Our long awaited European vacation is finally happening! We would all randomly look at each other and laugh because a. we’re so excited and b. none of us can quite believe it’s happening.
We rented a car to drive up (thank you smart chelsea!) and had plenty of time to pop into the USO for lunch.
And then we wait.
Matt slept. I walked.
D and I were seat buddies, adi and Frankie too, and Matt had to sit with strangers that he quickly made friends with.
We packed very light, but Delaney had a few things she had to bring. Lovey (obviously), Camille the chameleon, and then this made me laugh so much - as she was telling me her list she goes “2 masks - one for my eyes, one for my mouth.” She’s so fun. 😂
Our first flight to Boston was just an hour. Our digital boarding passes didn’t have our gate number and it’s been so long since I’ve flown international that we were a little confused. Thankfully we heard an announcement about the international E terminal, so we booked it over there. Then we had to walk out on the tarmac to take a shuttle to the other side of the airport where we then got to take another rainy walk back in.
We had just enough time to grab a snack while our flight boarded.
And then we were ready for our 7 hours to Amsterdam!
This chic was in heaven. She wasn’t in love with her beef stew, so I traded her for my ravioli and I liked both.
We slept off and on. All except Frankie, who found a fun music station and decided to stay up all night? I finally took the old phone away from her, but shortly after that they turned the lights on for breakfast, so it was a moot point. Delaney was so sleepy!
We had a little fiasco with our rental and winter tires, but we’re easy going this trip so it’s fine. We had our temple appt at 12:30, but didn’t really have a plan before that. We drove around The Hague a little.
I found a fun breakfast cafe - Cafe Blossom.
We got 2 brekkie platters
And 2 lemon ricotta pancake platters and shared.
The people at the temple were amazing! So friendly and accommodating. We could have let D hang out in the basement lunch room and I could have helped with baptisms, but we didn’t know. Matt was able to walk around their tiny temple after the baptisms, then I was late for my initiatory appt, but they were all the sweetest. They invited me to stay and do more than what I’d brought but I told them I probably needed to get back to my family. I thanked them for being so accommodating and they just smiled and said that’s what they are there for. Best experience!
While the crew was inside, D and I hung out outside and she broke ice. I made a friend and chatted while her kids joined Lanes in breaking ice.
She was being a good sport, so I was happy to let her be easily amused with her ice.
♥️♥️♥️
My crew waited down in the cafeteria for me. Her sleepless night finally caught up to her. It took a really long time to gently wake her up and she had a big red mark where she held her head up. We were all laughing but she was a good sport.
We found a Jumbo supermarket and got some groceries so we don’t have to shop too much on Sunday. This canal across the street from the grocery store was full of families ice skating and big college boys playing hockey.
Matt took the girls out on it while I averted my eyes in the car.
We got to our Van Der Bilk Hotel Avifauna at a bird sanctuary and got showered and ate our grocery store dinner. At 6:45pm we called it a night. The girls have a bedroom and it’s 3 beds upstairs, along with our bathroom, then Matt and I have a bed downstairs with the kitchenette. Delaney says this is the best hotel ever. Matt fell right to sleep and the girls, who found their second wind and were super wound up, fell asleep about 10 minutes later. I slept soundly till around 3am, so I got 7 hours.
Now Matt and I are playing on our phones hoping for a little nap before day #2 in Amsterdam. We feel so blessed and are loving our trip!
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