Amsterdam...Finally!

Before I show you the fabulous city of Amsterdam, I wanted to share our fun from Friday.  I used my iPhone all day and then couldn't find my pictures in my iPhoto because I'm so tech savvy you know. Ha! Well, I found them. :)

Mom wanted to do some shopping one last time around the Grand Place.  We had a great lunch, bought more chocolate for friends and family at home, and got one last pic in the Grand Place.  Thank you Mike for the priceless picture.

After school, the kids colored Easter eggs.  The British store ran out of dye kits, so we had to use regular food coloring, and we did find white eggs.  It only cost me 10 euros for 18 eggs!  Geesh!  It worked pretty well...except most of them came out green???  Just a bit of green mixed in always took over.  Oh well.  They didn't care.

And, then Friday evening we had the pleasure of joining the Gibson family for dinner.   Mom and Mike met Ericka last spring during their visit and this time they met her husband and three beautiful girls.  It was a terrific evening, and I'm so glad we had the chance to be together.

Ericka's youngest is just a sweetheart, and she is really good at taking self portraits on the iPhone.  Here are a couple. :)

Pretty good, huh! :)

She calls me Miss Wenny, gives me big hugs, and melts my heart every single time!

Fast forward to Easter Sunday!  What a blessing to have Mom and Mike here for such a special day.  First, we had to hunt for eggs and baskets.

She's convinced she didn't get a basket.  It took her a while to find it.  Like the Easter bunny is going to make it easy for her.  She's 11!

Thomas finally found his!  It was behind the curtain.

And, it had exactly what he wanted!  That bunny is so good!

She finally found it....in the garage.

Her basket was loaded with 1D goodies.  Oh was she happy!!!

They clean up nicely.  All ready for church and looking so grown up.  Sure wish there was a collared shirt under that sweater.  Darn! :)

We were really excited to take Mom and Mike to our church.  It was a beautiful service.  We sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," took Communion together, and finished the service with the "Hallelujah Chorus."  It was a goose bumps kind of morning!

And, then we were off to Amsterdam!  When moving to Belgium, one of the things that helped Allison "buy in" to moving here was that she would be able to visit the Anne Frank House.  She had done a report on her in fourth grade and wanted more than anything to visit her house.  Well, last July we had plans to do just that when Tim and Cheryl were visiting, and Allison had the flu. :(  So finally, after 15 months, we were on our way to Amsterdam.

Central Station and beautiful blue skies!  But it was COLD!

There were so many photo opps!

We found the Amsterdam letters!

T for Thomas

M for Mom and Mike

D for Dad

A for Awesome kids :)

A for Allison

M for Mom

We were really excited to be staying in a REAL hotel.  We've stayed in some very interesting places in the last 15 months.

Monday morning we took a canal ride to see the city.

Someone was a little more interested in her 1D music than the commentary of the city sights.

GORGEOUS!

The hooks at the top of the buildings were used to hoist goods up to the top floor.  There is a pulley system in the attic.

The only spot in Amsterdam where you can see this many bridges in a row.

The Mayor's house

The sun was so bright I actually had some sun flare on my lens.  I'm not complaining one bit!

Next up was a tour of the Heineken Brewery.

The ultimate tourists!

Tasting barley and water....yuck!

Learning how to drink a Heineken the proper way.

Taking in the whole experience. :)

Perfecting the pour.

If anyone asks....it's GOLD not YELLOW!  Thankfully, I answered correctly!

Not so fun when you're only 11.

Making our way to the Anne Frank House.

Beautiful things to see all around the city!

Allison and I did really well throughout the tour...until we got to the diary.  It really moved me in a way I wasn't expecting.  Allison spent a lot of time looking at it and didn't say much.  She didn't have to....She was pretty emotional the rest of the day.  I can't help but think it wasn't the little things that were bothering later in the day her but the intense emotions she experienced during the tour and just wasn't sure how to express them.  Or, maybe she was just being a bratty 11 year old. ;)  

Spending some special time with Grandma.  We had a "girls only" trip to the Anne Frank house.

Our time in Amsterdam was much too short.  What a beautiful city!  I can't wait to go back this summer when Nicole, Jenny, and Farah visit! :) :)

Until next time,
Wendy