Summer Recap: Rotterdam Zoo

We went with Shelley and our friends (Falkena family) to the zoo. I always have a good time at the zoo and of course the kids do too!

They have an awesome playground! The slide (below) was actually REALLY fun!

Glade prefers to lick his ice cream from the table. I wonder how clean those zoo tables are!

See the butterfly? Because I don't!

Shell and Myra bug

Myra wanted to pet the alligator.

We got this cute monkey magnet and Jimmy made this creepy contraption to hold him. Looks like some freaky form of torturing device! :)

Let the Summer Recap Begin!

I'm finally going to begin sorting through all my summer pictures. We have had quite the adventures and have quite the number of photos. We sadly just said goodbye to our last visitors. We've had guests since the beginning of May and it has honestly been SO much fun! It feels so strange to have just our little family here now.

I suppose I will start from the beginning (or somewhere near it). Shelley (my sis) and I went to Delfshaven. It's here in Rotterdam. It's really pretty...lots of boats, water, a windmill, etc. The old part of Delfshaven survived World War 2.

In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers held their last meeting in this church before sailing to America.

And here's a cute boy who followed us around that day! :)

Rainy Park Day

I have lots of pictures to sort through from Den Haag, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Belgium, etc. But until then, enjoy some we took today. I went to this cool park with Jimmy and his class right before school got out and I've been excited to take the kids ever since. Too bad the one day we decide to go it started raining. We had already packed our lunches and gathered up everything we needed before I glanced outside and noticed the awful dark sky. I almost gave up and stayed inside, then I thought, "Who cares. What's a little rain anyway!"

Jimmy was shaking his hips to the music...haha...wish I had a video of it! He's wearing a yellow Spongebob shirt under his Spiderman one...this kid's got style!
We had a whole half hour before we started to get really wet. We were there long enough to eat a sandwich, throw a little sand, and hurry back to the bike.
Mr Brown Eyes just sat on the bench and ate the whole time.
Miss Myra enjoyed the juice box leftovers.
It was our first bike ride in the rain. We had a good time even though it was very short. Maybe we'll go back again tomorrow!

First Bakfiets Ride

Jarom bought me a bakfiets for Mother's day. I got to ride it for the first time today. I love it!

My mom and little sister, Renae, came with us. It was a gorgeous ride and perfect day.

The steering takes a little getting used to but already I feel much more comfortable on it.

Stopping to feed a hungry babe. :)

The boys were ecstatic when we saw a park.

Myra slept in the shade while we played in the heat.

Sweet baby girl

We played a little ball.

...And then headed home. The kids loved it as much as I did. Jimmy said it was so comfy he wished he had his pillow so he could take a nap. And at one point Glade exclaimed, "I'm flying!" We're all looking forward to many more rides together.

She's Here!

My sister, Shelley, arrived this morning! She is staying for 3 months and traveling all over Europe! I am so excited!!!

Shelley meeting little Myra for the first time. She's the first of any of our extended family to hold Myra.

On the metro ride home...Jimmy was such a chatterbox!

Glade, on the other hand, was very quiet and shy. Shelley gave him fruit snacks and he held the bag for ten minutes before finally taking one out carefully, sniffing it, licking it, and finally eating it!

The boys put her to work digging holes. I'm sure that was on her top list of things she wanted to do in Rotterdam!

We're SO excited to have her here! She's sleeping on my couch right now...how cool is that?! :)

Bitter-Sweet

I chatted with the fam on the webcam. It's good to see them and chat with them but it honestly makes me depressed after. It makes me homesick and sick about all the things I'm missing out on.

Kara (Jarom's sister) just got married and we missed her wedding. Lara (my sister) has her senior prom tonight...can't believe she's graduating in a few weeks.

Jimmy cried when we got off the webcam because he missed everyone and wanted to see them now. That just breaks my heart more than anything. All that my sweet kids are missing out on. All the little things like birthday parties, family dinners...

Sure we are having wonderful experiences here, but missing experiences there. What did we start? Because you know as soon as we move back I will yearn for the people and experiences we've had here. I already think about it and I don't even know when we'll leave.

It's just all so bitter-sweet.

It's like I now have two homes that I love. Two countries filled with people I love. And I obviously can't have them both at the same time. It makes me feel so torn.

Enjoying

Wow, so it's really been over one month since my last post? Woops. Guess life just got too busy or something. I sure have been enjoying it though. Here's a little catch-up on my life (aka my cute kids).



Planting trees in the rain...

Loving more sun...Yipee!

Noticing little baby faces turning to little boy faces...

And realizing we no longer call him "Beeb" (short for baby). I thought we'd call him that forever...

Having frequent no make-up/hat days (and catching cute little Myra expressions)...

Dressing my little doll in spring colors...

Feeding Myra her first taste of bananas...

She really liked them...

Until she didn't...

Kissing freshly bathed babies...Does it get any better than this? I'm pretty sure it doesn't!
fyi...notice the way Myra is holding her right hand...cute little thumb sticking through her fingers? This is her signature way to hold her little hands. She often sucks on that cute little thumb sticking out. We'll see if she's a thumb sucker like her mom was, hopefully not. If so, hopefully she breaks the habit before I did. Honestly, I believe I was about 12 years old when I stopped...oh my, did I just admit that? How embarrassing! :)