Easter Weekend- Day One

Good Friday brought us to the Groningen train station and we were off on a long weekend to Den Haag...

All of my travel buddies:)

Arrival in Den Haag

Some interesting artifacts on display in one of the tram stations...Can you tell Jeremy is proud of his Doritos??:)

 Such a pretty city!!:)

A Weekend in Pictures ( Mostly)

Last Friday, Guy had the opportunity to work from home, and we decided at his lunch break to head to De Vismarkt for some fish and chips from one of the food trucks...

Saturday morning, had us heading out to the small Dutch town of Feerwerd for Jeremy's soccer game...

 Sunday brought birthday parties for both Jeremy and Elizabeth. Elizabeth went to an indoor skiing/ sledding party (on carpet!  who knew!!??)

And Jeremy went to a paintball party for a classmate.:)  I have always said that living in a place is completely different than visiting.   We are still enjoying being "tourists" in our town, but have also really started to make some great friends and feel at home here at the same time.:)

Until next time, doei!:)

A Secret

I think I have discovered a secret in Holland that not too many people talk about.  I had no idea (or I had forgotten having lived so many years in southeast Texas and Nigeria) what a transformation spring can really be!  The long dark days of winter are definitely fading away into longer, brighter days with fresh air and the warmer temperatures of spring!  I was never someone who thought the weather affected me, but being out in the bright springtime sunshine here in Holland has really made me realize how long and dark the winter days were.  A few weeks ago, a few friends of mine and myself went walking near Paterswoldsmeer.  It is a beautiful park with a long walking path around the lake.  To read more about its location and history, you can click here.  I wanted to share a few pictures from our walk there...

The weather has been so nice for biking around the city center...

Flowers are coming up all around!:)

My bike loaded with my loot from my shopping trip!:)  Stopped to take a picture of the pretty trees starting to bloom.:)

I even had a chance to do some shopping......for MYSELF!!

Found this pretty dress at the open Market in the city center.:)

 Our tulips that Guy and Jeremy planted a few months ago are coming up in our flower boxes.:)

 And you have to love a country where you can find fresh flowers almost everywhere!:)

Some pretty tulips Guy bought me last week...they are still going!:)

 I wanted to share with you a peek at what I am seeing here every day as the weather is changing and the days are getting longer.  As a transplanted Texas girl, I had almost forgotten what a true change of seasons really looks like!

Tot zeins!:)

Cheese!

I can't believe that I have not written a post about all the amazing cheese there is over here in the Netherlands! There are so many varieties to choose from! I haven't tried them all, but you can read about the different varieties here.  Our family's favorite type of Duth cheese is Gouda.  It is a semi hard cheese which is the country's most popular cheese.  It makes up about 50 percent of the cheese produced in The Netherlands.  Another good cheese is Beemster..yes, I like that one,.too!:)

I am learning about jonge kaas( young cheese) which is aged only four weeks and has a milder flavor and oude kaas ( aged 10 months) and overjarig ( aged 1 to 2 years).

Another popular cheese mad e here is called Edam.  It makes up about twenty seven percent of the cheese produced in Holland.  It i a semi hard salty cheese which many people really like.

Maasdamer makes up about fifteen percent of the cheese made in Holland.  It has a domed shape with holes in it which are a result of the bacteria in the cheese which release gases during the maturation process.

Honestly, I could write about cheese all day long but you have to taste the cheese to really appreciate it!  I haven't been to any cheese festivals here yet, but they are very popular in different parts of the country.   And for even more information on Dutch cheeses, click here.

There is cheese all over the place here and I have been eating most of it!

Here is a picture of a part of the cheese display in the grocery store...

And a quick picture of a cheese shop right outside the grocery store...

 This is some seriously big cheese!!!

Just thought I would share with you another aspect of our life in Holland!
Until next time, doei!

Spring

 We got back from our trip back to the US last Sunday, and we have been just getting back into the swing of things here in Holland.  The seven hour time difference when I am traveling back to the US isn't as hard going there as it is coming back.  But, we all managed to get adjusted.:)  At least we didn't have to spring forward quite yet like my friends and family back in the US.  We spring forward here in Holland on March 25.:)

We had such a wonderful time meeting our new nephew/cousin, Austin, at our stop in Chicago.  He was my brother and sister-in-law's early Christmas gift as he was born on December 24, 2016.:)

We then drove over to Michigan to visit my Aunt and Uncle.  My Aunt has been battling kidney cancer since this last summer, and she is doing amazing!:)

We passed through Holland, Michigan and went on to visit my grandfather in Grand Rapids, MI.:)

 He has been battling cancer in the bile duct of his liver.  He has been such a fighter and we were so happy to be able to spend some time with him.:)

We got to stay along Lake Michigan at my parents' new house while we were visiting family.  I don't think I had ever been there during the winter time.  The beach was completely covered with snow and ice coming off of the Lake.  We were actually walking ON Lake Michigan at one point! 

Guy and the kids standing ON Lake Michigan.:)

Got to visit with my aunt, uncle and cousins.:)

Then we were on a road trip down to Saint Louis to visit my parents.:)

My little brother and his fiance, Hima, were also there.:)

 The kids and I were able to visit for a week with my mom and dad and go with my mom for her second chemo appointment.

 And wouldn't you know it, her chemo appointment fell on Mardi Gras!

Taken during her chemo.

A few more fun pictures of my parents with their grandchildren.:)

 And, my dad took the kids to the Saint Louis Museum..

Look closely, that is Elizabeth crawling through that mesh tunnel high in the sky!

Leaving my family is always so hard for me.  i have a pit in my stomach for a few days afterwards.  But, when we came back to Holland, things had changed a bit.  All of the sudden, the sun was coming up earlier in the morning, and the flowers have started to bloom...

Crocuses are popping up everywhere here!:)

 And the tulips in the garden boxes outside of jeremy's room have started to pop up out of the soil.:)

Beautiful flowers Guy brought home for me last week.:)

And just like in Texas, when the bluebonnets start to bloom....it is a sign that Elizabeth's birthday is approaching...

E brought treats to her ballet class on Friday to have an early birthday celebration.:)

J had a soccer game on Saturday:)

 Someone was busy with me in the kitchen getting ready for her birthday on Monday.:)

Treats to take to school.:)

She wanted to make her own birthday cake.:)

 And just like that, when I woke up yesterday morning, I had a nine year old!!!

After Elizabeth's birthday, it can only mean that Spring is soon on its way!

It has been a very busy last few weeks, and I am so blessed and happy that I have my wonderful husband, children, family and friends to share the laughs and smiles with along the way.:) Every day is a gift, and that is why it is called the present.:)
Until next time, doei!:)