The Netherlands - First Stop - Almelo....

I had a great opportunity to head overseas at the beginning of the month to attend our European sales meeting at our Euro headquarters in Almelo which is about two hours outside of Amsterdam. My colleague Adrian and I were excited to be asked to represent the US at this meeting as it was going to be a great chance to get to know our European colleagues better, find out what's been working for them and also have the opportunity to play tourists - nice work perk! 

I left on New Year's Day on a flight that took off around 6:30 p.m. I'll admit I was pretty anxious about the travel as I was going to be gone for a whole week and it was the first time being overseas since the kiddos were born. A champagne toast before I left and some wine at the airport helped with those nerves - ha! It was also nice that the plane was practically empty which meant I had my row to myself - bonus points! 

After a smooth 7.5 hour flight I arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed (ok, maybe not but I did find myself with a second wind once I was able to stretch my legs, brush my teeth and refresh my make-up) and after clearing customs and grabbing my bag I only had to wait about five minutes before Adrian had arrived. We then headed for the train station so we could start making our way to Almelo. Unfortunately there was a slight issue with the trains that morning which lead to us hopping in a cab (a Tesla no less) and heading to the main train station in Amsterdam where we were then able to get on a train. Two train rides later we finally arrived safely in Almelo where one of our colleagues scooped us up from the train station and dropped us at the hotel. It was a beautiful hotel that was still decked out for Christmas and while seeing the bed upon entering my room was a bright spot - the best site to see was the miniature Christmas tree - this trip was already off to a great start! 

We then spent the next four days in Almelo where we combined work and play. Work and meetings during the day and amazing dinners and fun at night. The food we had was top notch - we enjoyed everything from traditional Netherlands fare like bitterballen, uitzmijterz (a open faced sandwich with eggs that was insanely good) and french fries with mayo (they love mayo over there) to daily doses of carpaccio, wonderful European breakfast spreads, and even a Middle Eastern dinner one night. So much variety and all of it was delicious. We also got to go to an Escape Room one night which was a bit challenging as the clues were all in Dutch and we only had two people with us that could speak Dutch - but our teamwork paid off and we escaped with time to spare! 

It really was a great week spent with our European colleagues - how cool to get to share ideas and challenges with people from Germany, Poland, England, France, Czech Republic, Portugual, and of course The Netherlands - all in one room and all with one common goal of success for our company. As an added bonus I got to see my old colleague Desire who met up with us one night. I sure do miss working with her but thanks to social media we've been able to remain friends and keep in touch even two years later. I hope she'll come visit us again in the US soon! 

Next up - we get to spend the weekend in Amsterdam! 

Christmas Gathering with Family Friends...

This year we offered to host the annual Greeley/Powers reunion dinner. We've all been pretty good about getting together over the years - we may have missed a few but still it was fun to carry on the tradition. (See past parties: 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010) For the menu we decided to do one last turkey dinner before the holidays were over. Crazy? Perhaps, but it sure was a delightful and festive meal to close out the season! 

We had lots of fun catching up with everyone and the kids had a great time playing together. They especially enjoyed getting to play with the newest member of our crew - Holly, Kathleen's puppy! 

The Virginia Tech bowl game played in the background which we all were shocked to see a second half surge by the Hokies to come back and win after being down big time in the first half. Our combined families have a lot of Hokies in them so this was definitely an added bonus to our party. 

A fun night for sure! 

Christmas Morning...the 2nd Attempt...

We woke up on December 26th and after confirming that Adam, Harper and I were still stomach bug free (phew!) we checked in on Andy who happily was at an 85% - up from 0 the day before - and quickly packed up the car and headed home for our official Christmas morning!

Andy had the fire going, the Christmas carols playing, coffee brewing, candles burning, and had a batch of the best french toast ever ready to serve us. I'd say he bounced back rather nicely! :) 

After breakfast we put Harper down for a nap (he would have a chance to open his gifts later) and we dove in to the gifts and goodies that Santa had left for us. Adam was all smiles and loved everything he received. Star Wars was yet again the theme - but he also received some fun "brain games" that he was equally as excited about - love that kids enthusiasm. 

My favorite gift was one I actually put together for Harper (but gave to Andy) which was a book of Harper's journey from NICU to his 1st birthday. I compiled all the blog posts I had written and now he'll have a hard copy of his story to always remind him of how he entered this world - a fighter from the start! Hoping this is something we'll all cherish for years to come. 

Harper got some fun toys as well - blocks, books, his first Legos, and a tricycle like the one he got to ride on at Greg & Erica's. He was thrilled with that and we've already enjoyed lots of rides around the neighborhood - Adam on his scooter - Harper on his bike - love it! 

It may not have been the Christmas we had anticipated - but we sure made the best of it and Adam has already asked if we can do an extended Christmas again next year - ha - minus the yucky stomach bug of course! 

Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's...

We arrived at Grandma & Grandpa's just as they were getting ready for their Christmas morning brunch. They were happy for the extra company and while we were happy to have escaped the germs we were definitely feeling sad to have left Andy behind. We made the best of it though and the boys had fun showing off their matching pj's (Adam loved the idea of being able to leave the house in his jammies - it's the little things) meeting Kathleen's new pup, Holly, and getting to test out the new scooter!

We all were spoiled with wonderful presents as usual with a focus on the kiddos this year. Adam was thrilled to receive a "bad guy" transformer, telescope and even a Lego set from Olivia which she picked out all on her own - adorable how much those cousins love each other. Harper got a new piano and his very own "Anywhere Chair" among other things. It's safe to say we all enjoy watching each other open their gifts. 

After a quick visit back home to check on Andy and to bring him crackers and Gatorade (necessary items for a stomach bug) I returned in time for a wonderful meal (sorry Andy) of prime rib, spinach and artichoke casserole and corn souffle - yum!

It was a great Christmas day/night with the family - but it was clear we were missing a big part of ours. Adam, Harper and I were definitely anxious for the next day when we'd have our Christmas do-over with Daddy!

Christmas Morning - the 1st Attempt...

Christmas morning brought with it excitement, anticipation, presents galore, and unfortunately a stomach bug for Andy. Que all the sad face emojis and feelings. As much as he tried to rally, it was clear from the Andy shaped ball hiding under a blanket on the couch that Christmas morning was going to have to wait until he was better. Now, how to explain this to a very excited 7 year old? Well - as it turns out, you simply say "Daddy is sooooo sick and soooo sad at the thought of missing watching you open your presents - so we are going to get a bonus Christmas morning when we wait to open our presents on the 26th! Also - you can open your stocking today to tide you over." Then you hide the small tear in your eye when your amazingly understanding 7 year old expresses how sad he feels for Daddy being sick - but that he understands why he has to wait." What a kid! 

So yes, Christmas morning wasn't quite the same as always - but we managed to still get in a few of our traditions - starting with a picture on the stairs. I'll admit it was weird not being in this picture - but I rather like how it turned out - two smiling boys in their matching PJ's - perfection! 

The boys got to check out what was under the tree and happily Santa had left a few gifts unwrapped so the thrill of seeing those was enough to tide these boys over for a day. They also got to dig into their stockings which is always so fun. As always, Adam got quite a kick out of the silly odds and ends that Santa had left for him - he also thought it was funny that Harper was now getting the same kinds of things. 

Afterwards I made pancakes for the boys (and let Adam eat a super sized icing covered sugar cookie as well - because, well, postponed Christmas) and then it was time to pack up and head to Grandma and Grandpa's - because well - stomach bug germs - and a quiet house for Andy to recover. 

Let the festivities continue...