Maddie plays Korfbal

Last week, Maddie's school participated in an organized sports event, put on by the local "Korfbal" sports facility.  Korfbal is a popular Dutch sport that has similarities to netball and basketball.  On this particular occasion, the afternoon was more like a giant "field day," where they had put kids into groups of 5, and rotated them through about two dozen stations.  Each station focused on ball handling, running and obstacle courses.  So, in other words, Maddie was in heaven!!  We all stayed to watch for about 30 minutes, before heading home for Geoffrey's nap.  It looked like a lot of fun and made me want to play!

Maddie, in her super cool t-shirt (she was on the red team) and new hat! Boy, was she excited!

Maddie, with some of her friends from her class.

Meeting her team and captain for the afternoon.  (Good grief, am I such a first-time parent, or what?  Taking pictures of her grouping up with her team like this?  Haha!  It's only the beginning.)

The teams gathered on the field for a welcome and instructions...

And then this giant kangaroo (the mascot for the club), came out and started a group dance/warm-up with the kids.  Not quite Mickey Mouse, but the kids loved it!

Maddie, on the right, trying to get the ball.

Meanwhile, this is what Geoffrey was up to.

Picking daisies. :) 

She figured it out pretty quick and was getting more aggressive at going after the ball (on the left).

Getting kudos from her captain (I assume so, anyway)!

One half of the field of stations (the other half is behind me), along with the giant kangaroo, patrolling the games.

Maddie, running through another station.  This girl slept well that night!

It was a warm afternoon.  Can you tell?  I think we are going to wilt when we return to Southern California.

Maddie is on the left hand side, throwing the green ball into the hoop.  This is what korfbal looks like.

She is the girl "dunking" the ball into the yellow hoop.  That's right.  She got smart real quick and thought, "Forget this jumping and throwing real high bit! I'm just going to slam it in from my tip-toes!" 

The former basketball player inside of me was so proud!  There she is on the right hand side, going after the super tall hoop.

And finally, when it came time for us to take Geoffrey home, we bumped into this fellow.  He calls him, "Pangaroo."  And, for the record, Geoffrey was very eager to get his picture taken with the giant kangaroo.  

Sail Kampen

The Monday following Easter, the festival, "Sail Kampen," was running it's final day of activity, which happened to land on a day when all schools and stores were closed (from the holiday weekend).  We were very fortunate to have wonderful weather when my aunt and uncle were visiting, and immediately after their departure, the weather turned wet.  That did not stop us from making a small outing to the waterfront to catch some of the excitement going on.

Kind of crazy about these two!  We haven't worn the full rain gear in awhile, so they were quite happy to have an excuse to get to put it on!

Geoffrey is capable of finding even the tiniest puddles to stomp in.

Sailing ships and boats littered the water in either direction you looked.

If you remember from an earlier post, I mentioned that our kids had spotted the Ferris Wheel days before.  We knew our immediate future would involve a trip up and around the giant wheel.  

Another odd scene for us - an amusement ride, with the old bell tower peaking over in the distance.

And up we go!

We love seeing sweeping views of our town, along with lots of activity and people down below!  

They're pretty cute.

Boats, boats, and more boats.

The town of IJsselmuiden, across the river.

The rooftops of Kampen.

She was beginning to realize just how high up we really were.

Stopping at the very top.  This wasn't a dinky little Ferris Wheel - it was the real deal!

We enjoyed a picnic lunch along the waterfront, before heading back home for naps.  It was fun to people watch, gawk at the big boats, and listen to the music being piped over the loud speakers.

We ended our low key day with some backyard play, which is always filled with giggles and sibling fun.

Riding wheels with balloons in tow.

The sky cleared just a bit for a beautiful sunset.  A simple, satisfying day. 

Another day with the tulips

We spent Easter Sunday in a unique way this year, by taking advantage of the country we live in, the season we are experiencing, and visitors in town.  We made a return trip to Keukenhof to see the tulips in peak season.  You might think because this was our second trip this season, I wouldn't have too many pictures to share.  So. Very. Wrong.  In fact, I weeded through 180 pictures and tried to be selective - for your sake, of course!  Sit back and imagine that you, too, are walking among hundreds and thousands of beautiful Holland tulips...  (but along the way, you must first walk through the beginnings of our special day out)!

Maddie and Geoffrey couldn't believe that the Easter Bunny had found them in Kampen, and left them their very own chocolate bunnies!

Time to hit the rails!

Aunt Susan, explaining the delicate art of knitting to Maddie.

I am looking forward to our plane ride home a little more, every time I see how much he enjoys his headphones.

We had a minor delay en route to Keukenhof.  Maddie was sliding her hand across a wooden sign, when she got a good sized splinter in her finger.  This picture does no justice in showing you how much she was crying, flailing and distressed about any of us getting the splinter out of her finger (it was 10 times worse as soon as it began to bleed!).  

Upon entrance to the park, Maddie found the giant music-making box and began to dance.  Seriously, the hands went up into the air, and she was all over that sidewalk!  (You can't see the hoards of people surrounding us - the park was pretty well packed.  But that didn't stop her - when the girl's gotta dance, she's gotta dance.)

Serene beauty.

We managed to pose around different tulips than last time, I promise! 

Just a few pictures to snap before lunchtime, which was pretty much when we arrived.  We couldn't help it (okay, so I couldn't help it...the kids were not as impressed, and just wanted to eat)!

I loved these - I don't know what they are called, but they were everywhere.  They add so much depth and texture to the scene.

The park was all out of strollers for the day, but we did manage to snag this bad boy.  I like to think of it as a push cart.  Geoffrey loved it; Maddie wanted to love it, but was hardly given a chance to ride in it.  As you will see later, we had to take care of this dilemma, in the most unusual way.

Everywhere you turn, the flower beds are uniquely designed, with the most amazing combinations that overwhelm the senses - particularly, the shutter-button-finger!

Always a sea of color.

Aunt Susan and Maddie

We immediately decided that this patch of flowers delightfully complimented Maddie's dress!

I would like to have this bouquet in my home.  Right now, please.

Can you see how strikingly different every single flower bed/combination is?  It's impossible to tire of looking at it!

Feeling cool in his shades, while riding in the push cart.

I did not pose her for this, and I love it.

Behind the fountain, are the lily pad stepping platforms that a certain someone had a water mishap with on our last trip.  She knew exactly where they were, and was very content taking a picture from this side. 

Wishing I had a backyard that looked like this.

Another picture of my girl.  What can I say?  Pretty girl, pretty dress, pretty flowers.  She doesn't hesitate, either!

After debating with herself, she decided she would like to give the platforms another try.  (I'd like to tell the man posing in the background to watch out - people actually do fall in, and the First Aid building only has dry clothes for small children.)

There she goes!  This time, she had no hesitation in letting Daddy help her along the way. 

This is the spot where she fell in.  I'm surprised more people aren't falling in - there were a lot of people on those things!

Maddie immediately hopped back on for a second round, with Aunt Susan.  Atta girl!  Way to get back on the horse!

The golden hue to this yellow is so pretty.

Geoffrey found his match.

At least she didn't attempt to pick the flowers!

Many thoughts run through my head.

Lots and lots of yellow!

At this point in the day, Maddie had made it quite clear that she was "tired of walking."  Daddy promised her he would take care of her, and take care he did.  Brant had returned to the entrance where he had retrieved the push cart, only to learn that they were out.  The woman at the desk offered him a wheelchair to use instead.  He did not hesitate, and returned to us with this.  Maddie was thrilled (and I was in a little disbelief, wondering if we should at least pretend someone in our group was in need of a wheelchair.).

Obligatory picture behind a bed of tulips, only this year, I'm actually in The Netherlands.  So awesome!

Had to stop this pretty quickly, as he began running into other people.  

Colorful lilies - they smelled divine.

It was a perfect day for ice cream cones.  Thanks, Uncle Roger!

Where all the magic happens.

Reminds me of Oregon.

The best we could do for a family photo - almost had it!

A special day to share with these two.

I like the "stitched" look on the edge of the petals.  

We walked through an exhibit hall, which was filled with orchids.  It was a perfect time for our kids to rest a little.  Thank goodness for headphones!

Climbing on stumps.  Why not?

Every time you turn around, there is another scene you want to capture.

I love the sweeping curves of tulips.

Everyone loves a classic.

And this is the point in the blog where I begin to post picture after picture after picture of beautiful flowers.  Hold on tight!  Here we go!

I guess flowers become a little tiresome for some people, especially the littlest one.  I was so happy for the wheelchair in this moment!

At the end of our visit to the gardens, we found this beautiful display: it's a picture of the canal houses in Amsterdam, with a giant tulip to the left of this picture.  A fitting scene to end the day.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit The Netherlands in the spring, do not hesitate.  It is a gorgeous time of year here, and seeing the tulips is a once in a lifetime (okay, twice for us this year), opportunity.  And, extra kudos to you if you made it all the way to the end of this post!