Last month in Breda - Part 1 London, Archie's birthday, packing the house

For our last month in Europe before heading back to Seattle, we were very busy.  For Easter we headed to London to visit our good friends Mark, Yvonne, Amber, and Rufus.  They lived in Breda with us and Amber and Archie were in school together.  The moved back to London about 8 months earlier.  We had great time spending some time with them.  We will miss 

We also spent some more good friends Pip, Marc, Alice, & Zoe.  It was our last visit and really nice that we were able to see them before leaving.  We always have a good time and the kids love being in their great big garden.  It is very easy for us to be there.  I usually go to Pip's workout sessions but missed out this weekend.  

The kids did an Easter Egg Hunt in the garden and there was a great scavenger hunt.

 As usual we spent some time at the great playgrounds.  The best was one near Reigate with a climbing castle and big slide.

Car racing down the hill

Picking Dafodils in a big patch next to the house

The kids had a great time rolling down the hill at the back of the garden.  We have some good videos of the giggling and rolling.  Great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

The month was busy and stressful for all of us.  But getting away to see our good friends really helped us.  We loved being with them and will miss them.  It was hard saying goodbye knowing that it will be a long time before we see them again.

Another great part of the month was Archie's 4th birthday.  It was one of the only weekends we were in Breda and was also right before the movers came to box up the house.  So Archie's favorite and lovely teacher Ms. Beggs (Keri) had a birthday for him in class.  They make a crown and do a special thing for the birthday boy.  He loved it and then shared cupcakes with all his friends.  

It was really sweet and made me really teary as I know we won't have a Miss Keri when we get to Seattle.  Keri has been taking care of Archie since we arrived in Breda when Archie wasn't even walking yet.  She has boys of her own and really knows how to engage and teach Archie.  Both kids LOVE her.  And we all miss her.

Getting to sit on the table with the crown he made.

Singing Happy Birthday

Doing "fireworks", 4 for how old he is

Very happy and giggly

Happy Birthday to our little big man!  We were lucky that he had his birthday with his friends before we headed back.  It made it very special.

Dutch Pancake breakfast.  Our new tradition for birthday breakfasts

Out for a play at a local play center.  The kids loved this place.

One last coffee at our favorite local pub/cafe Moeke in the Ginneken Markt.  Our favorite place to go and only a 2 minute walk.

I was the class parent for Archie and Sylvie's class.  The other class Mums made a going away basket for me.  It was super sweet and so nice to say goodbye to them.  I met some amazing expat and dutch ladies at the ISB.  I made some great friends and miss them.  

And then the movers came and boxed up everything in the house.  Within a day and a half everything changed for the kids.  It was the beginning of several months of change ahead.  It was a rough road ahead for them.  Lots of emotions and change.  We didn't realize how disruptive it would be to them emotionally but we soon found out.

Some few photos of our last days playing in the garden chasing balloons.

We tried to spend as much time as we could with Archie's best friend Italo.  Archie and Sylvie love him.  and he LOVES Archie.  He was so upset that Archie was leaving.  He told his mom he didn't want to be friends with anyone because they would leave like Archie.  Broke my heart.

Making banana muffins one last time in the kitchen.  The kids love to cook with me.  I hope I will find the balance again that we find time for that.  Life will be a little busy once back in Seattle.

This is part 1 of our last month.  Too many photos for one post.

Eye of the Tiger and La Trappe

In our last weeks in Breda, we were very busy with life and getting ready to move our lives to Seattle.  The kids were really enjoying school and their friends.  

Enjoying some riding around in the rain in our garden.

At school, they had a music performance which they sang "Eye of the Tiger', the 80s version.  It is a pretty intense song for a bunch of little ones to master but they did a great time.  Archie would sing it at home but when on stage, he wasn't so excited.  He didn't cry though.  Sylvie was a little shy and stayed off to the side.  

La Trappist Brewery.  We spend an afternoon at one of the great breweries in the area.  It is one of Campbell's favorites and it was nice to see before we left.  They have a great tour but we opted to sit outside and enjoy a little sun and beer.  The kids enjoyed the bitter ballen.

March Fun at school and in Germany

I have been helping a lot at school as the class parent.  We made some robots and the kids had a great time painting.  I had fun being there with them.  It has been nice seeing them in school knowing that I won't be able to do that after we move to Seattle.  We have some special times with their teachers and friends.

And we went for a week away in Bavaria Germany to have a ski holiday.  We were in the Alps in Germany at Garmische Partenkirchen and it was 15 minutes away from Austria.  The first pictures are a little valley between skis slopes.  There are fields full of pastures and barns full of wood.  And amongst that there are trails for cross-country skiing and walking.  Great start to our holiday!

And some coffee, coloring, and great atmosphere.  When we walked out a pair of Americans stopped us who heard our accents.  They then told us about all the great things to do and where to spend our time.  

After braiding Sylvie's hair at bedtime, she woke up to some crazy hair and photos.

Our first day out we went over to Austria and went on the toboggan run.  They are old-fashioned toboggans without breaks!  You have to use your feet to brake and turn.  It was a 2.5km run down and lots of fun.  This is us going up the ski-lift.  The kids were screaming with delight and so happy.

And because it was the end of the season, the slopes were empty.  No lines or people to slide around.

Just amazing how beautiful it is.

Our cool boy!

Campbell had a great day on the slopes.  This is overlooking the valley with the walking and skiing paths.

Up the mountain enjoying a ski day.  Next year we plan to get the kids up on skis and me as well.

This was our first holiday where the kids could play and we could both sit and enjoy a beverage.  We found a great cafe in town and went there almost everyday.

Our favorite cafe with the play area in front and Alps in the back.

Another day of sledding!  I didn't fair so well since it was mostly an icy track.  So Campbell took the kids while I had to sit at the bottom.  Better to do that than me crying because I was stuck and didn't want to crash.

We have videos of Archie squealing with delight as he watches Sylvie and me come down the hill.  He LOVED the sledding and was telling us, "I wish I could go skiing and have my own skis."  Next year kiddo.

In Garmische there is a large playground on the kids of a hill.  Up the pathways there is a pretty white church.  The kids had a great time climbing to go down the world's largest metal slide.  It was a playground that we would never find in the US as it would be "to risky" with all the hills, tree routs, huge slide, long steps, and other things to potentially get hurt on.  The kids loved it and so did we as we could sit and look at the ski runs and mountains in the background.

Sitting by the church

Tucked away around the church was a covered walkway with all these memorial plaques.  They are from the First and Second World Wars.  It was amazing to see and also surreal.  It reminded us that even though the Germans were on the "bad/losing" side, they lost their sons, brothers, fathers, and friends.  They were most certainly in the Nazi army but they were still someone's family.

Out for a typical meal of snitzel.  It was fantastic and the FIRST meal that we have been out with the kids where we sat the entire time.  The owner ordered the kids food first and had it out quickly while we enjoyed our drinks.

More pictures from the sledding

We went for a drive one day in Austria to find some little villages to explore.  We stopped in Oberammeragau.  It was very quaint and scenic.  The buildings were ornately painted.  We were surprised how many international tourists were in this little dinky village in the middle of no-where.  There were also an oddly high number of stores with large wooden carved religious statues many of them Mary or Jesus.  Odd, we thought.

Well, when speaking to Campbell's parents about the trip they asked if we went there.  We were surprised they had heard of it until they told it is a place many people dream of going to....what?  Every 10 years the town performs "The Passion of Christ".  Apparently it is a HUGE deal.  We just happened upon the place and thought it was pretty.

There is Jesus and Mary in the window.

On the way out of town, we stopped by a little wood carving shop.  He had lots of neat things the kids enjoyed.  Here they are dancing with the windmills.  I can never get a photo of them looking in the right direction or when still.  This photo sums that up well.