Kuekenhof

Here are some pictures of the big tulip garden called Kuekenhof (translations is Kitchen Garden). It was fabulous!! Just when you thought you had seen the most beautiful flowers you turn the corner and see something else. It is so hard to explain the beauty. We arrived early to beat all the tour buses. The morning was perfect. It felt like we were the only ones in the garden. It was peaceful and very relaxing. This year was the 60th anniversary of the Kuekenhof. The theme was New York City. Some of you may not know (which we didn't before moving here) that NY was settled by the dutch. You will see in some of the pictures a tribute to the Statue of Liberty, Hudson River and the New York Yankees all designed by flowers. It was so cool.

Also during the week I traveled with the American Women's Club to watch them assemble the floats for the parade. All the floats were made out of flowers. Each flower is pinned seperatly. It took so much work but, oh the floats were beautiful. They even put flower arrangements on the cars. The parade was also on Saturday. We decided to just hang out at Kuekenhof and watch the parade from there. BIG MISTAKE!!!! There were thousands and I mean thousands of people with the same idea. We staked out our spot an hour before the parade. More and more people started showing up. I was wondering where they were all going to stand. Well, they just pushed their way right through and by the time the parade started we were not only front line but inches away from the floats as they came by. I was so not in a good place. I was having a hard time with my personal space being violated by people I had no clue who they were. When the floats would come by I would have to grab on to Chase and Bailee hoping they wouldn't get smashed. Jon just kept laughing. I was beside myself. After the USA float came by there was a long break before the next float. I guess everyone thought it was over because the crowd started leaving. I saw my opportunity to get across the road and on to a hill where we would be more to ourselves. We watched the rest of the parade from up above. It was great.

The Kuekenhof is amazing. It is a must see if you ever come to Europe in the spring time. I can't even describe its beauty and the pictures don't do it justice. We're starting to take reservations for next year :)!!!

Budapest, Hungary

On Monday we finally made it to Budapest, Hungary. Jon had to work the whole time we were there but that didn't stop the kids and I. I think we saw and did everything there is to do in Budapest minus sitting in the Mineral Baths (which are everywhere in Budapest). The first day (Tuesday) we figured out the tram/subway system and went to the zoo. Wednesday we took a city tour on a convertable bus. We had way too much fun on the bus!! Thursday we took a boat tour on the Danube River and later that night went back so we could see everything at night and take Jon to see what he was missing. Friday we went to a Hungarian Circus. The circus was so much fun even though the announcer was speaking Hungarian! Budapest is a beautiful city. I was amazed at the architecture. We are finding out that all the European countries have monuments representing their freedom from World War II. The monument for the Hungarians in labeled Heroes' Square. It was absolutely amazing. The other building I found beautiful was the Parliment Building. There is also the first bridge that connected the cities Buda and Pest which is called the Chain Bridge. The two cities are now one forming Budapest. There is a place called Castle Hill where Buda's Castle sits along with Fishmen's Bastion. Buda's Castle is where royalty live. It was absolutely beautiful at night all lite up but our picture didn't turn out. Castle Hill could of been it's own little town. It had some cute shops as well as a beautiful Catholic Cathedral. The kids and I ate lunch at the base of the castle. It was amazing. I loved Budapest and would recommend it to everyone!

We decided to drive home through Slavokia, Czech Republic and Germany. Jon says Czech Republic is the most beautiful country he has ever seen. Through the mountains of Czech Republic Talynn started yelling for a napkin. When I turned around I saw that she had car sickness (if you know what I mean). So we pulled over to get her cleaned up. We weren't in the car for 5 minutes when Bailee starts yelling she needs to throw-up. So once again we are pulling over. Luckily there was no mess to clean up. It all made it outside of the car. Back in the car once again and Jon tells Chase it's his turn. Chase informed us all that he doesn't need to throw-up. He told us he has a special way of knowing when he needs to. He very seriously said "Dad, don't worry. I know when I need to throw-up because something blows up under my tongue." We started laughing so hard.

We had a great trip but just wish Jon wouldn't of had to work so much. We made some great memories and now that the laundry's caught up we are ready to go explore some more!!!

Linz, Austria

The second night we stayed in Linz, Austria. Very and I mean very pretty city. The Danube River also runs through this city. Most of our pictures didn't turn out. The next morning we started our drive to Budapest. As we were driving along the motorway (as it's called in Europe) we saw this HUGE castle. We pulled off the motorway so we could see it up close. It was absolutely beautiful. The pictures don't do it justice! We found out it was once a castle but was given to the catholic church to be an Abby. The cathedral inside was awesome but the pictures didn't turn out very well. The last picture is of Vienna, Austria. We didn't realize we were going to go through Vienna. The map and signs kept saying Wien. Well, Wien translated to English is Vienna. Had we known that ahead of time we would of planned to stay in Vienna. I guess we will just have to make another trip!

Frankfurt, Germany

For Spring Break we took a trip to Budapest, Hungary. It is a 13 hour drive from here so we decided to take three days to get there. Our first stop was Frankfurt, Germany where we spent the night. The next day we drove through a little town (not sure of the name) and had lunch. In this little town there was a castle. We climbed all the stairs to get to the top. Let's just say I was about crawling by the time we reached the top. It was a lot steeper then it looked!

OUT OF TOWN

Currently on Spring Break in BUDAPEST, HUNGARY!!!!! Having a great time! Will post pictures when I get home. BTW, I'm using a Hungarian computer and the keyboard is all messed up! Hope I spelled everything right!!

DIG IT!!

Bailee participated in the third grade program called Dig It. They have been studying about ancient civilizations and what we have learned from them. She was sooo and I mean sooo nervous to be in the production. In Bailee's words - "Mom, I'm in the front row- the front row!!! Everyone will be staring at me!" The performance was fabulous! For those of you aware of her dance recitals back in Grace, Idaho (she just stood on stage and wouldn't move a muscle!) - well, this little girl has come a long way and we couldn't be prouder! Thanks to all of you who sent her encouraging emails.

After the program they participated in the Greek Olympics. Bailee threw the discuss and did a great job. Her class performed a chant and once again, Bailee participated. I was the proudest mom there! I couldn't help but smile and had a few tears run down my cheeks. I love Bailee and was glad to spend the day with her at school! WAY TO GO BAILEE!!!!

Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is a small village about 10 miles outside of Amsterdam. It was once the place of 1000 windmills. Only 13 are still there and working. It was such a cute and quaint little village. We thought we had stepped in to a fairy tale land.

It was a very windy day so the windmills were working. We got to go inside one that was making crayons.

The area was absolutely beautiful. The homes were adorable. I was suprised to see it was still a working village. All the homes were being lived in even though there were tons of tourists walking around.

There is a cocoa factory close by. Bailee thought it stunk really bad. This picture shows her plugging her nose and keeping the hair out of her face all at the same time. I guess she is multi-tasking. As for me, it smelled just like cocoa. In fact, at first I thought the smell was coming from the cheese farm but I kept saying, "Man, it smells like cocoa not cheese." When I got home I did some research and sure enough it was cocoa. I know my chocolate!!!

Just some random pictures of the area. Believe me, it is a must see if you ever find yourself in the Netherlands.

On a side note, Jon has posted a lot more pictures on Facebook. I got mad at him because he is taking it away from my blog. I know some of you aren't on facebook or aren't friends with him so this is for you! For those of you who left messages on Facebook feel free to leave another message here for me!!!

Top Twelve

Top Twelve Things We've Learned in the First Four Weeks of living Abroad.

12. Before buying three bag fulls of donuts and pastries, it's better to inquire as to the price first. (OUCH!)

11. When coming up to a toll booth, hopefully you know how to roll the window down. Otherwise, other impatient drivers will honk and yell at you as they watch you climb out of your car to pay the toll.

10. When McDonald's offers free face painting they really mean they will paint the entire face.

9. When the internet man says he will be there between the hours of noon - 6:00 he really means he will be there from noon until 6:00!

8. Doesn't matter if it's warts, strep throat, or the dreaded gomboli, 7 days will cure it all!

7. Don't be at all shocked to hear the F-bomb dropped during Sunday School and then watch him pass the sacrament.

6. Don't try to drive your car on the red brick bike-only lane - it always turns out very, very badly.

5. Inspite of what some might say, it is actually a 12 hour drive to Nimes, France. And when the check engine light comes on and flashes warning signs in dutch it is best to turn around and go home.

4. After severe panic, turning the car around, spending 900 euros for a same day airfare ticket, a check engine light and a flashing warning in dutch really just means it's time to change the oil.

3. In France, the best way to get out of a ticket for making an illegal left hand turn is to cry and flap your arms like a bird and keep repeating "airplane, I look for airplane".

2. Plan on spending the entire afternoon at the bank just so you can set up a pin number for your debit card!

1. Sometimes an English to Dutch, Dutch back to English translation really is the easiest way to understand a speaker at church!!!