Spring Break, Part One

Spring has arrived here in Holland, and we couldn't be more excited to see the sun again. The days are getting longer, and I find myself basking in the sunlight that is streaming through all the windows in the house. The kids have two weeks off of school, and we've been partying pretty hard. Kate turned 8 in February. But we decided to have her baptism in the spring, so the grandparents could come and enjoy the nicer weather and the tulips, of course. Get ready for a picture overload...

First stop was the Kinderdijk. It's just south of Rotterdam, and a UNESCO world heritage site. It was fun to see inside a real, working windmill and learn the history of the family that used to live in it.

While the kids were finishing up their last week of school, before break, I took my parents to Bruge, Belgium for the day. What a beautiful city. Everywhere was postcard-perfect. We climbed the bell tower, ate Belgian frites (fries), bought chocolate, and wandered around. The weather was just perfect.

This is Michaelangelo's only sculpture to leave Italy during his lifetime--The Madonna and Child. It's also the same sculpture that was in the movie, The Monuments Men.

Next stop...TULIPS! This is our first spring here, and the tulips definitely didn't disappoint. Keukenhof Gardens were spectacular. While we were there, we got a few pics of Kate in her baptism dress. And I think I have more pictures of flowers than I'll ever need. :)

Vincent Van Gogh in flowers (did you know he was Dutch?)

Getting them all to get in the picture and sit still, and smile at the same time is not fun!

The Grandmas liked Keukenhof

Not just tulips were in bloom--look at those hyacinths!

The next day was the main event. Kate's Baptism. We are so thankful that all of her grandparents were able to come and share in her special day.

I love this pic of everyone together.

Another first for us was experiencing Kings Day here in The Netherlands.  Everyone gets decked out in their orange gear, and it's basically one big garage sale. It's the only day in the year that you can legally sell stuff on the street. It was fun to experience it--crazy outfits, street food, and junk-selling. The kids loved it.

All of us in front of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam in our orange

My parents headed back to the States, but Gary and Michelle are retired, so they get to stay a while. Yipee! We spent a day in Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum and Hard Rock Cafe (that was the bribe to get the kids excited :), they explored The Hague on their own, and today, we visited De Haar Castle. Only 45 minutes from our house. It was really pretty, and totally worth a visit. The kids have been so overloaded with castles while we've lived here, that sometimes they're like, "A castle...not another castle!" But they really did enjoy it. They loved getting lost in the garden maze and listening to the audio guide on our tour.

I mean, who doesn't love a good castle??  Tomorrow we are headed to Ireland for a week. Here's to hoping that it doesn't rain every single day!