PART 1 Parents Visit: Sittard, Thorn, and Bruges

I am so behind on my blog right now that there is no way I am editing any of these pictures! I need to catch up first. Back in October my parents came to Germany to visit us. I absolutely love having visitors come here! It was so fun having them here and being able to explore a little bit with them. My mom had been out here before when I had Meika, but we were a bit boring then. I was big, pregnant, overdue and didn't want to go very far. This was my dad's first time visiting, so it was fun to have him come see our life here.

The first full day they were here was a Thursday. Every Thursday there is a big market in Sittard, NL and I almost always try to go and get my fruit, vegetables, eggs and sometimes flowers and fish. My parents joined us for our weekly endeavor. My dad took this picture of me at one of the fruit/veggie stands.



We also walked through some of the little streets around the town square



After we were done with the market, we headed to Thorn, NL. I wanted my parents to see this cute little town after discovering it with my friends. When I had come before, I didn't get to experience the Pancake house, so I figured it would be a fun little outing.

Of course it was delicious! The kids pancakes were like real pancakes, but tons of sugar on them. The big one were more like Pizzas.





Afterwards we walked around the cute little town.











Another day they were here we took a day trip to Bruges, Belgium. I LOVE this town. Abe and I stayed there for a night a handful of years ago when we went to Europe with Amanda and Mason. It was fun to visit again, but it was a bummer because it was cold and rainy!! The kids were good sports though and endured the handful of hours we stayed there to explore.

Thorn, Netherlands

About a month ago my friend Beth insisted that I check out Thorn, Netherlands because I hadn't ventured there yet. We decided to make a morning of it and Beth, Kelsey, me and our kids drove about 25 minutes to get there. Thorn is DARLING! It has a bunch of white washed buildings with cobblestone streets and pretty, old architecture.

Thorn is also known for it's Pancake house, or "Pannekoekenbakker". That is what we really wanted to go get!! When we got there in the morning, it unfortunately wasn't open until closer to lunch time. We sat outside at another little restaurant that was right next door.

We drank the yummiest hot cocoa

and watched horse carriages go by while we had a great view of a very pretty church.

Fun hanging out with my darling Norah


It really is weird that I live here and this was a random daily "outing". This is not "real" life!

Halloween

I am way behind once again on blogging. Hopefully in the next couple of days I can find time to post about my parents visit and our trip to Greece.

We got back from our vacation to Greece extremely late the night before Halloween. I still wasn't done sewing Adeline's costume, so had to spend the entire day while she was at school finishing it. Luckily I barely got it done just in time to get ready for the trunk or treat. There is an Army base about 25 minutes away and they put together a big trunk or treat every year for the military. Since Halloween is an American holiday, it is nice that we can still celebrate it here a little bit.

When Adeline and Norah told me they wanted to be Ariel and Jasmine, I was not to thrilled. I started collecting some fabric and had my mom pick me up some from Joann's since she was coming to visit. I was pleased with the outcome of their costumes, although I think the wigs are what really made the costumes!


Here are the girls showing off their costumes...














Our friend Kelsey joined us for the trunk or treat since her husband was out of town. The girls loved trick or treating with Blake and Grant! Thanks for the pictures Kels!









The Friday after Halloween, Adeline's school had a "Storybook Parade", since they celebrated "Reading Week" all week long. I think that it is great they named it something else and brought it into the curriculum so they could celebrate Halloween in a round about way. After all, the kids just want to be able to wear their costumes to school! Abe,Norah, Meika and I headed over to the school so we could watch Adeline walk around in the Storybook Parade.