Happy Friday!

The boys in their new t-shirts that Aunt Megan and Uncle Kyle sent- SO excited!
This week the weather has been GREAT! 50-60 degrees. Took the kids out to the beach to build sand castles and dig around. Curtis got this "ice cream cone" making kit for his birthday. We decided to have races across the beach, to see who could keep their ice cream cone intact, and cross the finish line first.
Guess who lost?
Guess who won?

Shout Out to SUSSEX!

Is this not the "Best Restaraunt" EVER or WHAT!!!!!
By the time I took this picture in London- Erik told me he regretted giving me a new camera for my birthday!

London Top Ten

The Killer Pelican in front of Buckingham Palace!
On the Eye!
Erik enjoying a drink!
Buckingham Palace!

After being back from London the past few days, I feel like I have SO much to tell you. But, most of it will bore you all. So, I'll do it in a nut shell. We saw most of the major sights- Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament, The Eye, Museums, a Show, and Covent Gardens, Soho, and Picadilly Circus. We had GREAT meals, slept for like 9 straight hours each night, and got to relax. Was a very impressive city!

Top 10 Things that Happened in London

10. "Hole in the Wall" Indian Restaraunt was the BEST food ever! (If I had used the toliet before we ordered, we would not have eaten there...but I'm glad we stayed!)

9. Mc Donald's in London is good...No it really is! The buns were amazing, and they have onion dippers!

8. I almost got attacked by a Pelican out in front of Buckingham Palace. While I was running trying to get away, Erik yelled that a squirel was on my foot....and sure enough, it was! I screamed SO loud, that I thought the police would come.

7. The London Eye at night is an AMAZING sight!

6. We split up for 2 1/2 hours on Saturday afternoon, so that Erik could hit up more museums, and me hit up some shops. Let's just say, I didn't want to waste ONE minute of my shopping in London that I "stooped" to a new level. I went up to a vendor on the street and bought a footlong hotdog for lunch, so I didn't waste time sitting at a restaraunt! (Ok, we all know I didn't stoop to a new level and secretly LOVED that hotdog! Heaven on EARTH!)

5. Everytime I saw ANYTHING to do with Princess Dianna, I had a moment of silence for my sister Megan. When Dianna died, Megan must have planted her butt on the couch for DAYS...maybe even weeks. She was devastated!

4. Breakfast Buffet was the highlight of Erik's trip. 7 pounds for ALL you can eat! He would bring magazines, and newspapers to breakfast. He took his SWEET time, and ate and drank all he could. He was up at 6am and saying, "Let's be the first down to breakfast!" At one point, he had juice, coffee, and tea all in front of him, and a huge plate of food....and was LOVING it!

3."We Will Rock You" the Musical by Queen was AMAZING. It was RIGHT up Erik's alley- and he knew every song in the musical...OK, I'll admit it...so did I! Highly Recommended!

2. On Sunday we went to mass at the Westinister Cathedral. Halfway throughout mass- (30 minutes into it,) a guy comes in the church and sits down in front of us. He had jeans on, and with a black sharpe across the butt of the jeans was written- "Jesus Loves You! With a BIG arrow connecting the pockets! Let just say, it got a few giggles out of Erik and I!

1. When we first got to London we went to a cash machine at the train station- after we took the train from the airport to the center of the city. We went to use our debit card, and it kept coming up that we couldn't use it. So, I got out my cell and made a call to Wells Fargo in the States. (That in itself bugged Erik that I would use my cell to call the USA!) I told them we were traveling and I had informed them, and our card STILL wouldn't work. They then asked us our cards expiration date...and sure as Sh*t, it was expired in January! It wouldn't be a trip with Erik, if something like that didn't happen! So, Erik was in a TERRIBLE mood for the first hour, as we didn't know how we would get cash. At the airport, we bought some "After Eight Mints," a BIG bottle of Bailey's, and some Twinnings English Tea. (Some of my favorite items, all tax free and discounted!) Erik took the items out at the hotel, and lined them up on the window sill, and said- "If we have NO CASH this weekend, at least we have these three things to FEAST on! We found out our Dutch Debit Card worked, and had cash an hour later! THANK GOODNESS!

A GREAT trip to celebrate our 15 year "First Date" anniversary!

London

We just got back from London and have tucked the kids into bed. I'll write more about my trip tomorrow, but thought I'd put a few pics up until I have more time! We had a BLAST and fell in love with the city! Erik and I by The Parliament and Big Ben!
Big Ben
Buckingham Palace in the Background!
Erik, outside the show we saw- "We Will Rock You!" A Musical by Queen. It was the BEST show we've ever seen!

Few Of My Favorite Things...

http://www.braun.com/global/products/fooddrink/foodpreparation/handprocessors.html


This could be one of the "dorkiest" blogs ever, but I feel that I need to share my new "toy" with you. When we moved here, we bought all of the stuff in our house from another couple that was leaving Holland. There were MANY things I didn't know what the heck they were. So, I just shoved them in a box in the closet. My friend was making soup a few weeks back, and brought out her handmixer. I told her, I had one, but wasn't sure what it was. Now that she showed me, I use it nearly EVERY day! I love it and it will be one of the things I will purchase back in the states for my house!

Now, maybe you all know what 'wonders' this little bad-boy can do. Maybe I just lived in a sheltered environment down in the Prague. If so, it's great to know that little things like this make me happy!

This little guy can make smoothies SO fresh for you. Last night it whisked the ingredients for my cassarole. This is the "kicker"- it makes soup making half the time, very easy, and fun! I've used this to cook a few batches of soup. Tonight I made a big pot of potato soup. I just took my bag of carrots and put them in the pot. I took a bag of red baby potatos and threw them in. (NO CUTTING ANY VEGGIES!) I threw in the parsley, celery, condensed milk, chicken broth, spices, onion, and bacon. (Again, don't cut a THING!) I brought the pot to a boil and let it simmer for 40 minutes. Then, I just took the pot, with ALL the whole veggies in it, and put in the hand mixer and within a minute the soup was a smooth and creamy potato soup ready to be eaten! YUMMO!

If you are looking for a perfect baby gift for a shower sometime, this would be it! It would work wonders in making baby food, FAST! I wish I would have had it back when the boys were little!

Ok- Now my "info-mercial" is OVER! You can all discuss how dorky I am. Or, you could get on the phone to each other, (Hint to my family) and talk about how you are going to get me one for x-mas next year! I can't wait already!

Stay tuned next week for my second favorite item in Holland (See picture above!):

Braun AquaExpress KettleHow about some hot water in a jiffy? AquaExpress has a rapid brew system that heats one cup in 70 seconds. The 4-way auto shutoff automatically turns off when boiled, empty, removed from base or lid is open. Kettle completely sits on base, and is cordless when removed. Two water level indicators. 7-cup capacity. 1500 watts. Cord storage on base.

More Pictures

Yeah, those two pieces of wire will REALLY hold the elephants in their area!
Yikes, the giraffe wants a drink!
My kids and Lynne's kids. Emma is Johnny's little sweetheart!
I thought this was SO cool, until I learned they bite!
Remember when you were 4 and wearing a hat like this was considered "cool"!

Rotterdam Zoo

Johnny the TURTLE!
Surprise!
This freaked me out. Under these little islands of floating ice, was WATER with the penguins swimming under us! One fall, and our GREAT trip to the zoo would have taken a bad turn! Curtis is my daredevil and Johnny is my little chicken!
Curtis getting up close and personal with the goats! Can you say ANTI-BACTERIAL GEL, here I come!
The coolest playground I have EVER seen! This in itself is WELL worth the admission fee to get into the zoo! Curtis was in heaven!

This week, Curtis is on vaction from school. So, we decided to go to Belgium on Saturday. It was a nice visit, but the weather was REALLY cold. (Don't worry, it's warmed up again!) I got myself a new bike in Belgium, so now I can start biking again, as my old one is headed for the dumpster! (Imagine that, a bike Erik got for 25 euros doesn't work that great! Who would have thought? That's my economist!)

Today, we went to the Rotterdam Zoo. The boys LOVED it. I went with my friend Lynne. It was by far the best zoo I've EVER been to. The only problem is the animals were not very secure, and some could get out of their caged in area. The praire dogs were a little too friendly, and I had Dutch people yelling at me. Of course, I just smiled and kept clicking away. Guess the Praire Dogs bite! Who knew! We didn't get bit- but signs all over warned against it. In fact, all over the zoo were you are at your own risk signs. (In Dutch, of course.) I'd have to say the HUGE elephants scared me the most- as they were not caged properly!

All in all it was a wonderful day! Tomorrow it's off to the Nemo Science Museum in Amsterdam. Friday we go to London, a few weeks from now it's Scotland, and then in April it's Germany! Trying to make the most of our visit here, now that we are settled!