School's Out For Summer!

We made it to the end of a crazy school year with so much gratitude in our hearts for the teachers and administrators who worked so hard this year. In the end, the kids were in person around 33 weeks, which was 33 weeks where we had normalcy in our lives. June came so quickly and brought with it some gorgeous and warm weather. A nasty cold went around the school, which had one or both kids home most of a week and had us uber stressed thinking it was COVID and that our trip home would be affected (thankfully it was not!). 

The biggest surprise of the month was learning that people born in our birth year were eligible for vaccinations! The NL had a slow start, but then really picked up the pace. They are currently up to offering shots to those born in 2000. We had already adjusted our summer trip home to have enough time to receive 2 doses and have 2 weeks for full immunity in case that would help us avoid any quarantine that may be required. But we were happy to get that first shot as soon as possible to start the process and we received our first Pfizer shots last weekend! 

We leave tomorrow for 5 weeks in America and couldn't be more excited! These two nuggets haven't been to our true home, the Northeast in 3 years! We can't wait for them to reconnect with family and friends!

2 and 4-year-old Maeve and Jude 3 summers ago

Some highlights from the month:

Baseball games are back and Pete is now coaching

We finally (Jude and I) took the ferry that crosses the Amstel to check out a playground on the other side. It was a stunning Sunday and the river was bumping with people celebrating the sun. 

Rhododendrons flourished this year

Dragonfly Jude ready for his Bug Disco Party at school

Final brunch with Juliette :( See you in Versailles! 

Popsicles for my sick girl

Headed to the end of the year party in Amstel Park

I waited an hour in this long outdoor line in Noord for my vaccine. At least the sun was shining and there was street art to admire! 

Vaccine selfie :)

So many birthday parties with all of the summer kiddos squeezing them in before the summer break. 

Maeve had the best year with these great teachers and such a sweet group of kids (Jude did, too, but I couldn't manage a picture in the last-day-of-school chaos)

Pete and his band sent the kids off in style playing from the roof in the blazing sun.

Picnic with friends in the Bos on the last day of school 

Enjoying final time with Sam

Garden pool season is here! 

And as always this time of year, the goodbyes. We are used to them by now, but they are never easy. Pete especially is losing an integral member of his band, Adam and Jude is losing his good buddy, Sam. Tot ziens Juliette, Carrie, Cora, Rachel, Abe, Sam, Max, Kim, Bruce, Farin, Adam, Shannon, Ann, and the many ISA families leaving this year. 

Scheveningen Girls Weekend!

Part 2 of friend and beach time was a girls weekend with Alya and Hannah in Scheveningen, the most built-up beach area in the NL just outside of the Hague. Please don't ask me to pronounce the beach town, but trust me that it was a great spot to spend some kid-free days in the sun! We took the train to den Haag and then a tram to our hotel by the beach. So easy! We spent Friday evening at a beach cafe until closing time at 8pm (one week later, restaurants could stay open until 10pm). A highlight of any beach trip here for me is seeing the sunset over the water so we stayed on the beach and waited for the 9:50pm dip. 

The rest of the weekend was spent eating and drinking at different cafes along the beach (there have to be at least 30). The mornings were great when we could lounge around with breakfast before the crowds arrived. On Saturday, we had tickets for Le Food walk Scheveningen. Just like the Le Food walks in Amsterdam, we were given a punch card with 6 beach cafes to visit between 12-7. It was a great way to see the beach town as we had to walk to the southernmost beach cafe, Aloha, nearly 1.5 miles from our hotel. We passed massive crowds enjoying the sunshine and cafes being open again. It was also a great way to try out a bunch of different cafes. Each had a small dish and a reserved area for seating so we could hang out until we were ready to move on to the next! 

Our final stop was Naturel, a very vibey cafe way down the northside of the beach. You had to walk through the sand for a while to reach it. So when we arrived at 7pm to a packed place, we asked what would happen at 8pm (when cafes were meant to close). Our server assured us that the authorities were too lazy to walk down to this cafe to check (his words) and that we could stay as long as we wanted! Score! We stayed until the sun started to set and then walked the beach back to our hotel. 

This is the NL and very windy after all! 

A final day spent on this sofa with these lovely ladies, feeling very refreshed! 

And a trip down to the end of the pier (where there is bungee jumping and the large Ferris wheel) before heading home via train and tram. 

Schoorl Dunes Hike to Paal 29 Beach Cafe

A really fun month ended on a high, with three days of kid-free friend time. It started back in Schoorl, where we ended our glamping trip, on the Friday of Memorial day weekend. This time, I was determined to do the hike through the dunes to a remote beach cafe, Paal 29. Ann had originally recommended the outing, having done it with her family, and was game to go with Christie and me to help show us the way. We still could have benefited from a map! Thankfully between our poor map photos, a friendly passerby, and the trail signage, we made it to the beach after hiking for 2 hours. I loved the trail, passing through pine forest, through heather fields, and finally sand dunes to get to the cafe. We learned that wildrooster does not mean what we thought (warning sign for cattle grates) and had a lot of laughs as we navigated our way through the extensive nature reserve. We were rewarded with a lovely lunch on the terrace in the sun! We found the direct way back to the car (a little over an hour), which happily passed an ice cream shop before returning home. The ladies dropped me and my luggage off at Zuid station where I met Alya for part 2 of a wonderful weekend! 

Let's try this again!

In the dunes, water in the distance. Almost there! 

Proost!

Efteling!

We finally made it to Efteling, AKA Dutch Disneyland! I'd wanted to go since I'd heard of it, but wanted to wait until the kids were old enough/big enough. We thought to go last year for Jude's birthday, but, pandemic. Mid May, the NL announced that outdoor attractions were allowed to reopen after 6 months of closure. We had a Monday holiday the following week and no plans, so we booked it and invited our friends who with kids around the same ages/sizes, which seemed important when it came to rides. 

The forecast was not great, but we doned our rain gear, made the best of it and had a great day! Only outdoor attractions were open, so even though the numbers were limited, wait times were still up to 45-60 minutes for the big rollercoasters. We entered just at opening and walked onto the kid friendly roller coaster, which we all enjoyed (though Maeve told us at the end of the day that it made her stomach hurt and she didn't want to do it again). From there, we walked onto the white water rafting ride, rushing to put on water proof clothes! The boys were game for a big rollercoaster. Sara took the girls around to games and car rides and the rest of us waited the hour for one minute of super thrills- two upside loops and two corkscrew twists. Really fun! The kids loved it. 

We all went up the pagoda and got a bird's eye view of the park. From there, we headed to area for little kids- maze, tea-cups style ride, carousels, swings. The kids could be really independent and waits for short so the adults had a little down time (4 beers and 3 french fries= 20 euros, gotta love the Dutch). 

Rode a sweet monorail with my girl through a fairyland. 

The sun came out and we meandered through the huge Sprookjesbos. Throughout the park, the rhododendrons were in full bloom- so pretty! 

I got on this romantic swan ride with Pete, having no idea that it was 1 minute long! 

At the end of the day, this one needed a pick me up! Maeve couldn't be convinced to do anymore rollerocasters so she and I went back to kiddie paradise and rode carousels over and over again. The boys got to finish the day with two big rollercoasters. We all met up at the water/light show to end the day! The park was only open until 6pm, but Maeve and I couldn't have walked anymore if we'd tried! Poor kids, the next day back at school they were both limping! Looking forward to going back next year and hopefully getting to see the indoor attractions as well! 

Efteling is known for its trash cans, strange statement I know. They talk to you, asking for your trash and thank you when you've deposited it. Hillarious what happened when Maeve tried to throw away a beer can!