Koningsdag 2017

Another Koningsdag under our belt! Happy Birthday to the King! We had heard that Vondelpark was the place to be in the morning if you have kids, but didn't make it there during years 1 or 2. The free selling market is only open to kids in Vondelpark so most stalls consist of used clothes, toys and books. You'd think I'd be psyched about this, but I just wasn't into shopping. Maybe a part of my desire to get rid of stuff and not accumulate any more. Well, Jude was still into buying toys and we filled his pocket with 5 cent pieces and told him he could buy one thing (aren't we mean!). Luckily, kids set up all sorts of games kids can play so Jude still had a lot of fun. Even more so when we met up with his pal Coen and a few other friends. It was also fun running into other mom friends along the way. Amsterdam truly is the city with the village feel. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong and some kids really impressed us. Like these, posing like those street performers you see, decked out in the colors of the Dutch flag. 

And these, amongst many kids selling hot drinks on the cold day. The forecast looked cloudy and cold, but no rain so we were seriously disappointed in ourselves for not knowing better and not having an umbrella when the eventual rain fell early on! By the afternoon, the sun was shinning bright for the us all though!

And these, pay money to pelt eggs at the "Donald Trump" (we saw two of these sets ups in one small section of the park). Meanwhile, we watched as policeman shut down a stall where people paid money to throw darts at the printed faces of the King and Queen. They do have limits. 

And these, karaoke singers. Pete was feeling MJ's "Beat It."

And these, pay 20 cents to put your hand in a box and pull out someone else's trash (I mean treasure). 

Friends scored us the best find of the day. Complete knight costume for 20 cents. Then Jude insisted on a horse to ride, which set us back a whopping 3 euros. 

And we scored this hat for 2 euors. Each year I feel like I don't have appropriate orange clothing. Shirts and sweaters are useless since it is always so cold. So now I am determined to get an orange scarf and hats for all of us for next year! 

 Pete recreating the photo he took with his friends who visited during our first Kings Day.

After the free market, we went to our friend's house near Museumplein for lunch and for the kids to "rest." So we put both boys together in one room for nap time and watched what unfolded on the video monitor. Too much cuteness to handle and no sleeping of course. These two pals will be sharing a room when we go to Texel in a few weekends so we hope it works out better there!

We walked towards the center in the hopes of getting some food on the busy Utrechtsestraat but there was no way we were making it through the crowds with the strollers, so we just crossed the Amstel and took the metro home. The party wasn't over though. A drunk American dressed as the king was on our subway car and entertained Jude the whole way home- blowing bubbles at him, having him blow bubbles. Loved it! Jude tells us, "that wasn't really the king. He was a pretend king."

So a relatively tame, but fun Koningsdag for us and the kids!

Also this week, Maeve and I enjoyed signs of spring around our neighborhood...

And I drove to Utrecht to have dinner with my genetic counseling colleague, Meghan. She showed me the Nijntje Pleintje monument for "Miffy."

 Beautiful spring colors along the Oudegracht (old canal).

 The Dom tower, largest church tower in the Netherlands.