Autumn Placemats

On Friday we went to the park to find leaves to use for a placemat. We let them dry for a few days and then this morning we put them on contact paper to make a placemat. I am not sure how they are going to hold up, but we had fun making them. In December I am going to have the kids make snowflakes and do the same thing with them.

She loves to dance!

Matt took video of Kaylin dancing last night. Every time Shane sees the camera he says "cheese" so that is what he is saying at the beginning of the video. Enjoy!

Kaylin's first day of school!

Kaylin started school yesterday! She was so excited to go and did a wonderful job. She will be going again tomorrow and on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. After next week she will be going on Tuesdays and Fridays.

I think Shane wanted to go too. Look at his little face...

Knitting Projects

Here is what I have been working on. A sweater for Kaylin. I didn't sew the seams because 1. I REALLY dislike sewing seams and 2. It is a little short and I really don't like it. I do LOVE the color though, so I am going to take it apart and find something else to make out of it for her.





A hat for me. There are two tassels that go on the top that I still need to attach. The green and tan hat needs to be pulled out and restarted. It is a little big.

Mittens for the kids. There is a nice cuff on them. You can see how one of Shane's is folded down and the other isn't. After Kaylin's mitten is completed, (hopefully tonight) I will start on a hat and maybe a scarf for Shane.

The kids have a cold. I caught them cuddling on day 2 of the it. They are on the upside so I don't envision this happening again soon. :)

1 year

As of October4 we have been in Amsterdam for 1 year! 1 year. Really? I can't believe it. Matt and I have been talking a lot about how fast this past year has gone. Bitter sweet is probably the best word to describe it. We have so much traveling we want to accomplish before we move back. It is just so easy to do here and it is so easy to find dirt cheap flights around Europe.

I feel like there is a lot more to say, but am having a hard time finding the words. This year has just been such a great growing period for us individually, as a couple and as a family. So much has become natural to us; walking everywhere, taking our own bags to the grocery store, going to the grocery store every other day, continually meeting people from other countries, having the bike be our main source of transportation, finding it completely normal when the babysitter arrives 5 minutes late and breathlessly says, " Sorry, I am late! I was riding against the wind! " The list goes on...

It has been a great year!

It is about time that I update on how the kids are growing, too fast, I must admit.

Kaylin is almost 3 going on 10. She is potty trained during the day! We have not attempted trying at night, but will soon. It is SO true that when they are ready they will go. We had tried off and on for a little bit, but it just didn't seem like she really got it. Then one day my friend brought back our bumbo seat that she had borrowed. Kaylin thought it was a potty chair and took off her pants and diaper and sat down. I told her that it wasn't a potty and showed her where her chair was. I put her undies on and since then she has been going on the potty! A couple of accidents at first, but other than that pretty painless! :) And since I finally have a handle on the laundery in our unbelievably SMALL machine and am down to one kid full time in diapers we are back to cloth! Yeah! I also have a friend here who uses them so she told me where the store is for diaper cream etc which has been great! :)

The things that come out of her mouth astound us. Her most common saying lately is, "I see you doing it that is why I want to do it." Referring to ANYTHING Matt or I are doing. She still loves crafts and cooking and DANCING. She LOVES to dance!! We hope to get her in a dance class in the next month or so. The first week of November she will be going to school 2 days a week for 4 hours a time. She understands a bit of Dutch, probably more than I think and often says "Nee" which is dutch for "No." She says it with out even thinking.

Shane is such a sweet little boy and also loves to snuggle. There isn't anything that Kaylin does that he doesn't want to do. He refuses to sit in any type of high chair or booster chair because his big sister is not sitting in one. He SOBS if we try to put him anywhere other than next to Kaylin. Same goes for the bathtub. He is so upset if Kaylin doesn't take a bath with him. He won't even sit down. I think he is going to have the hardest time when Kaylin starst school! Getting a bib on him has also been a bit of a struggle lately...maybe if Kaylin wears one we'll have more luck! He runs, climbs and has really started talking. He says, Mama, dada, bye bye, car, puppy, people, bike, he says Tia for Kaylin, bear, hi, papa, climb, drive, no (with a scrunched up face and cute little shake of the head), cow . I am sure there are a couple of more...he tries to copy everything we say. He also loves to color, paint and cook. He loves animals and he and Kaylin like to pretend to be them. His lion roar is so cute.

We certainly are blessed and couldn't love these two more!

Matt has been working in Belgium a few days each week. We think it is the best case senerio, he is most likely the closest he will be, but doesn't have to be gone weeks at a time.

I have been knitting like a crazy women and will post a few picks later. So relaxing for me after the kids go to bed and when they are playing nicely! A few minutes here and there! :)

Our latest creation...watermelon cookies!

Apple Picking

Saturday we went apple and pear picking with our friends Jim, Megan and their son Jack. We all had a great time!

Geneva, Switzerland

This past Saturday morning we left for Geneva, Switzerland. We flew out at 8:25 and by 10:00 we were on our way to the hotel. We were not able to get into our hotel room until 12 so we checked our luggage (after we fixed the broken zipper, luckily it didn't happen at the airport!) Geneva has a lot of parks, really, I have come to find that ALL european cities have MANY parks. It is one of the things I have come to love about Europe. So, we headed off to see the Jet d'Eau. It is one of the largest fountains in the world. Along the way we saw many swans, mountains and a lot of bank buildings and watch stores. Here is a pic of Kaylin and the flower clock. The clock is a collection of 6,500 flowers, celebration Switzerland's watch making industry.

We headed back to the hotel to get settled in and make a plan for what we wanted to do the rest of the day and trip.

I had the bright idea of buying a new pair of walking shoes before the trip, not for the trip, but just because I wanted a dressier pair of shoes that I could do a lot of walking in. The problem was that I only brought those shoes. Such a BAD idea. My feet had blister upon blister by the middle of the first day. By the end of the first day I HAD to find a new pair of shoes because I could barely walk. By the end of the 4 days I went through 2 boxes of band aids. So, after I rested the little piggies for a bit we headed back out to a park not far from the hotel which had some awesome views! The kids played at the playground and we just relaxed and took in the sights. We went back to the

hotel and while I gave the kids a bath Matt went and picked up some pizza for dinner. There was a store right across the street from the the hotel which was so nice. The next morning, Sunday, we walked to an out door market and bought some really sweet and juicy fruit. Being Sunday, almost all the stores were closed, so we were thankful to have found the market. We stopped at a playground for a bit and then went to the section of the city called "old town." The weather was great and there were not a lot of people around. We walked to St. Peter's Cathedral where John Calvin preached from 1536-1564.

A few pics of the town

As we were leaving the Church, Kaylin decided to transform into a lion. We then stopped at Reformation Wall, a 325 foot long, 30 foot high monument including statues of Guillaume Farel-first to preach of reformation in Geneva, John Calvin-leader of the reformation, Theodore Beza-Calvin's successor, and John Knox-friend of Calvin and founder of Presbyterianism in Scotland.

A stop for a carousel ride before lunch was a must!The rest of the afternoon was spent at Parc de la Grange on the south side of Lake Geneva. The park features a large rose garden and quite a few walking paths.

This is probably going to sound funny, but I think this was one of the most peaceful playgrounds! It was such a nice day and everyone around was so relaxed, the kids played and across the path were roses. So nice.

On Monday we decided to spend the day across the border in France. We took the bus, which by the way, all transportation for visitors to Geneva is FREE! Yes, buses, trams, and trains were FREE! :) The bus dropped us of at the border and we walked across to Etrembieres, France and then to the cable car which would take us up Mont Saleve.
Shane and I in the cable car.

Looking down from the cable car.

Once we got off the car there were some looking points, a little store with snacks and drinks and a playground. We were directed to a path that would lead us further up the mountain so we did that.

I think this is my favorite picture of Kaylin.

A picnic lunch

Our flight on Tuesday wasn't until 6:55 pm, so we checked our bags at the hotel and took the train to Satigny which is the largest wine growing region in Switzerland. We did some wine tasting and looked at the vineyards. It was right in the middle of harvesting so we saw people in the vineyards and truck of grapes. We had great trip!