The Hitt Family: The Netherlands

After a crazy night we got up, had a nice breakfast, and went out for a walk. The Netherlands is a really beautiful country. Everything is so clean and the air just seems so fresh. Lots of people ride bikes to get where they need to go.

Our directors.

After our walk it was time to get ready for the wedding. It was an almost all day affair and everything was set up so nice! We started with sandwiches and drinks at the hotel.

Then we took a snazzy bus to the ceremony. This bus was super cool! It was a retro, double decker, London style bus.

Bubbles! They gave us bubbles to blow at John and Yolanda when the ceremony was over. We came home with loads of them! Besides Connor and Jameson, there were maybe two other kids there so of course they got all the leftover bubbles.

It was a fun ride!

I wish I would have gotten a better picture. It was awesome!

My boy looking sharp!

The happy couple :)

This lady performed the ceremony. She was somewhat of a judge or justice of the peace or something like that.

Of course Jameson started getting fussy so I took him outside into the lobby area.

They are married!

Enjoying the day with these ladies!

Connor cut up the dance floor! That kid loves to dance!

The Saudi crew! The wedding was fabulous and we were honored to be a part of it.

The next morning we started making our way back towards Amsterdam with a pit stop at the Keukenhof! Another gorgeous drive!

Old and new windmills.

We made it! We were in the Netherlands at the end of the tulip season and I was so glad that we got to see all the beautiful flowers. The Netherlands are famous for their tulips and the Keukenhof is the most famous park to see them. There are over 7 million bulbs planted here every year.

Touristy wooden shoe photo op!

Tulips everywhere!

The Keukenhof is amazingly beautiful and so peaceful!

Dutch windmill in the gardens.

We grabbed some food and drinks and had a great picnic in the park!

A little wooden shoe history.

We are such tourists!

There are my guys up there!

You can't go to the Keukenhof and not get a picture in the boat!

Take time to stop and smell the flowers.

We found the perfect open space to let the boys run around and burn off some energy.

There were a few fields surrounding the Keukenhof with flowers still in bloom.

I love this kid!

If we saw gigantic wooden shoes...we were taking a picture!

The Keukenhof does a theme every year and this year was Van Gogh. There were several things around the park to highlight this theme.

Connor would have done this swing over and over again if we would have let him.

Fun at the playground!

The park is huge! We only toured a small part of it before we were ready to go. Bye Keukenhof!

Stroopwafels! They are my absolute favorite and there was a cart right outside the gate making them fresh! Yummmm!

Sleepy baby on the road again. We headed for our hotel in Zaandam, which is a small town right outside of Amsterdam. We got there just in time for room service and an early bedtime.

We visited the Zaanse Schans the next day. Such a fun day out! This place takes you back in time. There are lots of wooden windmills, barns, houses, museums, and places to grab something to eat. Everything is built in the typical Dutch wooden style.

These people were dressed in traditional clothing and played games at the entrance.

All of a sudden we heard a lot of commotion coming up behind us. The people dressed up were doing a skit for the visitors. The boy with the guy in black was being accused of stealing something and his mother and other family members were following and begging for them to let him go.

The thief was sent to the village stock for everyone to see.

The judge asked the visitors if they should let him go and everyone said yes. His family was so happy. LOL! It was a cute little skit and Connor got a kick out of it.

He got a little lesson on hopscotch.

The old wooden windmills here are super cool! They are functioning windmills that saw wood, or grind oil, spices, flour, etc.

The windmill that we went into ground chalk that they color and use for painting.

We went all the way to the top and outside. It was a really steep climb! Connor was a little freaked out once we got outside so this was the best picture I could get.

Raw herring! Bleh!

It was a gorgeous day!

More stroopwafels and wooden shoes!

This place actually made wooden shoes so there were lots of them!

Inside!

Lots of different styles!

I think these were traditional wedding shoes.

Here you can see each stop of the process from pieces of wood to the shoes.

Whoa!

This guy demonstrated how the shoes are made. He started with a couple blocks of wood and ended up with a pair of shoes. It was really neat and he did it super fast!