Holland-- Tulips!

Kuekenhof is the huge tulip garden-- only open for a few measly weeks a year when the iconic dutch blossoms are putting on their full show. It also showcases: flying cows

I loved these strange twisty inside out ones.

Some of the blooms have already come and gone-- we saw be-overalled gardeners individually clipping off each spent blossom with a pair of shears, and silently mowing that short green grass with a manual rotary mower. Met. Ick. You. Lous.
And in the midst of the flowers, a shining familiar face! Tracy! Whathe?! What's the likelihood, really? This is us guffawing in unbelief.
There was a cute little Kinderboederij-- petting zoo-- with cute (possibly too lethargic?) baby animals. Rosie did not appreciate the proximity of this calf. Even though the poor thing was probably on his last breaths...
Cute kid with cute kids...
Ooh I just lubba wubba ooh a skwooshy mooshy lamber. Seriously. I wished I could stuff one in my suitcase and take home for my very own.
Rosie Mastering chess.
Rosie liked being on Grandpa's shoulders, "like Mei-chan!" (from totoro. That's the catchphrase. "Rosie, eat your meat, just like Mei-chan!")
"Little tiny fing"
And... a town square. I think this is delft?
And the beestenmarkt--- in Edam. I love going to places named after cheese. ;)

I think this is Haarlem. We had friets and poffertjes here and went on a fruitless search for Indonesian rijstafel. It seems to have gone out of style!
We went to the mind-bending Escher museum in Amsterdam. Rosie screamed through all the echoey reverent galleries but loved the surreal top floor with all the hands-on stuff.

Holland-- The Hague

After several lovely days in Boston, we all loaded into our red eye and flew to Amsterdam. It was FREEZING. I thought I was going to catch pnemonia and die. Liz, the Bostonian, whose thermostat is set to "arctic" thought I was being melodramatic. But my thin Hawaiian blood just couldn't take the northern blast. Luckily Kate had a spare coat for me. Which means-- Kate and Sam were there! They finished off the last couple of days of their Huge Epic trip with us in Holland. They looked so lean and tan and relaxed, I was so impressed. I am glad I got to vicariously experience their adventures-- perilous border crossings, rugged camping and avalanches.

Here we all are in Delft on our very first moment in Holland, with no sleep. Awesome!!!I got to see the very house where we lived when I was little-- the tiny narrow street on a park with beautiful picturesque roofs and facades.Dutch culinary delights! Here are some friets met-- thick french fries slathered in super-fatty mayo.


And above is the real reason we went to Holland: fresh huge stroopwafels. Yes.
Below: Rosie never walked in Holland-- she crawled over every dog-poopy, dusty, dirty, gum-encrusted surface we enountered. She got speedy.
And it was my birthday! We have a very cozy family tradition-- birthday breakfast in bed. unfortunately it means that every birthday picture is shockingly unflattering, as below.
On my birthday we went down to Scheveningen beach and saw these amazing sandcastles-- no glue, just sand and water. Evidently they last for months.
Here's the Schevening fish-wife-- she stands and looks out over the ocean, waiting for the fishing fleets to come back with her husband and sons...

This yucky dog joined Liz for lunch.
We rented bikes and rode around the duins-- Rosie loved riding with grandpa Mark and listening to the rabbits who, according to her, say "click, click." She fell asleep just like baby Katie always did 20 years ago.

Big Adventure-- Boston

So after a lovely few days in Utah, Rosie, Grandpa and I jumped in an airplane and had a very pleasant flight to Boston. Liz picked us up from the airport, and we drove us over to the concert venue for her Big Graduation Concert. Actually I need a better verb than "drove." What verb would you use to describe hairpin turns, cross-lane dashes, weaving, dodging, and leaping over half-closing draw-bridges, and nudging other cars out of the way? Andrew said, "We're out for paint."
They assured me it's normal city driving. I aged several years. I mean, WHEEEEEEEE! Next time I'm bringing a helmet, though.

Pa concocted some beautiful dinner for us all-- rainbow pasta with an array of saucy sauces.
Matt and I went for a Rosie-nap-inducing long walk around Liz' little town. I loved the angel hovering over the shoulder of this grave... and the stories hinted at with the other ones...

We walked through boston commons and through a Gay-Straight Youth fest, with tables of free condoms and girls with beards and lots of very young, very self-consciously dressed teens (a lanky boy with greasy brown hair and spots in an amazing black lace dress) and vulnerable handwritten signs taped to chests: "Free hugs." Later the horde migrated to the Ugly Prom.

I love the brown brick canyons and the new light green leaves on the trees-- all the tiny quiet park-like spaces, the outdoor statuary, and the general sense that the whole city is young and smart and caffeinated. We waded contra-flow through little Italy.
I loved the balding men in polyester pants and polo shirts, smoking fat cigars and speaking italian and sitting on the street.


Matt got attacked by this teeny tiny Bantam rooster. He saw us walking past and admiring his Girls, and he jumped up over the fence and came after us. Congratulations LIZ!!!! Good job, sister. It was wonderful to have a few precious seconds with the Barkers too. I wish I could just soak them up they're so great.


The best was Liz' amazing Berklee concert and graduation-- picture a high school talent show-- young people, sincere, sometimes paralyzed with self-conciousness, earnest, done up-- and mind-bogglingly talented. Singing latin, pop, gospel, motown... and liz really was the most beautifully radiant girl on the stage, playing standup cello with her Folk Arts Quartet girls.
Rosie loves public transit.