Queens Day

Queens Day is this Thursday, 30 April! I am getting SO EXCITED. It is the biggest celebration of the year. The kids and I are planning on meeting up with friends in the morning and spending the day out at about! Matt has the camera, so I hope to get some pictures from someone else.

Here is a link http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/78-queens-day-in-amsterdam
and a video http://www.blinkx.com/video/amsterdam-queen-day/zmYlo1KOg4UhxiWeuqVQKQ

I am getting our change for the markets and trying to round up our orange clothing! I have a babysitter tomorrow afternoon, so I might pick up a few accessories.

Loving Amsterdam! :)


Matt should be updating the blog soon. He is doing well and having many different cultural experiences!

Shane's Dr Appt

Today Shane had is 11 month doctors appointment. We hopped on the bike and made our way to our 2:10 appointment. It is such a nice day and I really love that the kids like the bike so much. It is so fun to look down in front of me and see their little heads and Shane hanging his arm over the side. Anyway, the doctor's appointment went well. Shane weights 9.33kg which is 20.5 lbs and he is 72.8 cm which is 28.7 inches. The doctor was surprised that he was walking so well and told us that we are giving him "WAY TOO MUCH MILK!!!! NO MORE THAN 2 BOTTLES A DAY!!!" Ummmm okay lady. We will stick with what we are doing. He gets 3-4. One when we wakes up, one at lunch, one in the afternoon/dinner and one before bed. I have been thinking of weaning him from the one before bed because there are days when I know he really isn't hungry for one, but still drinks it as part of his nighttime routine. 2 seems like not enough to me and I think we'll stick with what our doctor back in the states told us to do with Kaylin. He does get to start on regular milk when he turns one and we plan on having him off the bottle soon after that. No shots today! :)

Matt made it to Tokyo!

Matt has arrived safe and sound in Tokyo. Saturday was a very emotional day for all of us. It was hard for me to see him go for such a long time and hard for him to believe he wasn't going to see the kids for a whole month.
We packed him up with everything he needs for work and then some toys and things for the kids. We thought the less we have to pack when we bring the kids the easier that trip will be!

He left here at 3:30 on Saturday and arrived at his hotel at about 1:00pm (Amsterdam time) the next day ( 8pm Tokyo time.) He took the camera and I think he will be posting some pictures from his time there.
We talked to him twice yesterday and I know he has a meeting today and tomorrow.

Last night we went over to Lucy's for dinner. We have found a great Mexican restaurant so we had take out with Lucy's and Chelsea's families. I learned last night that the owner of the restaurant is from Colorado! So, the food tastes like what we are used to back in the states.

Today we are headed to the grocery store (1st time back since the "incident" I had found excuses for Matt to go the last 2 weeks! :) and Shane has a Dr's appointment at 2:10 today. The boy is 11 months old! Can you believe it!? Unfortunately no pics today since Matt has the camera...I'll have to try to take one with computer!

Kaylin's 1st Hair Cut

Kaylin had her first hair cut! It was getting pretty uneven in the back so I just wanted to give it a little trim. She did really well sitting there and was excited to get her hair cut. I had mine trimmed a little while ago and she told me "cut like mommy, no paint" I had mine highlighted and she was very confused when I was getting my hair "painted!"

Tokyo, Japan

Matt has been put on a project in Japan! He leaves this Saturday and the project will be finished around August 15th. He will be gone for 3 weeks and then back for one although he is going for an extra week this time so he can be here for Shane's 1st birthday and the last week of my parents and brother's visit. The kids and I are going to go back with him May 23 and spend about 6 weeks in Tokyo. We will then come back and visit with Bill and Lauren and Bud and Jane.

Unfortunately we had to cancel Matt's surprise 30th birthday trip. I am trying not to be too disappointed because we have been given the opportunity to see a part of the world that neither of us thought we would get to see. So, I had to tell Matt where we were going so we could get reimbursed for the plane tickets etc. Geneva, Switzerland was the destination. Oh well!



Matt will be in corporate housing, similar to what we stayed in when we first came here. Part of me wonders if we are making the right decision taking the kids there for 6 weeks, but if we do they get to see Matt, so that is really all that matters.



I know the kids really won't remember any of our time here, but I hope they will learn how to adapt to different situations, realize that there are different cultures, to celebrate the differences and not criticize, and to take opportunities that are given to you even if they seem difficult. I hope that it will make us better parents.



I am sad that I will not have the daily hands on support of Matt, but we knew there was a chance that he would travel for long periods before we moved, so I feel that I have been mentally preparing for a while now. I also have some good friends that will keep me sane!

So, Japan here we come! Good thing we like Sushi! :)

Kilmartin's Part 2

After we went to Anne Frank we took the train to Zaan Schaans. It was a cool and cloudy day, but we still had a great time. It is really a great place to take kids because they can run around and burn off some energy! We introduced the Kilmartin's to the traditional Dutch pancake. Definitely not like the ones we are used to!

On the train

Derek, Laura, Abby and Matt climbed up in the windmill


I stayed back with the sleeping kiddos

Sunday we went to Kukenhoff.


When I was there on Wednesday this field had not bloomed yet, so it was awesome when I saw all that color! It is beautiful!!

Kaylin and I took a ride on the Zip line

Laura bought the girls suckers or lickers as Kaylin calls them. This is how the girls were for the rest of the day.

We were planning on going on a canal tour later that day, but after we came home and went to the canal we saw that the tour was over an hour long. Too long for the kiddos after a long day and right around dinner time! So, we walked down to the floating flower market so Laura could buy some tulip bulbs.

We came back home and the kids played out on the patio and we then ate dinner.

Monday morning they left for another adventure to Germany for a week followed by coming back here on Easter.

We were happy to see them come back, but sad to see that everyone except Derek was sick...we passed our colds onto them!

We had a great Easter with them and after dinner Matt and Derek went to the second half of the Ajax game and Laura and I stayed back with the kids and talked. It really was very nice.

Happy 1st Easter Shane William!!

Kaylin listening to Derek's IPOD

We had such a great time with them and can't believe how fast the time went. THANK YOU for coming to visit us. It really was wonderful! :)

Kilmartin's Visit Part 1

As I mentioned earlier we had so much fun with the Kilmartin's this past weekend and were so happy they could come and stay with us. They arrived on Friday to a beautiful and warm day. Kaylin led the way to the park closest to the house. It was SO busy!! Laura was nice enough to let me download all of their pictures, so every picture from the weekend was taken by either Laura or Derek.

We spent the afternoon just catching up, playing at the park and on the back patio. After dinner it was time to get cleaned up and go to bed. Cade feel asleep at the dinner table with a piece of bread in hanging out of his mouth. It was so cute.

Abby and Cade did really well adjusting to the time change...although I wasn't the one that had to get up with them to play in the middle of the night, so you might want to check the Kilmartin's blog to find out their take! :) They did really well though. ;)

Unfortunately, in addition to getting up in the middle of the night, they had what I was fearing the most... national pet of Amsterdam...a mouse in their room. Uggg! It ate through one of their bags. I felt so bad! After that we had enough...no matter what is "normal" here...we called an exterminator on Monday!

On Saturday we went to the hiding place of Anne Frank. It is such an amazing story. I reread most of the book before we came and now living here I am understanding more of what she is talking about. While there I read that the German Headquarters was on the street that is a block from us. I still have to find out where exactly.

That is all for now...next post will be from Zaan Schaans, Kukenhof and Easter weekend and a lot of pictures!!

Shane's Pictures

Just a short post here...we had a GREAT time with the Kilmartin's this past weekend and I will write more about the weekend in a bit. They are off exploring Germany now and we'll see them again on Easter. Kaylin keeps asking when they will be back. When they were leaving she packed some toys in her backpack and put her shoes on and said she was going with them!

Last Thursday morning we had pictures taken of Shane and Kaylin. Primarily Shane since we haven't had professional photos of him taken since he was 3 months and I finally found someone who we love. Her name is Kristen Wood and she is the wife of a guy Matt works with. Both kids had a runny nose so we didn't get as many as we would have liked, but I wasn't worried because she is coming back in May to take Shane's 1 year picture, Kaylin's 2 1/2 year picture and our family picture and I can't wait! Right now she is in South Africa so when she gets back she will set up a gallery of all the pics, but you can see a couple on her blog at kristenwoodphotography.wordpress.com. Scroll down a bit and you'll see the posting. I love the park bench ones and the one of Kaylin running...
I'll let you know when all have been posted.

I just had an "I don't want to be here anymore moment! "

Today has been one of THOSE days....everything has taken twice as long as it should and I have a bunch to do. I needed to go to the grocery store so I loaded the kids into the double stroller, grabbed our glass and cardboard to take to recycling and off we went amid screams from Kaylin. Why was she crying? Good question. The grocery store is only a few blocks away and half way there I couldn't take the crying any more so I said what I vowed as a child I would never say...."If you don't stop we are turning around and going RIGHT home." Which only made her cry more. So we turned around. Finally she stopped crying and because I really needed to get to the store turned back. At the store everything was going as smoothly as it can while pushing a double stroller and carrying a basket in a crowed small store! Ready to check out and there is only one lane open...not a surprise. I wheeled our way over to the 7 deep line and waited my turn. While waiting in line Shane starts kicking the back of Kaylin's seat. She started screaming, "NO KICK MY SEAT!" over and over. Well, how do you tell a 10 month old to stop kicking her seat? He thinks it is great fun and has a smile from ear to ear. Now I am unloading my groceries, the lady is very unfriendly and I don't even know if she scanned my bonus card. At that point I didn't even care. I pick up my last item to pack into the stroller, a glass bottle of coffee cream...and I drop it on the floor. Glass and cream everywhere. So, being as frustrated as I am I start to cry. Yes as embarrassing as it is to say I am standing in the store crying. Not sobbing, but tears are streaming and as hard as I tried to stop I couldn't! So, I am on the floor with one of the workers and a lady who obviously felt sorry for the crazy crying American with a loaded stroller and two kids, one of whom is saying "what doing mommy" cleaning it up. I was so embarrassed and I still had to go to another store. *Sigh* I also forgot to pick something up for dinner. Oh well. Luckily it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL today, so the walk home calmed me down, but I still can't wait until I can go to bed!! I have been told everyone has a day where they are just so tired of everything. Luckily this is really my first one. I hope I don't have any more!
Tomorrow is a better day! The Kilmartin's will be here and I can't wait! :)

1st Driving Experience and Keukenhof

Today Chelsea and I decided to take the kids to Kuekenhof Gardens because it was supposed to be a beautiful day. So I needed to drive which I have not done yet! Yes, we have been here almost 6 months and I have not needed to drive. I was really nervous so I followed Chelsea there so I could get the feel of it. No problems on the way there and actually easier than I thought. I made it home on my own...well not exactly on my own, Trudy our navigation system led the way! I just need to remember no right turn on red and if I want to turn right I have to wait for the bikes that are going straight because they have the right of way.

The gardens are beautiful! The tulips haven't bloomed yet, but there are a lot of other flowers and I am so excited to go back with Derek, Laura, Abby and Cade on Sunday!!!


There was a great petting zoo and kids area that we spent a lot of time in.

Shane and Harper

Harper, Rowen and Kaylin driving to see Santa. Kaylin ALWAYS drives to see Santa.


Kaylin LOVED the animals and wasn't scared at all.

Yes, another shoe picture!

Rowen found a lady bug right when we arrived and Kaylin had it on her arm for a bit.


Rowen and Kaylin holding hands. So cute!!





Kaylin smelling the flowers.