Hamster Dance, Day 1

The kids just reminded me that the first time Sophie heard me talk about Amsterdam, she thought I was saying "Hamster Dance." This mental image then led to an absurd string of sound-alikes that included the dikes in Holland being built by hamsters (hamster dam) and unsavory garbage sandwiches (dumpster ham). If I were an expert blogger I would ask for submissions for best Amsterdam pun. (Spain puns are easier - wait a week and I want to hear your best).

Lindsay guarding the luggage at LAX Sunday morning

Packing and weighing the suitcases Saturday night

So the theme of the past 24 hours is: Make friends with the worst case scenario. I started employing this strategy 11 years ago when I first started waking up every hour of the night with a baby, and it is still a useful mind trick! On the way up to the airport, we told the kids (and ourselves) that we would probably run into some snag or another at the airport, that we would at some point have to eat gross food, that we would definitely fall and get hurt, that someone would be super mean to us, that we might have a 3-hour flight delay while sitting on the Tarmac and then have our flight canceled (thank you for the heads up, Ali!) and we could all be throwing up from jet lag (thank you, Suzanne!) So we practiced saying "Woo Hoo!! I'm having my disgusting food moment!" and "YESSSS, I fell!! I've been wondering when that would happen!" So when we DID end up being at the wrong terminal and having to walk to a different wing of the airport with 14 (yes, 14) pieces of luggage, and then after boarding sitting on the Tarmac for 2 1/2 hours before take-off for the 11 hour flight, it was amazing how not-bugged we were! I'm serious, it was really amazing. And then because I had already walked myself through the possibility of kids throwing up on the plane and/or Stone foaming at the mouth with strapped-in despair and arrived at "I'll live!" I was thrilled when none of that happened. I doped the kids with dramamine and they actually slept for several hours, so while I only got about 15 minutes of sleep (holding Sophie on my nearly-numb lap), I was really grateful it was me going bleary-eyed cuckoo and not them.

Once we arrived in Amsterdam we were a little tired and grumpy. We temporarily parted ways with Erik's parents (they are staying with relatives; we are staying with our friends the Clarkes, who were our neighbors during grad school and like cousins to our kids - they just moved to the Netherlands last Spring). We got through customs at noon (4 am California time), took a huge taxi (we were expecting our luggage to not fit in one vehicle so again thrilled), pulled up to the Clarkes' gorgeous home in Amstelveen, and had a joyful day surprising their kids with Lindsay and Lucy picking them up at school, relaxing and ordering pizza ("I keep forgetting we're in Europe!" my kids kept saying. Felt just like home), walking through a forest on the way to a gelato shop, and even squeezing in Erik's workout and a nap. This is such a beautiful place and we are overjoyed to be reunited with these dear friends. And so excited for the next few days that Erik's dad has planned for us! If I were a hamster (and weren't so tired), I would definitely dance.