Good Bye Ireland...

HELLO HOLLAND....

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling...

What a weekend I had! It started out on Thursday when Erik took vacation and I flew out of Amsterdam and met my cousin Eileen in Dublin, Ireland- BY MYSELF! I got to the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam early so I could start my vacation out relaxing. Rumor had it that they just opened a Starbucks up a few weeks ago...first place like that in Holland. So, I got some good gossip magazines, a mocha (extra large) and sat and relaxed!
I got to Dublin to a sleeping cousin who was recovering from jet-lag. We went out to dinner the first night at an American restaruant called "Thunderbird" to get caught up, and to get me some REAL food! We walked around the streets scooping out the action, and where we will want to visit.

Friday was a great day. We woke up and had bagels and more mocha! Yummo! (Can you tell I haven't had a mocha since MAY 19th!) Then we went on a "Wild" Ireland tour of the country side and places less visited. This was the highlight of our trip for the two of us. We saw the sea, cute towns, the country side, lakes, and small mountains. We ate a a cute pub for lunch, shopped at cute little Irish shops, and hiked on trails. Our bus driver was a HOOT and we had a few great couples from the USA that really added to the trip.

Our favorite memory was when we got to the top of this huge cliff. The bus driver pulls the bus over. He gets out a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey and shot glasses for everyone. He told us that we could get out and take pictures of the lake and cliffs, pick blue berries, and take a shot of whiskey. We were NOT allowed back on the bus until the whole bottle was gone. Eileen and I experienced our first shot of Irish Whiskey on the top of a cliff in Wicklow, Ireland! As you can tell from the pics on the left, it was an experience that neither one of us will forget. Was totally disgusting...but we can say we did it! Saturday night ended with us going to dinner at the Arlington Hotel where we stayed. They are known for the best Irish Pub music and dancers. We had reserved seats and since we were guests of the hotel, we were on the "50 yard line". Entertainment was amazing and it was SO fun to watch the crowd! I tasted my first Guiness Beer (Can't say I went to Ireland and didn't try it.) It was Awful...as I was 0 for 2 on the day with drinks, but again, I had to at least say I tried it!


Saturday started off slow, as Eileen was recovering from jet-lag still, and I was enjoying my time in bed with my gossip magazines and NO one waking me up! We went out for our bagel and mocha at our "hang-out" in Dublin. Then it was a day of Dublin! We went to Trinity College, shopped, and ate. Then we went St. Patricks Cathedral, shopped more, had more coffee and visited the St. Thersa's Church and Ha' Penny Bridge. We shopped some more, drank more coffee, and then went to church which was a really cool experience. The night ended with a GREAT meal at an Italian restaraunt ( We'd HAD it with potatoes and beef!)


Finally, on Sunday, it was out for our daily coffee...but we had to opt for Mc D's, as all other places were closed on Sunday. We went to the airport early and THANK GOODNESS we did. There was a soccer game starting in the Dublin Stadium and we missed the HUGE traffic jam by 20 minutes. We got to the airport and we were too early and they wouldn't let us check in. I had NEVER heard of that. We were only about 3 hours and 10 minutes early. So, we had to sit on our bags outside of check-in and wait until 2 1/2 hours before our flight was to leave.


We were going through security and people were driving me CRAZY! You are NOT allowed to bring more than 3 oz. of liquid, make-up, ect. in your bag. People were at the gates of security throwing away OJ bottles, Coke, ect. I always wondered who the idiots were that brought liquids through security and slowed it up. So, I buzz RIGHT through and had to wait for Eileen. (She is travelling back with me to Holland for the week.) Eileen gets stopped and they ask her if this is HER bag? She told them it was. They asked if she had anything liquid in it. She told them she didn't. Now I'm getting a bit annoyed. So, I go back and say, "Eileen, you can't have any cosmetics on these international flights...do you have lip stick or anything like that in your bag?" She says, "NO!"

So, the guy opens up her purse to check it, and he pulls out an 11oz. FULL bottle of Johnson and Johnson's Stress Melting Lotion! I was DYING! I mean, it's one thing to accidentally bring a tube of lipstick or perfume through security. But an 11oz bottle of lotion is OUT OF CONTROL! We were dying of laughter and the security guy says, "Sorry ladies, but now your stress isn't going to MELT away...this has to go in the rubish bin!" I still can't believe she fit that WHOLE bottle in her purse!

Now it's back home! I was glad to see the boys....and I'm sure we'll have more stories as the week goes on! What fun it was to take a four day weekend trip to Ireland!

Weekend Recap

This weekend we finally welcomed SUMMER in the Netherlands. The temperature was in the 90's, close to 100. Friday night we spent on the beach with dinner, swimming, and fireworks. Saturday morning we all went biking in the Dunes to a great park for the kids, that you can only get to by bike. We had a few barbaques at friends houses .(OH HOW I MISS THE GRILL!) Kids were able to play in their gardens, and splash in pools, just like back in the States. It's amazing how much you miss the hot weather with a yard after a few months!

A few odds and ends that I thought would entertain you:

• We were at a friends house eating dinner and were all out on the patio when she started to yell, "Curtis Stop!" I looked over, and Curtis had pulled down his pants and started going to the bathroom in the grass, almost hitting her and her kids. I was DYING and everyone was laughing. As you can guess, I didn't teach my son this trait, but the guy who did was regretting it! Curtis just looked up at us and said, "What, dat's what my daddy teached me to do!" Crazy Americans!
• We were biking back from dinner at another friends house. Erik's bike was making noise and he kept looking down to see what the problem was. As he was doing that, he ran into a pole. (Crazy American!) Good thing the kids were both on MY bike!
• Both kids slept through the night and stayed in their beds ALL night long all weekend! Not without bribing...They should have done that about a year ago...but I'll take it!

Finally, I have a story that happened to me this morning. I was debating about whether or not to put it on the blog...but thought it was too good not to share. This morning, I had to go to the hospital in town for an ultrasound of my ARMPIT! It's nothing serious, just a clogged gland. They wanted to make sure it wasn't anything more. So, I go to the hospital. You get a card like a library card. On it is your name, address, insurance, ect. Once you have one, you carry it with you all the time. So, when you show up, you just go to the desk and hand the card to the receptionist and she scans the card. That is how you check in. Nothing else. If your info changes, then you are in charge of getting a new card at the hospital info center. There are NO lines in the offices, and no paper work. It is a very fast process and I quite like it.

So, I check in and go have a seat. Within minutes I get called back. They bring me into the ultrasound room and tell me to take off my clothes. I asked, "What exactally I should take off?" They told me everything from the waist up. So, I take it off, and there are two techs and the radiologist in the room. Now, standing there topless like a stupid American, I ask, "Ok, now what!"

They told me to come lay down. So, I had to walk ALL the way across the room topless to the table. I lay down, and the doctor comes over and shakes my hand and is talking to me like it's NOTHING that I'm topless. I can't remember a word he tells me...I just keep thinking in my head- "You've got to be kidding me...all this for an armpit ultrasound!"

So, they do NOT cover me up one bit during this whole time. Then when he finishes with the ultrasound, he gives me a tissue to wipe off my armpit. It's full of goop and no one takes it from me. So, I say, "Where should I put this?" He tells me there is a rubbish bin across the room. I have to get up- TOPLESS mind you, walk across the room, then he comes to me and shakes my hand again. I say goodbye, and go get my bra and shirt on. He stays in the room with the techs and starts his dictation. I'm standing there trying to figure out what is the best way to put my bra on. I kept missing the hooks and couldn't get it. I really wanted to put it on in the front and swing it around...but felt that wasn't very "Swave" looking. After a few missed attempts I thought, "Screw it!" and just did the front method. I put my shirt on and was out biking home. Just another experience that made me smile and think of many people back home who would get a kick out of it!

Like Father, Like Son!

Fireworks!

Every Friday night for 6 weeks in July and August there is a fireworks displays right outside of our apartment! We have company over, Erik stocks the fridge with beer, and kids all take long naps in anticipation of the late night! It's easy to forget how excited kids are ALL day waiting for fireworks! Here are a few pictures I took from our balcony.

My Little Dutch Boy.

Curtis was begging for these clogs- PIRATE CLOGS- for weeks. Finally, I was a sucker and caved in. Where else can a little boy where wooden clogs, but Holland!

News

Our hearts were heavy when we woke up this morning to the news of the bridge collapse in Minnesota. Can't believe it happened, and we have been glued to the TV and internet all morning. It made all the internataional English speaking news channels. Very sad, and the families will all be in our thoughts and prayers.

The second story on the news this morning was about Fisher Price and Mattel recalling toys. This is the second recall since we've moved here. First Thomas Trains were recalled and we had quite a few of them. Of course, with two boys, we have many of the Diego products that were recalled. I bought a lot of toys in May, before the moved, to ship over here. Just another worry to add to the list. I think Johnny has spent half his life sucking on toys with excess lead in them.

On a GOOD note- I am getting very use to biking in the Netherlands. In fact, I might classify myself as HALF DUTCH! I LOVE the biking and so do the kids. In the past two weeks, I've used the bike to go just about everywhere. Each day I'm working up more and more confidence. Just yesterday I "Ding'ed" six people in one day- who were in the bike lanes in my way. (Stupid Tourists! Ha!) Today, I had Curtis in the back, Johnny in the front, crossing tram tracks, talking on my cell phone to Erik. Now if that doesn't make me half dutch, I don't know what will!