Nemo and scootering in the sunshine

Friday, fun day. on the train with Joe, Eva and Will headed to Amsterdam to spend some time at NEMO

Em inside a bubble!

little scientists! Which is the real almond paste?

and the littles seeing what happens with you add salt to ice?

after our day out...we came home and the sun was out....so WE PLAYING outside!

This is our cute street...isnt it so European? I love it. Never before have I thought it was safe or a good idea to play in street....and while I still stand out with my kids when they play in the street (unlike the Dutch parents) I love the street play. Its safe, cars do watch out and the kids really learn about road safety in a controlled and safe way. (cant totally let go...not yet ;))

such a fun day. So lucky to be the mom of these amazing kids and so blessed to get to spend everyday dedicated to taking care of them and soaking up every moment of it. 

Day at home

all week it s been, rain, rain and more rain...until today...sun this am...so we bundled up and headed in to the market. love spending time with these two!

oh, and of course there was an Elsa sighting today as well

complete with a rendition of "let it go!"

Chef Aidan

Aidan created this recipe, complete with specific step by step instructions. He created the amounts of each ingredient and thought of the end product. He is such a thinker. He cracks me up. From cooking, to inventions of functioning machines to puppet theatres. It is break week, we have lots of extra time so it was a perfect time to let him test it out. (I was nervous...I didnt want to waste ingredients, I wanted it to turn out for him because he worked so hard and was so excited, and I sometimes am a perfectionist in the kitchen) but he is a big boy and I love his inner drive...so I let go of my inner thoughts and let him take control and do his thing

slicing the apples

adding chopped strawberries

orange zest

grease the pan

after a sample has been taken from the pan

enjoying piece, topped with whipping cream!

all in all, it was successful and yummy! So proud of you. You thought it through and executed a brilliant new recipe.

Spoorwegmuseum

Fun day out at the train museum. Its been 10 months since we last visited and many things have changed. We went with our friends Melissa and her two kids, Izzy and Matti.

Remember this same picture from last year? here is 2015

here is from 2014...a bit of a change

ok, back to this time at the museum

there are a few new things...including this fun little train ride.....brilliant!

and a slide

fund day out during mid term break. :)

Boxes made into a puppet show theater

We got new chairs...and the boxes have been put to good use by the kids! Hours of fun to create a puppet show theatre...so neat to see Aidan's creativity and craft work of adding mechanics to create a system them opens and closes the stage. 

Planting starts...thanks to the local grocery store reward program. For every Euro15 you get a seed/soil kit...fun for everyone! I forgot to take pics of Em planting hers, but here are some of Aidan. Radishes, dandilion leaves, cherry tomatoes, chives, leeks, green onions, broccoli, Curley parsley, rocket (arugula)! 

a day of many things

Wow...today is a day of many things....its the day we lift Oregon 11 months ago to fly to the Netherlands, its also the first day of mid term break and its Aidan's half birthday!

Its pouring rain (after being sunny the entire week), but, that's ok...time for dress up fun in her new dress Brown Gma made her for her birthday.

and sculpture building...perfectly symmetrical...of course!

 and a very happy half birthday to our Aidan....with yummy apple pie

Ms Em, happy to be celebrating as well....because she loves sugar!

A fun lift to the car after a successful trip to get more chairs at IKEA...(remember how that one broke when the movers unpacked out things?!...and we have some visitors coming....so we MUST get things sorted out....it has been 11 months!) Ha!

Haarlem day trip

Haarlem’s history actually goes back further than Amsterdam. (look it up for more details...wont bore you here.) There are about 150,000 people that live there and it’s the capital of the Noord-Holland region. Its a fantastic little place to visit and its not too far from where we live. A major bonus was that there is a beach less than 10km from the city center. Even though it was FREZZING, it was sunny and we love the beach, so we ventured over there as well. 

Pictures from our fun Sunday in Haarlem

First up, Grote Market...playing under sculptures...of course...that is what they are placed here for, right?

lunch at Grand Cafe Brinkmaan...(super yummy) and of course a cup of tea to warm up.

More in Grote Market square

other side of the markt

Walking around exploring and seeing neat sculptures...and since his name starts with and A, a picture was totally necessary. :)

canals...totally Holland!

Only here would you be able to get THIS close to a drop off into a canal without any railing....THIS is why kids MUST learn to swim here!!! How many kids fall in the water each year here do you suppose?!

Molen de Adriaan museum
This is the NEATEST windmill ever! totally rebuild after a huge fire in the early 1900's its now a museum that still functions like it did in its hay day. It harnesses the energy of the wind to grind corn into flour. The tour was fabulous and we saw working model replicas of all the types of windmills (oil, paint making, lumber cutting, flour/spice grinding, etc) SO educational and neat. we even got to climb up through the entire windmill to see the working parts. Def the highlight of the day!

the grinding stone....

crank shaft?! windmill in motion

Fun walk back to the car...neat little streets!

You always need a fun picture to remind you of how fun the day is!

Bloemendaal aan Zee