Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas has made it to Amsterdam!! He arrived last Sunday by ship from Spain. It was pouring rain, but that didn't stop him or the rest of the city from welcoming him. It really was a sight and I am so happy we were able to see it. He came down the Amstel River and then paraded on his white horse through the city. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Here are the first boats coming in filled with his helpers, Zwarte Piets.
(Click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Museum Night

Museum night in Amsterdam was November 7th. This is a very exciting night because 47 museums are open from 7pm to 2 am and it only cost 17.50 euros for the ticket! The ticket included free public transportation, entrance to all participating museums and admission to one additional museum of your choice expiring Dec 31. Matt and I were very excited to go. The babysitter (Myrthe, who was great!) came at 6:30. We left shortly after and started at the VanGough museum. We were there before 7 and the line was already pretty long, but thankfully it went quickly. Next we went the Rembrandt House which was our favorite. Rembrandt ended up bankrupt so the city had records of what was in the house and in each room so we were able to see it close to how it was during his time. Next was the Portuguese Synagogue which was lit by candle light and a choir was singing. It was beautiful. Our final stop was the Olympic stadium where we were able to step out onto the track. We really had a great time and think it is such a great idea for the museums to open their doors for such a great price!

Birthday Party and Halloween

We were a little hesitant to start combining Halloween and her birthday already, but she loves to dress up, so we thought we would have a costume party and then the kids could go out trick or treating afterwords. We all had a great

time!

We made cupcakes instead of a cake. That way she could decorate each one.

Waiting for her friends.

Shane was a monkey. We went around the block and then came back and handed out candy at our house. Our neighborhood was the only one to have trick or treating. Any family that wanted to trick or treat was asked to donate 3-4 bags of candy and then the candy was given to the people who volunteered to be a host house. There was an estimated 500 kids from Amsterdam participating and I was pretty surprised how many Dutch families participated and hosted. Very fun and we did have a moment when we thought that we won't be here next year. HMMM...a happy and sad feeling.

Kaylin is 3!!

The little lady is 3 years old! On Friday she came into our room and said "Where are my friends!?" Thinking that her friends would be here right when she woke up to celebrate her big day. It took a bit to convince her that they would be here the following day to celebrate. She opened some presents before Matt left for work. We made some pink pancakes for breakfast and homemade pizza for dinner and a carrot cake for desert. I know I sound like a broken record, but it is so hard to believe she is 3!

We bought her this scooter and she LOVES it. These scooters are everywhere here and she was always asking to ride everyones.

Happy Birthday Kaylin!!