You Must Be Dutch If.......

Monique and I are both on that social network Facebook, and one of the advantages is we are in contact with some of the church members in the ward where Steve is currently serving! We received some recent pictures of Steve (aka Elder Sticht) this week, via this social network. He seems to be doing quite well and is loving his time as a missionary. We were quite surprised with what we saw in the photos - something that neither Monique nor I have ever done. He must have more Dutch blood than either of us realized. That, or he really is the good sport that we figured he was. Take a look......

First you start with some raw herring (yuck - okay I really can't say that since I've never tried it)...


Then you grab one by the tail, hold it up high with a wide open mouth...


You think about what you have just done, SERIOUSLY think about what you have just done....


And the result is.......


I don't know about you, but they look like a bunch of well sated missionaries to me! And to think they could be eating a plethora of other tasty treats (i.e. chocolate, vla (Dutch pudding - WAY better than anything you can get here), stroopwafels (syrup waffles - those you see the missionaries eating in 'The Best Two Years', patat (french fries), etc.).

Steve, we love you and are proud of you! Keep up the good work and continue to show us how Dutch you really are!

Spring "Break".......

Spring Break continues! In the previous post, I mentioned how the kids were living the ultimate spring break life. Ryan was having a friend sleepover tonight - something that really doesn't happen very often for Ryan. As a special treat, they were given permission to go outside and have an air soft gun war. The two boys were all geared up with safety goggles, ready to have a great time. And a great time they had, until........



Thank goodness Ryan was wearing safety goggles! Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing a full face helmet like he wanted to, and one of his front teeth broke when he got hit by a pellet! It looks like a trip to the dentist is on tomorrow's agenda.

And this is only the second day of spring break! Wish us luck!

Spring Break - Tag, You're It........

Spring Break has just begun for the kids, well, okay we are into it two days now, but who is counting? The sun has been out the past couple of days, making it an extremely enjoyable break for them. They have been hanging out with friends, having sleepovers, living the ultimate spring break life (minus the exotic vacation - that's coming in November with the family to Hawaii). Today, while driving home from a busy day at work, I phoned my beautiful wife to chat. When she answered, she said, "I was just rear ended! My brand new car just got hit!" I was most pleased with my response - "Are you okay? I know it's your brand new car, but are YOU okay?" (The car is a year old - not quite brand new - okay, it's brand new). She was stopped at a stoplight, and was going to turn right, but decided to wait thinking that a car was coming too fast. The lady behind Monique, saw that Monique started to go, turned her head, and hit the gas! Tag, you're it!.....


Fortunately, the other lady does have insurance! And, the surprising part is, when Monique got home, we received a phone call from said insurance company as well as the rental car company! Very impressive!

Are you sure Spring is here??????

Okay, who wants to tell me that Spring is really here and that it is really almost April?! With the weather that we have been having, I'm having a very difficult time being convinced. I thought it was bad enough that we have had so much rain as of late, but this is just ridiculous! The ironic part is the kids have just started their 'Spring Break' from school! I hope they haven't packed their winter clothes away yet - they just may be needing them.

Even the tulips are confused. I wonder if they'll bloom?!

Happy Birthday Monique!

Yesterday was Monique's birthday! As stated in previous posts, we start birthdays early at our house - unless, of course, birthdays are on a weekend! Even though, Monique and I were both awake fairly early (yes 8:00 A.M. is early on the weekend!!), the first child that came stumbling into the room, came in about 8:45 A.M. I had Tommy go get his other siblings so the Sticht Family Robinson choir could once again burst into song (another praiseworthy performance)! I would like to think that she had an enjoyable and relaxing day, receiving phone calls full of birthday wishes! The day concluded by having extended family over for dinner and cake. I thought it was a fun evening, so therefore, Monique had a great time!

Monique, you are absolutely incredible! And I appreciate all that you do, and the things you teach me to become a better person.

I love you!

He has arrived......

In case any of you are wondering, and have not yet received word, Steve has arrived safely in Europe. We were fortunate to receive a couple of phone calls from Steve on Monday while he was in the airport in both Salt Lake City and Atlanta! He arrived in Brussels on Tues. Feb. 17th and on Wednesday was sent to his first city - Eindhoven! His current address is:

Kluizenaarstraat 13

5641 HE Eindhoven

Netherlands

Go get 'em Steve! We miss you!

The Golden Nugget - enhanced!...

Okay, prior to Steve leaving on his mission, he felt that he had way too much time on his hands and needed a project to keep him busy. The Dodge Neon that Steve could be seen driving all around town in, is one of those typical Dodge Neons, where for some reason, it had paint flaking off all over. I must say, it did make it easy to identify the car, and to let us know if we needed to look the other way pretending we had no idea who was in the car or who it even belonged to. The project that Steve came up with was to "detail" this lovely automobile! His idea of detailing was to repaint it. He borrowed a sander, set up shop in the garage, and he and his friends quickly went to work. What was once a blue car was now transformed into a golden masterpiece. Literally! They had spray painted it gold, yes gold! (It wasn't the best paint job, but they were pleased). Thus the name "The Golden Nugget"! But, then upgrades (?) were needed, or so they thought. "The Golden Nugget" was then transformed into this lovely piece of art (if you look at it subjectively).......

The Golden Nugget just isn't fitting for this car any longer. Does anybody have some suggestions? I'm thinking of charging a fee for passersby observing the artwork in our outdoor museum!