Maastricht

Two days ago Michiel and I had a little day-trip getaway to Maastricht, in the south of the Netherlands.

Here is het Vrijthof, the big central square. Check out that red bell tower!


I also dragged Michiel to an art museum, the famous Bonnefantenmuseum full of drawings from the Renaissance. And also some modern art--some cool and creepy and some of it, well, let's just say it was a little too modern for us. This one was cool...the only piece of art work in the museum's central dome:



And the whole reason we were there was to meet dear friends from Innisfree! Stephanie and Olivier from Belgium on the right, Jamie and Christian from Virginia but visiting his parents in Germany in the middle, and then us. Such a fun group!

People Pictures

There are many more, but that's it for now!

More from Germany

We also went to the Ittertal Historischer Freizeitpark. Think Enchanted Forest only older, smellier, and a bit creepier. It was fantastic! Alexander annoyed his sister. Mieke got to jump to her heart's content. And Annabel made friends with a girl from a refugee family from Libya who spoke more English than German.

Jaunt to Germany

Sailing with Markus and Tina:
 

Open Air Museum:


Ice cream (of course). This was our second stop at the ice cream shop.


Everyone who came to the family gathering at Franz's house:

Getting over Jetlag...

...in three easy steps.

Step 1: Tickle your cousin
Invite family and friends over all at the same time. Eat, drink, and tickle your cousin. Try not to fall asleep.


Step 2: Koffie en Koek (Coffee and a sort of cross between a cake and a cookie)
Celebrate everything, especially birthdays, whether they happened yesterday or in March. Teatime? Let's celebrate! Try not to fall asleep.


Step 3: Glitter tattoos...of course. What else? Borrow bikes from neighbors so that all 10 of us (Michiel, Lisa, Alexander, Annabel, Mieke, Jeanni, Carel, Tatjana, Maarten, and Kiril) can ride to Zwolle for a festival. Six bikes, ten people. You do the math.

Momentous Day

Today was one of those days where a lot of things happened. It could have been a stressful day. There was a lot of scurrying around, a lot of dropping off and picking up, a lot of persuading and bolstering, and a lot of "I don't want to!"

But the sun was shining. And I was steady.

At the dinner table, we had three things to toast:

Alexander had his extra tooth pulled, and he was quite brave. I spoiled him like a grandparent afterwards.

Annabel learned to ride a bike. She never wanted to do it with the training wheels, and today with Grandma and Grandpa, she got on a regular bike and off she went! Steering is still a bit tricky, but she's got the pedaling down.

And Mieke? Mieke learned to draw circles. She always wants someone to draw a snowman for her, but now she can do it herself.

In the end, it was one of those days where I was really glad to be a mom. These were the highlights of my day, these three things that made me incredibly proud.

The Rose-berry Bush

Last week I was tidying up the girls' room when I looked out the window and saw this:

 At first I thought, "I didn't know we had a holly bush there." Then I looked closer:

I burst out laughing. One of my children had decorated the thorns of the rosebush with berries collected from the bush by the front door. Obviously, this was the work of Annabel.

I went through the next few days telling everyone and getting a spark of delight every time I glanced at our new "rose-berry" bush. What creativity! What fun! That Annabel is a special girl!

But the story did not end there.

When I finally got around to complimenting Annabel on her artistic effort, she said, "It wasn't me. It was Alexander's idea. But he let me help."

I was floored. This was not Alexander's style, I thought. Then I remembered that, as recent incidents have pointed out to me, I may not actually know my son that well. How fantastic to learn that he has rose-berry bushes inside of him! How thoughtful of him to cover the sharp thorns with squishy-bright berries.

Once again, I am reminded that the surprises my children have in store for me will never end. I hope there are more like this one.