One Little, Two Little, Three Little Canadians 🍁👨‍👩‍👧

Tuesday 5th –

 

The day we’ve all been waiting for… Well, some of us anyways 😋

Mike and I left the house by 8:30 but due to traffic jams we didn’t get to the airport till 10:40… Which turned out to be just in time as we had only a few minutes of waiting before that first glimpse of familiar faces came through those sliding airport doors.

Mom and dad made it to Europe 💕

Even their luggage made it! All three suitcases and two backpacks worth 😋
(I think it’s the first time with me, friends or family traveling here that a bag hasn’t been lost for a few days.)

Mom and I ordered Starbucks while Mike got the Burger King… we couldn’t raise the food bar too high for their first meal 😜

The day was a dreary one so we didn’t much feel like touring around Amsterdam.

Mike attempted to show us the flower auction.
After three incorrect elevator stops, one questioned stranger, a walk across the parking lot down to a store with locked doors and finally a cashier waving us around to another door… We made it inside 😏
But no further, as the auctions were over and it was only the small store front that was open 😜

We left there and headed to a famous little fish smokery.  

Particularly well-known for their eel😁
It sounds freaky because all I can picture are the mean, freaky eels off of ‘The Little Mermaid’ but in reality these eels are hardly a foot in length and they do taste very good.
Their smoked meat being served in a crusty , warm bun.  

 
Mom and dad didn’t seem to shy with the locals and willingly asked if the shop workers spoke English and then started in on the conversation of fish, what wood was used, where, etc.
Mike and I may easily learn more than usual during their visit 😉

In attempt to keep mom and dad awake longer so they could adjust to the time change better, we figured we should keep them semi busy.
We did so by taking them to the open air museum we had previously visited with Bro. Paul and Sis. Holly back in January. 😊   

 

Dad was feeling carsick so the freshly made stroopwafel held no interest for him… until it was in moms hand and he could see the caramel oozing out the sides 😏 

 
He did decide to share though.🐦

It’s an interesting place and the windmills had tours available.
Not surprisingly, we took the sawmill tour 😉   

 

Mom found some art and the man who drew and sold it, also told dad that he looked like Luigi😂👨🏻 

After we finished looking around there, It was time to get back to the cottage.

The boys left to go pick up ‘kibbeling’ for supper, as it was Tuesday and dad had heard about it from Josh, Pro and the blog and wanted to try it post haste 😋

The suitcases were unpacked and held much for me 😁  

 
Coffee beans, farmers sausage, Catalina dressing, paint supplies, salt and vinegar chips and more. ❤️☕️🎨

The evening cleared up nicely, so Mom and Mike convinced Dad and I to go for a small walk. 👫

The evening was then spent counting hours till bedtime for some, relaxing in knowing the flying/wait was over and then munching on some pop corn and much missed salt and vinegar chips before the clock struck 9.

 
Wednesday 6th –

 
I woke up around 8:00 and heard no sounds of life coming from the kitchen/parents room so I stayed in bed and amused myself with social media and writing the previous day’s activities.

10:00 was when I could no longer ward off the longing for fresh ground coffee brought from Canada, so I figured the parents had slept in enough😜

Coffee was made and everyone slowly moved around…mainly from bed to the couch.
Coffee and muffins in hand 😏☕️

A dreary, windy day made our lack of ambition feel a little more acceptable🌧

I usually snack throughout the day and never make a real ‘lunch’ so when Dad asked what we had, I was unprepared.
Luckily a frozen pizza was in the freezer and I had the items on hand to make some guacamole dip.

The afternoon was then spent relaxing further… It was my job to help them acclimate to the time change and all gently 😉
And I take my jobs seriously 😜

We knew once Mike was off from work, our days of relaxation would be few.
So none of us minded the lack of activities too much 😏

I began supper preparations a little early and it’s a good thing too.
The ‘gnocchi’ we had purchased, turned out to be pre-peeled baby potatoes 😆
I was disappointed but luckily we had pasta in the cupboard.

I see potatoes in our future meals 😏

Cucumbers, fried mushrooms, chicken and pasta with a cheesy tomato sauce made up our supper.  

 
The discussions around the dinner table are more animated with mom and dad here and the evening was filled with laughing.
Mostly from mom and I… Ok pretty much only mom and I 😜
Dad sits calmly with a slight smile, realizing that we will eventually settle down and stop laughing.
Mike doesn’t know the ways of us tired girls yet so he sits making faces of attempted tolerance or tries to make us stop by saying something… Which only makes us laugh harder.
He has a few more weeks to learn 😜

The evening came to an end and Mike and Dad worked together to make sure there was coffee ready to be made in the morning ☕️