The first camping trip of the year…

We went on a short camping trip this week, hoping that in the meantime we would also be able to celebrate the arrival of our wee nephew… but alas, the camping trip came and went, and we are now home and Amy’s sister is still eagerly awaiting the birth… As she was feeling very tired and poorly, we didn’t get to see her, but hopefully, soon, the baby will arrive and we will be able to go see him!
But, in the meantime, we had a great trip! The weather was great, a bit chilly at times, especially at night, but dry (apart from the last day) – and that’s the most important!
We planned ahead a bit, and decided on a campsite both close to Amy’s sister and close to a few attractions we could go to, using our museum cards and 50% vouchers. It worked out great, and we saved enough money to pay for the campsite and all the fuel (plus lunches and other treats). It was great fun to be out and about again!
We left on Wednesday, with glorious weather welcoming us in Zeewolde, where we put up our tent…
The tent went up without much bother (we’re getting quite good at this and the kids were exploring the playground), and we had enough time to enjoy the sunset and a cool beer…
After a chilly night, we set off to the Dolfinarium, in Harderwijk. First, the walrus show!
The four hefty contestants… They could roll over, do sit-ups and push-ups and whistle Fun creatures!
The dolphin pool is accessible from below, where you can watch them cavorting around from behind the glass. There were a few babies as well, but we were kept away from them, so no pictures…

Kiss Flipper!
The North Sea pool was great fun. There were lots of rays and mini ‘sharks’ in this pool, which you could stroke and touch if you tried hard. Sam tried REALLY HARD! I bet he would have jumped in if he had been given half a chance!
Then it was off to the big show, ‘Droomvlucht’. With 5 dolphins and lots of jumping about. Fun, but the story didn’t really add anything for us…
And with our cameras, it was almost impossible to get good pictures… Shame!


In between the shows, there was lots of playing about. There were some more pools to go see seals and other sea animals, but we were finished quite quickly at the Dolfinarium…
After some shopping in Harderwijk it was off to the campsite again for dinner.
The next morning…
Off to the Aviodrome, the aeronautical museum in Lelystad, just around the corner from where we were camping. What a great place! It had closed down a few months ago, due to lack of funding, but was reopened by a few enthusiastic fund raisers, and what a great thing! This was the second or third week after the reopening, and the place was positively buzzing. Inside, amazing planes from days past and present…
You could go inside many of the aircraft, such as this Sikorsky chopper, Salomé. The big Boeing was also great! We’d obviously been inside a similar one on our trip to Thailand, but going upstairs into business class and looking inside the cockpit was really cool.
After a warming roll, we continued the tour outside, past more planes, the old Amsterdam Airport terminal (beautifully restored here) and the simulator, which gave Amy and Hannah buzzy tummies The boys went to the playground instead. We were planning to see Amy’s sister, but she was having a much-deserved nap… So we played about at the campsite and then went for a late-night drive around the area. The kids loved it! Especially the late-night visit to the McD in Huis ter Heide for an ice cream…
On our last day, we enjoyed a lazy breakfast at the McD (sorry, yes, again) and then packed up the tent, before heading off to Dierenpark Amersfoort. We were flabbergasted, what an amazing park!
The Japanese garden was so beautiful, with masses of Koi in the pond.
While we were enjoying a coffee under the umbrella – it had started to rain – the kids got soaked in the playground. But as they were still smiling, we carried on.
The Dino Trail was amazing! Life-size dinosaurs scattered around the forest, with sound effects and some of them even moved. Sam and Hannah loved it!

And now we’re back home, enjoying our creature comforts again… awaiting a baby…

Fun in April

Sam in his new judo outfit.
A day out with Hannah’s class. First a walk around the city and then a tour of the Historical Centre.
Amy sniffing tobacco in the Museum in Joure.
Pulling strange faces at the printing press.
What will the headlines be saying tomorrow?
Can we have one of these in the garden? Please???
A boy after his grandad…
Getting ready for Queen’s Day.
With painted faces.
Cycling home with bags full of goodies from the free market…

The end of the year and more such parties…

And before you know it, the first day of February is looming! Time for an update about the Mosses!

We enjoyed a very relaxed Xmas. The kids and Steve weren’t feeling too brilliant, and because the tummy bugs made partying a real no-no, we just stayed at home for Xmas Day at home, and only the girls went out to Amy’s mom’s house for Boxing Day dinner…

Chilling

Just before the tummy bug struck...

...And after

Sorry for the graphic photos… Just be happy we’re not posting the ‘during’ picture…

As has become family tradition, we spend New Year’s Eve outside Leeuwarden. This year, we decided on Cologne. The hotel and train were quickly booked and on the Friday, we left a drizzly Leeuwarden for wintry Cologne…

On the train, we loved the International Train!

Unfortunately, the weather was no better in Cologne, but the trip was a great adventure (despite the first conductor not showing up, resulting in quite a close shave when we had to change trains in Zwolle…). After installing ourselves in our hotel room, and just when Amy had stepped into the shower, Mister Batman decided to crack open his head on the door… And within 5 hours of arriving in Cologne, we were sitting in A&E of a small hospital in the big city.

In the hospital...

Luckily, no brain cells were hurt during the antics in the room, but the cut was just slightly too deep to leave it like that. After a drop of glue was inserted, Mister Batman’s head was as good as new…

Some glue and we're done

The next day, we went exploring. Unfortunately, all the museums had closed for the holidays, so we did lots of walking.

The Roman-Germanic Museum, which was closed...

Cologne Cathedral in the fog

Antics on the Dom Square

And guess what, we found a Lego store. Lots of Lego was bought, of course!

Posing with Woody in the Lego Store

After all that walking, we deserved a Gluhwein… (Hot Chocolate for the kids)

To your health!

The kids treated us to a great show on New Year’s Eve…

Show time!

And just before Midnight, we went off to the river to enjoy the fireworks. It was great! The fun thing was that the train just kept going, crossing the bridge, where loads of people were setting off fireworks, as if nothing was happening. That’s German punctuality for you…

Next day, we went out exploring again, but this time on the tram. Our legs were quite sore from the day before, so it was great fun to see the city above and below ground this way. We even saw some fare dodgers being busted by the tram conductors. Batman was very impressed…

Waiting for the tram...

The 4711 house with glockenspiel

Snow White and the seven dwarfs

An impressive display at the baker's

So we just had to order cakes in a traditional kaffeehaus

Yummy!

And before we knew it, it was Monday, and we were at the station again…

Bye bye Cologne! It was lovely!

Sinterklaas weekend

Yeah! Party time!!! For weeks, the anticipation was enough to cause sleepless nights, but finally, Saturday, the kids were finally rewarded for singing their hearts out and being good (ahum…). But here’s some piccies of what happened before we got our Sinterklaas party going…
We started with the traditional ‘Intocht’, the arrival of Sinterklaas, which is broadcast live on telly. As we had swimming lessons, we taped it and watched it when we got home, drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies…
Then it was time to put out the shoes, hoping that the Zwarte Pieten were going to put some sweets and presents in. Which they did of course… But to get something, the kids have to make an effort. Colouring in a nice picture, for example…
There was poem writing and fake present making on mommy’s side…
Even Mermaid’s scrap partner didn’t escape the Sinterklaas season…
There was lots of gift buying and wrapping…
And Batman dressed up as Zwarte Piet to go to school…
And even to the pool.
Look, Zwarte Piet riding his horse, trying to catch (very wet) pepernoten!
Then it was Saturday…
We enjoyed the Sinterklaas sweets and treats…
And uwrapped all the presents again…
Playtime!!! The kids loved having their cousin Famke there for the celebrations.
On Sunday, we even got the chance to thank Sinterklaas in person…
And Mermaid was even allowed to sit in his regal chair.
While Batman did his best to beat the ‘How many kruidnoten can I stick into my pockets/mouth’ record…
A great weekend! Topped off today with the arrival of Sinterklaas at school, and more presents. We enjoyed it this year and are looking forward to next year. Byebye!!!

Remember the Summer?

While the mist is all around us, we can barely see to the end of the street, we realized that the pictures of the second half of our Summer holiday were never put on the blog. Shame on us! But it’s easily fixed, and it reminds us of a nice, although not that warm, Summer. After our week in IJmuiden, we went home for a week, and then packed up again for a week in Voorst. The complete other side of the country from the first holiday.
We pitched our tent at Natuurkampeerterrein de Haverkamp, where we saw lots of these sheep… Beside sheep, there were also cool cows, lots of frogs, a donkey (somewhere in the area), and lots of farmers.
Look at our spot! Now, that’s called luxury. We were even allowed to use one of the picknick sets dotted around the site, which meant we could use our other tables for cooking and the coffee machine. The rest of the campsite was very luxurious as well, with great laundry and washing facilities, free hot showers and a washing machine. You could even cook inside the building if necessary! And there was a reading room with electricity and free Internet. We loved our farm camping!
There was fun and actics on the volleyball field.
In the sandpit
At Bussloo beach
Under the trees at Bussloo
In the hayloft
And while the kids were away…
We also went on a few great day trips:
We rented bikes at the campsite and cycled to Deventer.
Our friends followed it all on Twitter…
Last time we were here, we went for a ride on the horse tram. This time we just kissed the horses and wished them well.
And on the way back we enjoyed an ice-cream in Twello.
We also had a surprise in store for the kids: a visit to the Lego Experience in Germany. It wasn’t as big as Legoland, as it was all contained into one building, but it was great fun and the area itself was also cool. And of course we got lost on our drive through the town of Dusseldorf (skip the town-bit, it’s a country!)
After looking at some great Lego displays and watching a fun 4D movie (with snow, water and wind), we got to meet our heroes…
Both great and small!
And after a ride on a (not that exciting) dragon train, there was time to play.
Hannah obviously went for the girly Lego…
Before exiting throught the gift shop. Of course we bought Lego!
Sam and his mate Pelle had a great time putting this little box of knights and horses together. The log cabin we kept in the box. That was for when we got home!
We also had a great day out at the Zoo in Epe.
Because we are Aquazoo members, we got free entrance here. A great bargain!
There was a silly-face competition between Sam and some meerkats.
And the otters really stole the show!
Add to all this trips to Apeldoorn to go shopping, a visit to Het Loo where we were totally drenched because the weather was so bad, but the cakes were royal, pancakes, merrygorounds, walks through the countryside and lots of relaxing while the kids were catching toads… We loved it! We will be going back there again and hope that we’ll get a bit more sunshine then…

Happy Birthday!

It’s that time of year again! October is birthday month in the Moss house! We started all the fun and celebrations early this year, as Sam’s birthday was on a Saturday. He got to throw a birthday party on the Friday before and invited some of his best friends from his class.
This meant, for us the preparations started on the Thursday. With lots of mixing…

Cake plastering…

Making blue chocolates and deciding NOT to use these for the party…

Making healthy snack treats for the kids in Sams class…

And less healthy ones (with white chocolate lego bricks, haha) for the teachers…

Cutting out a Lego man and corresponding Lego heads for a fun game at the party…

Then, after a short night, it was party day! San almost jumped out of bed into his clothes and was ready to go to school half an hour earlier than normal. He skipped all the way to school, me and Hannah having to carry the class and teachers’ treats.

Oh, it was dress-up day too Honestly, he didn’t stop smiling the entire day!

After class, he had to wait for two looooong hours until his friends arrived. But then the party got started! With cake…

Of course, there were a few gifts to unwrap…

and the smallest gift, two Batman wings from America, probably got the biggest ‘Cooooooooooooooooooooool!’ from big Sam 5.

There was crafting…

With really cool results!

And there was Lego building…

Even the mommy joined in (who is probably the biggest Lego nut in the house…)

When the party was over, the kids all got their Lego Diplomas…

And then, on Saturday, we got to do it all over again, because this little girl also turned two!

The crazy birthday boy with his daddy!

More prezzies…


And Amy’s sister had another surprise in store… This little girl will become a big sister next year!!! Hooray!

The first half of the Summer holiday

And before we knew it, we were halfway… While half of the country has to go back to school tomorrow, we still have 3 weeks to go. Bliss! An impression of what we’ve been up to these last few weeks…

Robot Man

On the hottest day this Summer, Steve had to go into hospital to get electroded up for a 24H breathing/sleeping/snoring test. The poor bloke. He was still smiling here… Hopefully, it will give some concrete results and solutions!

Antics in the pool

Hannah had a friend stay over for a night, and they enjoyed the sun by splashing into the pool from the swings.

Baking bread at the Kruidhof

A very nice outing was our trip to the Kruidhof, not far from home. They had a special historic day, which meant we could bake stick bread on an open fire…

Cave people

A couple showed how the old cave people made flint and weaved baskets and bags…

Drilling like a cave man

Steve tried his hand at drilling cave-man style…

From dry

And Sam went from high and dry…

to soaking wet

… to absolutely soaking wet. Only his right shoulder was still dry! So much fun!

The fairy queen

Hannah loves face painting!!!

Setting up the tent

Our first week of camping was at IJmuiden, on the Dutch west coast. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t brilliant, but it was nice to get away for a week, enjoy the sounds of the forest…

Our view

We were positioned straight across from the reception. Behind it was the toilet/shower building.

Starting off the holidays with a Chinese dinner

After we set up the tent, we drove out to IJmuiden beach, where we were totally sandblasted (high winds all week)! We decided to have a nice dinner to celebrate the start of the holidays, and Hannah and Sam had great fun trying out the chopsticks.

The ferry to Engerland

Most people know IJmuiden as the place where the ferry to Newcastle leaves from. Next time! Look at that sky!

Locks and factories

IJmuiden is also an industrial harbour, and we had a great drive around and over the intricate system of locks and factories.

Play tree at the campsite

There was a small playground at the campsite, with this play tree. Sam loved it and could climb up (and down) it like a small monkey.

A walk in the forest

The bigger the stick, the better, in Sam’s opinion.

Holland's Next Top Model

Posing for a few pictures in the forest…

Playing card games in the tent

There was plenty of in-house entertainment too…

Birds liked our breakfast too

And outdoor entertainment. The little finches were never far away to pick at what we left after breakfast/lunch/dinner…

Canal boat in Amsterdam

A day out in Amsterdam, enjoying the canal trips.

Smile!

Smile!

Cruise ship 'Maasdam'

This massive cruise ship was in town today, and we passed it again on its way to the North Sea, when we were on the Fast Flying Ferry back to IJmuiden…

Getting bored

After a while, even this gets boring…

Messing about

More messing about before the tears started (yes, there were plenty, haha)

Tropenmuseum Junior

Making umbrella’s in the Chinese exhibition at the Tropenmuseum Junior.

Nemo

Shadow games in the Nemo science museum.

Lady Wawaaa

More posing…

De Veilige Haven

A cracking playground just around the corner, where the kids played until the heavens opened (again)…

3DDDD

More in-house entertainment, watching a Hannah Montana concert in 3D.

Off to the baker's

One nice thing about holidays is walking to the baker’s in the morning to get warm buns…

Reward!

… and of course getting a cookie while you’re there

Brederode Castle

Another local attraction, the ruins of Castle Brederode. There was an exhibition of amazing brass statues as well, definitely worth the visit!

Going up the tower

And plenty of towers to run up and down to…

And chimneys

Not to mention the fireplaces and chimneys… No wonder they could fit a child up there to clean them in the old days…

Haarlem

Visiting Haarlem on our last day…

Coffee at Grand Cafe Brinkmann

And having a nice coffee before packing up again…

More pictures as and when it happens!!!

Our first proper camping trip

Last weekend we had an extra bank holiday, so we decided to go camping. The weather looked quite nice too, which was a bonus, of course! We had put everything in the car on the Saturday morning, took Sam to his swimming lessons, had a quick lunch and then set off to one of the most idyllic camp sites in Fryslan, Camping de Buitenplaats in Langedijke. It was less than an hour’s drive, which was perfect for us. Just after the kids started to moan about the trip being very long, we were there!
While they ran around the camp site, scaring the sheep and looking for children to play with, we put up the tent. And voila:

Look! A tent!

The location was lovely, there were around 10 other campers (well, yes, campers and caravans, mostly, just one other tent) and we were right at the edge of the site, looking out onto the sheep pen and the potato fields…

The view from our tent

And look at our tent! Honestly, go to France and try and find a nicer place to hammer your herrings into the ground…

Our site

The wash and toilet house:

Toilets and showers

The al fresco cooking took some getting used to. We only had one small table with us, and one burner, so it was pasta and bean casseroles this weekend… But fun nonetheless (even though we had two frantic trips to the shop to buy matches, which we actually didn’t need in the end, women…).

Cooking al fresco

On the Sunday, after a verrrrry cold night (note to self, bring blankets), we woke up to glorious sunshine. After emptying the coffee pot, we set of to Doldersum, where there was an Open Day of the sheep farm, which sheering and all manner of fun activities.

This is 'our' sheep

A big heep of fleece

The fleece that came off this sheep is now in our house. Amy is planning on spinning some nice yarn out of it to turn it into a long cardigan.
There was a snazzy lady spinning yarn. Hannah also had a go, and said she wanted to try it again at home (note to self, set up the spinning wheel for the little lady…)

Spinning 'raw' fleece

And there was a very cool dog, who ran around the sheep herding them to various places on the field.

Black bolt of lightning

Hannah made a nice felt bracelet, which gave us some cool ideas for our new craft store… (more later in the year)

Felting

And the final bit was a performance by Harrie Harrewar and his dog, who stole the show

The dog show

He even managed to herd some ducks!

Dingo herding the ducks

We had a bit of rain on the Monday, but it was a great day for car boot sales, and after a nice drive-around we arrived back home to a nice warm house, with a nice indoor shower and a television! (Two days without tv was just about long enough for Samuel, haha, even with the Nintendo DS )
It was a great trip, we got used to setting it up and taking it down, found out what we need to bring next time and what can stay at home. Next time we’ll venture a bit further afield!

A Tent!

We decided to go tent hunting today, as we want to start camping (again). The best place close to where we live, is De Vrijbuiter, a ginormous store where you can buy everything camping-related…

Vrijbuiter

After looking around for a while and drinking a cup of coffee, we decided on a Coleman McKenzie Cabin for 6 people, both because the 4-person tent wasn’t available and the 6 person gives an extra cabin to put our things. The tent is huge! It just about fit on our lawn.

The tent in our garden

It’s great to see the inside of a tent again, and we hope to be able to set it up in a nice place soon!

The tent from the inside

A month later…

Remember, when I said I was going to post pictures of our trip to Rotterdam over New Year’s? Right, we’re a month on and it still hasn’t happened… Busy we are… Painting, painting and painting some more… Decorating the house, making it sale-worthy… We had planned the meeting with the estate agent for tomorrow, but as she is run off her feet and we’re not quite finished, we’ve put the appointment back a week. A bit more time…
And time to do stuff like blog. So, here’s our trip to Rotterdam!

West Side....

Rotterdam is a city full of art. Everywhere you look is art. Street art mostly. We sometimes just didn’t know where to look and were just staring around us like complete tourists. The kids were not happy… Luckily, this bit of street art, right next to the Maritime Museum and the Zadkine monument, was also next to a little play ship. Which meant we had a wee ‘photo shoot’. Love my model.

The Zadkine Monument

When you see a statue in real life, it can be quite a disappointment sometimes. I had that with David, in Florence. Nothing personal against the bloke, but those HANDS!? Really… I like proportion. I don’t like artists who are too clever and overdo it with the proportions so that it looks more ‘realistic’. Real is good enough for me. Or this. A statue which just conveys emotion. Raw emotion. About a city with its heart ripped out. A city which saw so much horror and anguish that you wonder how it ever managed to pick up the threads of life. But it did.

The midget

And this little big man has many names… Going by the official name of Santa Clause (by McCarthy) it was quickly nicknamed ‘Kabouter Buttplug’. I guess you can see why… The kids loved it though, and we just had to get a picture of them with the big Santa…

Heroes on the pavement

There is also a real walk of fame, which heroes for parents…

Heroes for kids

… and for the little ones…

Then there were views…

And buildings…

And a great zoo…

Tigerrrrrrs

Definitely worth another visit, ’cause we haven’t seen the half of it…