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| Each so different! |
Elise is quiet and happy most of the time but when she gets tired anyone around her must watch out. I have never seen a child go from happy to screaming in a matter of seconds. She has had moments where she has flipped that switch and has screamed and cried to the point that she can’t breathe. Luckily, these few fits of rage have been behind closed doors and right before bed time when she feels out of control the most.
Grace is a lovable child who can reflect upon her choices but she also tends to have a hard time focusing when she needs to. We have teased her a bit because she always seems to be the last to follow a direction or finish a task. It’s not that Grace is a “no” child or manipulative by nature, she just is easily distracted and likes to do it on “Grace time.” For example, she is always the last to brush her teeth or get on her shoes...heck, she is even the last one to wake in the morning. It’s usually Ellie that is the first one in line or the first to complete a task mostly because of her need to please and competitive nature. Elise is usually second following right behind Ellie and even referred to herself the other day by saying, “Mom, #2 needs to go to the bathroom”. And then, little Gracie, is always (and I mean always) #3...with one exception being the day she was #2, only because Elise and Ellie were tied for #1! It's a fact we always joke about and we tell Grace to be proud of who she is...although every once in a while it would be nice if she followed a direction the FIRST time it was asked.
Ellie is such an easy going, sweet child yet when she gets tired, she either becomes argumentative (usually with her sister) or overly sensitive. It is so interesting observing these children and their personalities. It is in the moments when all three of them are happy that we cherish though. Those are the times when Carrie L and I are able to sit and listen to them giggle and have fun with each other just as best friends do. Today, we had many of those enjoyable moments.
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| Kinderdijk, Holland |
It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the windmills of Kinderdjik. The girls were happy to get out of the car and walk around. There were tour buses full of people that had also stopped to see these old structures. Our plan was to stop briefly, take some pictures and then get back in the car to drive to the tulips. But, as we got closer to the windmills, Elise expressed her desire to go inside and we agreed to purchase tickets that allowed us the opportunity to go in one and look around. While we were waiting in line to purchase tickets, we looked down to see a local wearing a pair of bright yellow wooden shoes. Carrie L said, “Take a picture! I can’t believe people actually wear those shoes.” I agreed and had so many questions. I mean, wouldn’t a pair of tennis shoes be more comfortable than wooden shoes? Why on earth would you choose to wear wooden shoes in 2012?
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| Look! Real wooden shoes! |
We walked in to the windmill and the girls were so excited. I couldn’t believe all the space within a windmill. Carrie L and I both thought living in a windmill would be awesome and wished we could build our own...although that would make our children known by their classmates as the “weird kids that live in the windmill” so we decided to let that dream die. The girls had fun climbing up and down the ladders and looking at the built in beds and old stove. They learned the difference between a round and octagonal windmill...which was another teaching moment by Carrie L, our educational guru! We joked today that my teachable moments are a bit different than Carrie L's...don't worry, you will get to read about those in a post at the end of our trip. We stopped by the souvenir shop on our way out to buy wooden shoes and post cards then we were back in the car on our way to see the tulips.
After driving for another hour we reached the tulips of Keukenhof, Holland. We had a bit of a problem finding the entrance to the parking lot and I accidentally drove in through the exit. As I started backing out to turn around, Carrie L said, “Just go right and park in there.” I followed her directions and turned right...mowing down a huge orange cone that was blocking the entrance to the isle. Carrie said, “You weren’t suppose to hit the cone.” Well Carrie, you are the one who told me to turn right!!! Carrie said it was funny because I calmly said, “I didn’t even see that cone” as if it was no big deal at all and just kept driving. But, at that point, what was I suppose to do? It would have been different if it was a animal or person and I continued to drive but it was an inanimate object. We got out of the car and Elise rushed to pick up the cone and put it back where it was...typical behavior for the child who doesn't like to break the rules! There was no real damage done to the cone, just a few black tire marks that weren’t there before.
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| The cone Carrie B hit |
We entered the tulip garden and were greeted by a girl in a traditional Dutch dress. The girls posed for a picture with her and then raced off to smell the flowers. The garden was beyond beautiful! I remarked that it was the most beautiful garden I had ever been to and Carrie agreed. The grass was a healthy bright green, almost as if it had been painted to look that way. The girls asked why there were signs saying "stay off the grass" and once again a teachable moment was at our feet as we explained that to keep grass healthy and green it needs the essentials (water, sun, fertilizer) plus no one walking on it! Along with the gorgeous green grass, the park had an abundance of water fountains throughout. The girls hopped across wooded platforms set in the water while the swans and ducks swam next to them. The various types of flowers enhanced the natural beauty of the park. Everywhere we looked were perfectly maintained flowers of any color you could imagine. If you have been lucky enough to see What Dreams May Come, there are scenes in the movie of the gardens in Heaven that reminded me of our walk through this picturesque park.
We walked about the garden on what was another warm and sunny afternoon. Carrie L wanted to see the rows of tulips that the garden is so famous for but once we reached the field where the tulips grow, we realized they had yet to bloom and we were a few weeks too early. But there were so many gorgeous flowers around the garden that it didn't even matter! On the way to the field the girls had passed by a large playground and begged us to go back and play. We agreed and they skipped off to the tire swing where they all got in swung with delight. Carrie and I watched from a picnic table nearby and were thrilled to watch as the girls played so well together. As I mentioned earlier, this was one of the moments where the girls were carefree and giggling together while running from swings to slides and back again. We let the girls play for a while before we called for them to come shake the sand out of their shoes and begin our drive to the hotel, which was a quick 20 minutes away.
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| Happy kids! |
I went in to the Hilton to get our room keys and the lady at the desk asked if Mr. Burk was with me. I mentioned that he would be checking in the next day as I was afraid she would say we couldn’t use his points if he wasn’t staying with us. She clarified that we had ONE child with us and I answered, “Uh, yup.” As you already know, we had trouble finding hotels that accommodate families of four let alone our “family” of five. She mentioned that she had upgraded us to an Executive Suite and we had access to the Executive Lounge which meant free breakfast in the morning! With all these perks, I really didn’t want anything to screw it up!
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| A little too early for the field of Tulips |
I went back out to where Carrie dropped me off and asked her if there was underground parking. She said no and that there was only a parking lot in front of the hotel. Hmmm...this is going to make it really difficult for us to sneak five people in to that hotel seeing that we had to walk directly in front of the woman who checked us in. So, of course, we devised a plan...something that I hadn't had to do since we used to throw hotel parties when I was younger. I decided to go in first with Elise and some of the luggage. Carrie followed a little later with Grace and Ellie and the rest of the luggage. Ah ha! Fooled them! We got in to the hotel room and it wasn’t so much of a suite as it was a room with three beds that barely fit in the space. I told Carrie that she and her two daughters could sleep in the two twin beds pushed together and Elise and I would sleep on the one twin together. We had a quick chat with the kids about being quiet because this was the floor where people who “work” stay and they need their sleep. Carrie L ordered room service, as we had decided to stay in once again with our tired children to avoid them getting too tired for our time in Amsterdam the following day. While having dinner, the girls were mesmerized watching Phineas and Ferb in Dutch. Isn’t it funny how children can still enjoy cartoons even though they have no idea what they are saying?
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| Anne Frank lesson |
As the girls were falling asleep, Carrie L continued reading a story about Anne Frank to prepare them for our visit to her museum the next day. I laid in that oh so cozy twin bed with Elise reflecting on the days events and thinking of my beloved Grandma Taylor and how much she would have enjoyed seeing the windmills and tulips of today and, most of all, attending the Anne Frank museum with us the next day. I remembered going with her to the Holocaust museum in St. Louis before she passed away and how happy she was to not only spend the day together, but to teach me about Anne Frank. In that moment it hit me...we have created such an amazing opportunity for our children to not only learn by teaching, but also by seeing and feeling. Deze kinderen zijn zo gelukkig!!!
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