Welcome Summer!

It is about time our weather started feeling like summer instead of fall.  May was so cold and wet.  I inflated the girls pool on Sunday and they had a fantastic time playing in the water.  I hope the nice weather sticks around for a bit as I have learned that the weather in the summer here can be unpredictable.  One day we are sitting in front of the fan trying to stay cool and the very next we can be wearing sweatshirts and jeans to keep warm. 

Aubrey looooooooves being in the pool.  I bought small rings this year and once I got Aubrey to sit in it she didn't want to get out of it.  If she wanted to get to the other side of the pool she scooted herself over.

Lorelei doesn't like things to be too cold and the water generally is a little on the cooler side then I would like it to be.  She doesn't splash around as much as Aubrey but keeps herself entertained fairly well.  I was so lucky to capture this photo as she was looking at something in the bushes.

James and I took the girls for a short walk down the road last night.  There is a small farm down the road that has horses and cows and they get excited to see the animals on our walks.  On our way to the farm we passed this slug and he was still making his way when we came back around.  This time the girls took notice and were interested in watching it for a minute.

I love summer and the opportunity it brings for us to spend time outdoors and for me to snap some cute photos of the my sweeties.  I hope your summer is off to a great start!

I used the Pioneer Woman's Seventies Action on all of these photos.  I simply adjusted the opacity layer to a desired level.

Krakow, Poland

Krakow is a very enjoyable city and very affordable as well.  We stayed at a nice boutique hotel, the Dwor Kosiuszko.  This hotel was previously a summer home for the Bishops in Krakow.  The room was large and very comfortable, the staff was extremely helpful and the food in the restaurant was delicious and surprisingly affordable for such a nice place.  The hotel is located on the outskirts of Krakow and is a 10 minute walk from the tram station so we were able to get around the city easily. 

Unfortunately for us it rained nearly the entire time we were in Krakow and several parts of the country had severe flooding.  The Vistula river in the city was very high and the paths and roads near it were closed off.  Having checked the weather ahead of time we were prepared for a little rain.  We purchased rain boots for the girls and packed their rain coats and rain covers for their strollers.  We also packed our rain gear but that ended up giving us a fair amount of trouble as my coat has lost its ability to repel water and James' coat ripped and is now in the trash! 

Weather aside, Krakow is a great city.  The streets are wide and easy to walk.  The people are friendly, prices for food, gifts and lodging make it even better.  We started in the Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square) where we browsed the stalls filled with touristy type wares and watched the pigeons wait for their next snack from the tourists. 

We walked through Kazimierz, the former Jewish Quarter.  This part of town is a little run down but filled with synagogues and two Jewish cemeteries.  Did I mention that it was raining?  Well, by this point it was a downpour.  Did I mention my rain coat leaked?  By now my fleece jacket and sweater were also wet.  While we were looking for one of the Jewish cemeteries we found a great little restaurant right next door where we attempt to dry off.  James was looking at the menu when I noticed that Restaurant Szara had received a Michelin rating so we decided to eat there.  I had a delicious fried couscous and James had a local dish.  I may try to replicate the couscous dish, it was so darn good and my mouth is watering just thinking about it now and the girls loved it as well.  We shared tiramisu for dessert and I had a cappuccino to warm myself up.

After lunch we walked back towards the square and up to Wawel Hill but decided to not walk around and save it for the next day as our plans to visit Auschwitz were cancelled because it was closed due to the flooding.  We figured out the public transportation and made our way back to the hotel so we could dry off and get warm.  Aubrey and Lolo were more than happy to be back in the hotel room and out of their strollers for the day.

The next day the rain was just a light drizzle in the morning and dry in the afternoon.  We took the tram into the city and walked up to Wawel Hill.  This is where the Polish National Cathedral is located as well as a castle and a couple museums.  The interior of the cathedral is beautiful but you cannot take photos.  There are many tombs located inside and alters as well.  Pope John Paul II was the bishop of this cathedral before being named Pope. 

After wandering around Wawel Hill we headed back down to the Main Market Square and spent the afternoon exploring more of the city.  We had lunch at a nice restaurant that had a large play area for the girls and they were having so much fun they didn't want to eat.  The only way for me to get them back down to their seats was to tell them that daddy was going to drink their juice if they didn't eat lunch.  Both girls decided that their juice was far more important than the ball pit. 

Scattered across the city are brightly colored pianos in honor of Chopin. 

We really liked Krakow, even in the rain, and are currently planning a trip back in July.  The only disappointment, which could have been avoided with a little research on our part, was that we did not buy any Polish pottery.  We looked online while at our hotel and discovered that for the most part only Americans purchase it!  We passed the town well-known for their pottery on the drive to Krakow and didn't even know about it.  There was a small kiosk in the Market Square that sold a few pieces but that was it. Now that we know that Polish pottery isn't as popular as I thought it would be we have already fit a stop to Boleslawiec to purchase some pieces. 

Amsterdam

While we were in the Netherlands we stayed at the Ambassade Arena Aparthotel  located in Scheveningen, just minutes from Den Haag and the beach.  This small but lovely hotel is just a 2 minute walk from the tram.  The owners were friendly and Kate, the lady of the house, is American so we really enjoyed chatting with her over breakfast every morning.  Kate was even kind enough to put us into a small apartment instead of a double room as it was available when we checked in!  We really appreciated the extra space because we bring travel cots for the girls to sleep on and it is usually a tight fit.

We did not walk to the beach from our hotel however because it was freezing cold and windy.  On our way back from Keukenhof we drove along part of the North Sea and James stopped so I could take a few photos.  It was so windy that it seriously made my teeth hurt when I opened my mouth.  The cold weather apparently does not deter hardcore wind surfers though!

On our last full day we took the tram to the train station in Den Haag and then rode the train into Amsterdam.  The girls love riding on trains and I am glad that they do because the 45 minute train ride would drive them crazy otherwise.  When we arrived in Amsterdam the first thing we noticed were all the bikes parked outside the station.  I have never seen such chaos in my life.  Sometimes I have a hard time finding our vehicle in a large parking lot so I could only imagine how one might panic if they were to forget where they parked their bicycle.  The bikes don't have panic buttons to push to help you find them!

We walked through a large part of the city along the canals to the Anne Frank House.  We read that the lines can be incredibly long but we didn't wait more than 30 minutes to get in.  You can purchase tickets in advance and skip the lines but you have to select a time in which you plan to be there.  The Anne Frank House was a touching and grim reminder of the past.  There is no furniture in the secret annex as it was removed after the hiding place was discovered.  Otto Frank decided that it should remain empty.  There are quotes from the diary scattered through the museum with video and pictures to guide you through the house and provides a timeline of the 2 years the Frank family lived in hiding. 

After we left the Anne Frank House we walked to the Van Gogh Museum.  I have been a Van Gogh fan since I was in elementary school.  His bold paintings and tragic story have always interested me.  I wrote a book report on Van Gogh in junior high and really came to appreciate his works.  I know nothing about art and I am not going to pretend that I do.  I just like Van Gogh.  It is simple for me.  His paintings are interesting and seeing them up close was amazing.  Nearly everyone knows of Van Gogh's dramatic brush strokes and the texture of the paintings is lost in pictures in books and online.  The museum is arranged so that you follow a timeline of Vincent's paintings and see his style develop and change through the 10 years he spent as an artist.    Along side his paintings are those of his mentors, friends and those who influenced his style.  It was a very interesting to see the artists at during this time in the late 19th century. 

Here is a little tidbit of info that many people may not be aware of, and after reading some posts from James' favorite travel sites I feel like I should add this, is that while this is the Van Gogh museum and they do own the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings they do not own them all.  I did not expect to see all of his most famous paintings so I was not disappointed but if you want to see The Starry Night you will not see it here.  That painting is owned by the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.  But if you want to see one of the Sunflower paintings this is the place to go.   I discovered a new favorite painting, Landscape at twilight while James liked Wheatfield with crows.  We had a nice time wandering through the museum and learning more about my favorite artist. 

Once we left the museum we made our way back to the train station.  The entire city is really beautiful and easy to walk through.  The streets are flat and lined with trees and canals.  We walked through a small part of the Red Light District because you can't really go to Amsterdam and not have at least a peek.  One street was more than enough for me though. 

James found this store window amusing.  When we were there I noticed the Jiggy-Jig Massage sticker on the window but as I was editing it I noticed the mug shot on the right.  I zoomed in and it is from Tallahassee Florida.  

This now concludes the series on our trip to the Netherlands.  I loved it here and I wanted to give each day its own blog entry as I felt there was a lot to tell.  I hope that maybe you may think of Amsterdam as more than just prostitutes and "coffee shops".  We traveled with our toddlers and felt completely safe and at ease wandering the side streets of this old and grand city. 

Keukenhof Holland

Keukenhof Holland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  There are beds of tulips and sweet smelling hyacinth everywhere you look mixed in with blossoming trees, statues, windmills, and water features.  We spent hours wandering through the gardens.  I really enjoyed taking photos as there was so much inspiration around every turn.  So much attention to detail is placed in these gardens as they are only open from mid-March to mid-May.  Two short months and they have millions of visitors during this time.  I can totally see why so many people flock here, you don't even have to really like flowers to find yourself amazed at the sheer beauty of it all. 

The theme at Keukenhof this year is "From Russia, With Love" so there were many little symbols of Russia scattered throughout the grounds.  I loved this display of the matryoshkas and was excited to have a picture taken with my girls standing next to the dolls. 

This is a lovely and sweet smelling field of hyacinths planted just across a small canal from the gardens.  One can actually take a tour of these fields by boat at a very reasonable price but confining two toddlers to a very small boat for 50 minutes did not appeal much to James and me.  So we admired the stunning view from across the way. 

There are so many of varieties and colors of tulips and hyacinths I could not pick a favorite.  I only wish the sun wouldn't have been quite so bright as I found many of my photos getting washed out.  I have not mastered my camera out of auto mode so I try not to mess with the settings when I only get one chance for a good photo.  I am glad that I have Photoshop to help me adjust the settings on some of the pictures when we returned home.

The cherry blossoms were the finishing touch around the grounds. 

Keukenhof is an amazing place with so many things to see.  The girls enjoyed the petting farm where they mingled with baby goats, calves, bunnies and even a turkey.  They also enjoyed the playground and we had a hard time convincing them that we had to leave.  After a long day we piled into our vehicle and left with the scent of the flowers still lingering and hopes of returning again next year. 

Open Air Museum

Last week we took a road trip into the Netherlands to see windmills, canals and tulips and to eat some gouda cheese.  We did all that and more! On the first day we spent the morning and early afternoon at the Openluchtmuseum.  This is a wonderful example of how the Dutch have lived over the past few hundred years.  There were homes that have been moved onto the museum grounds and ladies dressed in traditional garb.  We spent a lot of time wandering around looking at everything, watching horses, chickens and cats and playing with old bicycles and go-carts.  The website states that you can experience Holland in a single day and that is certainly an accurate statement.

The interior of a gypsy trailer.

View of the town square from across a small pond.

Lolo and Aubrey milking a "cow" in the childrens area.

Riding old fashioned bicycle while the girls attempt to figure out the go-carts.

Old Ford car sitting in a garage.

I will be posting day 2 of our trip tomorrow or Friday.  We visited the Keukenhof gardens and I have a ton of pictures to share.

What? Another layout?

Yup!  I finished this one this morning!  I actually started working on it yesterday and then finished it up earlier.  I worked out of my comfort zone a bit with lots of patterns but I love the papers so much and I loved the end result.  I have also never put a title right on a photo before.  I fussy cut the flowers and vine and used some Zots to pop it off the paper.  I would normally use foam squares but I ran out and need to get some more.  I can't wait to use my scraps to make some cards! Cosmo Cricket rocks my socks off for sure!

I have some more layouts to work on and I have some new product to inspire me!  Since James is out in the field for the next week I hope to bust some more pages out.  Besides, using my stash means I can buy some more....just in time for the Cosmo Crickets new release that I haven't seen yet ;-)

Growing Together

It had been such a long time since I scrapped a layout.  As much as I love this hobby I just haven't been full inspiration and that keeps me from doing any sort of crafting.  I just received an order of photos from Shutterfly so I am working on getting them put on layouts and into albums.  This picture of Lolo and I has always been one of my favorites and this was even taken "self-portrait" style!  I love how she has her hand on my face.  Such a spontaneous moment that I will cherish forever. 

That being said, I wanted this layout to be special but not lose focus on the photo.  At first I thought of adding lyrics from a song on this but it just wasn't coming together the way I wanted.  After playing with it for a couple days (yes, I said days!) I gave up and went a different route and love the results.  I used my Slice to cut the scalloped circle which is the top of the tree and hand cut the tree trunk.  I added some buttons and punched hearts to add to the tree and ended up with a embellishment I am very proud of.  I added some rub-ons, a banner from Jenni Bowlin and cut "together" using the Slice Wedding card.   

So there is my most recent layout and I am hoping to work on another one today.  I finally edited some photos from our recent trip to the Netherlands and I hope to get those added to the blog this week.  I have so much to share about our trip.