We just spent 8 days driving through Germany, Switzerland and Austria and arrived home in the wee morning hours of Saturday. We had a wonderful family road trip and of course have many great memories, some quite amusing. I will post pictures soon but first just wanted to share a few stories.
Most of our time on the road was spent in Germany on the autobahn which for most areas has no speed limit. We were traveling in our Toyota Corolla that we shipped over here when we moved, so we were quite packed in. Having no speed limit, Jason tried to drive as fast as he felt comfortable going, which in our car was usually around 80 mph. I think he maxed out at 90 mph, at which time he was gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands. The best thing was that when we felt we were going pretty fast, we saw a Smart car fly past us, and that happened more than once. How embarrassing!!!
Spending a lot of the time in the car also meant that Lauren had a lot of time to think, and thinking for her means her imagination goes wild and she loves to create her little fantasy world that she and her stuffed puppies play in. The most repeated phrase of the trip was, "Momma, do you know what?" I think I heard that a minimum of 100 times and after each time I heard a new detail of her fantasy world or her magical powers. In her world she is married to one of her stuffed puppies, Blackie (he is a rottweiler), and they have 4 babies; Annalissa (from Shane), Max (from Will), Bella and Brownie, of course in her imagination they are people, not puppies.
The way she acts we often say she is 5 going on 16, but with the stories she was telling us on the trip she was more like 5 going on 30. One time she told us that her husband turned the music up loud and came to see her when she was busy working in the kitchen and he wanted her to dance with him and she said your crazy I have too much to do. We both started laughing because it sounded all too familar. She also told us that her husband was acting really bad and she told him that he was going to have to go outside and sleep with the dogs if he kept it up. Where does she get this stuff??? I think at one point she talked for 2 hours straight.
I now have such a deeper appreciation for my aunts and the road trips they took us on when I was a kid. I also now understand why it was suggested we play the quiet game and why we were challenged to go 5 minutes without saying what, why, when, where or how. Thank you to my aunts for putting up with us!
Also, can anyone explain this to me. During our trip we saw a lot of Asian tourists and many of them wanted to take pictures with Lauren and Justin and they would take turns posing with them. Why??? Is it the blond hair, fair skin, or just that our kids are so darn cute? I will have to google it.
We had an amazing time and I will post pictures for all to see soon. I hope everyon is having a wonderful autumn!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Spreekt u Engels?
Today I had a very amusing experience at my Mums and Tots group here in the Netherlands. The mums in the group come from all over the world including Australia, Germany, England, Romania, Netherlands, Croatia, Trinidad, Ireland and maybe a few other places. It is quite a diverse group but everyone speaks at least a little English. Today one of the mums brought a snack that had goat cheese on it from Norway. Two of the women from Romania couldn't understand what animal we were talking about, thinking we were talking about sheep. So imagine a room full of women making animal sounds trying to mimic a goat. We meet at Lauren's school in the language room where they have Dutch and French lessons so we finally thought to look at the posters on the wall and found one of the different animals and we were able to find a goat. It is always very interesting to go to Mums and Tots because all the mums are speaking their native language to their own child. It is also very neat to get a glimpse into different cultures but also see how much alike we all are!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Oktoberfest
Dawn has requested that I (Jason) make an appearance on the blog to add my experience at Oktoberfest in München, Deutschland. Writing is one of my least favorite activities, so bear with me.
The first thing I noticed when I downloaded the pictures from the camera was that out of 100+ pictures, I managed to take one picture of the city of Munich, the remainder revolve around the general ‘festiveness’ of Oktoberfest.
Friday: Flew into Munich from Amsterdam, met up with a couple former coworkers and a few new faces, all in all six of us descended on Munich for two nights. After checking in to the Le Meridien hotel we ventured over to the fairgrounds at about 3:30PM and what luck, we were able to walk right into the Fischer-Vroni tent and get a table. (Fischer-Vroni Tent, 2,695-seat capacity, Augustiner Beer). I wish I had a picture of the food, because it was fantastic, we had pork shoulders, ½ chickens, fish, and duck, what a smorgasbord of food, oh and a beer or two…The night ended fairly early with grand plans of rising at 7:00 to be first in line at the tents on Saturday.
Saturday – Arrived at the Löwenbräu tent at 8:30AM and joined the masses waiting until the doors opened at 9:00. At the entrance to the tent you are greeted by a huge automated lion that drinks beer, growls, and rubs his belly. We were told to get there early, apparently though 8:30 is not early enough because the tent was completely full by the time we made it through the doors. However we were lucky that the weather could not have been better and we found room for 6 at a table outside. One of the most impressive sights were the carrying capabilities of the beer girls, the one below was carrying 11-1 liter mugs of beer. (Löwenbräu Tent, 5,700 inside capacity, 2,800 outside capacity, Löwenbräu Beer)
We managed to keep our table until we finally called it a day at about 6:00. During that time we met Germans, Columbians, Canadians, many US Service men and women, and a few rowdy Italians. What a great time!
As you can imagine, starting the party that early can lead to some rather unpleasantness by early afternoon as you can see from Mr. Bunny below, this was taken at 6:30. However even with the overindulgence by some I was very surprised to see how friendly everyone was, no fights, just fun.
Sunday – Before flying out Sunday afternoon, we decided to take in the sights, walked to Mary’s Square (Marienplatz) in the center of Munich and ate breakfast. So I give you the one non-Oktoberfest picture. The ‘New’ City Hall, completed in 1909.
We had a great time and if there is a next time I will make sure that we make tent reservations well in advance.
The first thing I noticed when I downloaded the pictures from the camera was that out of 100+ pictures, I managed to take one picture of the city of Munich, the remainder revolve around the general ‘festiveness’ of Oktoberfest.
Friday: Flew into Munich from Amsterdam, met up with a couple former coworkers and a few new faces, all in all six of us descended on Munich for two nights. After checking in to the Le Meridien hotel we ventured over to the fairgrounds at about 3:30PM and what luck, we were able to walk right into the Fischer-Vroni tent and get a table. (Fischer-Vroni Tent, 2,695-seat capacity, Augustiner Beer). I wish I had a picture of the food, because it was fantastic, we had pork shoulders, ½ chickens, fish, and duck, what a smorgasbord of food, oh and a beer or two…The night ended fairly early with grand plans of rising at 7:00 to be first in line at the tents on Saturday.
Saturday – Arrived at the Löwenbräu tent at 8:30AM and joined the masses waiting until the doors opened at 9:00. At the entrance to the tent you are greeted by a huge automated lion that drinks beer, growls, and rubs his belly. We were told to get there early, apparently though 8:30 is not early enough because the tent was completely full by the time we made it through the doors. However we were lucky that the weather could not have been better and we found room for 6 at a table outside. One of the most impressive sights were the carrying capabilities of the beer girls, the one below was carrying 11-1 liter mugs of beer. (Löwenbräu Tent, 5,700 inside capacity, 2,800 outside capacity, Löwenbräu Beer)
We managed to keep our table until we finally called it a day at about 6:00. During that time we met Germans, Columbians, Canadians, many US Service men and women, and a few rowdy Italians. What a great time!
As you can imagine, starting the party that early can lead to some rather unpleasantness by early afternoon as you can see from Mr. Bunny below, this was taken at 6:30. However even with the overindulgence by some I was very surprised to see how friendly everyone was, no fights, just fun.
Sunday – Before flying out Sunday afternoon, we decided to take in the sights, walked to Mary’s Square (Marienplatz) in the center of Munich and ate breakfast. So I give you the one non-Oktoberfest picture. The ‘New’ City Hall, completed in 1909.
We had a great time and if there is a next time I will make sure that we make tent reservations well in advance.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Our Big Boy
Last Sunday evening Jason and I converted Justin's bed from a crib to a daybed. His first night in his big boy bed he woke up about 3 am and then slept intermittently until about 7 am. Not a very good night's sleep for any of us. However, since then he has slept in his bed on his usual schedule every night and for every nap. We just put a baby gate on his door. He may get up a few times and go to his door, but then he will close his bedroom door and get in his bed. I didn't think it would be that easy a transition but he has done awesome!
First night in big boy bed
Justin is growing up too fast! I haven't blogged about him lately but he amazes and amuses Jason and I everyday. He is talking so much and will repeat anything you say. He is able to tell us what he wants and doesn't want, and yes, he knows what he wants! Along with all this independence also comes some very good tantrums. He can scream, Lauren never did. He makes the silliest faces and has a smile that will light up a room. The moms at Lauren's school call him "Mr. Smiley" and he is popular with the students every time we are there. Lauren is an amazing big sister and he adores her. We are so blessed!
First night in big boy bed
Justin is growing up too fast! I haven't blogged about him lately but he amazes and amuses Jason and I everyday. He is talking so much and will repeat anything you say. He is able to tell us what he wants and doesn't want, and yes, he knows what he wants! Along with all this independence also comes some very good tantrums. He can scream, Lauren never did. He makes the silliest faces and has a smile that will light up a room. The moms at Lauren's school call him "Mr. Smiley" and he is popular with the students every time we are there. Lauren is an amazing big sister and he adores her. We are so blessed!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Days 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Summer Vacation - Disneyland Paris
Lauren had no idea that we were going to Disneyland, but she has been asking us when we could go there since we moved to the Netherlands. As you can tell from the video, she was very excited that we were there and decided to stay and finish the rest of our vacation.
We had a wonderful time, we all love Disney and would go every year if we had the chance. Disneyland Paris is a much smaller version of Disneyworld, sort of a sampling. However it was just right for the end of a trip. Lauren of course loved being with all the princesses. She was also quite the daredevil and rode almost everything she was tall enough for, including Big Thunder Mountain and Crushes Coaster, actually she rode them twice!
Justin adored Mickey from the first time he saw him. He loved all the characters and was not scared of them at all. He was also a fan of the rides, especially Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Carpets of Agrabah, and the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups.
We spent 3 1/2 days and 3 nights at Disneyland and had a magically fantastic time. Once again, Disney doesn't disappoint. We are ready to go back to Disneyworld!
Disneyland Paris Day 1
Disneyland Paris Day 2
Disneyland Paris Day 3
We had a wonderful time, we all love Disney and would go every year if we had the chance. Disneyland Paris is a much smaller version of Disneyworld, sort of a sampling. However it was just right for the end of a trip. Lauren of course loved being with all the princesses. She was also quite the daredevil and rode almost everything she was tall enough for, including Big Thunder Mountain and Crushes Coaster, actually she rode them twice!
Justin adored Mickey from the first time he saw him. He loved all the characters and was not scared of them at all. He was also a fan of the rides, especially Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Carpets of Agrabah, and the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups.
We spent 3 1/2 days and 3 nights at Disneyland and had a magically fantastic time. Once again, Disney doesn't disappoint. We are ready to go back to Disneyworld!
Disneyland Paris Day 1
Disneyland Paris Day 2
Disneyland Paris Day 3
Friday, September 18, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Days 2, 3 and 4 of Summer Vacation - Paris and Versailles
Sorry it took so long for me to post this, but we took over 1000 pictures and I have been putting off going through them. We stayed in Paris for 3 nights. We spent two days touring all the sites in Paris and then the 3rd day we took a short drive to Versailles to visit the palace. Paris is a beautiful city with monuments, churches, museums and gardens everywhere you turn. The architecture is amazing and every building has such detail. We walked ourselves until we couldn't walk anymore, even Lauren. She was such a big girl with just a few meltdowns, but she recovered well.
We ended up at the Eiffel Tower every night and that was definitely the highlight of our trip. Lauren was constantly trying to see if she could see the Eiffel Tower from wherever we were in the city. We also loved picnicking. At this stage with Justin, it is just too much of a hassel to go to restaurants and deal with keeping him appeased. We really enjoyed just buying breads and meats at the little markets and then finding a park to eat in. It was fun for all and we were able to relax.
Versailles was massive with gardens that went on forever. We really did not get to explore them as much as we would have liked to. Even though it was beautiful and impressive for the time it was built, Jason and I both agreed that we like the Biltmore in North Carolina better. Maybe not much of a comparison since the Biltmore is much newer, but that is what it made us think of. We had a great time in Paris and Jason and I would love to go back just the two of us to see a few more sites that we didn't get a chance to visit.
Day 1 in Paris
Day 2 in Paris
Day 3 in Paris and Versailles
At the end of our three days in Paris, Lauren informed us that she was ready to go home and be done with the trip. We promised her that when we got to our next destination, she could decide whether or not she wanted to go home, it was up to her. So, off we went to..????
We ended up at the Eiffel Tower every night and that was definitely the highlight of our trip. Lauren was constantly trying to see if she could see the Eiffel Tower from wherever we were in the city. We also loved picnicking. At this stage with Justin, it is just too much of a hassel to go to restaurants and deal with keeping him appeased. We really enjoyed just buying breads and meats at the little markets and then finding a park to eat in. It was fun for all and we were able to relax.
Versailles was massive with gardens that went on forever. We really did not get to explore them as much as we would have liked to. Even though it was beautiful and impressive for the time it was built, Jason and I both agreed that we like the Biltmore in North Carolina better. Maybe not much of a comparison since the Biltmore is much newer, but that is what it made us think of. We had a great time in Paris and Jason and I would love to go back just the two of us to see a few more sites that we didn't get a chance to visit.
Day 1 in Paris
Day 2 in Paris
Day 3 in Paris and Versailles
At the end of our three days in Paris, Lauren informed us that she was ready to go home and be done with the trip. We promised her that when we got to our next destination, she could decide whether or not she wanted to go home, it was up to her. So, off we went to..????
Friday, September 4, 2009
Day 1 of Summer Vacation - Brussels, Belgium
After spending 3 weeks in Houston, the kids and I arrived back in the Netherlands, were at home for 4 days, and then we headed towards Paris. We left the house Saturday morning and drove a little over 3 hours to Brussles, Belgium. Thank goodness for TomTom. I don't know how we would get anywhere in Europe without it. It was not only awesome while we were driving, since we can't read most of the signs, but it was also good while we were walking around the city.
We checked into the hotel and then it was off on a walking tour of the city. Our hotel was near the Grand Place, Brussel's main square which is the heart of the old town and Brussel's greatest sight. It is the open area between the Town Hall and the King's House (administrative building). There are definitely some interesting things going on there with some interesting (eccentric) people. Bordering the square are several lace shops and chocolate shops, including the first Godiva store. Lauren and I went into one of the lace shops to browse. There was a woman in the back of the store making some lace and she asked Lauren to help her. I was amazed at the detail work, not something I could do. That was pretty neat and Lauren enjoyed it.
After we walked through Grand Place and took pictures, then we headed down a street to the Manneken-Pis. This is the city mascot, a fountain of a little 2-foot high boy peeing. VIP's from all over the world send costumes for the statue to wear (he has over 700 of them). The city commissioned the statue to show the joie de vivre of living in Brussels - where happy people eat, drink..and drink...and then pee.
From there we walked to Upper Town which is full of palaces and museums. We didn't visit any of these, we just walked through a few gardens, visited the Notre-Dame du Sablon Church and the Place du Petit Sablon (a beautiful neighborhood garden).
At that point we were getting pretty hungry for dinner, so we walked back to Grand Place and ate outside at a restaurant on the square (one of my favorite things to do in Europe). After dinner, we found our way back to a waffle stand and ordered the deluxe Belgian waffle. It had strawberries, bananas, ice cream, caramel, chocolate and whipped cream. It was just as good as you can imagine! If that wasn't enough, we then headed to the Godiva store where Lauren picked out a few pieces of chocolate that she wanted, of course they were heart shaped, and I selected some chocolate covered strawberries. Sufficiently stuffed, we walked back to the hotel, showered, and got to bed so that we could head off to Paris the next morning.
Check back soon for day 2 details!
We checked into the hotel and then it was off on a walking tour of the city. Our hotel was near the Grand Place, Brussel's main square which is the heart of the old town and Brussel's greatest sight. It is the open area between the Town Hall and the King's House (administrative building). There are definitely some interesting things going on there with some interesting (eccentric) people. Bordering the square are several lace shops and chocolate shops, including the first Godiva store. Lauren and I went into one of the lace shops to browse. There was a woman in the back of the store making some lace and she asked Lauren to help her. I was amazed at the detail work, not something I could do. That was pretty neat and Lauren enjoyed it.
After we walked through Grand Place and took pictures, then we headed down a street to the Manneken-Pis. This is the city mascot, a fountain of a little 2-foot high boy peeing. VIP's from all over the world send costumes for the statue to wear (he has over 700 of them). The city commissioned the statue to show the joie de vivre of living in Brussels - where happy people eat, drink..and drink...and then pee.
From there we walked to Upper Town which is full of palaces and museums. We didn't visit any of these, we just walked through a few gardens, visited the Notre-Dame du Sablon Church and the Place du Petit Sablon (a beautiful neighborhood garden).
At that point we were getting pretty hungry for dinner, so we walked back to Grand Place and ate outside at a restaurant on the square (one of my favorite things to do in Europe). After dinner, we found our way back to a waffle stand and ordered the deluxe Belgian waffle. It had strawberries, bananas, ice cream, caramel, chocolate and whipped cream. It was just as good as you can imagine! If that wasn't enough, we then headed to the Godiva store where Lauren picked out a few pieces of chocolate that she wanted, of course they were heart shaped, and I selected some chocolate covered strawberries. Sufficiently stuffed, we walked back to the hotel, showered, and got to bed so that we could head off to Paris the next morning.
Check back soon for day 2 details!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Lauren's First day of Year 1
We are finally getting back on a routine. Lauren started back to school yesterday which means early to rise, now we just need to start getting to bed earlier. Our children definitely take after us, they like to stay up late and sleep late.
I think Lauren is happy to be back at school and have her friends to play with, even though she won't admit it. I really enjoy my alone time with Justin while Lauren is at school, but we are both excited to pick her up in the afternoon. Next week at school they start swimming lessons once a week and I am sure she will love that. I also enjoy having interaction with the other mothers, I miss all my girlfriends!
I can't believe how fast Lauren is growing and how much she is teaching me!
I think Lauren is happy to be back at school and have her friends to play with, even though she won't admit it. I really enjoy my alone time with Justin while Lauren is at school, but we are both excited to pick her up in the afternoon. Next week at school they start swimming lessons once a week and I am sure she will love that. I also enjoy having interaction with the other mothers, I miss all my girlfriends!
I can't believe how fast Lauren is growing and how much she is teaching me!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
At Lake Austin with family
The last weekend we were in the USA before we came back to Netherlands, the kids and I went to Austin with my awesome mother-in-law, Jason's brother Mark and his family, Jason's Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mike and his cousin Kristen and her family. We all stayed at Mike and Cindy's lake house and had a great time relaxing, talking, swimming, boating and tubing. The kids loved it! Lauren and Justin love being in the swimming pool. Lauren also loved riding in the boat, tubing, and riding the jet ski. I love that none of that scares her. She is always a little timid at first but always loves it once she has done it. I can't wait to teach her how to water ski next!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
