A Springtime Saturday

When I began to plan and carefully choose what limited clothing items to bring on our 9 month stay in the Netherlands, I was sure to take into account the cold, wet, snowy/icy conditions I had been told to anticipate in the winter months.  Our winter clothes have been put to use over here, but not nearly for the hardcore conditions I was expecting.  For example, several months ago, we took note of a few fields that were purposely flooded in expectation of being frozen and used for ice-skating rinks.  People told us all about previous winters, last year included, where the canals remained frozen through mid-March.  Mentally, I was gearing up to be walking Maddie to school in the snow (as school is never cancelled due to weather here), and spending my daytime hours carefully walking to and from the grocery store with Geoffrey, because it would be too dicey to go on the bike.

Boy, have we been taken by surprise!  Spring is here, and it is taking over Kampen!

It isn't too difficult to take advantage of nice weather around here, because any time you do anything outside of the home, recreational or required, you are on a bicycle.  That being said, on this particular Saturday, we decided to head into town to enjoy some coffee before lunch, giving us a destination and something to do out of the ordinary.  It's a good thing we brought the camera along for what appeared to be a small outing.  The scene around town is so picturesque, and there is simply no way of capturing the beauty in what we are experiencing.  

Sunny and high 50's = start to a great day!

I love it when this happens. :)

Our little Dutch girl, balancing on the back of Daddy's bike like a pro.

Sunshine. YES.

The buds are showing up all over the tips of the tree branches, and I think in just a few short weeks, we will be bursting around here!

We made a stop at the Kinderborderij, where the kids enjoyed playing around the yard.  You've seen pictures like this one before - Geoffrey loves this tractor.  Pretty sure he is convinced it belongs only to him.

We ran into our friend Sophia while we were there.

They share a mutual fondness for one another.  And no, the horse is not really as big as it looks in this picture.

It can be pretty difficult to pull Maddie away from this raft.  She's quite good at it, too.  

The problem is, Geoffrey has begun to take an interest in it as well.  He is much too small to go on it...by himself...

What a good Daddy - cause you wouldn't catch me going on that thing!  I know a few parents who have tried and failed. 

At this point, Brant was telling me that he wasn't going to ever get back on this raft again. :)

We left the Kinderborderij and headed to Oudestraat for our coffee treat.  After we had ordered our drinks, we decided it was best to have a bite to eat there as well.  It was an unexpected joy for our kids to eat out, and for us, as nobody else was in the cafe at that point, making it a calm and pleasant dining experience for all!

Somebody in this picture is well trained at smiling for my camera.

Well, if nobody is going to smile, we might as well look smug instead.

Toasted cheese sandwich on a silver platter.  We like to live it up around here.

A quick stop at the market for some produce is becoming all too normal for me; I love it.  The colors, the people, the activity, the smells, the sunshine, the bells chiming, the cafe tables on the street...my heart felt deep contentment today.

We decided to keep to the outdoors just a bit longer before Geoffrey's nap time, so we headed across the river to the next village over, IJsselmuiden.  It was a nice way to extend our bike ride. 

Such a pretty church.

Kampen.

Another familiar picture from previous posts, but I couldn't help myself today.  I even stepped it up a notch and took this picture while riding.

They're pretty great.  I am a blessed woman, indeed.

The weather forecast for the foreseeable future looks like more of the same.  Don't be surprised if you see similar posts to this one on my blog over the next few weeks and months!  I said to Brant that I think we are going to experience the change of a season far more this year than ever before, because we are forced to be outside on our bikes all the time.  We aren't distracted by traffic, radio, passengers (well, that's not entirely true for me :)).  Instead, we are able to keep our eyes open to the significant changes nature is making around us, and it's awesome.