Another post about the Netherlands

So we had a whole week to chill out in the Netherlands and what a week it was!  We got so lucky with some AMAZING weather, including the hottest September day in the Netherlands EVER.  We caught up with Christa and Mark and met the gorgeous Lotte which was great fun.  We also went to Opmeer to visit Marije and Robin and their three boys as well as Mike's Aunty Ciske and Uncle Joop, which was another great evening.  

This time our Air Bnb was a small townhouse in Maarssen, about 20 minutes drive from Utrecht.  It was just perfect for us with a small back yard for the boys to play in and only a few minutes walk along the cycle path to the local shopping centre (Hello HEMA!)

Having seven days in one spot meant we could be quite relaxed about our sightseeing, although in the end we did have to make some tough decisions about what to leave out.  We decided to skip going into Amsterdam as big city sightseeing with Jack in a stroller and the older two hasn't been the best mix so far.  Hopefully we will get better at this!

The boys did have a blast at the goat farm in Haarzuilens and at the wonderful playground we found at Maximapark on Jack's birthday.  Our day at Madurodam was also a highlight for the boys.  We did manage to do a few things on our own to do lists as well - Zaanse Schaans was good fun for a Sunday afternoon and we also had a nice, if brief, drive out to Naarden to walk around the walled town there and enjoy an icecream in the late afternoon sun.  Another highlight for all of us was our day trip to Zeeland to see the storm surge barriers.  We spent time by the river, had a picnic lunch at the biggest beach we've ever seen and ate more icecream in beautiful Veere.

Leiden

Playing on the beach on Neeltje Jans, Zeeland

Veere, Zeeland

Zaanse Schaans - tourist trap but fun nonetheless

Dinner with the Verweys and Jonkers in Opmeer

Cousins!

Family pic at Madurodam ;)

Celebrating Jack's 2nd birthday in the Netherlands

Two giant, chocolate covered profiteroles made an excellent birthday cake!

Dinner out with Mark, Christa and Lotte - such a great night too!

Madurodam - by Callum

We went to Madurodam and it was so fun because it had this blower where you had to see how fast you could make the wind turbine go.  You could put out a fire on a ship.  There was even a thing where you had to put the surge barriers down before the storm got the town.  There was a sandpit and a flying fox as well.  I love Madurodam!

Dinner - by Daniel

On Wednesday evening I couldn't believe my eyes.  We went to a big BIG restaurant.  You could eat as much as you liked.  I ate: lots of sushi and icecream.  We went there with Christa and Lotte and Mark and we got to go on a playground.

The Netherlands - by Callum

When we got to the Netherlands we went to the house that we are staying in.  Christa, Mark and Lotte came to visit us and we took lots of silly photos.  In one of them I did bunny ears on Mark and Mummy at the same time and in the same photo Daniel had red eyes for some reason.

Yesterday walked down a really cool cycle path to the shops and we visited the supermarket and saw lots of different food.  We were allowed to spend €2 on something that we wanted to try and I picked gherkins because I love them.  I really, really, really liked going to the really big toy shop in the afternoon.  I chose a 3-in-1 lego set and some stretchy and bouncy putty.  I played with it outside and bounced it around.  There is a park that is about 100m away from our house with a big soccer pitch.  Daddy and I will bring the soccer ball next time we go there.  It is really cool here because we have bunks just like in New Zealand.