Mom for a week

My conclusion of the week: children are tiring.

Kristel and Jerry have been in New York this week, so I've been the fill in Mom and Dad, and my gosh, what a week!  

First up, broken bike, on the way to swimming lessons.  The plan was that I would drive the bakfiets (click here to see a picture) with one kid, and the other would be on the bike.  They would then take turns riding the bike because it's an 8km bike ride one way, which is a bit far for little 5 year old legs.  But because I'm by myself and we were running late, the bike decided to break down about 1km into the journey.  So in goes the other child and the bike.  Doesn't sound too bad until I tell you the bakfiets is stuck in one gear and the tires are low.  All I can say is what a workout.  

Other than that, the week has been fantastic.  It was a great chance for me to bond with the kids more.  We have done lot's of fun things like painting and biking (we've had amazing +20 weather the last few days) and making fun desserts.

I was so nervous about this week, but in the end, it's been a lot of fun, and it has just made me love these kids so much more!  It was when Pilou came to my room in the middle of the night and asked if she could sleep with me that I realized they view me a part of their family, not just the au pair.  They treat me like family and they will always have a place in my heart with the rest of my family.  

That's Pilou in the purple, Pippa in the middle and Cleo on the right.

Pilou's definitely the goofy one of the three.  I don't think there's a day she doesn't come home with some sort of sticker on her head or her hair redone in some silly way.

Cleo was absolutely thrilled with the weather yesterday.  She literally played outside until the sun went down.  It truly felt like summer.  It was fantastic!

Pippa is the artsy one of the three.  She has the most beautiful 5 year old writing I've ever seen.  She is perfectly content with a piece of paper and some felt pens.  

Some time with Mom

Last Monday, I managed to eat breakfast in Barcelona, lunch in Paris, and dinner in Amsterdam, followed by fish 'n chips and cider in London on Friday.

Let me bring you up to speed.

For my birthday, I got the best present ever-- a visit from my Mom! Since the sun only shines once every ten days here in Holland, we decided to head south and cruise the Canary Islands.

Our holiday quickly turned into an adventure as KLM lost our luggage and we nearly missed our ships departure from Barcelona.  But, we made it in time, and like I said, it was an adventure!  After getting over the devastation of the thought of having to wear the clothes on our back for 4 days until our suitcases arrived, we started to enjoy the luxury of the ship (especially the 24 hour ice cream station. Mmmm).  It was a quick two days at sea before we were in Funchal, Maderia (part of Portugal).

It was here we did our first tour.  We were taken by a bus to the very top of the mountain to visit a beautiful lookout point.  Here's the proof:

We then went back down and took the cable car on the other side of the island to the top, and rode wicker toboggans back down.  This mode of transport has been used since the early 1800s. It's more or less a tourist attraction nowadays since most people have cars, but it is so much fun!  

That's our ship in port.  It was ginormous!

And I have no idea who those people are, I just really wanted a picture of the sled in action.

Our next port was Santa Cruz, Tenerife which is part of the Canary Islands.  It is a very quaint island with not a lot of touristy things to do.  It was also the day after carnaval so things were pretty quite. Mom and I spent our time roaming the city, being amazed by cool street performers like this: 

The next island we visited was Arricife, Lanzarote, another port in the Canary Islands.  This was my favorite port of them all, and I can't quite pinpoint why.  It was so picturesque, warm, and just nice all around.  

Our next port was Malaga, Spain.  We didn't actually spend much time in Malaga for we had another tour booked, but we visited the Caves of Nerja, and the small town near it.  It was so cool and beyond explanation, and picture truly do the caves no justice.  They were discovered only in the 1950s by five children who were playing in the area and fell through a sinkhole leading to the caves.  

All in all, the cruise was a fantastic adventure.  We met a few really nice people, and did a lot of catching up and relaxing.  There were many laughs, and many memories made. 

However, the adventure didn't stop there!  On the weekend, Sander and I ventured North to London for a weekend of backwards driving, Broadway and visiting.  

After having some delicious, fresh, fish 'n chips with Mom and Joanne, Sander and I ventured out to the Museum of Natural History and the Science Museum of London.  Following that, we went to the play "The Madness of King George III".  It was a fantastic play, and the theater itself made the experience so much more!

On Saturday, Sander and Vince went to a football (aka: soccer) game while us ladies enjoyed High Tea at Fortnum and Mason  (which happens to be where the Queen and Kate had tea last week).  It was so pretty and girly and absolutely fantastic!

Oh, and while we were out, Joanne got a call on her ridiculously awesome cellphone!

On Sunday, Sander and I embraced our Dutchness (aka: were crazy) and rented bikes to tour the city....in the pouring rain.  It was super fun though, and driving on the wrong side of the road made for a very interesting adventure! 

So that's what I've been up to for the last month or so.  I've been seeing the world and visiting with Mom. =)  I have some travel plans in the works, but for now, I'm looking forward to some down time in Holland.  Sander and I have been so ridiculously busy since Christmas so it'll be nice to just sit back and relax for a bit.