Is It a Sign?

So, last weekend was the big wedding weekend. Doris’ cousin Heidi married a wonderful man from Guatemala, Mexico. If there are two cultures who know how to throw a great party it is the Mexicans and the Germans. We weren’t disappointed. Well, maybe when the band stopped playing at 1:30. His close family was able to attend but that was all. His mother was so pretty and done up. She wore a gorgeous pink dress and cute little peep toe silver pumps. Very proper but very festive.

They had a catholic ceremony in a small town near Munich. I saw next to Doris’ cousin, Uwe, and he is a ton of fun. We all had a great time at the wedding, making small jokes, and listening to the mariachi band play. They were so wonderful and they sounded so great in the church. It was just the perfect touch to the wedding to have them. Here is a picture of Doris and I with the band. The day was a bit windy…..

The reception started with an abundance of cake. It is tradition that all of the cousins and aunts bring a cake. Let’s say there are 21 cousins plus aunts to go with them so there is always a TON of amazing food. The cake time leads into coffee and then the dancing began. Oh, and the drinking. There was great beer, homemade schnapps, and tequila. The Mexican heritage had to be represented also!! The party got started right by Miguel’s parents dancing to a traditional Mexican song played by the mariachi band.

Part of their traditional weddings (and it is more of the Romanian/German heritage than current day German traditions) involve many games. One of which is kidnapping the bride and the groom must go and find her. At the last wedding I went to during my exchange year we went a bar and he had to try to figure out which one we were at. Every time he went to the wrong location, he had to do something, like put his shoes on the wrong feet, roll up his pant legs, or wear a wig. This time, since it was such a small town, we went out to the patio where they had sangria waiting for us. Miguel eventually showed up wearing a dress, wig, and breasts. It was quite the site! They made him do certain tasks to get her back, such as saying 5 words to describe the bride with a mouth full of wine, or finding a ring in a bowl of flower. He eventually got her back then everyone else got to play in the games as well. I got called up for a game where you have to take either a tennis ball or a ping pong ball and fish it up one pant leg of a unsuspecting guy and down the other. I lost, horrible. I also lost my ball. Everyone was laughing at me. I have no idea who this guy was since he was wearing a Rastafarian wig. Did I mention how great a comforter sangria makes when 10 tables of people are laughing at you?

After the games ended and we headed inside it was time for dinner. They had a great spread of food. I have no idea what all they served but everyone’s plate had something different. It was amazing! There was also more cake and even later, they brought out plates of ice cream with crepes. The ice cream was so delicious! They were big slabs of all different flavors. Caramel, hazelnut, chocolate, vanilla. I couldn’t pass on a taste test of those either. After dinner we all changed into clothes a bit more comfortable for dancing. Here I am with Rosi (Doris’ cousin) and Doris after the costume change.

The dancing was great. The band played great songs, but their sets weren’t very long and they had really long breaks. At the beginning this was ok because the mariachi band in between, but after they left it let the mood die down. We weren’t very happy with that. All of the younger cousins had planned a game for everyone. The audience participation wasn’t very good but that probably had something to do with alcohol consumption and the noise. But the King and Queen were on a chariot lead by a driver and 2 horses. There was a story that went a long with it and every time someone’s “position” was said, such as “the driver” he had to run around his chair. Everyone had a roll and it was a lot of fun. I really like how they all play games and have so much interaction. As it got later, it was time to throw the bouquet of flowers. There were plenty of single ladies there so the competition was tough but I’m not one to back down from a challenge. I’m not exactly in a rush to get married, but I really don’t like to lose so the result….

I caught the flowers. Woo Hoo! I also caught them at the last wedding I was at and that I’m still nowhere near close to being married. Doris said since these are German flowers it now leaves me the opportunity for a German man.

On Sunday we all woke up decently early and had breakfast down in the parents kitchen. It was fun seeing everyone the next morning and some people were definitely in better shape than others! Shortly thereafter we said our good byes and headed home. My flight left at 3:30 so we had to get back. Doris’ mom made an amazing lunch then Doris and I headed off to the airport. I go to check in only to learn my flight has been cancelled. I am supposed to go through Munich which was apparently close shortly before we arrived due to this annoying ash cloud. I got lucky and caught the KLM direct flight back to Amsterdam. I only arrived an hour later than scheduled and got to spend a few extra hours with Doris’ family and see her brother and future sister in law. I am still recovering and due to all of the partying I have come down with a cold.

I will not let this cold stop me though, because tomorrow I fly out to Copenhagen for my first solo trip ever. I will then travel to Stockholm and meet up with my cousin, then fly back to Amsterdam on Sunday. Therefore, I will not be able to blog the rest of the week but expect some great stories and pictures next week. I will also try to get a few more pictures of the wedding from Doris. Have a great week and pray the winds keep the ash cloud away!!

My German Family

On Easter Monday Mom and I were lucky enough to get to celebrate the special holiday with my german sister's family. They are a very special family to us. When I was 12 Mom decided it was time for us to host our first exchange student. She came to us under less than desirable circumstances. Her first family wasn’t ideal. We still wonder why in the world they hosted an exchange student, and who in what organization thought it was a good idea. This family had little financial stability, numerous drug problems, and had little respect for personal boundaries. That is the downside to the exchange program. "Schwester" then moved in with a teacher who already had an exchange student and the original student’s program said 2 German exchange students cannot live together. So since "Schwester" was the newbie, she had to go. My mom knew Bob back in high school and he called her up and asked if she would be willing to host an exchange student. We had her for around 6 months. It may have been more or less, I was young then. My mom told him to bring her over so we could meet her and then decide. Well, we all spent about 5 minutes with her and were asking her where her suitcases were. She moved in very soon afterwards and it has changed our life ever since.

When I was 14 the family made a trip to visit her and meet her family. Then we met her fun brother, "Bruder", as well as her loving parents. On that trip we also toured Bavaria including castles and the Dachau concentration camp. It was very humbling for 2 young kids to see that (my brother was 12). When I was 16 I made my first solo trip ever to jump the ocean and travel with Doris and her friends on their graduation trip to the south of France. We had a fabulous time and still laugh about the stories. I also had one of the best tans of my life then. It’s probably why I now have my freckles and sun spots already forming.

"Schwesters’" parents, Hans and Regina, don’t speak any English and they were the reason why I wanted learn. They were such nice people and I had to learn, which is what inspired my exchange year in Germany. I can now speak to them! They probably wish I had never learned and was quieter at the dinner table.

"Schwester" and her brother made a trip (or two) to visit us several years ago. They stayed for about a month and we always have an amazing time. It seems when they are around we always have at least 1 run in with the police and always a good story to laugh about later. Never a dull moment with my german family. "Bruder" has also let me drive all of his cars in Germany. Some go faster than others, but either way some important lessons have been learned. The lessons include:

1) I am not born to be a race car driver. I cannot pop the clutch and I tend to stall out
2) Traffic on the autobahns at 1am is generally light, handy when “opening her up”
3) Driving at 150 mph is TERRIFYING.
4) Throwing innocent toys out the window driving the above speeds is scary, for both the toy and the thrower

So having my german family part of our family the last 12 years it is only natural we keep in touch. "Bruder" is recently engaged to Natalie. Everyone loves Natalie and we are all so happy for both of them. Their timing could not have been more perfect for everyone and there should be a wedding in September and kids shortly thereafter. I guess what they say, when you know you know, is really true. I’m still not a firm believer but I guess it is growing on me.

Patience is a virtue in all aspects of life and I keep working on that trait. Maybe one day I will learn. I just booked my tickets to go back to visit my german family and attend "Schwester's" cousin's wedding as her date. This will be my 2nd German family wedding and I am VERY excited since the last one was so much fun! She is also marrying a Mexican and that culture knows how to party as well. It will be a very merry time for everyone.

The German family clan, from left to right (around the table) Regina (Mom), Oma (Grandma, I can't remember her name for the life of me!), Me, Hans (Dad), My Mom, Doris, Klaus, and Natalie

The happily in love couple. They are so cute together!

She's Gone.....

The past few days have been busy and exciting. It is all, now, overshadowed by the fact that this morning I took Kelly to the airport. I hated having to take her, but I’m happy for her to be able to be with her family and Stu these next few months. She has a fantastic wedding to plan!! I’ll keep touring Europe (just alone) and she’ll keep me updated about her new exciting life in Houston.

Over the weekend Mom and I went to Keukenhof (again) and then to The Hague to see “The girl with the pearl earring.” The flowers were blooming even more so than last week when Kelly and I were there. I have taken PLENTY of pictures and will put them up soon. I forgot my camera today. After spending several hours ogling over the flowers we headed just down the road to The Hague. I am slowly learning my way around this country! We parked and headed to the Mauritshaus. They have an amazing collection. It is a smaller museum that used to be a house. Each corner of the building is a room which houses the pictures. They have 3 Vermeer paintings and I think one of my favorite is his townscape of Delft. He really is the painter of light! You can see a picture of the painting HERE.

Mom and I had fun wondering around the museum and hearing the histories of the paintings from the audio guide. After about 2 hours we were art-ed out and our parking meter was about to expire. We also had a dinner date with Kelly so we headed back. Mom was a bit put out by me that we didn’t go to the beach since we were so close but I told her we would go before she leaves. It’s not exactly warm around here but I guess it is beautiful to see.

On Sunday we headed to the Van Nieuwkoops’ for Erik’s confirmation at church. It was neat to go to such an old church. The royal family is buried in the church, dating back to 1584. The service was extra long due to the confirmation and the benches are of the true, medieval style of hard wood and straight backs. I can see why all of the children wanted to go off to Sunday school during the service. I expected the church to be cold since it is rather old but they had installed heaters under the benches so it warmed your legs and tush. It was quite a nice little treat. I will admit though, my upper body was a bit chilled and it was terribly early (and we just had our time change to make it worse) and I wanted to curl up and the floor and take a little nap. My mom and I had headphones so we got an English translation of the service which was nice to know what was going on, but it wasn’t the best translation ever done. We found it rather entertaining at times.

After the service everyone headed over to Ton and Gina’s (Erik’s parents) house for coffee and tart. There were so many people!! It was multiple generations and cousins and aunts and uncles and friends. It was a lot of fun to see all of the people and be able to put faces to names that we have heard from Mark about his family. They were all very nice and Mom and I had a very enjoyable Sunday. We were exhausted afterwards though! I met some great people and they invited me to visit them so even though Kelly is gone, I should have plenty of things to do and people to see.

After we got home from Delft, Kelly had made us reservations for Wilma and Albert, our favorite place. We thought it was appropriate for her “last supper.” She had the garlic butter steak, I had the spicy ribs, and Mom got the salmon. We all traded a bit and had a super tasty meal. I also learned that they have little portion of the ribs which is ½ of what is normally provided. A great discovery!! We all also had a bowl of French onion soup to start. That is the best soup! Kelly is determined to learn how to make it and I keep warning her I might move in if she isn’t careful. I’m sure the newlywed couple wouldn’t mind!

On the walk home we stopped at the newly opened ice cream shop. This place is always packed so we had to try it out. None of us needed it, or really had room for it, but we couldn’t let Kelly leave without one more taste of the country’s amazing treat. After that Kelly and I curled up on the couch to watch one last episode of Grey’s Anatomy together illegally over the internet before we called it a night.

I got Kelly to the airport this morning with no major incidences and she got all of her luggage check in and had no problems. I headed to work where I claimed a new desk so I wouldn’t have to sit in the office by myself. It’s interesting to be back in the middle of the office and around everyone. I now hear a lot more Dutch so maybe I’ll pick it up a bit faster! I also get control of the radios since it is on my desk and I threaten to make country CDs for everyone to listen too. I might be kicked out then!

The rest of the week Mom and I are going to be travelling so I’m not sure how much I’ll be updating the blog. I will do my best to figure out mobile blogger but I won’t make any promises. If anything, you will have so much to look forward to next week!!!

I hope everyone has a great Monday!!

KELLY'S ENGAGED!!!!

I now have permission to finish my blog. You will soon read what happened, but the involved parties wanted to blog about it first, together, so I had to wait till today before I could spill the beans.

Thinking nothing of the random event Kelly wanted me to meet her at the bar and celebrate; I kept on reading, watching the clock, thinking how I needed to get ready for dinner. I hear the keys in the door and Kelly and Stu ended up coming home. Kelly comes down our little hallway and asks if she can come in…she hands me a Stroopwaffle McFlurry (My new favorite) and I thought that was so sweet! I have been trying to get one for a few days now and McDonald’s Holland has been against me because every time we go look for one, their ice cream machine is broken. I thought that was so nice of Kelly and then I catch a glimpse of her left hand…I proceed to squeal! I can’t believe it!! I let her out of my sight for one afternoon and she gets engaged!!!! I also got to sneak in an “I told you so!” because Kelly and I had a few debates if he was going to bring the ring or not. She said “No” since he kept giving her excuses of how he didn’t want to travel with it and things like that. I went with “Yes” because he was actively ring shopping with his female family members and any man that I’ve ever known doesn’t ring shop….and if he does, he is not going to hang on to it for a few months until the timing is just perfect. I was right. He brought it and I’m so happy he did!!! I get to be the only member on the sidelines for their perfect Dutch fairytale!

After they tell me the story of how Stu romantically proposed under our windmill and I squeal some more I figured I better hurry up and get ready. They had to call all of the family members so I let them be as I worked on my beautification process. I figured since Kelly got engaged, I better look cute; maybe I can hook myself a cute Dutch boy. I hear Kelly and Stu talking to their family. It was super cute though because most of the Houston family knew what he was coming over to do so they were just waiting for the call. I loved being able to over hear their conversations because everyone was so supportive of the event. The little nieces have been practicing how to say “Aunt Kelly” and all of the brothers and sisters were so welcoming to the both of them. I don’t know how many times I heard “Welcome to the family! We’re so happy for you two! Congratulations!” It was just the way everything should be. I think this is my first experience with an engagement that has gone by the fairytale books. I also informed Stu he owes my man (whenever I find him) an apology because he is now going to be held to very high standards. I know this stuff happens in real life, not just in the movies. I am so happy for them and so happy I get to be a default part of this. I like living my “relationship life” through Kelly, it’s a good one!!!

***This story can be read from firsthand experience at Kelly’s blog site HERE***

So as you can see this was a major event that filled up most of our weekend. Our dinner at Wilma & Albert’s was fantastic, as expected. We each got something different and we shared so we could get a taste of everything. I got the spicy ribs again, Kelly got salmon, and Stu got a great steak with garlic butter. The steak and ribs are now my 2 favorite things there.

One of our co-workers is in a band. The guys always give him a hard time and call him the “Rock Star.” We decided we had to go find out for ourselves how “rock star” he really is. His band was playing in Beverwijk Saturday evening so we decided to drag Stu along (and have him be our man protection, if needed) and head out to the bar. We got a bit lost, but we ended up finding alright and we were about 20 minutes late. Well, sticking true to “Rock Star” standards they didn’t start till an hour late so we didn’t miss anything. Their first song is an original and called “Love Me (a.k.a. The Stalker).” Now, we couldn’t hear the words (it sounded if their acoustics were off) but I really liked the title. It still makes me laugh….I wonder if I could get the lyrics from him? Anyways! We stayed for about an hour and a half, which covered the first and part of the 2nd set. Kelly and I were asking him what type of songs they play so he printed us off the set list and I told him I was going to bring it with me and make sure they didn’t mess up. I did bring it, but we really used it more for reference. The most important fact though, was that there was a “costume change” between the two sets. Now, this was not included in the set list, we were taken by surprise!

They have a cute little drummer, and by cute I mean short, kind of mean looking, a picturesque beer belly, and a blue tooth in his ear. Well this stud changed from a black shirt to white. I know crazy rock stars. Well the lead singer (our co-worker) changed from jeans and a dark t-shirt to SHINEY BLACK LEATHER PANTS and a T-shirt that has scrolling letters that said “Welcome to Q.E.D. Have fun” I couldn’t help but to laugh my head off. Really? Black leather shiny pants! When we first saw them I thought they were covered in sequins. I had to get some pictures!

These pictures don't do the pants justice, but you can see the shine! This is "Sally" (we can never remember his real, full name)

I had to take a picture with him and his scrolly shirt. They were taking a short pause and I grabbed him on my way out. Oh, the clothes!!!

At one point they were singing the old American classic “Sing-a-long” “Brown Eyed Girl” and when he was doing the “Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da” part he came over and let me and Kelly sing. Yup, we have now sang with/in a Dutch band. Cross that off my life’s list of things to do! It was a lot of fun but we had a busy day in Amsterdam planned so we had to get home. After a short drive home we were all in bed, ready for our exciting day touring the Anne Frank house and the Heineken Experience. Be ready for that recount. It was a fun time!