Going Dutch...Again

All good things must come to an end...or so they say, right?  On Saturday afternoon, after a long and relaxing "Christmas vacation", we left our home to make the long journey back to The Netherlands to complete our ex-pat assignment.  Of the three trips that we have taken overseas with the twins, this last one was by far the WORST.  We may have known what we were doing more so than we did when we first made the trip to Holland in November, but none of that mattered when OUR CHILDREN BECAME POSSESSED BY EVIL.  We seriously thought that their heads would begin spinning around at several different points during the flight. 

 

Thankfully, the trip is behind us and we have just one more trip to make before closing this chapter of our lives. 

 

Before our children transformed into little hellions, they were sweet angels who slept for most of the drive to the airport and who watched the activity on the ground from the window in the airport terminal.  Looking at these pictures, it is hard for me to reconcile the beautifully content babies with the wretched demons that they became later in the day, but trust me, it happened, and it was UGLY. 

 

It's been a lot easier to settle in to Dutch life this time around.  True, I am already missing some of the conveniences and comforts of home and jet lag is no fun, but I knew to expect all of that this time.  It helps, too, that today's temperatures were in the high 40s and that there is no snow on the ground.  Also, there are tulips in the house.  Tulips!  Three bunches for roughly 5 U.S. dollars.  Plus, we've got access to American television via the Slingbox that Jim installed while we were home.  So we've got that going for us. 

 

We're hoping that the next four months will pass quickly; until then, we're going to do our best to make the most of our stay.  We will also be researching ways to keep the evil at bay on our flight home.  

 

 

 

Maddie fell asleep in the airport shuttle just minutes after leaving our house. 

It probably helped that she was warm and cozy in her coat and hat.  Look at those rosy cheeks!

Our plans to "pack light" on this trip were foiled by the toys, crackers, boxes of Macaroni and Cheese, DVDs, books, and clothes that were acquired during our stay at home.  We had to buy a new piece of luggage on Saturday morning just so that we could take everything back that we wanted to!

After checking in and passing through security, we actually had some time to spare.  We made our way to the gate to position ourselves to be first onto the plane, and then allowed the twins to roam free in the hopes that they would tire themselves out before the flight.  The activity seemed to have the opposite effect!

Maddie peeked out of the window to get a look at all that was happening outside.

The planes, trucks, cars, and people on the ground below held the twins' interest...for a few minutes!

Maddie continued to look out the window while Will...Will was off spinning himself around like a mad man.

The airport activity drew him back to the window for a pause, though.

Will was joined by his pals George, Caillou 1, and Caillou 2.

Will and George check out the big airplanes.