Springtime in Holland

Here are some photos of the nice warm weather we had for a week.....then it went away.  We played as much as we could and even wore shorts.  Now we are back to low temps, jackets, scarves, and umbrellas.

These photos are from downtown Breda on Queen's Day.  It was the celebration for the crowing of the new Dutch King.  It was very eventful in the city and very orange everywhere.  It was neat seeing how festive everyone gets.  People were dressed in orange wearing lots of orange accessories.  Most people (without young kids) went and spent the day in the squares, drinking, and watching the event on large screens.

Playing with the umbrella, meant for shade.

Unhappy that Mom is helping him hold the umbrella up.  Right before this photo, he was smiling and super cute.  Went for the camera and it all went wrong.  I still love the photo though!

Did I post this already?

We love getting to dress up in dresses!  We are so fortunate to be doing clothes swaps with a good friend.  She gets all of Archie's old clothes for her boy and we get clothes for Sylvie.  She has given us some adorable dresses.

Doing puzzles together at the table.

New game taking all the cushions off the couch and jumping!

Brushing teeth

Let's take a photo together.....first try

Second try

.......fifteenth try, and the last one.  What a lovely photo of the two together.  They couldn't try harder to look away from one another.

Archie's art project from daycare.  He "made" me mother's day flowers.

And I tried one more time to get a photo of them together.  Fail.  This was the best one.

Keukenhof Gardens - Tulips and more

We did a visit to the Keukenhof Gardens to see the tulip and flower gardens.  Driving in their were fields of flowers blooming.  It reminded me of the flower fields north of Seattle in Skagit Valley.  

The weather was pleasant that day and we enjoyed several hours walking through the emaculate gardens.  There were so many types of tulips that we saw that I never new even existed.  

We couldn't help the photo op of putting Sylvie in the wooden shoe.  It was the perfect size for her to sit in.  She thought it was fun and there were several tourists enjoying seeing her in it too.

Neena and Jay-Boo Visit and we go to Paris!

We have been lucky enough to have Campbell's parents visit us from New Zealand.  They were here for three weeks before leaving us to tour Italy.  They will be back for another two weeks before jetting off to Scotland.  Then we will have them one more time before they head home.  They are "Nana" and "JimBob" but Archie's version comes out as "Neena" and "Jay-Boo".  We like his versions and hope he sticks with them a little while.  It is super cute.  He asks where they are everyday since they have been gone.  We say they are one a plane and will be back.  

At the petting farm watching the kids in their wooden shoes.  They weren't their real shoes.  It is just something fun the kids can do while at the farm.

Playing with the tractor.  Pushing the tractor, then pushing Archie in the tractor.  It went on for 30 minutes.  

While they were here, Campbell and I took our first trip away from the kids to visit Paris.  I had never been and it was wonderful.  Everything lived up to its reputation.  The food was beautiful and yummy, the sites were amazing, the cafe culture was busy on the warm sunny streets, the shopping was the best in the world, and it was romantic.  So happy we were able to enjoy it with out strollers, naps, diapers, tantrums, early bedtimes, etc.  The song, "I love Paris in the Springtime" describes the feeling well.

The pedestrian bridge where couples in love put locks on it with their names and dates.  Very fun and sweet.

Notre Dam Cathedral

Old Church with modern stained glass by a famous artist.  Very different and beautiful.  It was a little chapel near where we were staying.

Of course, we had crepes!  They were SO good.

Nice sunny day at the Eiffel Tower.  We had lunch in the park overlooking the tower.  It was a gorgeous day.

Local market in the street.  This was the butcher selling lovely meats.  The cheese was next to him.  

This is an old palace that holds the French Parliament now.  It has the most amazing public gardens that seemed to be full of French people rather than tourists.  There was tennis, tai chi, biking, running, pony rides, toy boat racing, sun bathers, readers, and us.  It was really lovely and so relaxed.

The yummy bakery near our hotel.  The French know how to do pasteries.  SO beautiful and SO good.  I gained 3 pounds in 2.5 days.

We stayed in the St. Germain Des Pres neighborhood (near the Latin Quarter).  It was so scenic and stereotypical French looking.  We walked everywhere and it was so easy and close to.  I think our favorite part was the Museum D'Orsay.  It is an old train station converted to a museum.  There is a little bit of every great master's work.  We spent a morning there and then went out walking.  We didn't have time to spend much in museums, so we spent our time there.  It was the #1 thing to do on Trip Advisor and they were right.

See you again Paris!