Holland Days 3, 4 & 5:

Day 3:  We went to spend the afternoon with Freek's wife and kids. We went to a really fun park.  It had a zip line, water pool (not for swimming but about 1 ft but with big sprinklers), slides, little soccer field, trampolines, etc.  It also had this really cute and CHEAP snack stand.  The kids loved being independent and taking 20cents to get a lemonade or ice cream.  

 I know this is silly but one of the things that I really miss about Holland is the sidewalks.  I had to get a picture of my kids walking on it.  

 We came across the same car my mom had when I was a kid.  It was a big deal getting it to LA and then it was totaled in a crash so we no longer have it.  But, I probably scared them when I saw it and people passing probably thought I was crazy but I didn't care.  

We went back to their house and the kids swam and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon and dinner.  Thanks again guys!

Day 4:

We had another visit with a childhood friend Michiel and his daughter Marie.  He didn't have his son Mels because he injured his shoulder and couldn't carry him.  They have a beautiful house in a neighboring city names Valkenburg.  They have tons of property and a horse and they are boarding 3 other horses.  Jeremy and Mabel LOVED petting the horses in the barn!

 We also went to a park and it was HUGE! The kids were having so much fun that it wasn't until 2:00 that we realized we hadn't fed them lunch.  Oops....

Mabel and Marie were so cute!!!!!  Marie is two months older and even though they didn't understand each other, neither one noticed.  They just used the language of play!

So we headed back towards our neck of the woods (what we called "Big town" when we were little because it was about a 10 minute bike ride compared to the "little town" which is where we spent our summers) to get some lunch and have a beer in the center by the church my parents got married.

It was about 5 minutes after this picture that Mabel crashed on her scooter and hurt herself!

Day 5:

The scooter crash yesterday is still haunting us today.  Mabel cried for over 2 hours and 24 + hours later, still hasn't walked.  I took her to the dr this morning and he doesn't think anything is broken but I think it's really weird that a 3 year old will not get up to go to a candy or toy store.  Anyway, she spent the entire day on the couch except for 5 minutes when I carried her to feed the goats and sit with J and A to play.

Amelia and I took a walk to the windmill up the road and saw cows further down the road so we went to visit and feed them.

Jeremy and Amelia survived their first Dutch house visit at my Oom Bert's house.  He is my mom's uncle but more like a brother to her since they are only 12ish years apart so he's like a real uncle.  His house is a beautiful little cottage.  

This chest below is mine!  He painted it and he knows I want it one day so he calls it mine. :)

And by survive, I mean that they play with anything and pass time and wait for the adults to finish their coffee, pies, etc.  It was strange to be on the other side this time and watch them entertain themselves!

 We headed into Big town again so the kids could check out the local toy store (a yearly and weekly thing when I was a kid), eat some waffles and ride annoying rides in front of stores.  Even Tilly joined....

A must...have a waffle from the local waffle stand.  Jeremy and Amelia loved it just like their mommy and auntie Jacqui!

 

We finished the day eating at Oma and Opa's while the kids played outside.  Here they are playing on the patio.

Today was the first day of cloudy weather but the sun came out about 7pm...just in time for a beautiful sunset.  That's a hot air balloon in the distance!

I'm really hoping Mabel feels better tomorrow.  Goodnight...