July...better late than never!

 

We had a busy, fun filled, cold July! This is a new toy we received from a friend and the kids still love playing on it together.

M&T brunch

We hosted the Mums and Tot's pancake brunch as an end of the year event for the group. Unfortunately it was cold and raining that day so all was indoors with 16 adults and 12 kids but we still managed to have a really good time!

Part of the gang in the playroom

4th of July BBQ

The North American Women's Club has a 4th of July BBQ every summer. There was a great turn out and we all had a good time eating, playing and pretending we were in the USA! Felt pretty good for the day!

Cole and Mason

The kids and I got to spend the day with Cole and Mason (twins from Idaho!) while their Mommy and Daddy had a day out for their anniversary.

 

They just turned 2 but Kaelan and Colette both love to play with them and Kaelan is always asking when we get to go to their house!

(Both these pics are of Cole...not sure why I didn't manage to get one of Mason on here!)

 Daisy, Daisy!

Kaelan's favorite little Dutch girl!

We have managed to make some really good friends through K's school. This is Daisy, Kaelan's best friend from school. It is so nice to have friends in our little village for so many reasons but being able to bike to play dates is my favorite! 

 

Cole and Mason's 2nd b-day

Cologne (Koln), Germany

We took a day trip to Cologne and it was definitely worth the trip! Beautiful Cathedral, nice old town and a STARBUCKS!

Dino Camp

Kaelan spent a week at Dino Camp (don't you dare call it dinosaur or you will be corrected!) with FasTracKids and he loved it! It was 3 hours every morning and he looked forward to going back everyday! He learned a a lot about dinosaurs and he even did a couple mini presentations. Be sure to ask Kaelan what his favorite Dino is and what a herbivore eats! 

Digging for bones. Kaelan found the biggest one and when he discovered it he and Ben, the boy with him, were both a little afraid to pull it out. They made the teacher help. So cute!

On the last day the parents got to come in to see the Dino museum they created. They all were so proud of their work and getting the opportunity to teach us about the Dino's.

Dinosaur Museum

After Dino camp it only seemed appropriate we go to the small little Dino museum 40 mins away from us! It turned out to be a great day and Kaelan was so excited to see all the Dino's he studied all week. 

Digging for bones

Of course there was a playground...we are in NL!

Getting eaten by a T-Rex!

Mommy's favorite Dinosaur

 Murphy

I decided Colette needed to be exposed to dogs since she has been terrified of them ever since she realized they could approach her! She has been known to try to climb on top of our heads when a dog came to near. So I offered to dog sit 2 different dogs this summer while their owners were on holiday. This guy is Murphy and by the end of his stay this is how Colette behaved around him and Kaelan was calling him his dog. It was fun to have these dogs around and it definitely seemed to ease Colette's fears!

Murphy was supposed to sleep in his kennel but this is what started happening a few nights after he arrived!

Look at what the dog drug in!

Maybe he didn't drag him in but his food certainly brought him to our doorstep. I think we now have a resident hedgehog because we see him all the time now.

Kite Festival

We attended the first annual kite festival in a village one over from ours, we were even able to ride our bikes. Even though we didn't seem any kites besides this truly amazing whale, we had a great time playing in the bouncy houses, sand, shopping the market and eating festival food!

Colette is now afraid of anything that is full of air! She had a balloon pop in her hands and since then she won't go near them, bouncy houses or blow up water toys. She really freaks out when she sees us blowing a ballon or water toy up with our mouths. By the end of the day she was jumping on her own but it took some coaxing and a lot of bouncing with mommy. 

They had this fun obstacle course and I think Kaelan did it 20 times or more all by himself! 

Ryan and Abby

We got to babysit Ryan and Abby while their parents took a kidless trip to Italy for 5 days! It was so much fun having them because Ryan is 1 year older than Kaelan and they get along really well and Abby is 4 months older than Colette. They all love each other. We had lots of fun activities planned and everyone, including me, was exhausted at the end of everyday!

Bed time was an interesting time for Travis and I but super fun for the boys! It was inevitable that either Travis or I would have to sit at the door until they fell asleep. The girls both had their own rooms so they were easy.

We spent one day at the Strawberry Farm playground near us. The inside is filled with bouncy houses and the outside has a super fun playground. The boys stayed there with our babysitter April for 5 hours but I had to take the girls home for naps.

They were exhausted after the strawberry farm and couldn't make it home. Fortunately they both transferred to their beds well.

We had lots of fun playing outside thanks to the warmest week of July!

The sweet girls