The Durneys Go Dutch: March 2023

February went something like this: kitchen progress, kid birthday party, museum, repeat. With a Lizzo concert and Global Village day thrown in.

We were out of our house the first 3 weeks of the month until right before our February break, which was a much-needed stay-(and put our house back together)-cation. The next post will (hopefully) be the kitchen renovation, as soon as we get our countertops!

Pete spent the first weekend of the month in Belgium with two friends. Lots of beer, not so many photos. I stayed back and had a weekend with the kids in the city.

Making a very convoluted board game

Pretty views shopping for backsplash tiles

Anne Frank grew up in this apartment building down the street from where we were staying.

First museum visit of the month, the ARTIS Groote Museum, a small natural history museum on the grounds of the zoo.

I don't know, but it was adorable!

The kids used some of their Christmas money to buy Valentines at Target over the break. It isn't a thing here to give Valentines, but that did not deter Maeve from writing cards to each of her classmates in their mother tongue language! She has an obsession with writing in other languages (with the help of Google Translate) at the moment.

Valentine's date to Paskamer, a cozy wine bar a short walk from the apartment.

Walking to the Rijks Museum for the much anticipated Vermeer exhibit. Museum visit #2.

This was the largest exhibit of Vermeer's work in history. 28 of the Delft artist's known 37 paintings from around 1650-60 were on display. I'd already seen the biggies owned by the Mauritshuis (Girl with a Pearl Earring, View from Delft) and the Rijksmuseum (The Milk Maid, The Little Street), but was really excited to see the works that had been loaned by museums around the world. The exhibit was wildly popular, selling out quickly, particularly after its write-up in the New York Times, but there is a nice online tour if you want to check it out!

"The glass of wine": This was my favorite (just a coincidence that it is of a woman drinking wine!)

I loved seeing what Vermeer's studio looked like, classic Dutch glass windows, Delft tiles and checkerboard floors. I also loved the way he painted fabrics.

Back to the Rijksmuseum (museum visit #3) for a weekend Vermeer drawing workshop.

Some birthday party fun

Global village day morning feast

The school-wide assembly with performances was back this year and our kids enthusiastically joined team USA for weekly rehearsals leading up to the big day. George Ezra's Green Green Grass on repeat in the house.

The Turkish community showing their thanks for the donations and support for the victims of the devastating earthquakes.

I got a last-minute ticket to the Lizzo concert and enjoyed the spectacle and what the Dutch news referred to the next day as a "Gigantic Therapy Session."

Book Week fun and our last day in the apartment in the city before moving back into our house for the February break.

Hilo and Curdoroy bear

Apart from the excitement of moving into our house with the new kitchen, we also dog-sat Lucy over the break, which thrilled the kids. Pete's grandpa, the kids' last remaining great-grandparent, passed away over the break and Lucy was a great comfort for Jude who took the news hard.

Museum visit #4- Our first time at the Zaans museum, a Dutch heritage museum that is next to the tourist-famous Zaanse Schans windmills. They have a biscuit and chocolate factory experience in the museum so it was an easy sell for the kids. Special for the February break, they also had a nature art workshop where the kids made beautiful pressed flower prints.

Women would put these mini dollhouses out on display when friends would come over to show off their silver. We are always trying to impress one another!