Groeten

Joeri flying through the snow... he LOVES the snow!
A day out in Leiden - i think my umbrella was inside-out more than it was right-side-up... but i was thankful for it nonetheless and thanks to the wind, it was easy to fix each time!
Aline's umbrella was a little stronger! I've seldom toured around in wetter weather, but we managed to have a wonderful day despite the rain.
A typically Dutch bridge in Leiden... it was so much fun to be a tourist.
Wet wet day in Leiden - i don't think i'd like to get back on my bike with a wet seat like that!
The Koepelkerk in Smilde - we attended church here on Sunday morning
- it's a pretty neat building!
Rode Pannen - Ome Klaas and I "went" to jail for an afternoon - we had a tour around the former jail which once housed some of Holland's worst criminals - very interesting!
The family farm in Smilde - looking a little snow-dusted.
Boy, these are out of order - standing in front of the prison museum in Veenhuizen - it sure was a nippy day and there was lots of history there - Ome Klaas was a good tour guide.
And now we're in Amsterdam - one of the ferries for people to cross the big cana
l from one side of the city to the other - how Dutch!
A mysterious little window - in an empty house in Woubrugge - i felt like a bit of a creeper but i kept thinking about the people who lived in the house - who were they? what was their life about? Can i poke around inside a little bit?
Snow day in Woubrugge - i went for a long chilly walk with Tantineke and Joeri - it was a winter wonderland - everything was so beautiful!
No, Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore or even Australia for that matter - this little wallaby is a resident in the dierentuin in Woubrugge - they seemed pretty insulated against winter's chill but were none too enamoured with the snow i think.
The snow covered lane in front of Tantineke's house - a fairy tale look.
Ome Johan working hard to clear the path in the snow - snow shovels have been hot sellers the last few days in Holland

Yes, an update from across the big blue ocean where apparently as i look outside now, it's snowing again... Everything here in Woubrugge is a winter wonderland. I sit here with nice red cheeks (a Vos special trait) and a full stomach from a lunch of lekkere fresh bread and a cup of hot chocolate after a nice long walk with my Tante along the canal/river here. We took Joeri (de hond) with us and he very much enjoyed his little outing - running here, there and everywhere, greeting all the neighbourhood dogs and doing the social rounds of all the trees. I got an amazing picture of him running flat out towards me and he's got all four paws off the ground. I'll post it when i get back home but it's pretty cute!
It's hard to believe i've been here for a week. I have the feeling i've been here in Holland for much longer, which i suppose is a wonderful thing. i'll give a brief synopsis of the events of the days to give you a bit of a taste of my trip... I arrived last Thursday and spent the day here in Woubrugge with my Mom's youngest sister and her family. Friday it was up north to Smilde for a family dinner at ome Ruurd and tante Gerda's place - very nice - set the record for how late we stayed up - three oçlock is very late... or early depending on how you look at things. Saturday was tante An's birthday party - so on the road again to Groningen where we had a tour around the canals on a boat and then heerlijk en gezellig stampot eten op de boot! Very very nice! And good to catch up with cousins again.
Sunday brought us to church in Smilde and a trip to the begraafplaats of oma and opa - memories always come bubbling up to the surface, remembering them and their special place in our lives.
Monday a visit to cousin marjan in roden and shopping in Assen with a little bit of snow - always exciting. Tuesday i paid for the privelege to go to jail! It was a museum in a jail which is now closed in Veenhuizen - extremely interesting and since we were the only two there, my uncle and i, we even got a private tour! How nice! And daarna, patats en kroketjes voor eten, mmmm lekker!! Tuesday evening i spent with tanan in groningen - a short but wonderful visit.
Wednesday on the way again, this time to Amsterdam, to visit cousin jantine who just bought an apartment in the city so there was lots to do to make it all official - and a nice dinner in the city on top of it all! i don't think coming home will be too easy with all the yummy food here!
Yesterday was spent with my cousin Aline in the city of leiden - a city full of history and culture, and lots and lots of very bad weather. I don't really think that i've ever toured around in worse weather - sooo rainy and wet and windy and cold... but we still had lots of fun and managed to see lots too! Also a nice dinner in a Belgian restaurant with i think fifty thousand kinds of beer - not really but maybe!
Now this morning, so much snow in the south and west of the land that everything is paralyzed and the radio station just warned everyone to just stay home if they didn't have to go out - so we're kinda stuck here... but it's kinda neat too... gezellig, echt wel - we got a christmas tree this afternoon and hope to decorate that this evening after dinner maybe... so i still get to decorate a little bit this year!
Anyways, the pictures above will receive titles when i'm home but for now, enjoy!