A Sunny Start to Easter Break at Hof Van Saksen

After staying home for October and February breaks, I was determined to go somewhere over our Easter break. If we left the country we'd be subject to a 10-day quarantine upon arrival so I set my sights on places in the NL that we'd been wanting to visit. The weather for the week was looking chilly so we opted out of any island/beach locales. A lot of friends have raved about a vacation park 2 hours north and when we learned that another ISA family was booked to go there, we decided that would be the place. We waited until the very last minute to book to make sure that we didn't get sick before the trip or have to go into quarantine if one of us was in close contact with someone. We were in the middle of our 3rd wave after all. Sure enough, the day before the trip, the pre-K class next to Maeve's was sent home when a teacher tested positive and the third family that was going to join us had to cancel their trip :( 

We left on Good Friday after spending the whole day packing what felt like our whole life into the back of the car and "securing" all four bikes to the bike rack. No sooner had we hit the highway than car after car starting honking at us and motioning that something was wrong with the bikes. We pulled over and one of Pete's tires had slipped off the rack and was hanging dangerously close to the road! Problem fixed we were on the road again!

The resort is a children's paradise- indoor water park, indoor play area, indoor trampoline park, mini golf, laser tag, academies for learning lots of new skills, playgrounds all over. Unfortunately, all of the indoor activities were closed. We knew this in advance and with the prices slashed as a result, we still wanted to go. Every day there were outdoor activities you could sign up for. We started off with a little nature exploration. The kids found some bugs and I found an owl pellet! 

We had the best weather of the week on Saturday so we made our way to the lakefront to soak in the sun while it lasted. 

I was sad when we pulled away from our peak bloom magnolia tree knowing it would be past its prime when we returned. So when we pulled into the vacation park and saw cherry trees in bloom all over the property, I was so happy. 

Christie and her boys came over in the afternoon to dye Easter eggs in the sun. 

Jude and I went exploring to find some of the other playgrounds. 

Pete's favorite activity of the week was the very Dutch, free-range building with wood pallets. We were given hammers and nails and got to go to town building additions onto wood houses. 

With the weather turning cooler, we hosted Christie, Dan and boys for a fondue dinner to end the day. 

Time Marches On

I usually try to savor each season and wish time to slow down. Not this year. The 1 year anniversary of this damn pandemic hit me hard. We were not meant to still be here. Still in lockdown. Still kept from being together in groups, from traveling, from seeing loved ones. And yet, in the Netherlands, here we are. Vaccines are nowhere in sight for people our age. 70-year-olds are still getting their shots now in mid-April. Cafes, bars, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, sports. All shutdown. Except for schools for which we are incredibly grateful. 

So we let the long month of March march on with hopes and eyes on better times to come. 

Jude's good friend, classmate, and baseball buddy Max announced a sudden departure back to the US. This part of expat life really sucks. Jude wanted to have a double sleepover with their other good school friend, Sam, before he left. Maeve had to get in on the action so make that a 4 person sleep over! 

Tot ziens, Max! Hope you two can see each other soon.

We celebrated Pete's birthday with a family party after school. Pete's birthday last year was our last bout of real freedom before the world changed. 

To combat these early spring blues, I've been trying to up my step count. I took a long walk along the Amstel and found these lovelies in bloom. 

We inserted some cheer with our first ever Easter branch, which Maeve happily decorated. 

It was cold and gray, but we had a fun afternoon walking/biking around Zuid and de Pijp on a Tasty Walk with Sharon and Matt. 

The kids had a few days off school for conferences so we headed to the cherry blossoms. We were just a few days early for the bloom, but beat the crowds!

We tried de Jonge Dikkert's @ Home and turned our dining room into a Michelin starred restaurant ;) The appetizer was so lekker! 

The blossoms were in bloom a few days later when I went for a walk with Sharon. 

Our own beauty reached peak bloom right at the end of the month.

The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same sex marriage 20 years ago. Our municipality called on residents to raise a flag in celebration on April 2nd. In explaining the flag to the kids in the morning, Jude asked how old the Netherlands is. Alexa told us 442 years. Jude's next comment was "why has it only been 20 years." 

Crocus Break Staycation

We still had the rest of the week of our staycation. We were very fortunate that the sun and unseasonably warm weather continued. We joined a few of Maeve's classmates at the beach one afternoon and stayed to watch the sunset, what I would have been doing every night if we'd been in Spain as planned. 

Maeve had her passport renewal appointment that week at the Consulate so we hired a babysitter to play with Jude who was not allowed to come in. We kept her a little longer when we were done and continued by bike into the Jordaan to get some to-go apple pie from Winkel 43. 

Maeve, ready to zoom to the moon at a friend's house

I think he's read all of the Roald Dahl books now

We explored another nature area that had a nice outdoor playground and cafe with some friends: Bezoekercentrum Goor en Vechtstreek.

Realizing how close we were to Naarden we headed that way for some more playground action. Found the great one outside the city moat and then the one behind the church. Made even better with some to-go hot chocolate. 

And the crocuses made their appearance, right on time!