Archive for July, 2008

Broke a spoke

Last night, just after Sammy went to bed, I (Amy) got a phone call from big S asking me to pick him and Hannah up from further up the road, this was the reason why:


I had noticed a spoke was missing, and like the front wheel, the back wheel was a bib wobbly… And on Sunday, when we were planning to out for a cycle, we turned back home at the end of the street because I thought it was very strange to drive… Unfortunately, I did not get round to bringing it to the bike shop yesterday (a strict deadline was to blame for that one)… and then when I asked big S whether he was sure he wanted to go biking with wee H… well, let’s say I did warn them… Luckily none of them were injured, but it did crack dramatically… And now, we’ll be without a bike until Friday, and then two proper stainless steel wheels richer and quite a few Euros poorer… Another life lesson learnt…

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A day at the beach

Yesterday, we decided to make use of the nice weather and go out to the beach. As we had never been to Harlingen Beach, off we went! It was great! Not too busy, enough sand to bury yourself in ;) and water which was not too cold to splash about in. Oh, and not to mention the goat’s cheese rolls and patatas bravas… and the nice beer… with a view… Definitely a place to go to again! We’ll probably go by train next time, as the train goes from Leeuwarden directly to Harlingen, a great way to combine what we all love: beach and trains (well, Sam loves trains… haha… we should’ve called him Thomas…).


The boys are a-diggin’


Hannah’s looking to see whether her knight in shining armour is going to come and help her with that sand castle…


…and Sam shatters her dreams…


Off to the water to dip their feet!

We have some video as well:

And while we’re at it, of Amy making a fool of herself…

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Painting nude(s)

Our children love painting, colouring and playing with dough. The strange thing is, they like to do it in the nude. And there’s a good reason for that. They turn out looking like this:

Or they use their own body as a canvas:

Oh joy…

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Back to the allotment

What a shock! A week of sun and heat and then a week with rain showers has done wonders for the allotment! When Amy went to check today, she saw that the plants had been busy! The loot: 2 normal and 3 huge courgettes (between 1.4 and 1.7 kilos!), 5 lettuces, loads of rhubarb and 1 strawberry. Yes, haha, 1!

Piccies!

At first…

And after some weeding

A lone, lonesome ripe strawberry…

The loot.

And just because we love doing this. Select a random picture from a random month and year… A blast from the past! When Hannah was around 2 we went on a day trip to Stavoren, proper Frisian weather at the sea side…

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Back home!

A day earlier than expected: we’re home! The weather was so rainy today, that we decided to pack up and go home. Back to our lovely beds, our spacious rooms and an allotment which probably needs some attention!

We had a lovely two weeks, spent loads of time together and went to some cool places! A few more pictures now of what we’ve been doing!

A few pictures of the house and the park:

Sam and Steve in front of the playground

Our house

The playground. Hannah and Sam spent quite a few hours having fun here, even in the rain! Don’t ask what Sam looked like ;)

Petting zoo and play farm Strubbert:

Slagharen!
Steve and Hannah in the train. No loopings, but fast and scary anyway!

Sam loved Dumbo, the higher the better!

Three drivers, nobody with a licence… Uh….

Hannah and the dragon

Steve turns 37!!!!

And a last trip to Deventer, on the horse tram! Thanks all those lovely people in Markelo for a lovely holiday!

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Holiday post 3

Today we went to see Amy’s cousin Simone, her husband Gerrit and their wee boy Jente Teye. After a cup of coffee, cake, and more cake ;) , we drove to the Holterberg, where we had great fun on an adventure walk in the forest. The pictures speak for themselves!

Yesterday, we visited Deventer. There was a big festival in town, and combined with the normal Saturday market and an antiques fair, it was pretty busy. What wow, what a beautiful city! We will probably go again later in the week, and then take some pictures as well! Haha…

Tomorrow it’s off to Ponypark Slagharen, the day Hannah has been dreaming of the entire year…





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Holiday post 2

We had a great few days, so time for another update! Luckily, today the weather is a bit more bearable: Yesterday we were hitting the thirties. Pfff, and with no wind that is HOT!
Tuesday, we visited a cheese farm. It differed from a normal farm, because they make their own cheese, yoghurt and other milk products. Hannah and Amy went on the cheese tour, while Steve and Samuel enjoyed the sun and played outside and harassed the chickens and rabbits ;)


The vat filled with 650 liters of milk, which they were turning into cheese today.

Cheese with and without herbs.

And a BIG cheese (grin, say cheeeese)!

Yesterday, Amy, Hannah and Samuel went to see Ellen and Kim, a mother a little girl who she met on the Internet (the Potty group). With the hot temperatures, they enjoyed a lovely morning sitting with their feet in the baby pool, chatting away, while the kids were either playing in and around the pool or beat each other’s heads in. Sigh… Kids will be kids… Friends one minute, big enemies the next. Of course, no pictures… In the meantime Steve had a walk around Markelo and then rented a bike. After a hot and sweaty ride (the area is a lot more hilly when you’re on the bike compared to in the car) he went back to the house and enjoyed the peace and quiet until we turned up again!
At night, the three of us enjoyed a great lightning show, while Sammy snored the night away. Around midnight, Hannah also fell asleep on the sofa…

Today, we decided to do some shopping in Germany. Amy had found the address of a discount brand outlet, which was, well, more than disappointing. It seemed it had only been open a while, and there were only a few big brands, and the rest very German fashion (i.e. not our kind of fashion). And because we are horribly spoilt with Bataviastad (which is really is city of outlet stores), we decided to venture into town. Ochtrup turned out to be quite cute, with loads of bakeries, small stores and fountains, but why do the Germans have such a long siesta? The shops closed at half 12, not to open again until half 2 or even 3! What a life! It did mean that after our lunch, there was nothing to do anymore but walk around, and when our legs got tired, the kids had played to their hearts’ content in a cool pirate playground, we drove back home via Enschede and Haaksbergen. The area is lovely here!





And on the way home:

Tomorrow, we’re off to a huge petting zoo/playground, so watch this space!

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