Kinderdijk

 We have reached the promised land of chocolate sprinkles every day. 

Tante S left us all kinds of deliciousness to have for lunch, and also toys and crafts for the children. 

It is such a pleasure to be here in the spring. The trees are blooming out green and fresh, and the grass invites walkers with its midsummer lushness on the dikes. There is a goose family with many babies living across the water behind Oma’s house. This is going to be beautiful.

And we have snow!

What do you do when it snows in Holland? 

Same thing as in Canada; go out and play in it!

Follow that up with some hot chocolate and whipped cream. 

Then you put some Christmas music on and play games with Mama.

Calvin, Cousins, and Communication

We were happy to be able to visit with Oom Anton and Tante Simone and most of their children.

 Their youngest is the same age as KE. He looks very much like O used to, we thought. 

The language barrier wasn’t actually a barrier for the children at all. Which is kind of neat to watch. 

Oom Anton shared that my Papa’s nickname used to be Calvin, after John Calvin.  Apparently he bought his set of Calvin’s Institutes quite young, and could quote passages from memory when appropriate. He also wore a hat similar to Calvin’s. 

Fields and Soup

KA ripped this out of a grocery store flyer this week. She plans to keep it forever, I think. Because real Dutch pea soup is so delicious. Even the stuff in cans!

Kevin: “It’s amazing, that in a country with so many people in it that you have all these big fields everywhere.”

Watching the Excavations

Kevin loves to hit the road every morning right after breakfast... KE, on the other hand, could sit in this window all day, watching the digging machines and dump trucks strengthening the dike.

Look at all that mud!

Direct Dutch Lunching

We were happy to finally meet another one of my dad’s brothers this week. Oom Adri and his wife, and one of my cousins treated us to a very gezellig Dutch lunch.

I feel as if I’ve gained another aunt here; Tante Ida plans to FaceTime me when I’m back home again; which will be really nice. 

Kevin is still bemused by how direct the Dutch people are. My cousin was telling us about someone, and said, “She’s not a 10 -you know- but she is a very nice girl.” I could feel Kevin shaking with laughter on the couch next to me. I find this sort of talk to the point and easy to understand. He finds it surprisingly blunt. 

I will admit to teaching our children to talk like Maritimers, but I like this better.

OM IV

Finding the directions.

Decorating almond cookies.