A day at the Park

I've been so fortunate to stay at home with the kids- and now I feel even more fortunate to spend time with them in new places. Derek has been working really hard in his new job at Intralox- so Mommy and kids have nothing but time to spend together exploring our new surroundings. 

Outings have a whole new feel to them as we load up our European Mini Van. We survived our first crash unharmed physically, but it left an emotion scar on Audrey and I. She runs and hides when I say time to get on the bike, so its been really important to get out and about in it everyday (now we do it with helmets).

There are parks all around Amsterdam! They are beautiful and appeal to everyone- flower enthusiast, sightseers, sport enthusiast, kids and sunbathers (in tightie whities!) There is a famous city park right at the end of our road called Vondelpark which starts in the city centre and covers 120 acres of green space -tourist love it which means the front part of it has a peculiar smell- but the remainder of the park is beautiful- with the more desirable smell of flowers, sounds of music, and captivating sights.

This particular days outing was to AmstelPark- a cross between the ocean city boardwalk ,a chinese zen garden, and a zoo (hum). It's gigantic and I had the pleasure of exploring the entire thing! Our short morning outing turned into breakfast, lunch and dinner at the park!

 Luke insisted on dressing as a cowboy today- and to my surprise- I have become rather open to the idea of wearing dress ups in public- anything to help him feel comfortable and safe during the adjustment period (our sensitive little guy is really having a difficult time)

Here is the touristy part of the park and my little sightseers-

Throughout the park there are numerous petting zoos, ponds, and exotic birds roaming freely -

  

do you see the baby joey hanging out of  mommies belly- so cool!

 The kids stayed busy chasing these beautiful birds right into the zen pond- 

 After a few hours of walking through nature we stumbled upon the Ocean City Boardwalk- 

massive playground....

and another petting zoo...

 We had such a great time enjoying the sights and sounds. I really wanted a picture of the kids with the

beautiful flower beds that were everywhere... 

 but they were more interested in smashing bugs, trampling the flower beds and climbing the trees....

It was a long day... but a fun day- seeing new things and spending great quality time with each other!

Note to self: Its REALLY hard to ride the minivan home with two sleeping kids- it doesn't balance very well! (no crash... just a few wrong turns that lead to an hour ride home rather then 15 minutes)