It's spelled H-a-a-r-l-e-m and it's nowhere near the Bronx

This week we relaxed at home more than the past weeks. It was nice to just stay home a couple days and regroup. We read lots of books, listened to the snowman song an insane amount of times (do you wanna build a snowman?), and enjoyed being together. One day Lincoln wanted to read books with his devil blankie. Then we ended up hiding in the blankie reading. When Chad came home, Emily and Lincoln were hiding and Lincoln thought it was so funny he shouted "we're hiding!" Then of course Chad got to hide with him on the couch.

We made friends at the Library the first time we went there. They are here for a year and are from Maryland. They are really nice and offered to let us borrow some toys. We did not expect an ikea bag chuck full of toys for both Lincoln and Zalie! They are so nice! Emily was able to make dinner without Lincoln bugging her in the kitchen for the first time since we've been here. Toys really do make a difference!

Zalie figured out how to grab her new toy in no time!

With an easy going work week, we decided to go on an adventure as a family on Saturday. Chad had a Priesthood meeting in Haarlem, so we made a day out of it. Haarlem is a 30 minute train ride from Den Haag Centraal, and Lincoln loved being on a 'big choo-choo.'

Haarlem is where Corrie ten Boom lived during the German Occupation of Holland in the 1940s. We were able to go to the Beje, her house, where many Jews were kept hidden and safe. It was incredible to see the hidden room in Corrie's room and see the mechanics of it. Lincoln thought it was just a fun place to play. Little does he know that he was in a place where six people hid for hours in fear of their lives.

We then went to the Teyler's museum, which is the oldest museum in the Netherlands. It houses fossils, scientific equipment, paintings, books, and more things. We did not get to see much because Lincoln was quite antsy. And in the very first room he was walking a little loudly (as seen in the picture) and a worker shh-ed him.  That was a bad omen right there. Well, the second bad omen because Chad was given a dirty look when we forgot to close the door upon entering the museum. The museum was a little too hoity-toity for energetic two-year-olds, so we did not stay for too long.

A short walk from the museum was the windmill. It was the first time we'd seen a windmill actually turning. It was gorgeous and right on a canal.

We then went to the market where we bought hot stroopwafels (SO GOOD!), a wheel of Haarlem cheese, and some ham and cheese croissants. Everything was delicious and so worth it.

Lincoln has some big shoes to fill.
Luckily that 'big cracker' (wafel) will help him fill out.

Near the Corrie ten Boom house was this cheese shop. There were tons of cheese samples, mmmm... Chad bought a cheese there (you can read about it on his cheese blog!) and we learned so much about cheeses made from different milks and how the milk tastes so differently based on time of year and location of the cow. It was really neat and we are now considering having Chad go to cheese school, or just live on a dairy farm.

Zalie was there too! She slept most of the time in the ergo and was happy to go home at the end of the day! Emily took the kids home by herself on the train since Chad had a meeting. We sat by a nice lady who befriended Lincoln and helped him calm down when he wasn't too happy about Daddy not being with us. We made it home safely :)

Tummy time!

P.S. Chad may be leaving for Honduras for a week in April, so if you want to keep Emily company you're certainly welcome. You can see all the wonderful things the Netherlands has to offer from Haarlem to the Hague and by then the tulips will be out! BYOA-Buy your own airfare.