Belgium & The Netherlands

This weekend we: 1. Bought a new family car.  2. Took the kids and went to an antiques market in Belgium.

Lets start with the new family car.  Personally I have always been morally opposed to mini-vans.  Who gets onto the freeway (or Autobahn) behind a mini-van and thinks: "Wow, that is an awesome car.  I bet they are going to do the speed limit, and stay in their own lane, and not be annoying in general".   No one. That's who.  Everyone cringes when they see a mini-van coming with a 200 foot radius of them.  But now, as a mother, I understand why....when we see that mini-van driver swerving all over the road, I assume she (yes, she) is turning around in her seat telling one sibling to stop tormenting the other or blindly feeling around the backseat with one hand for a missing binky or the sippy cup her kid chucked as hard as they could out of pure fury.  So at the expense of being mercilessly ridiculed by family, we decided that we could no longer ignore the functionality of a mini-van.  After looking for weeks we found the perfect van for a great price.  And I can't wait to drive my van ;)

Moving on to the rest of the weekend in Belgium-  we drove out with some friends and stayed at the most beautiful Chateau I've ever seen.  I wish we had a little more time to spend walking around the property and gardens but we were on a mission.  We loaded up 4 adults and 4 little girls (all under the age of 4) and went to explore the local village.  We ate some fantastic pizza and tried to keep, mainly our kids, from destroying the restaurant.  This morning we went to the antiques market, walked around and found some really fun stuff.  We drove home and had a nice evening before wrapping up the weekend!

The new Krause family swagger wagon

About to explore some caves that turned out to be closed for the day.

A fraction of the antiques market 

The Chateau 

Bug chowing down on her evening bottle

The place we stayed might have been a little fancy.....just a little. 

Goofing around before bed 

Not happy about the forced photo 

Everyone is sad 

Coffee break at the market 

~Great finds at the antique market~

Amazing rocker

Really just bought it because I broke it.  An antiques market no no. 

Demijohn jar 

Annnnnnd a typewriter, for 8 euro, which I love, which I have no idea what to do with....

A break in the gloom

Today has us hoping that spring is getting closer.  The last few weeks have continued to be in the mid 30's, making this feel like the never ending winter.  So of course, when it hit 70 degrees today, we took full advantage of the awesome BBQ that was here when we moved in.  We kicked off the day by finally joining our church of one year.  It was nice and sunny so the kids played at the playground while we caught up with friends.  After baby nap time, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the patio listening to music, grilling burgers and watching P & S destroy my beautiful new flowers!

Flower killers

Bell

Bug throwing a fit (after eating potting soil)

Happy spring!

The longest photo post ever!

We have been pretty busy the last few months.  We made it home for Christmas and I stayed out for a few extra weeks when M had to get back to work.  We were so blessed to have spent a month with grandparents, siblings and cousins!  Enjoy some highlights of our recent comings and goings!

 Super excited about the baby doll Aunty Liz got her for Christmas.

Enjoying a nice long foot rub from Papa. 

Afternoon at the park.  

The containment of sheer joy is not possible while swinging.  

Church with Nana and Papa. 

Then we flew to Baltimore with Grandma to wait for a space-a flight home. 

Chillin' with some snacks.  In our own seats.  No big deal.  

We took really awesome naps at the hotel. 

We love naps. 

Grandma took us to a museum in downtown Baltimore. 

Too many things to touch.  

We ran around like maniacs.  

And we slept REALLY well that night. 

Bug loving some special Daddy time (dang, my husband is a hottie). 

My grandfather passed away 3 weeks after we got back to Germany.  The girls and I went home for the funeral, unfortunately my hard working husband couldn't be with us (you were missed baby).  It hurts losing someone you love but its so amazing knowing he is with Christ now.  It was a time if mourning, great celebration and family reunion.

A ridiculous number of babies and toddlers. 

Kickin' it with cousin North at Nana and Papa's. 

California sun, its so bright, good thing Bell has her shades on. 

Eating lunch on our Yosemite day trip.

Bug learning some valuable facts about Yosemite Village. 

Bell- future hiker 

"No time for pictures mommy, I have things to do."

True naturals at this outdoorsy stuff. 

Bug and Bell

Bug eating mud.....

Bell throwing sand....

Of course they smile for a pic with Nana. 

Bell and Papa.