Amsterdam Day 64: Charlie and I went for a ride

Charlie and I went for a ride together in the car just to explore the city a little. He was ready to just get out of the house. And I needed some fresh air. 

We started off by driving out into the country. As we were driving down this little country road we spotted this little town across the river, Nes aan de Amstel.  The country road had little homes all along the river and it was a cute picturesque drive. The road was a one lane road but had traffic going both directions in addition to the bikers. We continued on this cute road, wandering down the river, when all of the sudden it takes off into the middle of nowhere down a dike called the Weverdijk. 

We then came up on a drawbridge to cross to the other side of the canal. I was pretty excited about this because I had no idea where the road was taking me. But it turns out the drawbridge was only for bikes, so I had to keep going. We finally found out way back to the city and back home. But it was a really cute drive and not far from our home. 

The best part of the day was when we were almost home. We saw this lady riding down the path carrying a garbage can. I had to get a pic so I pulled over to snap the shot as she rode by. I think she caught me. 

Amsterdam Day 63: Happy Birthday Charlie II

Today is the redo day and time to celebrate Charlie's birthday. After dinner, we had a birthday donut eclair cake, because they are oh so good. Charlie had two donuts. 

He opened up his three presents, because he is three years old. Somehow on my 38th birthday, that tradition did not continue. 

He opened up a several shirts. He was very excited about the two Mickey Mouse shirts. I don't think I have ever seen him trying to put a shirt on. But he wanted them both on. 

He also likes his hammer set, which he immediately tried to put a hole in the wall. And he got a little kitchen set, which he has not been able to play with since his siblings keep playing with it. 

It was a great birthday and Charlie had a wonderful time. 

Amsterdam Day 62: Happy Birthday Charlie

Happy Birthday to this adorable little 3 year old. Charlie sure is a wonderful kid that I love very much. 

He has had a fun day but we haven't been able to celebrate much with him. Mom and Dad are under the weather and the cupcakes are burnt. We will try for a do over tomorrow. 

"Come here ducky!" What he lacks in animal identification skills, he make up for in alphabet knowledge.

I found these the other day. He was copying the words in Ryan's school workbook. 

And whenever Bev and Charlie start to get on my nerves, they do something cute together. 

Amsterdam Day 61: Driving

I consider myself a good driver. I feel like I can anticipate other drivers. And we keep enough space between sidewalks and cars, that there are not a lot of other distractions on the roads. But driving in Amsterdam is not the same. It is more stressful and requires a lot more thinking. 

1) Manual Transmissions - While not a problem by themselves, when learning to drive with other new distractions, a manual transmission makes it just a little more difficult. Jaimee and I grew up and learned on a stick shift, so it's really not that big a deal. And the roads are all flat here, so there are no tricky hills where taking off is difficult. 

2) Roads are Skinny - Driving down the residential roads in Kaysville, the roads are very wide. I think you literally can turn an if cart around on those roads. Even on normal residential roads in the states, there is always plenty of room for two vehicles to pass each other while a car is parked on the side. Our road where our house is is skinny enough for one car to park and one to pass only if the parked car is all the way to the side. We have also seen two way roads with only one lane. You drive down the middle and you pull off to the side when another car comes. Granted that is more out in the country, but even in the city, there are one lane roads with bike paths on both sides. And the traffic is both ways. 

3) One Way Roads - One way roads are everywhere. I have to drive with the GPS even when I know where my destination is, because I haven't figured out which roads go the direction I want. I guess so many one way roads are good though since the roads are all skinny. 

4) Bicycles Everywhere - If there is ever a bike/car accident, it is always the cars fault. There are bike lines that boarder almost every road. Some are divided from the road, but many are a part of the road. Sometimes a biker will pass another biker by going out into the road, in front of vehicle, and almost getting hit. At roundabouts, bikers have the right of way and are not always coming from the left. When making a right turn, our always have to watch for a biker coming up along the path. And then there are those crazy families with five kids where the kids are darting around here and there and everywhere and the parents seem to have no control. 

5) Parked Cars - Because all the houses are closer together and the roads are so small, there is parallel parking everywhere. This means that you will be driving along these tiny roads an either a car will pull out from a parking spot, or a car will stop and reverse into a parking spot. This also means that I need to freshen up my parallel parking skills. I have not parked like this in quite some time. Additionally, you have to pay for parking everywhere. There is paid parking even in the residential roads by my house. We have a driveway and a garage, so it is not a problem at home. 

6) Pedestrians - With the roads so small, the sidewalks are also very close to the roads. At any point, someone can step out from in front o a car and step straight into the road. They are also everywhere, walking around like they own the place, with their five kids. Pedestrians also have the right of way. And at a crosswalk it is expected that the car will stop for the pedestrians. There are also a lot more elderly people out and about here, and when they cross the road, it takes them forever. 

7) Trams/buses/subway lines - If all that wasn't enough, there are tram lines, and buses everywhere. And then there are also subway lines that are not subways furthered out, but metro lines. It's just an extra distraction when turning left. 

But these distractions and nuisances are all worth it as long as you are going on a trip of about 20 minutes or more. Jac's and Ryan's school is about 15 minutes away by car. Jac can make it in 12 on her bike. My work is 10 minutes by car. I can do it in 5 by bike. The hardware store is 10 by car, 5 by bike. Dominoes is 7 by car, 4 by bike. And then you still have to deal with parking. But getting to church has gone from 1 hour to 16 minutes. Going to our friends house in Amsterdam has gone from 40 to 15. 

All this to say, I am very happy we have a car. But we can live with just one. 

Amsterdam Day 60: Picking up Cam and Bev at Camp

Cameron and Beverly's do a two night overnight trip every year. This year they went to a beach about 50 minutes north of our house by car. The good news is that you saw we got a car, so this trip is now doable. We thought that overnight was a little much for Cam and Bev at this point, so we took them up and brought them back each day. Basically, they spent the time on the beach, exploring, digging, hiking, and learning. Apparently, the did some fossil digs and found some good "dinosaur bones". Some of the older boys also found the remains of Hitler. 

 

Most of the drive to and from was pretty standard but there were two moments that we thought were pretty big standouts. This first is on the highway where the highway is about to go under a huge canal. And there is a huge ship that is going to be going over us at that exact same moment as we were going under. It is a strange feeling. 

The other cool moment was as we were driving in the country close to the camp. We started driving down a single lane country road with no fences separating the fields from the road. We had to look pretty far ahead to see if there were any cars coming. There were two moments where we had to find a safe place to pull over for cars to pass going the other direction. Crazy. Also, you can see in the pictures below, that there are little canals separating the areas of the field an separating the field from the road. That is the only barrier between the road and the cows. There aren't any cows close to the road this time, but the previous time there were cows right on the other side of the canal, and it felt weird that they were so close with no fence. 

Amsterdam Day 59: Car

That day has finally come that we all knew was finally going to happen. And it happened about at the time that I thought it would. We have had several hour plus trips to church on public transport or biking. We had to rent a car for a few school events. The rental car was very useful for our trip to the redhead days festival. And it sure would have helped with our trip to the windmill city. We decided to buy that car and get the pain over with. We finally decided on a Toyota Verso, which happens to seat seven as long as two of those are in the trunk. Literally, there is no storage space in the back when the two back seats are up. 

The great thing about the car is that it is not huge, as parking is much more difficult here. 

Here is our European license plate. We had a contest with the kids on who could come up with the best saying so that we could remember the license plate number. I can't remember the losing phrases, but Ryan came who with Xtra Rabbit LoVe. We couldn't come up with anything better, so there it is. Xtra Rabbit LoVe. 

Amsterdam Day 55: Doctor Who

I know that this is not going to be entertaining to most, but there is a small but animated group that will appreciate my love for this. 

I am not a long fan of Doctor Who. I probably only started watching about 2 or 3 years ago. Jannica starting watching the show and we have been fans ever since. We have excitedly been watching season 8 since it came out in Netflix a few months ago. I had to quickly finish watching season 8 a week ago so that I would be ready for season 9 to start. And while there is a certain satisfaction to being able to bing watch a show on Netflix, there is an enjoyment and anticipation watching a show live. 

For Jannica and me, that first exciting moment watching Doctor Who in real time live became a reality. And we are better people for it (not really, but I am excited). From the moment that it started on the BBC, we were enthralled. The Magician's Assistance was a good start to the new season. 

I guess though that there are two possible downsides to this. 

1) I might have to watch Downton Abbey

2) I am now missing out on all the shows live in the States that I used to love

Amsterdam day whatever Kelly says it is: Another family fun day

The sun was shining this morning! After sleeping in and watching Disney Channel for several hours I figured I should take the kids out and make the most of it.
We took a nice short bike ride over to this cute little farm/city park/nature area. It is called Elsenhove
The kids had a blast and we're very happy it was so close.
It is a large green space that may have once been a bigger farm. There are a bunch of walking and biking trails. There is an orchard and a cute little farm with an awesome playground.
The kids got to wander around in the fields with the animals.

Charlie kept saying "The boats! I love boats!" He refused to be corrected.

This boy was in heaven. 

His favorites are the little baby goats.

Apparently we are reenacting 

" The Men who Stared at Goats." 

Unfortunately, the command to

 "LOOK  AT ME!" 

was just not effective. 

Didn't work for Charlie Boy either.

 The boat DID, however, take a step in his direction.

 At that point Charlie jumped up and ran away crying 

"OH, NO! THE BOAT! THE BOAT GET ME!" 

It was ok. I saved him.

Do you see that beauty in the orange shirt? 

Also, this baby boat was our favorite.

This was a cool tunnel system made of bamboo or something like it. We spent a good 30 minutes just running through and playing in the tunnels.

Please note the cool kid, looking so grown up with his hands in his pockets.

And this little lady always ready to ham it up for the camera.

This boy loves to mimic, especially big brother. I love the bond those two have. There is something awesome about brothers. 

We waited out a little rain shower before riding home. It was lunchtime, so we had popsicles. 

You are going to have to zoom in on this picture. I let all the kids ride bikes through the park on the way home. I waited at the top of the hill and Bev went down first. The little speck of pink on the left hand side of the picture is Bev. Charlie is the green little speck in the middle on the bottom. That kid zoomed right down, no hesitation. He was followed by Ryan and Cam and eventually me. 

The kids got ahead of Charlie and I. 

Because of this. ( I am laughing because I was watching him in my phone)

And this. These pictures are about 10 seconds apart. He is just nuts on that bike. And he crashes on purpose. Or he gets distracted and ends up in the field. 

Today's visit gets me excited for the farm I will one day have. The goats and chickens and bunnies. A cool garden with bamboo tunnels and honey bees. But for now we will just visit often and let others do the work. 

Amsterdam Day 53: Senegal Day 2: Dakar City and Goree Island

We started the day off with meetings that took most of the day with the local sales team in the hotel where we were staying. 

Here is the view outside my hotel room complete with the infinity pool and the beach in the distance. We then left on our journey to Goree island with the highlight being the somber museum and memorial The House of Slaves. It memorializes the final exit point of slaves from Africa. Slaves were kept here in great numbers before their trip to the Americas. More than a million slaves were transported from here and dignitaries from all over the world have visited including Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, and the Pope John Paul II. There is a door at the back of the building called The Door of No Return through which millions of African slaves left the continent. 

It is a truly moving monument and a reminder of the autracities in our human past. There is a sacred feel to the house and the dungeons where the slaves were kept. 

As it turns out, the monument and House of Slaves actually had little historical value. People argue about its importance but very few slaves actually left from the island. It is more likely that there was a slave owner that owned the house and the fiction of the island as a exit point from Africa is largely a myth. It does not take away from the somber feelings and the fact that the stories of slaves leaving Africa is true, just not many here. 

We did walk up to the top of the island where these huge cannons were built by the French to protect the French colonies in the area. 

Another interesting monument in Dakar is the African Renaissance statute. It is a huge statue, much larger than the Statue of Liberty. If you look very closely you can see little people climbing the statue. This also has its fair share of controversy. 1) It cost a lot of money that Senegal does not really have to spend. It is cool, but very costly. 2) The woman is showing a lot of leg and a lot of cleavage. In a country that is 90% Muslim, this is controversial to many. 

When I thought about Senegal being a mostly Muslim country, I envisioned a conservative country by modesty standards, along the line of what I have seen in Istanbul or Dubai. I was surprised to see a variety of dress as seen by these two ladies walking by each other. 

Since Eid Tabaski is coming up next week, and it is tradition to have sheep for the celebration, there are sheep stalls set up all around the city, almost like Christmas Tree stands or fireworks stands in the States. Not only are there sheep everywhere for sale, there are grills also everywhere to cook up the sheep. It is tradition that everything should be new for Tabaski. A new grill and new clothes are a must and for those that can afford it, new everything else, including couches, tables, shoes, and the kitchen. 

Amsterdam Day 52: Senegal Day 1: Operation Tabaski

We left the hotel at about 8am to start the day. We arrived at the Delta office and this is what we saw. 

The truck with the sheep was already at the office and they were ready to unload the sheep into the Delta truck. 

The guys took the 12 sheep and loaded them up into the truck. They then added the Delta banners around the truck. We then loaded up into the three vehicles, including the sheep truck, and headed to the first travel agency. 

As we arrived, the drummer and rapper started their music announcing our arrival to the travel agency. Everyone in the agency was very excited to see us coming with their sheep. We awarded the agency with their certificate and gave them their sheep. We shook hands, introduced ourselves, and took a lot of pictures. As you can see, we are inside the travel agency with the sheep. And the sheep had to leave its little gift also. 

Here is a little video showing you a little how the experience went. This was the third agency that we visited. 

http://youtu.be/_4r-ZpRQ_JQ

We then loaded up in the truck to deliver more sheep

As we were riding through the city, the music group was singing and playing loudly about why we there and what we were doing. Everybody was looking our way as I'm sure that this was not a regular sight in Senegal. 

We continued throughout the day visiting agency after agency repeating the show until we had visited 10 of the best travel agencies in Dakar. 

One of our final visits of the day was to an orphanage. This wasn't just a normal orphanage though. This was an orphanage for children that have been rescued from human trafficking. This was the most rewarding and humbling part of Operation Tabaski. The kids all came out to dance and sing along with our musicians. 

The director of the orphanage came out to accept the two sheep that we presented. She was such a humble warm woman that it touched my heart that she would sacrifice so much for these children. She kept saying merci, merci for the sheep and our support, but all I wanted to do was thank her for the real important impact that she was making in life's of these kids. Sure, we were providing the Thanksgiving Turkey as it were, but she is providing so much more. It was very touching. 

I snuck a picture of the children's bedroom as we were on our way out. I wanted to have a picture to be able to show my children how these children lived. 

And this was the end of Operation Tabaski. The sheep were delivered to the travel agencies, and preparations were beginning for the holiday next week. As promised, it was quite a show, and very, very “Local”. We rode with sheep in a big open truck that we branded Delta, with local talking drum players announcing our arrival at each agency.  It was hot, dirty, smelly, and wonderful!!  The agents and community really responded to it.