Amsterdam day 229: Spring is on its way!

Saturday we needed to take Jac to the English-speaking ward building. It is 45 minutes away from us, but she has connected with the kids there and is liking church again. The seminary group was on it's way to Antwerp for a seminary conference. 

Kelly and I decided the whole family should go and, since the sun was shining, we should spend the day exploring the area. 

After dropping her off we grabbed some groceries for a picnic and headed out to a park/lake/recreation area. We always pass it on the way home from the English-speaking ward and were curious. It was a cute little walking area next to a lake. It was like being in PTC again, only larger and COLDER. The kids loved talking to every single dog that walked past. They found oyster (they say) shells in the lake and Cameron even found an Ancient Egyptian good luck charm. It was AMAZING. Our picnic ended and we headed on, in search of more. 

We drove through a cute little town and passed a lady riding a bike with a dog in the front basket and another in the back basket. That was pretty cool, but the best part was that she was also leading a horse along by the reigns. We all got 100 points for seeing that. (There is an ongoing debate as to whether the dog in back was actually a cat. We may never know)

In the Netherlands, when the sun is out so are the people. It was only 48 degrees as the high on Saturday, but EVERYONE was out soaking up the sun. They really do worship it up here. 

Continuing on our trek, we were stopped at an intersection for 10 minutes while we waited for a bike race to whiz past. (The kids are loving when we use that word) It was pretty exciting, but, poor Ryan had to pee so bad, that she only kind of got into it. 

We crossed the intersection, finally, and stopped at this little restaurant with a great playground outside of it and a cute little store with farmer's goods. They had all kinds of cheese, like pesto, truffle, pepper, cumin, Italian seasoning to name a few. There were also several types of honey and jellies. I popped in while the kids and Kelly went to play. 

THE PLAYGROUND 

The playgrounds here are awesome. They are "dangerous" by U.S. standards, but they allow for so much exploration and fun. Most are made of wood or metal and most are made to be climbed on or swung from. This slide has little climbing handholds all over it. Aaaaand it is in the littler kid's play area. The slide is also nice and steep, so you can get going pretty fast. 

 

This is the rest of the little kids's playground. Balance beams, sand scoops, spider net and a sheet of tire rubber draped over three wooden bars that moved as you walked across it. Ryan and Charlie spent a lot of time there. Ryan would jump on one section and Charlie would sit in another section waiting to be tossed into the air. It was so cute to hear his belly laugh. 

This is the ferry. This is a common feature of most playgrounds near water. The kids hop on a flat raft and pull themselves across the stream or pond. It is always a big hit.

  

                                                              Charlie wanted in on the action as well. He did so great. When he got to the other side I cheered for him and he was so happy he ran and hugged a bald guy on his side of the river. I can only assume he thought it was Kelly

Cam and Bev had a blast on the zip line. (Another common feature at parks here) They figured out that if they rode together on the zip line, they could go super fast. Bev has some astounding upper body strength. Many times, she was just hanging on with her arms. 

THE FLOWERS

After tearing the kids away from the park, we set off in search of flowers. It is still a bit early for the tulip fields, but we know the daffodils and Crocuses were up, so the hunt began. There is a very colorful drive you can take, so we looked it up and were on our way.  

It was so much fun to have the kids be on the look out. We had them searching for flower patches that were bigger than daddy. Luckily we found quite a few. 

After seeing all the flowers, the kids and I could not resist any more. We pulled over at another small little neighborhood park (those are everywhere as well) and picked a few Daffodils to bring home with us. They grow like dandelions in Utah. I wondered if the people here mow them when they mow the lawn. 

And lastly I got a cute picture of some jongens (pronounced "yohngahs" (boys)) just sittin' on some hay bales. I love farms, but farms in the Netherlands might be some of the cutest dang things ever. One day I will get a picture of my favorite cows and write ode. 

Also, If we don't start getting a few more visitors over here I might unfriend all of you. YOU ARE MISSING SO MUCH! The Netherlands is the PLACE TO BE in the spring and you have a free place to stay. COME ON!