Project 365: Week Forty-Four

Although our current wireless service is at times slow and unreliable, I don't know that I would have survived this first week in the Netherlands without the internet. Being able to stay connected with friends and family via email messages, Facebook, and Skype has helped me feel closer to home and the ones we love and miss.  However, our connection difficulties have made it next to impossible to upload pictures and/or download music or television shows.  It can be done, but it does require much patience and even more wine. 

And so, with a large glass of wine in hand and with all the patience that I can muster after a somewhat frustrating day, I present to you the photos taken during forty-fourth week of Project 365, a week marked by the twins' first "real" trick-or-treating experience, many farewells to family and friends as we prepared to leave for Holland, and then, of course, our long awaited journey.  It was definitely a week like no other!

May it be noted here that I have spent the last 30 minutes restarting my laptop, disconnecting and connecting from the network, and accusing Jim of "using up all the internet".  I better finish this post while the signal is coming in strong!

302/365:  Dress Rehearsal

It seems like ages ago that I dressed the twins in their Halloween costumes and took pictures of them in our yard.  Truly, though, it was just a little under two weeks ago that I snapped this picture of my adorable little fox.   I submitted this picture to Carter's via Instagram in hopes that it would be chosen for their Fan Friday album, and was ecstatic to see it among just three others selected for their album the following day.  The album was sent via Instagram to all of Carter's followers.  Will is a star!

303/365:  Hot N Cold

It can be difficult to predict Will's moods and behavior.  He is happy and silly one minute, and clingy and crabby the next.  Undoubtedly, teething has something to do with this, but we wondered if he also sensed our upcoming departure.  I'm sure he noticed that most of his toys were gone! 

304/365:  Little Monster

Our last visit to our local Gymboree put a smile back on Will's face!  We will certainly miss our weekly trips to the gym for our Learn and Play class, but we do plan on returning to Gymboree when we return to the States next year!

305/365:  November

On Halloween, Jim came home from work with a treat for me - a new lens!  I had hinted (as in, sent him the link to the lens) that I wanted a new, "all-purpose" lens for my birthday, and had politely suggested that I receive it before our trip overseas so that I could begin using it as soon as we arrived.  The man came through, and I have been happily playing with my new lens ever since!  I snapped this shot of a fallen leaf with that lens.

306/365:  Going Dutch

Saturday marked the day of our much-anticipated trip to the Netherlands.  The journey was long and exhausting, and we're glad it's behind us.  We learned from our mistakes on our trip here, and will definitely embark on our return trip home in December with a new plan of action.  

307/365:  Dutch Boy

Though Maddie had not slept more than 45 minutes on the trip to the Netherlands, Will seemed to have gotten the sleep he needed to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed upon our arrival on Sunday morning.  While his sister slept in the shuttle van on the way to our new home, Will took it all in...with a big smile on his face!

308/365:  Lost in Translation

With grocery stores closed on Sundays here in Holland, Monday's mission was to shop at a local grocery store, which proved more difficult than expected when we found all of the shopping carts to be locked.  We did not understand how to unlock the carts.  We looked for an employee to help us, but they were all busy.  Next, we asked a man if he could give us the information we needed as he was exiting the store.  He didn't speak English.  Finally, we found a younger Dutch man that told us that carts could only be unlocked with a deposit of 1 Euro.  Now we know!