| Update Page #8 |
Monday April 1st My Parents 39th Wedding Anniversary Monday morning we walked through "The Dom" It's a beautiful old cathedral that was started in 1248 and took over 600 years to build. It's two 515 feet tall spires were the tallest structures in the world when it was completed. There does not seem to be one inch of the outside that does not have some form of intricate carving or artwork on it. The most famous thing about the Dom is that it is home to the shrine of the gifts of the Magi. ( For those of you who didn't pay attention in Sunday school, the Magi were also known as the three wise men or three kings who traveled to Bethlehem to bring gifts of Gold, Frankensence, and Myrrh to the Baby Jesus.) The ark containing these relics was moved to it's current home in the Dom in Koln in the 13th century. We got to see it as well as many other treasures of the churches past. That night we drove to Amsterdam and got Doug's parents settled in to their hotel. Doug had to work on Tuesday so we left his parents and headed back to Julianadorp. Tuesday April 2nd Today was a day for us to catch up on sleep, laundry, and homework. The kids finished early so we were able to go over to the pool for a couple of hours. Wednesday April 3rd Today the kids got to spend the afternoon with their Belgian Babysitter Virginie. (Her Father is in the Belgian Navy and doing an exchange program with the Dutch Navy). Two of the other wives of guys who are doing the same course as Doug (Orit and Josette), and I were invited back to see the guys perform in the trainer and after we all went to lunch at their Officer's Club. It was interesting and the food was good but I think my favorite part was being with only grown ups! It's so nice to eat with someone and not have to cut their food for them, and get to eat off of breakable china! Thursday April 4th The kids and I took another trip to the grocery store. They are slowly but surely working their way through all the Dutch snack/junk food in every aisle! We walked there and every time you step outside it smells like a flower shop. There are fields of daffodils, hyacinth and tulips EVERYWHERE! Friday April 5th This morning the kids did some more school work and then we met my friend Josette and her children and spent the afternoon at the pool. Jostette's husband Eric is Doug's Dutch classmate. Doug and Eric joined us at the pool after work. Katie and Matthew had been going down the big waterslide for a couple of days, but today was the first time for Emma. She went down the slide with Doug and when she came out at the bottom she was screaming "More! More!". Daniel saw Emma come down the slide and he wanted to do it but he was afraid of the stairs you had to climb to get to the top. Doug carried him to the top and by the time he came down he was a confirmed waterslider. In fact he told Doug that the next time he would go by himself. Saturday April 6th This morning we drove down to Alkmaar and walked through the outdoor market. You can buy everything there from down comforters to fresh eel! After we finished shopping we drove down past Haarlem to see the royal tulip (cont...) |
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