hip hip Horray!

Hip Hip Horray! Hip Hip Horray! It is NOVEMBER!!!!!! Which means, I have successfully survived 2 full months in the motherland. It has been fun, challenging, exciting and sometimes boring. But I have survived. I've already learned so much, its amazing. I've learned a few basic phrases (don't try and speak dutch to me when I come home at Christmas though because I'll still look at you like you have a foot growing out of your forehead), I've learned how to navigate public transportation, I've learned how to ride my bike on a crowded street (and be aggressive) and I've learned to never ever ever judge what the weather is going to be like just by looking outside. Honest to goodness truth, people all over the states say "just wait 5 minutes it will change." Guys, you got nothin' on Holland. It is crazy!!! I'll be at the beach and it will be raining and literally 2 minutes later the sun will be shining and the clouds will go away, I'll go inside to grab some lunch and when I come back out it is pouring down rain. It's nuts. I just don't even know how to describe it. So seriously, I always carry an umbrella, a rain jacket and wear boots everywhere. Lol. Also, I've learned to never ever talk politics with a Dutchie. Just don't do it. They know way more about the Politics in our great country than you do. Guarantee. The only thing is, they get their information from the "International Tribune" and those writers are usually Dutchies writing about the States. It's funny to read their version, and then go onto Foxnews or MSN news and see what is REALLY going on. It cracks me up. But seriously, the Dutch love to talk politics with Americans. Maurien and I talk about politics quite often, and even though we are on completely different sides of how politics go, it's interesting to talk to her about them. To hear her opinions. The only thing is... the Dutch are also very proud and think they are always always right. And that's all I'll say about that. HA!
Moving on. I honestly can't believe I've been here 2 months. And in a short 6 weeks I'll be on a plane getting ready to land in Orlando to catch my connecting flight into Des Moines. I just can't wait. Really I can't. And at the same time I wonder what it will be like for me. I mean, here I am, in a totally different country 7 time zones away (well, 6 for 1 week since we already had daylight savings time) doing my own thing. I take care of 3 kids for a few hours a day and the rest of the day is mine. If I want to go anywhere I hop on my bike or the bus or the train and go. The food is more bland here, but the sweets are wonderful (not as sweet as in the states, but still scrumptious!) There are oodles of museums to see and lots of forest to explore. So I'm a little nervous about going home for 3 weeks and not knowing what to do with myself. I'm sure it will be fine, but I still can't help but wonder. The best part about the whole time will be the fact that once again I can just pick up the phone and call mom or dad and not have to calculate the time difference. And even better than that I can just wait to see them when they get home from work. Not to mention that on the glorious day of December 14th, 2010 I will be seeing Josh! Whoop!! Bear with me for a second while I go into "ohhhh Josh" mode. Being away from him (7 time zones) has been a challenge for sure. But it's kind of been fun. Not fun like whoooo-hooooo fun, but fun as in,, I feel like we are learning more. It's cool. Don't get me wrong, some days I miss him so much I feel ill, but for the most part.. I'm so grateful that we get this time to really discover more about us and to really get our relationship more God focused. Most of you have been there, in the dating scene where you are so wrapped up in each other that sometimes God get's pushed to the side just a bit. So I think it's so good that we can refocus and come out better. Ok. Throw up now if you must. But I'm done. (p.s. josh if you are reading this.. only 42 more days! yay) ok. really, I'm done now :o)
Last week I did get to carve pumpkins with the kids. It was SUPER fun! Halloween is just starting to come around here so the kids haven't really carved before. I think Camille did it with them last year, but it was still really fun for them this year, and Maurien couldn't get over how good the pumpkins looked. :o) The kids went "trickertreating" (that's how Max wrote it on his note to me) Saturday night and I passed out candy when I got back from Amsterdam. It was fun to see all the costumes, but here they think that it all has to be scary. Nothing cute and innocent. It's all sculls, dead brides, evil witches, Frankenstein etc.. no pigs in a blanket or static cling or bumble bee's... And no, sadly I didn't get to see the Princesses. Bummer. Well, at least I don't think I saw them....
Saturday during the day we headed to Amsterdam instead of Utrecht. It was really fun. We walked around a lot.. and now I know 100000% what weed smells like. I wasn't totally sure before, but now I KNOW. Ick ick ick! We passed so many "coffee houses" it was unreal! And they were all full for the most part. Old men and women, younger kids, hippies, business people, toursits, you name it, they were there. And it was so funny because a lot of the places offered "free breakfast before 11:30" we cracked up every time we saw one of those signs. haha. We went to the Van Gough museum and the diamond museum.. they were pretty cool. I went to the Van Gough one the 1st week I was here, but I was so jet lagged that I didn't remember a lot of it.. but the diamond museum.. that was cool. And we decided since we were having a girls day we might as well go in (actually its more like a girl's year, but still...) They had huge diamonds and teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeny tiny little diamonds (including the smallest diamond ever). It was neat. It was a small museum but it was still fun to see.
This weekend Rachel G and Niki, a new au pair, and I are going to Belgium. We are going to Brugge and Ghent on Friday and then on Saturday we are meeting Rachel P and Jaclyn in Brussels and then we are going to take a late train home on Saturday. I can't wait! Its going to be so much fun!! And yes, I will be eating Belgium waffles and Belgium Chocolate :o) I think I'll eat really healthy the rest of the week so I don't feel so bad this weekend when I eat all the bad stuff. Hahah. Well, this is turning into a novel. So I should go. Hope you all remembered to vote today!
Dag!! (pronounced daah, it means bye)