The perfect end to a busy first week

It's been about a week since we left the US for the Netherlands.  These first few days have been extremely busy with administrative stuff like ID cards, facility tours, briefs on programs and services, etc.  We have been going at a pretty fast pace since touching down at 7 AM last Monday, so we made a point to slow things down this weekend.

On Saturday we went to Dessel, Belgium, to visit our "Belgian family".  Katelijne, Annelies, and Jasmien were one of my host families when I traveled with Up With People.  I stayed with them for three nights back in 1998.  Annelies was 6, and Jasmien was 5.  Those "little girls" are now in their 20's, and my boys are about the same ages as the girls were when we first met.  Crazy how time flies by.

Annelies's and Jasmien's entry in my Up With People host family book,
16 years ago.

That short stay in 1998 sparked a lifelong friendship.  One of the first things I did when we found out we were moving to the Netherlands was map how far away our Belgian family would be.  Now seeing each other only takes an hour and fifteen minute drive!  Saturday was our first chance to get together, and it was awesome to just hop in the car and drive to Dessel for the day.

Annelies and Jasmien, all grown up.
We are all excited to live so close now!

Like any great friends, it was like no time had passed since our last get together.  We spent the day talking, walking, eating delicious Belgian strawberries, and just hanging out together.  The boys had a great time feeding and watching the animals in their backyard.  It was exactly what we needed after a week of appointments, errands, and busy days.

E liked feeding the ducks by hand.

C fed the rabbits carrots, one piece at a time.

The rabbits were digging out the hole as fast as the boys could fill it.
When that didn't work, the rabbits started biting the shovel.

We are looking very forward to seeing our Belgian family regularly now that we live here.  I feel so fortunate to have such longtime friends so close by.

Sunday we made a point to turn off all alarm clocks, so we all slept in and took our time getting ready this morning/early afternoon.  The boys and I took a leisurely walk along the cow pastures across from our hotel.  

A beautiful day in southern Netherlands.

Later we checked out a car that we might buy, and then we drove to the nearby town of Sittard.  We are trying to get a feel for where we might want to live.  We're not sure that Sittard is the best fit, but we had a good time exploring, at least.  And our afternoon cafe stop for Belgian beers was a perfect end to a laid back weekend.

Belgian beers in European cafes make us very happy.

Tomorrow starts our house hunting in earnest--we'll be checking out Maastricht and rental homes that are available there.  We're looking forward to seeing the city that we've heard so many good things about.  Wherever we end up, I'm already pretty sure we're going to love living here.