Play Amsterdam

I found the parents guide to Amsterdam! I actually read about it before moving here and knew instantly this was the way that I would discover the city of Amsterdam. The kids and I ventured out in the rain last week to pick up our copy at the English Bookstore. Since then we have been having fun riding in the bike and playing eye spy as we search for playgrounds. To date- we have checked off 17 of the 425 playgrounds located within the A10 Ring!

Here we are back in October at our very first Amsterdam playground in the Amsterdam Bos during our househunting trip! They are going to grow so big during this adventure and I can't wait to experience every moment of it with them!

The book is organized into neighborhoods so we (I) plan to just pick an area of town every so often and head out exploring- recording our discoveries as we go.

This one was also on our house hunting trip- I could not believe how brave Luke was climbing on it! It's in Vondelpark and we pass it almost everyday on our bike! The first time we were there Audrey decided she preferred watching from below. Now she climbs it too

Z27-Frans Van Mierisstraat

Z6 Vondelpark

Z5- Vondelpark Melkhuis Cafe

Z3- Vondelpark

Z4- Museumplein

W103- Rembrandt Park: petting zoo-  site of the wild goat attack!

Z-70

Audrey's first time on a BIG Girl swing

Z-41 Henriette Ronnerplein

Z35 Henrick de Keijserplein

Z14 Hondecoeterstraat

Z53 Mesdagstraat

Z49- Memlingstraat

Luke and Audrey- you can tip your tour guide later!
I love you two and am so glad to be able to have this experience with you-
Here's to a fun adventure, lots of slides, climbing and making memories!

I really need to figure out how to work pictures in this blog- this took way to long and the formating is terrible- oh well.

Easter in Amsterdam...

It's Easter in Amsterdam and our first holiday away from America! We wanted to make the weekend extra special to distract us from missing our traditions back home. So- Friday was spent exploring markets around the city seeking out fun foods for our Easter feast...and treats we found... some of which didn't make it until Easter- to be honest... 

 some didn't even make it home from the market!)

But no worries- the Easter bunny was extra kind and welcoming to our Brood Abroad. The kids baskets were filled with Holland goodies.. featuring Jip and Janekke (very popular children's books by Annie MG Schmidt), a knight costume, and much needed sand toys for the playgrounds!

 Here is our knight in shinning armor-

 Note to self: DO NOT give easter baskets until after you attend church! As a trade off for taking the knight outfit off and putting on church clothes- our knight in shining armor spent the remainder of the day with us (see below)

This is the church we attended on our street. It had the most enjoyable music! Too bad Audreys singing screeching ended our experience a little before the closing hymn. 

 After mass we grabbed coffee and let the kids enjoy the ducks at the nearby canal. Actually, we went there because I thought it was a great location for family photos. 

 The kids (as always) had other plans...

 So instead of the dreamy photos in my head of my kids holding hands under the willow trees, with a beautiful canal filled with boats in the background- I get these. Don't you love the cars and buildings in the background- haha.

 This one is really dreamy- Luke is crying because he wants more candy and Audrey is pouting because she heard the word no. Are these our front steps you ask? Of course not!

 Enter the knight costume- after several melt downs we took off on our bikes to the Amsterdam Bos (forest). Its about a 30 minute bike ride to a huge park with so much to do. Today we went to the Geitenboerderij Rodammerhoeve (Goat Farm). Amsterdam is such a kid friendly place. There are petting zoos, playgrounds, kid friendly museums, restaurants, etc.. everywhere.

The kids (and mommy and daddy) had a great time feeding and petting God's little and large (rather aggressive at times)- creatures!

We had a wonderful day together making memories and celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord.

 Happy EASTER!

Some Bunny Loves you

Settling in...

The vacation feel to Amsterdam has started to fade away.. the sunshine has disappeared and its COLD!

 The moving truck arrived on Friday and the reality of Amsterdam becoming our home hit HARD!

The social worker in me knows there are stages for culture shock, assimilation, etc... but the human/ mom in me is struggling to acknowledge them and work through them :(

There sure was a lot of stuff to put away and distract me from the overwhelming feelings-

as if that wasn't hard enough-  Luke left with Derek looking like a little boy and came back with a "spiky" haircut and looking like a big really big full grown kid!

Yup- I LOST IT! 

But only for a short while... because he also returned with this delicious chocolate cake from the chocolatier down the street (I had been trying to avoid ever going into that store- but now I know the chocolate maker by name!)

 Apparently all of the Lesters enjoy eating their blues away!

Despite feeling down-  we have continued to enjoy exploring our new surroundings...

 playing together...

 and finding all the things that make Holland so unique

 We've especially enjoyed Sunday family skype night!

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)