The last two weeks around here

We thought we'd share what we've been up to lately.

Nick traveled to Paris two weeks ago for work.

Nick and Aaron, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

While Nick was in Paris, Tracy traveled to Eindhoven to spend more time with Philine, Niels, and Danique. She was there for Halloween and volunteered to help out with Danique's class Halloween festivities. She wasn't sure what to expect as we had heard that Halloween is not as big of a deal here. There are definitely no pumpkins or household decorations to be found. But all the parent volunteers at the school did a great job decorating. There aren't as many options for buying costumes here, so there were a lot of skeletons (boys) and witches (girls). Niels definitely was unique in his Commander Cody (Star Wars) costume from the U.S. Danique was a cute space girl and Philine was a spooky witch. All in all it was a very fun holiday!

Danique and her friend.

Danique's class, all dressed up.

While Tracy was down in Eindhoven she had some time to explore the city. There is a huge shopping center in the city center, with numerous stores to explore. She also checked out the Van Abbemuseum, which was recommended by several people. The museum itself was a really unique building. The art was a little bit over Tracy's head. Modern and contemporary art is not something she understands or knows how to appreciate. But it was interesting to check out. Perhaps she's even becoming more cultured!

Van Abbemuseum

Tracy had a wonderful time down in Eindhoven and is grateful that she can continue to spend time with the kids! She will be heading back down next week to help out for a few days while Maarten is out of town on a ski trip.

That Friday night, we were treated to a very nice dinner by Nick's boss Aaron. It was Aaron's last night here before heading back to Seattle. It was very generous of him and great to see a friendly face! We haven't been impressed with the food here, so were a little unsure about where to go. We consulted Yelp for restaurant choices in Amstelveen and were pleasantly surprised by what we discovered.  We went to BarRestaurant which was a quick drive from our place. It had a very modern feel and located right on the Amstel river. We will definitely be returning.

Last week brought some long work days for Nick as they are making progress on interviewing people. Tracy was busy broadening her job search. She opened up her search to nanny jobs, as it is clear jobs are still hard to come by here. She's had a couple good interviews with a couple more scheduled. Hopefully something will be a good fit and she can start working soon. She's finding it rather boring not working.

Last Friday night we attended an Expat Meet Up at a restaurant in Amsterdam. It was fun to get out of the house and talk and meet other people. It was really interesting to hear different stories about what brought people to Amsterdam. It is apparent that it is a transient city where people are constantly moving to and from.

View back on the city from Openbare Bibliotheek.

Saturday was another low key day. We made our daily walk up to the Albert Heijn to grocery shop for the weekend. There is really only one choice for grocery stores in Amsterdam and that is Albert Heijn. They are everywhere. We have three of them in Amstelveen. The one in the basement of the mall seems to have the best selection so we tend to frequent it the most. There is a Kings Market that is just down the block from us that "specializes" in stocking U.S. products that you can't find anywhere else. Color us unimpressed. We bought a box of Lucky Charms there for Tracy to take down to the kids and paid 6 euro for it. Overpriced is an understatement. We have been pleasantly surprised that groceries in the Netherlands are cheaper than they are in the U.S. But so far they are the only thing that is cheaper.

Saturday evening we were finally able to Skype with Tracy's parents. It was wonderful to "see" them and cute baby Kate!

Sunday we ran in the Olympic Stadion 5k. We lucked out and it was a beautiful sunny morning. Part of the run was along a canal with some of the cutest houseboats that we have seen here. It was a lot of fun!

Finish line picture

Nick took off Sunday afternoon for a few days of work in Norway.

Kristiansand, Norway

We are settling into our life here and establishing some daily routines. We are really excited for our Paris trip in January and have started to think about the other places we want to see while we are here. We are very thankful for this opportunity to see Europe. But we miss all of you back at home, especially our cute nieces and nephews that are changing daily. I don't think we ever imagined that the beginning of this adventure would make us as homesick as we have been. But we know that in the end and after time it will be worth it and will get better! Thank goodness for Skype!