Fingers of light

 Kaya and Adlai spent some time painting rocks and packaging them up like a present.

 Sonja grazes in the afternoon light.

 A beautiful sunset from our porch.

chipping and Calaway

 Dad and I and the kids had fun chipping and putting.

 The kids contemplate the world over an ice cream.

Yo bear

 The hoodoos were windy but pretty.

 A word to the wise - the pine cones are very sharp and very sappy!

I was awoken by the sound of a park ranger saying, "yo bear." While we packed up our site I saw the ranger in the site next to ours. When the bear banger shot out, we quickly jumped in the vehicle. On the way out of the campground we saw this young grizzly calmly eating along the side of the road.

Banff

 The kids decided to give themselves googly eyes.

 We made frozen bananas.

 Maihaa and the kids and I went camping at Tunnel Mountain and went for a walk to the falls.

New nephew

 As soon as we recovered from jet lag we were off to meet our new nephew.

Goodbye Europe

 We had a wonderful time in France and Holland!

Visits

Rob and Lies spent the afternoon with us and treated us to pastries and an indoor play center where the kids could run around despite another day of rain.

 We took the bicycles for another spin along country roads between showers.

 Patrick went to a Rotary meeting with all his host dads.

After a fond farewell, we left Voorthuizen with warm memories and much gratitude for the kindness of all the families who made us feel so welcome.

Rain and the Hague

 Mother nature decided 13 degrees and pouring rain was what we got for our day trip to the Hague.

 We walked very briefly along the boardwalk and the wet sand.

 The kids had a good time playing glow golf with friends that moved to the Hague earlier this year.

 Good thing for creative play on the long car rides.

Wind turbines replace the windmills of old.

Open air museum

Anneke and Rienk hosted us with a beautiful tea and amazing apple cake and a tour of their impressive garden.

 Rienk drove us to the Summer Palace.

 I love the bikes. Bikes are everywhere.

 Patrick passed by his haunts - the Olifant and the field hockey pitch.

 Rienk also took us to the Open Air Museum where we rode the tram and saw buildings rebuilt from Amsterdam.

 There were iconic windmills and bridges.

 And poffertjes fresh from the griddle with syrup and powdered sugar and beer.

 These chickens had me laughing and laughing.

 The kids enjoyed the zip line element of the playground.

 I wish we had enough bikes on our streets that it would warrant a traffic signal all of its own.

 The kids stayed outside the cheese shop with their sensitive noses.