Flowers and spring

Holland Spring break 2016 

 We have been here before, well.... Paige hasn't, and Seth didn't remember it, but it is such a great place and while some of these fun things we got to see were things we saw before, I had never made it all the way into Amsterdam before and really wanted to go. Our first stop was the Anne Frank museum, which was really great, but no pictures were allowed. I found it very interesting how they made a point of saying she was no saint, she was a bossy little girl, but she was effected by one of the worlds most horrible incidents and she gave us all a glimpse into her life. Also it is quite amazing that  she had a goal of growing up to be a famous writer and all though she didn't live long enough to see it, she is intact a very famous writer.

 So the dutch are not famous for too many food items you would recognize. I can think of only 2, pickled herring, and salted black licorice. oh wait... cheese!  We did try a few new things like these crispy waffle cookies filled with caramel. YUM! They also make a croquet with potatoes and ground beef. They even make a sandwich out of this croquet at McDonalds.

 Amsterdam was beautiful and the weather couldn't have been more perfect!

 Lilly pads at the Kukenhof gardens. Logan and Tori were just tiny when we went here years ago and could hardly make the leap from pad to pad. Now our little kids (that didn't even exist back then) are big kids and had no problem with it at all.

It was as flower garden, but our family was happy to wander from food vender to food vender "Picking" the aroma filled snacks and having a taste of everything.

If you aren't dutch you cant fit the shoes.  We went into the wooden shoe factory and even considered some new shoes, but in the end decided they weren't all that practice. However the museum display of all kinds of old, and very artistic wood shop was fascinating!

 Hooray for getting lost and finding amazing places! The picture above was the last afternoon there and we had a few hours to kill so we went driving and found this lovely little town on the water and had lunch in an old tavern. The clouds were rolling in, but we didn't mind. It gave a great feel to the day, and the whole rest of the week had been amazing weather.
The picture below was on the way to an aquarium where we found this lovely beach and Paige was thrilled. Dan and Seth complained about getting sand in their shoes.

Kukenhof

warmen beene hamn

 We went to a fun park that had the entire country of Holland miniaturized, you know so if you do not have time to travel the whole country you can see it quicker. Dan and Seth liked feeling like godzila taking over the city.

 The whole time we were there we had such a chuckle over the language! It was so much fun! We will now call speed bumps Drempels.

 We found a place offering our favorite German treat!

Water fountain in Amsterdam

One of the best things was the little guest house on the back of a farm along the canal that we stayed in. Fresh eggs in the morning and a boat ride on the canal whenever we wanted. It was simply beautiful and peaceful! We had such a great time and were so thankful for the opportunity!