Photos

Here are some other miscellaneous pictures.


Presents from Dad and Erica


Lauren feeding ducks with Popa and Nana at the pond next to our house


Lauren and Justin with Popa in Groningen


Popa and Nana entertaining Lauren on the computer


Justin and Daddy relaxing in bed (fyi: he has not had a pacifier in 3 days!)

Justin being his typical self and climbing on everything.

Our House in Assen

Okay, here are some pictures of our home in the Netherlands. Sorry, I forgot to take one of the outside of the house. It is a three story house/duplex. We have neighbors on one side and a pond on the other. If you ever saw our previous home, it is pretty much everything from there transplanted here so it might look familiar, just more crowded.

We have one closet which we all share. When we moved in there was just one clothes rod on the right side of the closet and two shelves on the left side. That would definitely not have worked so we added three more rods, a shelf above the rods, a shoe shelf and all of our storage bins. We have made do. There is also no storage in the bathrooms so we had to improvise in there as well. We really did not see ourselves making use of the bidet, so we found storage to go above it.

We are so happy to be settled in and we feel like it is now our home. I know some of the pictures are sideways in the slide show and I don't know why, sorry. You will also notice Justin being his usual fearless self in one of the photos.

Ahhhh.....finally

I think I have every box except one unpacked, it has photo albums in it. It has been a long two weeks but I have almost found places for everything, and I am amazed at that because there is only one closet in this house. I don't know how Europeans do it! I love closets for organizing things out of sight. Now we have things under beds and in every cabinet, and thank goodness for Ikea. Jason made two trips with the Corolla loaded down. You would be amazed at what we could fit in that car! A full size bed, a buffet cabinet, a storage cabinet, a stool, 3 bookcases, a desk, and an underbed storage drawer. Our hands ached after assembling all of that.

A couple of days after we moved into the house we had our first visitors from home, my dad and Erica came to stay with us. The kids loved having Nana and Popa here and so did Jason and I. They came bearing gifts: Velveeta cheese, cans of green chiles, chow mein noodles, Hidden Valley Ranch mix packets, and Gebhardts Chili Powder, lots of all of it!!! That was much appreciated. It rained a lot when they were here so we didn't get to show them as much as we would have liked to, but it was nice to just spend time with them. I will post pictures later.

I just had to take a break from writing this because Lauren yelled at me from upstairs "Mom, come quick, it is really bad!" So, I walked up to the third level where the playroom is and Justin was standing at the baby gate with poop on his legs and on the floor all around him. Lovely, I know. The joys of being a mom, cleaning up vomit and poop top the list! I have definitely had my share of both and can do without anymore of either, but I am sure that won't happen. Oh well, I am sure you needed to hear about that. At least you didn't have to clean it up! So after a bath and diaper change, Justin is now resting in bed.

I promise to post pictures soon of what we have been up to. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

We Have Our Stuff!!!

Sorry I haven't posted recently. We have been busy getting our permanent house ready for move in. Today the container with all of our goods was delivered to the house and they have been moving everything in. We are sooooo happy to finally have our things. We have been separated from them for over 3 months now. Some things I can do without, but I am so ready for my comfortable bed and our comfortable couches! Justin and I stopped by the house briefly and I laid on the couch for a minute (didn't want to get up) and Justin saw his cozy coupe car and was very upset when I pulled him out of it to leave. So, if my updates are sparse over the next couple of weeks, you know why. We are going to be getting everything unpacked and situated. Finally!

Dutch TT

This weekend Assen was packed with more than 100,000 people from all over Europe for the Assen TT, the Grand Prix for racing bikes in the Netherlands. It is the biggest one day sporting event in the Netherlands. Think of it as the motorcycle equivalent of NASCAR. As it is stated on their official website "To the hundreds of thousands of bike fans and the tens of thousands of day trippers who visit the TT every year on the last Saturday in June, the Dutch TT is what Monaco is to the Formula 1 fans, and Wimbledon to tennis enthusiasts." For 3 days out of the year, this town goes crazy. All roads leading to the center of town are shut down, stages are assembled everywhere, thousands of beer kegs are shipped in, the empty fields are filled with campers and the roads are full of motorcycles. Jason said the last band that played on Friday night didn't go on stage until 3am. Maybe next year we can get a babysitter and join in the festivites. This is what Assen is known for. I thought race car drivers were crazy but I don't think they even compare to these motorcycle racers.

The winner this year was Valentino Rossi and this was his 100th win. The racer who came in 4th place was an American. Jason went to the races with a coworker. He was amazed by the massive quantities of mortorcycles everywhere and the paths packed with bicyclers going to the race.


The festivities would not be complete without a carnival. Friday night we got on our bicycles and rode to the carnival. Lauren had a blast riding the carousel, driving a little jeep, riding on the caterpillar rollercoaster, and riding high in the ferris wheel. Justin was very upset that he could not drive a jeep or ride on the roller coaster.

International Day

Every day is international day at Lauren's school, but this week they had a special celebration on Wednesday. Parents decorated tables with information about their home country, kids dressed up in clothing representative of their country and parents cooked food and joined together for lunch. I was so impressed and amazed! This is such an amazing opportunity for the kids.

The innocence and purity of children is so apparent here. Everyday Lauren is in class with children from all over the world with different religions, different beliefs and different colored skin, but I don't think any of that ever enters the thoughts of the children. They see everyone as just their classmate and their friend, with no questions about anything else. They love that they are all different and it is truly amazing and a great model for how the world should be. I am very thankful and feel blessed that Lauren and Justin have the opportunity to have such a great start to their easily impressionable lives.

On international day the children each received a passport book. They then visited the tables set up by the parents and they were able to learn facts about the different countries. Then they received a sticker of that country's flag for their passport. They really enjoyed this. They also had musicians performing for them and learned some dances. Parents and children then enjoyed a tasty lunch of cuisine from all over the world. Unfortunately I was not able to put an informational table together since we still do not have our container of goods from the US, but I was able to put together some tasty dishes; Chicken and Cornbread Dressing, Blackberry Cobbler, and Rice Krispy Treats.

I think my favorite part of the day was when the children and parents all sang We Are The World. It was a wonderful celebration

This about sums it up.....

We used to have food on the lower shelves, but Justin would just throw everything out and put his stuff and himself in there. Today he climbed in, was pushing the shelf above him with his feet and pulling the doors shut to close himself in. I can't wait to get in our permanent house so that I can baby proof everything! He definitely keeps us on our toes, but we love it!

A little success

Well, after a couple of more trips to the grocery store, and scanning everything on the shelves, I have been able to find some of the things on my list. Good thing there are pictures on the packaging! I was able to find baking powder, some jars of green chiles, corn tortillas, haas avocados, maple syrup, and marshmallows.

I have joined a Mums and Tots group and the mothers in there are great. One of them took me on a tour Friday afternoon and showed me some small deli shops and specialty food stores where I was able to find some of the items on my list. I even found some Crisco shortening. Of course I have to pay a little more for some of these specialty American items, but some things are just worth it. It was great to have help from someone who has been in my position. The expat moms here have been such a good help and fountain of information.

Saturday the kids and I were invited to one of her classmates homes for the afternoon. We had a great time. The kids had a lot of fun playing and the moms got to socialize. Both were much needed.

Sunday we had a very lazy father's day. We all stayed in our pajamas most of the day. I did a lot of cooking. I made some "Casa Ole" green sauce, which turned out quite good. For dinner we had a good ol' Texas meal full of starches. Cracker steak, mashed potatoes, cream gravy and macaroni and cheese. I also baked a dewberry cobbler last week, so we have been having our comfort foods. Jason and Lauren played Mario Kart on the Wii, we played family hide and go seek, and a lot of monster and hiding under the blankets. Just a great family day with an amazing daddy. We love you Jason!

My American foods

I have been managing the grocery shopping fine, even though I can't read most of the packages. However, there are just some items that they don't have here or are hard to come by that have been staples in our pantry that I am missing.

American cheese (Velveeta)
Mexican cheeses
Cream of celery and cream of chicken soups
Chow mein noodles
Baking powder
Vegetable Oil
Cake mixes
Rotel
Green chiles
Egg noodles
Turkey sandwich meat
Iced tea (not the same here)
Corn tortillas
Good avocados
Good salsa (would make my own but can't find the ingredients)
Good tortilla chips
Maple syrup
Blue Bell Ice cream (what I can find doesn't compare)
Bleach (I know it is here but I can't figure out which one it is)
Marshmallows

I am sure there are many more, but that is what I can think of right now. I did manage to find a few Betty Crocker cake mixes and chocolate frosting here but they are 5 euros each. I think we will save that for special occasions! Lauren's school is celebrating international day next week and we are supposed to cook something from our country. First of all, it was hard enough for me to think of something that is truly American, and what I can think of I can't find the ingredients for because they are too American! Ughhhhh!!! I will definitely be smuggling food over after our next trip to the states. Some things you just take for granted.

Bremen, Germany

Saturday we ventured across the border into Germany. There are enormous windmills lining the motorway on both sides.


I found another sign that amused me "Ausfahrt", pronounce it how you like. It actually means departure or exit in German and is on every exit ramp of the motorway.


We headed to Bremen but had to make a brief detour to save our marriage. We were almost there, but not exactly sure where we were going, so when we saw a large electronics store Jason pulled in and bought a TomTom portable GPS system. It was soooo worth it and will make traveling Europe much easier since we can't read most of the signs!

Bremen has a beautiful market square that includes Town Hall, an enormous Statue of Roland and St. Peter's Cathedral. When we walked into the market square there was a group of men singing. It just set a good ambiance and the kids really liked it too.

We found a nice outdoor cafe on the market square and enjoyed lunch looking at Town Hall and beautiful St. Peter's Cathedral. I think this has been one of my favorite things about Europe so far, all of the sidewalk cafes and eating outside. It also helps because then we don't have to worry as much about Justin being loud inside a restaurant!

The Town Hall was built between 1405 and 1410 and is thought to be one of the most beautiful town halls in Germany.

Next to Town Hall is a statue of The Bremen Town Musicians. They are standing on one another's backs in order to look like a monster and frighten robbers out of a house, according to the children's story from the Brothers Grimm.


The Statue of Roland (Charlemagne's knight Roland) is the largest and most famous one in Germany(there are 26 Roland statues in Germany). The statue has been a symbol of trading rights and freedom since 1404.


St. Peters Cathedral was amazing. It is over 1200 years old and has a very large and beautiful organ.

Bottcherstrasse is a 100 meter long street that linked the market square to the river. It's entrance is adorned with this golden artwork called "Bringer of Light". It was actually meant as a tribute to Hitler representing "the victory of our Fuhrer over the powers of darkness".


The Schnoor Quarter is Bremen's oldest district with small maze like streets with 15th and 16th century houses.


The detail put into all the architecture is amazing and the extent of history is just something we can't experience in America.