Category Archives: weekend

Family Fun / Life Abroad / weekend

A Trip to the Keukenhof

May 1, 2018

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we took a trip to the Keukenhof during a nice weekend while KC’s mom was visiting. Despite the fact that mid-April is supposed to be the optimal time for seeing the flowers, I think we would have actually had a much better show had we waited another week or two to visit.The flowers were still beautiful and we had sunny weather — so really, it was a great day.    When in doubt, feed them snacks, right? If these girls could solely eat snacks everyday their lives would be made. I mean, who needs lunch when you can just have 14 small servings of crackers, pretzels and Babybel cheese, right?Some of the varieties of tulips were just amazing. And they plant them so close together that there’s often 500 or more tulips in a 5×5 foot space. So crazy. We went into one of the greenhouses to eat lunch and learned that there were over 100,000 flowers in the greenhouse alone!  Prim has been talking about the Keukenhof since we visited a couple weeks ago, so I guess it’s safe to say that she had a good time. Most days she asks me at least once, “You remember when we went to the Keukenhof?” and I’m like, “I sure do!” Haha, it’s so funny to see all the little things and experiences that really stick with her. We attempted to get some family photos while visiting and the shots below were about as successful as we got. Getting a one year old and an almost three year old to look at the camera and not be screaming, annoyed, or turning into a limp noodle is asking a lot, so I’ll just take what I can get. I wish we could have gone back again after the fields of tulips were really in bloom, but what we were able to see was pretty spectacular. If you’re visiting Amsterdam anytime in April through mid-May, I would definitely recommend a trip (especially if you’re looking to get some quintessential Dutch tulip shots!)

Family Fun / weekend

A Sunny Weekend (Finally!)

April 30, 2018

Before we headed to Bordeaux we had the first weekend of real Spring weather here in Amsterdam. KC’s mom was here visiting and we decided to take advantage of the sun and spend some time outside. We ended up hosting a last-minute barbecue for our friends, spending time out on our back deck on a picnic blanket, and heading a little out of the city to see the tulips at the Keukenhof (post on that coming up!)First off, if you’re wondering whether I am the mom who takes infinite pleasure in putting her girls in matching dresses, um, yes, yes I am. These sweet little numbers were in their Easter baskets, which were actually just these little straw totes, since I have yet to purchase legit Easter baskets for them. We were in Stockholm on Easter, so their haul was minimal — just the totes, dresses and three very tiny chocolate eggs (of which they only ended up eating one). They were still thrilled on Easter morning, proving once again that kids really don’t need tons of things to have a nice holiday. Next year I do hope to have a little egg hunt though, as I suspect these two would have quite a good time running around looking for hidden treats. Prim is one long lean kiddo and always has been, but that belly of hers just makes me so, so happy. And my little Larky Lou seems to be turning more into a toddler every day. It’s very bittersweet for this mama heart of mine. The weather has since returned to being very rainy and in the mid-50s, so we’re sitting tight and waiting for more of the summery warm weather, whenever it decides to show itself again. Having so many months of cold weather has really made me appreciate the nice days so much more here, because honestly, the days I don’t have to turn on the heat in this big old house of ours feels like the most amazing victory.

Life Abroad / weekend

Snow Day!

February 13, 2017

It snowed over the weekend in Amsterdam! It has snowed here before, but usually the flurries don’t last long and don’t really stick for more than an hour or two, so it was exciting to have a few legit inches throughout the day that stuck around for all of Saturday and Sunday.  Prim was bundled up and spent some time out on our terrace with KC while I was inside dealing with some fun contractions (yayyy for prodromal labor. Not.)  Prim’s outfit was complete with her plastic multi-colored elastic heart bracelet. Obviously.KC built Prim a little snowman, but she was really more interested in just hanging out and eating the snow.Thanks for the awesome snowy weekend, Amsterdam! (And kudos to baby #2 for staying put during the storm since KC is stressed out enough waiting for your arrival 😉 )

Life Abroad / weekend

This Weekend Was

August 24, 2016

KC took last Friday off work and it was raining, so we decided to take Prim to Tun Fun — a sort of Chuck E. Cheese-type place set up in an old abandoned subway station. I can see it being much more fun for a kid who is a little older — one who can run and climb things, but Prim had a great time parked in the ball pit meant for the little ones. 
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She was mainly interested in throwing the balls out of the ball pit, which she was surprisingly good at. There was a solid pile of balls outside the pit by the time we headed out (sorry Tun Fun staff…) img_9632

And of course I couldn’t resist the child-in-a-cage photo op.

After Tun Fun we hopped on our bikes and rode in the rain to get some burgers for dinner. I managed to ride into one of the inlaid subway tracks in the street and almost ate it on my bike, so that was fun. Luckily Prim was on KC’s bike and not mine. Definitely not one of my better moments. (Also, the things that come out of my mouth in moments like this are so not kid-friendly.)

We also hit up this local carnival/film festival thing called Parade. It was… interesting. I thought it would be a little more kid-friendly, like carnivals in the states, but this was more geared toward adults and only had one ride (a particularly terrifying set of swings that went in a circle and had a guy who would stand and swing you around viciously as you would pass by — no thanks). img_9630 Prim had a good time wandering all around the grassy areas while we were there, at least. (Prim’s Canadian tuxedo/denim-on-denim look was my fault because I couldn’t find her other sun hat before we left the house.)

Afterward we biked to a local restaurant I had spotted the week before and got a milkshake. (Because milkshakes are my favorite thing these days.)  img_9635The rest of the weekend was spent running errands and doing other usual weekend things. Prim spent some time breaking in her new floaties and getting used to the headphones we bought her for flights. It was quite the look. img_9628 img_9627

Here’s hoping that she loves those headphones enough to sit still for at least part of the flights back to California in a couple weeks… img_9626

How was your weekend?

Life Abroad / weekend

Watch Out, World!

August 18, 2016

img_9526Serious Dutch mama comin’ through!

We got a child seat installed on my bike last week so I got to take it for a spin this weekend after a delicious Sunday brunch at Omelegg. I’m not going to lie, I was totally nervous taking Prim out on my bike. It’s not like I’m not a competent bike rider or anything, but I think taking any kid out for the first time is kind of nerve-wracking.

Luckily everything went well, and P would even pat my back whenever we would come to a stop, as though she was saying “good job, mama!” (Although it was probably more like, “Let’s get going! What’s the hold up??”)

KC and I are now all set up to ride around the city together with Prim in tow. I think it’s going to be a little while before I’m fully comfortable traversing the streets with a small child sitting behind me, but practice makes perfect! And thank goodness they have serious bike lanes here and bikers very clearly have the right of way in almost every situation, which people really respect. 

Please note that P’s helmet is soooo not Dutch — no one wears helmets here, even the kids! Girlfriend is gonna look like a tourist though because it took me 9 damn months to grow that brain. img_9525

Oh, and just ignore my amazing Sunday morning hair in those photos… Sometimes pregnancy is like, “I’m so starving I’m just going to throw on pants and who even cares because get me food and put it in my face IMMEDIATELY.” I’m basically a newborn. I have to be fed every 2-3 hours or I turn into a screaming crying mess.

That pregnancy life, it’s a glamorous one.