The Past 2+ Weeks

So what have we been up to? Here are a few of the things...

A few bike rides around the neighborhood (I love the cobblestone streets and sidewalks.)

Breakfast on Valentine's Day.

Finally making the gingerbread house that's been sitting in our cupboard for the past 2 months.
First bubble bath for the baby.
But mostly we have been trying to catch up on our sleep since we haven't been doing much of it at night. We've all been sick (Jarom and Jimmy got it the worst).

On a more positive note, Jarom and I bought plane tickets and reserved hotels for Spain! We'll be going in March. Oh an even more exciting event...my little brother, Matt, proposed to his girlfriend and are getting married May 29th! Thus I will be coming home to Utah in May with the little boys.

I am beyond excited!!!

Difference #3

This one is more obvious on some days than others...

#3. The Weather

Here's a clip I took from iexplore.com... Weather for the Netherlands can be described as a "mild, maritime climate. Summers are generally warm with changeable periods, but excessively hot weather is rare. Winters can be fairly cold with the possibility of some snow. Rainfall is prevalent all year."

A man knocked on our door and said he would wash all our outside windows for 11 euros. It was raining. That fact didn't even phase him. :) If he waited until it wasn't raining or no rain was in the forecast I don't believe the windows would ever get washed. The boys sure enjoyed watching him climb on the ladder. He was thorough but very quick. Maybe because we were all staring at him!

Difference #2

#2. The Shopping Carts

I believe I've briefly mentioned this before, but I thought you might enjoy a picture. Here are the shopping carts from our local Albert Heijn all locked up. You have to insert a 50 euro cent coin in order to get a cart out (see picture below). When you return the cart and lock it back up your coin pops back out. I used to carry a 50 euro coin in my pocket but I rarely use a cart so I don't carry one any more. Instead Jimmy will usually push one of the really small carts (which is free) and I put a basket (also free) on the back of the stroller where Jimmy usually sits.

What's interesting is there is a grocery store inside the mall here and it's not unusual for people to use the shopping cart from the grocery store in the whole mall. I first thought it was rather funny to see people pushing a shopping cart around the mall!

My Future?

I took this picture while out shopping with the boys. I couldn't help but smile. Is this what my future holds...

...Me pulling the train of kids,

Jimmy riding the two-wheeler,

Glade in the little bike trailor,

Baby Girl (it's gotta be a girl next, right?) in the carseat attached to the back of the bike....what the?

And I thought I drew a lot of attention to myself!

(After studying the picture, I think the carseat is on the back of the bike just so it can be locked up. When in motion it is placed "safely" in the bike trailor. Let's hope.)

How do you get to church?

I've had many questions about how we get to church, how long it takes, what our building looks like, etc. Last Sunday I miraculously was ready with time to spare...as in about 30 seconds...just enough time to grab the camera! So here it is...our journey to church...

The ideal time for us to leave our house (ideal meaning we won't have to run to make it to the metro) is 8:53 am. More often than not we are running. I would love a picture of me running in my skirt and tall boots, carrying my baby and overloaded church bag. I'm sure I look fabulous. I proudly run like the girl I am! Thankfully this day there was only brisk walking involved.

We get on the metro at 9:01 am and ride for 4 minutes.
We then get off the metro, cross the tracks, and head into the station building to buy a train ticket. We head up the escalator and wait for the train. Our train leaves at 9:11 am and arrives in Gouda at 9:23 am. The train is Jimmy's favorite part. You have to take a huge step to get on and then either go up or down the stairs depending on where you choose to sit. The 12 minute train ride is quite peaceful.

Once we get to Gouda we walk about 5 minutes to our church building, which looks nothing like a church building, btw.

We walk in the church about 9:28 am and church starts at 9:30 am. One hard thing about public transportation is if we were to be running even 2 minutes behind and miss our metro or train we would at best be 20 minutes late for church.

It costs Jarom 5,20 euros to get to church and back. It costs me 7,20 euros because I also have to pay for the metro (Jarom's work pays for his metro card). We will buy a discount card soon so our train tickets are cheaper.

That's a little more exciting than arriving by car, eh? I thought about taking pictures inside the church and was tempted to video tape the congregation singing a Hymn in Dutch...but I don't know...is that a little too irreverent? :)

Moon Sand

Jimmy got Moon Sand from my family for Christmas and we have LOVED playing with it. It's fun to squish and has such a neat texture. Here he is digging for dino bones...

So if you're ever missing the beach and the feeling of having sand down your underwear...give this stuff a shot. ;) It's like bringing the beach inside! Really though, he loves it and each time we get it out it occupies him for at least an hour (the first time it was 3 hours). The End ;)

Difference #1

I thought it would be fun to occasionally post about the differences I notice from my life in Utah to my life in Holland. So here we go...

#1. The Mail
In order to send mail I have to visit a local drop box in my neighborhood or a post office (postkantoor). It takes about 3 minutes to walk to the neighborhood drop box and about 6 minutes to walk to the postkantoor...not bad.

Incoming mail is nice because it is dropped right inside my house. Jimmy still thinks this is so cool and every time he hears the mail he gets excited..."De mail here!" and he runs to get it. Now I no longer have to worry about my mailbox getting so full that the mail lady complains!

One obstacle I didn't think about before coming here is that all of our utilities, bills, etc are obviously in Dutch. It's made paying bills more interesting!

FYI: To send mail from the US to the Netherlands it costs $0.94 for a typical letter/card. You can use just regular stamps so long as they add up to $0.94.