Christmas

Snow

We did get a little dusting of snow this Holiday season in The Netherlands. It did not last very long, but it was fun while it did. It made us homesick for a good old Utah white Christmas.

The park was so beautiful. Every tree branch was covered in white.

The pond froze over so lots of people were out walking on it with their dogs and ice skating. I thought they were crazy. They had their little kids out there walking on it. I did get brave and stand right on the edge.

O' Christmas Tree

Everything about our Christmas this year is a little scaled down.  Less presents, less family around, smaller house, and our Christmas tree is no exception.  Collin and I, however, still had a great time decorating this little mini tree.  When it comes to Christmas, size definitely does not matter.

 

Sinterklaas is out, Santa Claus is in

Sinterklaas is on his way back to Spain and now the Christmas season has officially begun in The Netherlands.  Here are some pics of our trip to the City Centre.  They have everything decorated for Christmas, lots of trees, lights, ice skating rink, sledding hill (with fake snow), and ice sculpture exihibit.

Collin riding the carousel in the City Centre.  It costs 1 euro to ride.  He loves it.

Johnny waiting for Collin to get off the Carousel.  You can see KFC in the background.

The next two photos were taken at the German Christmas market that is set up for the Holiday Season.

Holiday parties part two

Here are some pics from a dinner we had at Sister van Empel's home.  She is the relief society president in our ward.  The food was delicious and we got to try some traditional Dutch holiday desserts-also delicious.  Most of the conversation was in Dutch and Spanish (Sister van Empel is originally from Peru).  Johnny translated the Spanish for me and I just did my best with the Dutch.  It was a lot of fun.

(from left to right) Catharina, Harry,  Catharina,  Nathalie, Elder Steed, Elder Drake

Collin taking a break from dinner to watch the I-pod

Rachel taking a break from dinner, to feed Ethan his dinner.

Holiday parties

We have had such a fun December already.  The ward members have been very generous, (as usual), and have invited us to their homes for Sinterklaas parties.   Here are some pics from Jerry and Soile's party.  

Collin had soooo much fun playing with his friends and sitting at the kids table.  

Collin and his friend Hudson

Collin wouldn't wear the "Black Pete" hat, but Ethan was a good sport.

Collin shaking hands with Sinterklaas.  He did very well.  I didn't think he would go near him, but he was only a little bit scared.

Collin getting his present from Sinterklaas.

Ethan meets Sinterklaas.

Ethan got a present too.

Daisy gave Collin a whole pile of presents.  It was very sweet.

The Pond

I know, I know, pictures of kids feeding birds, been there done that, but this is the pond that is right near our apartment.  It is really beautiful when all the birds are out on the water.

A conversation with Ethan

You gotta love that still shot of him when the video ends.

Sinterklaas has arrived

Here is a little taste of Christmas tradition in the Netherlands.  

Sinterklaas arrives early in Holland with his gifts, in November. He is dressed in Bishop's robes and journeys in a boat with his helper who is called Black Peter and who wears Spanish clothes. It is said that the pair live most of the year preparing lists of presents and writing every child's behavior in a very large book. Many people go to Amsterdam docks to greet him. He mounts a snow horse and rides through the streets in a great parade, amid many festivities.

All Dutch children know that Sinterklaas lived in Spain, where he spends his time recording the behavior of all the children in his little red book, while Piet stocks up on the presents.

We took Collin and Ethan to the shopping mall to see Sinterklaas arrive.  The slide show has photos of us watching the "Black Pete" band, Sinterklaas arriving on his horse drawn carriage, and Black Pete passing out candy to all the children.  I know, the "Black Petes" aren't exactly politically correct, but it is a very old tradition here in the Netherlands.

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Efee

"Efee" is our nickname for our little guy. Collin couldn't prounouce the "th" in Ethan, so he would say Efan, so somehow we ended up with Efee.

So, here is an all Ethan post-especially for you Nana and Grandma Barbus.

Official Residents

Here are some photos (not terribly exciting) of our trip to the city hall to pick up our resident cards. So, now we are official. They enable us to apply for health insurance and prove residency for any other reason while we are here in The Netherlands.


We had to bike to the city center (about 15 minutes away). It was very cold and it started raining just about the time we started pedaling.


Outside the city hall, modeling my "drowned rat" look.



...and there are the cards

just a quick note

Hi everyone- just wanted to let you know that I fixed my blog, so that anybody can leave comments-not just those with a google account. Hope to hear from ya.

A day in Nuenen

Vincent van Gogh lived and worked in Nuenen from December 1883 to November 1885. In retrospect, his stay in Nuenen was one of the most important and productive periods in his life. He chose as inspiration for his paintings the hard everyday life of fellow man. The results of this amazing effort in Nuenen are 194 paintings including The Potato eaters, 313 drawings, 25 water colours, 133 sketches, 10 lithos and 29 'juvenilia' (drawings of young people).

This is the Van Gogh statue in Nuenen it depicts him walking through town with his sketches tucked under his arm. His parents lived in Neunen and he had a girlfriend here.


The Roosdonck Windmill. This windmill appears in several of VanGogh's sketches.


This is a sketch by VanGogh of the DeGroot family home. They are the family that appear in "The Potato Eaters" painting. You can see the Roosdonck Windmill in the background.

"The Potato Eaters"


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It was a beautiful day for a bicycle ride. It was about 11 miles round trip. The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous. We had a great time.