Epic Ski Trip and McCoy Family Visit

In mid-March we flew out to Basel, Switzerland to visit Amsterdam alums Katie, Ryan, Sebastiaan and new addition, Owen. Bright and early the morning after we arrived we hopped in our cars and drove 4 hours to the quaint and beautiful ski village, Saas Fee - known as the birthplace of skiing. Our cozy apartment was centrally located in the tiny town surrounded by cafes, shops, restaurants, bars and obviously the vast Swiss Alps.  Jeannette, Katie's mom, joined for the trip too - it was a family affair.

The first day Kirk and Ryan hit up the mountain for a half day ski/snowboard while us ladies and kiddos got ourselves situated. The mountains offers all levels of skiing/snowboarding. The top elevation is 11,647 ft. 22 lifts, 2 cable cars, 1 funicular railway, 5 gondolas, and many drag lifts, this mountain has a little bit of everything. After the boys were done we met up with them for drinks at the bottom of the mountain - just a little apres ski to start the weekend right.

That evening the four of us popped out for a lovely fondue dinner at Du - a family restaurant that feels like you're sitting in someone's home, making dinner really intimate and special. We stuffed our faces with tasty raclette and yummy fondue. We paired all that cheese with a fantastic wine called Heida Visperterminen from a nearby vineyard - the highest elevation vineyard in all of Europe.

On Friday morning Ryan and Katie took off for a half day of skiing while we stuck around and played with the kiddos at a nearby park. For the afternoon we switched roles and headed up to the top of the mountain. The skies were bright and blue, the sun shining and the mountain groomed and perfect. I always forget how wonderful skiing is - being surrounded by such beautiful snow-capped mountains and fresh air is so surreal. We enjoyed many runs on piste with little breaks sitting in the sun and enjoying the light tunes of Euro techno and sipping on beers!

Later on Katie and I took the kiddos to the nearby pool for some splashing, swimming and slides! The boys hit up the town for apres ski. That evening we stayed in and had some home cooked dishes - thanks Jeanette.

Saturday morning Kirk and I started up the mountain bright and early trying different parts of the mountain discovering amazing runs and a tiny trail leading to a cozy cottage serving up drinks and eats just on the side of the mountain. A great stop for a little rest and relaxation. In the afternoon we took Teia to her first attempt at skiing. With a big smile from ear to ear we think this girl is a natural.
After skiing we ran into Katie and Ryan and did a little apres ski. Again, that evening we stayed in for a home cooked meal and ventured out into the town for the last night's drinks. We had so much fun in Saas Fee - wish I could ski there every year!

On Sunday morning we made the 4 hour drive back to Basel giving us enough time to explore the city center and nearby park. Thanks for planning the perfect trip, Katie and Ryan, and thank you Jeanette for looking after Teia so we could enjoy a a couple nights out!

The next day after we got back from Switzerland, Kirk flew to Portland for work for about 4 days. While he was there he had meetings and wrapped up the week with some golf and a couple NCAA Tournament games at the Moda Center - Utah vs SF Austin, and Georgetown vs Eastern Washington. The next day he headed to PDX to be picked up in a private Epic aircraft and taken to Epic's factory in Bend for a tour and some lunch. Kirk's hosts were very outgoing, inspiring,  and showed him a great time. At the end of the day they flew him to the Ellensburg's Bowers Air Field.

                                      

Kirk was very glad to spend time with family, but everyone's heart weighed heavy over the recent loss of a truly amazing woman - Kirk's Grandmother, Marjorie Harrel. That next morning, Kirk's family held a funeral and service in loving memory of Marge. It's amazing to think about the size and quality of family she and her husband Paul raised. All of her friends. All she did for others. What a legacy. What a person. She will always be remembered in our hearts - we love you, Grandma.

Before heading back home, Kirk swung through Seattle to celebrate birthdays for our dear friends, Jake and Cleary. They had a delicious dinner and cake at Via Tribunali on Capitol Hill. Afterward they headed across the street for drinks at the Comet Tavern - just like being back in college! 

A day after Kirk returned home he had to head to Geneva for work for a couple days. While he was away Teia and I continued our busy schedule with preschool, playdates and the zoo.

Around that time, my mom, brother and sister-in-law arrived in Europe for an epic trip. It was Tyler and Erin's first time to Europe - a trip long overdue! It all started in Iceland for 5 days. The next stop, Amsterdam. While they were here we did the usual tours to Anne Frank, Rijks Museum, Van Gogh, The Maritime Museum, flower market, walks along the canals, 9 Straats, Albert Cuyp Market, and walks through Vondel and other various parts of the city.

In between their days in Amsterdam, they also went to Brugge,  Dublin and London.

While they were gone Kirk & I met up with friends Heather and Matt and their little one, Jack. They are currently living in Germany and made the drive over for the weekend. We trekked through the city in blustery rain before stopping at Gaper for some grub and beers. We are looking forward to your next visit, Matt and Heather, hopefully it'll bring some better weather!

The next week, Kirk made another short work trip - this time to Stockholm. Normally a beautiful city, Kirk found it a little hard to see on his first morning. But the skies cleared up later and he enjoyed some amazing Swedish scenery and food amongst his work meetings.

Teia just started dance class at Dans Peuter Dans. The classes are in Dutch and she immediately fell in love. Her love of dance and music is definitely infectious.

Toward the end of my family's European adventure we celebrated Tyler's 39th birthday at Castell's for steaks and ribs, followed by whiskeys at the L&B Whiskey Cafe. Happy Birthday, Big Bro!!! The day before they headed back to the States we did a boat tour with Paap. The weather was perfect and we finished the evening at Saloon.

The next day we had some Easter brunch together before they flew back home. It was an amazing trip - I am so happy you made it out and that we could make some fun memories. Looking forward to seeing you soon - love you!

More amazing expat couples are parting ways with this awesome city - the Mobley's and Ostrander's. We will miss you all dearly and are so excited for your new adventure in Birmingham, Alabama and Washington, DC. Chelsea was such an amazing support to me since we did the yoga program together - hopefully we can start up a studio some day.  Leslie, I am so glad Adam introduced us - it was a short and sweet time for you here but I am glad we could make some great memories! Best of luck!

Northwest Trip with a little Sundance, SF and Whistler sprinkled in

This week we hit some new milestones - Teia's last day of daycare and Bouncy Bunch - a very sad week indeed.  Since Teia was little baby she attended a Dutch daycare once a week and a darling song and dance class - Bouncy Bunch.  Not only did she learn Dutch, fun songs and dance routines, she made friends and built up her confidence. We will surely miss Kristi and the gang at Herengracht Kindergarden. From now on Teia is attending preschool (Voorschool) at Mona-Liesje. The class will be in Dutch and it's 4 days a week.

In mid January Kirk went to Moscow for a few days for a commercial shoot for a Russian airline - S7. The weather was really cold and snowy, but apparently the shoot went really well! 

Just after that, for three weeks we made our way back to the Pacific Northwest. The flight was fine besides Teia's 20-minute meltdown (2 year olds and 10 hour flights - yikes). Once we landed in Seattle, Kirk immediately caught a flight to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival for work, and Teia and I were picked up by my brother and continued on to Dairy Queen. Funny how I start to crave burgers, fries and Diet Coke when I am back in my old neck of the woods.

We planted ourselves out at my families cabin. The weather was on and off rainy and cold, which made sitting inside by the fireplace all the more cozy. We enjoyed walks around the island, throwing rocks and shells in the sea, and lounging around watching movies and many a Peppa Pig episode!

I also managed to watch the Super Bowl - such great timing for us to be home. Unfortunately we lost it in the very end. Thankful my cousin Jacob made it out for a visit - it was a great distraction and made the evening a pleasant one.

Finally got to meet Hugo - my brother's massive Great Dane.  He is sweet, well behaved and Teia loved bossing him around.

My mom, Teia and I went up north to visit my dear friend Bevan and her sweet daughter Elsa - finally got these little ladies together for a playdate. Thanks for having us over! We also managed to swing by Tacoma to meet my best friend Lisa's little man, Fischer. I just can't get over that this is the stage in my life and that I am meeting my friends from childhood's children and we are now watching our little ones interact - wow!

Back on the island, Teia's Amsterdam buddies, Reid and Blaine, drove out to the cabin for the day.  Melissa and her family lived in Amsterdam for about a year before heading back to Seattle in December. It was so nice getting back together and thankfully we spent even more time with this family in Whistler!  My Uncle Daryl swung out for a visit - always such a special time catching up and talking about future adventures!

Meanwhile, Kirk was in Park City for a Nike-related offsite. He claimed it was work, but came back with lots of stories about movies, parties, and snowboarding. Hmmm...

After that Kirk was in San Francisco for a few days. While there he was able to watch the Superbowl with our old friends, Kristi & Adam, who now live in SF. As luck would have it, he was also able to hang out with Matt (just in from Singapore), and Clay (just in from Amsterdam). He had a nice time soaking in some sun in between meetings and even soaked up an amazing dinner at Saison.

The evening Kirk got back he joined us out at the cabin with our friends, Scott and Johanna (also Amsterdam alums). We always have a wonderful time reminiscing about our time in Amsterdam with them - miss you guys and can't wait to meet Tiny Bro next time we are home!

The next day we drove up North to Whistler and stayed at Melissa's beautiful family cabin, and that evening we popped out for some sushi and drinks. Unfortunately the snow reports were not so great, so we lounged around the cabin for the next day.

A random and funny story to share. When Melissa and Grant moved to Amsterdam they made the hard decision to leave their dog Brinkley behind with Melissa's family. So we heard about Brinkley a lot and how they couldn't wait to get her back. Well we got to meet Brinkley and when I saw her I felt like she looked familiar - a little too familiar - as in she looked exactly like my friend Jesse' dog, Lucy. To make a long story short it was discovered that Brinkley and Lucy are in fact siblings! Oddly enough Jesse was there in Whistler (flew from NY for the week) and could verify everything. Mind blown!!!

While in Whistler Kirk met up with friends Dave, Jake, and Jesse for a sort of Baby Bachelor Party - Jake's wife is due in April. So the plan was to get together for the weekend and snowboard, but unfortunately the snow was just not there so the weekend turned into a more relaxing one. We all met up for happy hour at Araxi for some yummy oysters and fondue. And then finished the night up at Longhorn's and then Moe Joe's night club. Thank you for your hospitality and fun memories, Melissa and Grant- annual ski trips?!!!

Finally the day came - I got to meet my darling nephew Peyton! Skype is simply not enough. This Aunt really needed some cuddle time. And it was great to spend some quality time with Nicole and Ryan. We happened to be there for Ryan's birthday so we went out for dinner and somehow survived with the little ones. After we wrapped up dinner we transplanted ourselves at Dave and Cleary's for a couple nights. Thank you, Dave & Cleary, for the last minute change of plans and letting Teia watch endless amounts of Peppa Pig at your place. The banana ice cream and brownies were a hit, Cleary - YUM!!!!

Next stop - Ellensburg. This trip would not be complete with out a trip out to visit Kirk's Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. Plus Sharon made the trip out so she could spend as much time as possible with her boys and grandchildren - thank you for flying out!!! Teia loves the farm - especially riding around in the scooter and Polaris. In the evening Susan and Jeff had us over for a fantastic feast. Teia had fun running laps around their home. Thanks for hosting a great dinner!

Before we left the next day we took out the Polaris and drove over the farm to Jan and Dan's home. It is a must to spend some time with Jan's miniature donkeys. Not only are they so sweet, they are incredibly gentle and easy going. Each one will slowly walk up to you and place their nose under your hand asking for you to pet them. Teia loved escorting them around the farm.  Thank you Jan for the donkey fun.

For the rest of the time in Washington we stayed with our friends, Emily and Kai. Not only do they provide a great spot for us to crash they always host a gathering for us to see all of our friends. Emily and Kai's little ones, Finley and Jackson, became fast friends with Teia making every day a special one!  It was so wonderful seeing all of our dear friends and bringing the kiddos along.

Teia and Finley are simply miniature versions of Emily and myself - they are exactly 6 months a part and are so sweet together and it just makes my day seeing their growing friendship. Emily and I are friends from college and lived together for a year before we each got married. I will always say that was honestly the best way to spend my last days as a single lady - so many memories and we laughed A LOT.  I could only hope and pray that Teia will find that special friend some day - maybe it will be Finley - you never know!

For Valentine's we spent the day at the zoo with Sharon, Nicole, Ryan, Peyton; and Kirk's cousin Molly and Aunt Susan drove over from central Washington. That evening we joined Kai and Emily for a lovely double-date at Joule. Our meal was superb and incredibly tasty!

During the week we continued to meet up with family and friends for coffee, walks and playdates. It was great seeing Kirk's cousin, Savannah, her boyfriend Austin, Uncle Art, and cousin Hunter. My cousin, Joseph and his wife Maria also made it out to Greenlake.  Thanks for making the time to see us!

One more playdate to get in before heading back to Amsterdam - this time with Bryce and Vince (aka Bubba). Unfortunately we couldn't see the rest of the family (Brooke, Sienna and Sloane) since they were all at home sick with the flu, but luckily Bryce and Bubba could pop out for a bit. We had a great brunch and then hit up a little park in Ballard. So fun seeing our kids grow up! I still have the vision of Brooke and me in Amsterdam walking around with our big pregnant bellies. Now our little ones are playing together in Washington - where does the time go?

Candace, my friend from high school, and while I lived in Santa Monica, happened to be in town so we met up with her sister and some friends for happy hour at Walrus and Carpenter in Ballard. The oysters were incredible and the martinis did the trick. So glad I got to see you and hopefully you will make it out this summer!

Overall we had a fantastic time and really miss our family and friends. Thanks for all of those who hosted us and spent time with us - miss you and know you always have a place to stay in Amsterdam!!!

Teia did great on the flight home and once we landed I found myself thrown into going on a mini trip to get a special picture done. For one of Amy's last of her to-dos list - we drove out to Volendam and had our picture done in traditional Dutch attire. Priceless. Recently Amy, and her husband John, sadly moved back to the States to try out a new adventure in Denver, CO. At least they are reunited with Amsterdam alums, Mandy and Matt. Looking forward to some Skype sessions soon and you will be missed!