We Are Moving

to our permanent home in A'Dam during the next few days. We will be leaving the tight quarters, small streets of the 9 Straats to a two story place with a garden for Scout to do her business. A garden is a tiny plot of space that is a special treat for renters. We will be able to fit our bbq, a small table and chairs and maybe one other item in our secret garden.

Our new place is located on Valeriusstraat (rhymes with Hilarious) Straat which is the longest street we've seen in awhile. The door to our crib opens up onto a one way street which cuts down on the traffic. There will be kids nearby who break-out the straat chalk will their parents bring out their benches to watch and chat with the other parents. Feels similar to 9570 158th Cul-de-sac.

We've got the kids their beds the other day which are a little different from their Portland set-up due to the size and shapes of the rooms. The Dutch are very resourceful when it comes to making things work in such tight spaces. Kiley has a large room which overlooks the garden and has some interesting demensions to the room. Kiley is upgrading to a bunk bed that has a queen bed on the bottom and a twin bed up top. Her mother promised to carry her up to the top bed when she falls asleep down below (fyi-Dad had surgery on his right hip...). FYI, Kiley's bed/room will be used for all you guests so get your climb on.

Quinn, on the other hand, downgraded from a queen bed to a small single bed which fits into his unique sized "room". He has a cool blue bed, with a neat dresser and a little storage section for his toys. Quinn's room will not be used for the guests unless they are 36 inches or smaller. His room looks over the street, right next to Mom and Dad's room

The honeymoon suite is a standard square room which is off-limits except for some small people who wander into the room at all times throughout the evening/night. The family bathroom is down the hallway right next to THE STAIRWELL...

We have a spiral staircase that is more straight up then spiral. This type of staircase is very traditional in almost all Amsterdam homes so you have to adapt but you still cringe a little bit when the kids cruise down the stairs ("stay to the outside of the stairs.") Or, as one realtor told us, "You just fall once and you remember to be careful. We all fell once."

This Wednesday is Queen's Day which is a national holiday that has about 1 million people dressed in Orange invading the area for the biggest block party in the world. Everyone is out selling anything (kids sell their toys) so we might be picking up some new additions to our house. The party goes well into the night/morning with fireworks and spontaeous celebrations.
We'll have a post party recap...

Tot ziens