Amsterdam Photos

My crazy new slippers

I'm not sure what I'm doing to Enrique's scarf...

=D

One of the pretty museums


I was so sad when they stopped selling these in the states and could not believe I found them here!!
I'm not sure what he's doing but it cracks me up!!

I was so tired after the 10.5 hour drive!!







The crew minus me

The streets of Amsterdam

Obviously Enrique doesn't really like his brother haha.
All three of them were OUT! And that's before the weekend even started!



He was hugging my coat for me I guess.


Luxembourg!!
We all had to get a little closer than usual...
In Belgium I think.
Sleeping Beauty?
This leaf stayed on my wiper from France to Holland and more than half the way back!

Juliana and Alisha cramped in the backseat

Amsterdam

Friday morning approached earlier than I had wanted only because I went to bed late but I still woke up on time and met Alisha at her house at about 6:45 a.m. We went to Ferney to pick up Enrique, Juliana and Juan. They had a cooler of food and that was pretty exciting haha. We said goodbye to their mom and headed out. We got about 10 minutes down the road and Juliana had forgotten her passport so we had to turn around, almost killed a squirrel but eventually got on the road. Alisha and Juan were asleep by the time we got to Bellegarde, which is only about 20 minutes away. Enrique was a great co-pilot/dj. He and I had so much fun this weekend together. We stopped to use the bathroom or get food or gas about every two hours or so. We drove through France then Luxembourg then Belgium and then into Holland. The trip took a total of 10.5 hours. Thankfully we had the GPS! We checked into the hostel and thought it would only be the five of us in one room but there was another guy, in his forties probably, from Phoenix that was in there too. He was a pretty cool guy from what we saw. We didn't see him much. So we went out to check out the time. We took the bus downtown and saw so many beautiful buildings! The canals were so pretty but they were a bit confusing because all the bridges looked the same confused us quite a bit. We wanted to go dancing but never found a place to go so we just walked around a bit and then went back to the hostel because it was late.

The next day we slept in and had breakfast at the hostel. Across the street there was a flea market that we walked through and I bought a really cute purse for only 5 euros!!! Everything was so much cheaper there than in France and Switzerland! We walked around town for the day and walked to the Van Gogh Museum and had lunch at a little shop. We took an afternoon nap then went to a pizza place for dinner. After that we went back downtown and did some shopping. I bought some really cute slippers than are shaped like the wooden ones they have there, a ring, a keychain and I think that's it. We all just had a really good time hanging out together! It was a very relaxed vacation that was well deserved! I loved how all the streets were paved with brick. Don't worry we didn't even go near the red light district. So we left yesterday morning and made the 10.5 hour trip home. I drove the whole way there and the whole way back. There was a leaf that stuck on my wiper the whole way there and half the way back. I start to get a bit crazy when I drive for that long haha. But all in all it was a great trip!!! We got back to Enrique's house and his parents had made us dinner and so they heated it back up and fed us. It was really sweet! We stayed there for a short bit then went came home. I dropped Alisha off and then came home and showered and went to bed.

Today I've had my French class so far. Enrique didn't show up like he said he would so I had to answer all the questions about Amsterdam by myself. I picked up the girls for lunch and then we skipped all the way down to school, very tiring! Now I'm just gonna relax and get a few things done and pick them up from school. Later!

Good Morning Headache

Sunday was relaxing, I got to sleep in then take a bath. We went to lunch at this African restaurant in Paris then went back to her mother's house. I watched the kids while some of the adults took care of some things at another house.

Monday we had a brunch then packed up the car to head back to Thoiry. The girls were getting on my nerves but we all survived the trip. I took a shower and headed over to Enrique and Juliana's. I watched a movie with them and we ate some oranges and just played around.

Tuesday I had the oldest girls all day because it is still school vacation until tomorrow. The morning was a bit rough but the afternoon was better. I had them do homework before lunch then we ate and they played for a bit and did a some more homework until their friends came over. So they played with their friends and I got to watch a movie by myself. It was pretty nice but I got bored. After dinner Dimitri fixed the stereo in my car. YAY!!! After that I headed over to Enrique and Juliana's to hang. Mary Poppins was on TV so we watched that for a while which brought back memories of Grandma Anderson's house. I left at about a quarter to midnight then called mom and papa when I got home. We talked for about forty-five minutes then I took a shower and went to bed.

This morning I woke up and had a bit of a headache so I ate breakfast and told the girls I would be in my bed, with my door open and would still be awake if they needed me. I was laying there and Ines came in and said she had a headache too so I let her get in bed with me and called for Ariadne and Aurore. So all four of us laid in my bed for about an hour playing and drawing letters on each other's backs. It was so fun!! So it was a really good morning. Aurore is getting sick I think because she has been very cranky for the most part today but when we were in bed she was really sweet and then at lunch she was too. Her favorite word in English is "Woah!" She loves when I say that and she always repeats it and just giggles! I let Ines draw on my back with markers and she had fun with that. We had lunch and now Ines is doing homework and I'm assisting Ariadne with her English story and about to put Aurore down for her nap =D. See ya later!

Please Don't Spit On Me!

Saturday started at the museum. There was a nose exhibit that was pretty interesting. I stayed with the family for a while but then their cousins finally made it and we had pretty much already seen the whole exhibit so I went to walk around Paris on my own. I was walking along and saw a guy that looked like my friend Lauren Bleggi's dad and then I realized it was and her mom too! They were in a car so I was waving but they never saw me. It was so crazy! I bought a nutella and banana crepe at this little stand. It was so funny because the two ladies working the stand were singing their hearts out to this French song and I was cracking up! It was a good taste of Paris. I was in search of a hat that I knew I could get really cheap in Paris so I walked down this street that Sophie said would probably have one of the cheap souvenir shops. Well it didn't so I ended up walking to the Eiffel Tower then back toward Notre Dame which was closer to where I started in the first place. As I was walking I got to see most of Paris which was nice and some guy almost did a farmers blow on me. (He blew snot out his nostril while holding the other one shut, just in case you were wondering.) He felt pretty bad when he realized I was right there but I just laughed. Why is it that the weirdest things happen to me with the cutest guy?!?!? So anyways all of this walking took about four and a half hours. I walked around Paris by myself to find a HAT! My feet were KILLING me! I got on the metro and headed back to Sophie's brother's house where we waited for the kids to finish eating and then the adults started dinner around 8:30 and didn't finish until 10:30!! It was crazy. It's still really hard for me to take that long to eat! We came home and I went to bed and slept pretty well. It seems like I've been having a lot of dreams here. Maybe it's because I get more sleep haha! Well I better get going. Oh here are the pictures from the day =D!

At the nose exhibit




It does this every hour on the hour when it's dark.