More Rotterdam!

To do my time in Rotterdam justice I decided to do a second post. Above you see the beautiful Merlijn. This is Henk and Jantien's (Katinka's aunt) ship that they converted from a barge to a wonderful passenger ship to conduct bike tours in Holland and Germany. It was such a treat to stay on such a lovely ship.

Here is the only working windmill in Rotterdam. Fortunately, I was visiting the area on a day that it was open. Since both workers were busy they just let me look around on my own. It was so cool! I climbed four different ladders to get to the top where the actual grinding was taking place. It was interesting to go each level and see how it fit into the whole process. I was able to go out on the deck and have a great view of the harbor. One of the workers explained about the windmill and mentioned that it was a great day because the wind was blowing well.

This is Delfshaven, which is an area in Rotterdam that is historically known for a couple of reasons. But most interesting to me was that this was where the Pilgrims left from before going to England and boarding the Mayflower. (Yes, the Pilgrims were originally from England, but they first went to Holland before America.) It was a nice area along a canal, with the windmill at the opening of the canal.

Jantien took me up to The Hague one day and she showed me around the city that she used to live in. Pictured is where the International Criminal Court is held. I found this particularly interesting because I have read about it in my studies. While we were in The Hague we also went to the Dutch Parliament and actually sat in for part of a session. My favorite part of The Hague, though, was the Panorama Mesdag. It is a beautiful painting of the beach there. You should definitely google it.

Jantien and Henk were so generous to have me on their wonderful Merlijn. I had a great time with them and cannot thank them enough for their hospitality.

What Is All This White Stuff?

We finally had a sunny day (and "warm" at 10 degrees!) so I bundled Ellie up to go out and explore all the snow we've been getting.

She was not impressed.

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

January Activities

Since Alana is over in Brussels right now, I thought she would appreciate seeing some of the things that have happened since she left. We celebrated Susan's birthday before Katinka left to go back to Holland. Then Meg, Margaret and Gavin went up to Salt Lake for Jessica Reeves' wedding (sealing) to Reid Anderson. We stayed with Merril and Sharon Warnick (Gavin's other grandparents) and had a great time seeing old friends. Finally, neighbor and pool builder extraordinaire, Larry unveiled his new river and waterfall in his backyard. Gavin and Brielle can hardly wait to race sailboats down it. Nice job, Larry!!

Family Time

I've been meaning to post for a very long time, and am finally getting around to it. So, sorry about multiple posts in one day. These are pictures from the Wild Animal Park. Brielle was pretty excited to see all the animals (and to be with her Daddy after being away from him while we were in Florida), so we actually were able to capture some rare smiles.

Cousin Time

Brielle and Gavin seemed to enjoy being together. I'm pretty sure they just thought they were each a great big toy to play with, but at least they kept each other entertained. Here are just a few pictures to represent the 2 weeks together.

Christmas Morning-after opening presents.

It is tough to get two cute babies to both smile at the same time. Here we have Ellie with almost a smile.

And here is Gavin with a great smile!

Watching the Horses at the Santa Anita Race Track.

Animal Time

We had a great time at Aunt Eileens Ranch. Brielle loved the dog, but seemed a little bit nervous about the cows.

We went to see the Floats for the Parade of Roses. This is the FTD float before any of the flowers or seeds were put on.

Same float only one week later...it is amazing how much last minute work there is to make such beautiful floats.

Time with Great Grandparents

Brielle was lucky enough to be with 5 of her 6 great grandparents during Christmas. We just didn't get a chance to see "Grandmother" Christensen, but hopefully will see her soon.

With Great Grandpa Baker and Cousin Liam

At the Wild Animal Park in San Diego with Great Grandparents Vov and Yogi.

The whole Finlay Family!

Rotterdam

I am in Europe! But since my boss is in Strasbourg this week I am spending time with Katinka's family in Holland. I spent my first couple of days in Oostkapelle, but then headed up to Rotterdam to stay with Aunt Jantien and Hank on their beautiful barge, The Merlijn. Be sure to check back for great pictures of Oostkapelle and Katinka's family. The first picture is taken from the Euromast (seen in the second picture). It was great to have such a view of the city and have Jantien point out important sites. To the left of the picture you can see the New York Hotel beneath two tall towers. This is only one section of the city/harbor - it is huge.














This picture shows the Euromast from across the Maas River.



















This is the New York Hotel, which was used by passengers of the Holland American Line before they departed for the US. There is a restaurant on the main level and a hotel occupies the upper floors. Jantien and I had lunch there, which was a ton of fun because of its location and historical aspects. It has been a lot of fun to explore the city. I have loved staying on the Merlijn. A big thanks to Jantien and Henk for their wonderful hospitality.

Northern California Trip

We took a trip to San Francisco with our Dutch "daughter", Katinka, and had a wonderful time. The first picture is of all of us from the Point Bonita lighthouse, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Next, we showed Katinka Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world, supposedly. The picture shows San Francisco Bay with Alcatraz in the middle. We also went snowshoeing at Donner Lake and finally had a sweet tour at the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory in Fairfield.

Christmas in California

Here are some of the pictures from Christmas at the Finlay house. It was a full house this year which we loved. Brooke was with us just prior to Christmas, Brad's parents came from Ohio, Katinka came from Holland to stay with us for a month, the Crumps came down from Roseville and Ilenia from Italy (who stayed with us 8 years ago),and her new husband, Igor, spent part of their honeymoon with us - it's sure to be a very long marriage now.

The first picture is Christmas Eve and as is the usual tradition, the kids all slept out in the living room waiting for Santa, after we read the Christmas story. The second picture is of some of the kids at Christmas dinner. In the third picture, Ilenia had just cut the Pandoro and was getting ready to serve it. . .she said that Christmas dinner in Italy wasn't complete without it. The next picture is of all of us at Santa Anita, watching the horses work out in the morning. Finally, Erin and Evan worked on the Palmdale float for the Rose Parade. They must have done a good job as the float won an award.