, though, and we found ourselves unprepared in a windy torrent of rain. It was neat to go into a real, working windmill. We spent just a short time there and then headed for the Eurocamp.

I had remembered that the advertisement mentioned a waterpark onsite. I wasn't sure if we'd get a chance to visit it, since we had so much to do (for me!) already. But then, somewhere in that timeframe, I realized I had recently archived one of my Keep notes that mentioned this place that is a must-visit for families with small kids, and it was called Duinrell, which was where we were going.

Thankfully, I had thought ahead enough not only to pack my and the kids' swimsuits, but also to have David pack his.

We all slept quite well in that cozy little Eurocamp that night. In the morning, we went for a breakfast buffet onsite, which was so nice and the coffee was delicious and they were friendly and people told us our kids were so good! Then we went back and changed and went to the indoor waterpark, which, by the way, was bigger and better than Great Wolf Lodge. It was a lot of fun, and thanks to the discount from Eurocamp, our entire family got in for a price of €30.

Two and a half hours was a good amount of time, and the kids willingly left like the good kids that they are when it was time to go. I was so glad we went. David and I had discussed if we should take them, and on the condition that he drove home, I was willing to let him drop me off at work the next morning for my training. So after the waterpark, we got changed and went to the gardens.

It was a very overcast day with a little mist of rain here and there, but Livvy was a doll and posed for every photo I asked her to. The lack of sunshine had a negative impact, but it was still a great day, and I happily got to take some flower shots in addition to kid shots. (Thank you, David!)

By the time I had my fill of the gardens, we were all starving, so on the way back to the Eurocamp, we stopped and got some Chinese food, which was really tasty. David and I discussed the thought of leaving earlier, around ten, and decided that would be a good idea. By the time we ate and got all of the kids in bed (they were exhausted!!), it was already 8:30, so we decided to start our journey immediately after all.

We all very quickly fell asleep, and David pretty much teleported us home (that's how it felt to the kids, at least). It was a great trip. We unloaded the van and got the kids to bed as quickly as possible. We didn't make the kids go to school Monday. I got enough sleep to handle work just fine, though. It was a really nice trip.

From Paris to the beach!

One of the things on Michelle's list was to hit the beach while she was here. My list while I'm here includes hitting as many seas as possible. (Although just now, I realized I forgot to take us to the beach when we were in Italy. Darnit!) So from Paris, I decided we should drive to the beach in the Netherlands, which we did.

We stopped to eat at a Dutch restaurant near our destination. While we sat, I attempted to find us a place for the night. I came close, lost it, and then couldn't find a place after that. To their credit, Ouddorp's office of tourism told us to come by and they would find a place for us. I believe they would have, but I was feeling like we'd better get to the beach if we were going to go. It was already pushing 1500 by the time we were done with lunch. So we (perhaps me more than anyone else) decided to go to the beach for a couple of hours and then drive home the same evening.

We certainly enjoyed ourselves! There were a lot of jellyfish that day, so we didn't swim in very deep. But the sun was pleasant. The breeze was pleasant. It was July 4th, and I remember last year on the 4th of July when I was lamenting not being in the U.S. with the lightning bugs and the family and the fireworks. Being at the beach with my sister and the family was the perfect remedy for German 4th of July blues. I didn't have them at all this year. (Note to self for next year.)

We had a five hour drive to get home, so we didn't linger at the beach for very long. I felt a little silly for driving the five hours out of the way it took to get there for two or three hours on the sand. But Michelle was glad we did, I got to see the North Sea, and the kids had a really good time.

It was a pretty good drive home, and the fact that it was pretty easy made the whole trip worthwhile. We were tired, I think it's safe to say, but it was a satisfying little whirlwind of sightseeing, and I was looking forward to the next couple of days with just me and my sister.

A weekend in The Netherlands

Today is April 7, 2018. It is 1500 and 67 degrees outside. I am waiting in the car with Livvy, Griffin, and Lilly while Alex and David go get Popeyes at the post exchange. It's going to be a picnic lunch and then some time at the playground while David gets the groceries.

It was going to be a trip to a castle, but Lilly has been wreaking havoc on me and I'm quite tired. She's so close to being in her crib, maybe because I am close to having her there!

This is going to be a great year, God willing. (I really hope He does!) I'm excited about the Netherlands this month, and about all the wonderful company I'm having this year. So many people have already bought their plane tickets and that's wonderful! I'm excited about starting up my business, too. I read something on Facebook that one of the members on the team wrote. "Sales is a great profession to be in." I never expected this of myself, but I agree! It's good for me because I like talking to people. I enjoy the random stranger and getting their story. I haven't done a whole lot of that yet since I've been away so much recently, but I intend to! It's good for me because I also like a challenge. I'm not normally an in-your-face type of person. Well, am I? Maybe about Jesus sometimes, but that's usually about it. (I hope!)

I don't know, though. I'm thinking this is going to be quite a year for us. In a good way. We'll see I guess!

Just like that, it is April 24, 2018. The Netherlands was awesome! We stayed in a cute house in the northern part.  We didn't go to Amsterdam.  It took us 7 hours to get to where we were going, and the next day, we were all pretty pooped.  So we took it easy.  Saw some tulips. Saw a couple of windmills, but didn't go to the main place, and that was okay with me.  Sometimes, you just need to take it easy.  And that's what we did.

We had BEAUTIFUL weather while we were there. What a blessing!