Mini golf and Swimming

Our last activity before Mandy and Rox left was a round of mini golf at the nearby course. Aunty Rox totally beat us, but we all had fun! This was the first golfing experience for Evie. While she did think it was pretty cool, she decided 6 holes was enough.


We finally got to go in the pool on New Year's Eve. Before then it was too cold or we were busy with other engagements. Unfortunately, the weather report is looking like this may be our only swim. Oh well...
Felix had never been in a pool before!
Evie insisted on getting some goggles for swimming.

Happy New Year!!!

Gatorland!

One of the less-well-known attractions of Florida is Gatorland, featuring (what else?) alligators!! and crocodiles, snakes, and a few birds. The park was fabulous with a hillbilly theme. We got to see them feed the gators and "wrestle" with them.



There was a room full of bird where guests can go in and feed them. It was sooooo cool!
Evie with Cuddles the snake.
It was Aunty Panda and Aunty Rox's last day in Florida.
Oh no!!! The gator's got Evie!!!
This was part of the wrestling show.
Proud Papa with his Schutte-lets.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine is the oldest city in America and is located in Florida only a "few" hours away from our hotel. So on Bas and Wilma's last day here in Florida we went to visit the historic place.

One of the old streets turned shopping center.


Mama and the kids


There is also an old Spanish fort with cannons!

Downtown Disney

Even though we aren't going to Disney, we were still able to experience some Disney ambience in Downtown Disney. It's basically the shops and restaurants of the parks, without the parks.
Evie even got to do a ride...
...and go on a boat!
There was also a really cool/big/crowded Lego store
At the tou store kids are able to make their iwn Mr. Potato Head.
And no pseudo-disney experience is complete without a picture with a character statue!

Wedding in Florida!

Today was the beautiful wedding of Uncle Thijs to Aunty Christyl. The ceremony and party were beautiful, the only downside was the cold weather, but it's December, even in Florida, so...
Papa & Felix in their tuxedos.
Aunty Panda and Aunty Rox have been with us for the past week, including the wedding!
Evie was the flower girl. Here you see her with the ring bearer, Brayden. They were absolutely adorable!
We have no pictures of the ceremony inteslf, but we do have Liz sitting and watching with the kids.
The happy couple!
At one point Evie said to Christyl, "I'm a princess too!"
First Dance
Evie also said that she was the prettiest of all the girls. We agree, but don't tell Christyl!
Finally, we also have a little video footage of Evie dancing with Papa.

More posts to follow with our other Florida adventures!

Layover in Philly

We're on our way, and everything is going smoothly! Yay!!! Unfortunately, the kids do have some trouble with some monster eye boogers. And they're exhausted, as are we. Evie slept about a half hour on the flight, and Felix maybe an hour. So we're ready to see our bed in Florida... only a few more hours!
He's actually smiling, but he's so tired you can't tell.
This one's easier to recognize.
Getting some activity in the airport.

Christmas En Route

Hooray! Today is Christmas! However, we won't be spending the morning in our pajamas opening presents, followed by an elaborate brunch, and concluding with an elaborate dinner with friends and families. This morning we woke up on the early side so we could make our way to Florida.  Even though our flight isn't until 1pm, we decided we should leave the house at 8:30. Normally we would take the tram and train to the airport, but this week's weather has caused the trams and trains to run less frequently, or not at all. They cannot be depended on. So, our taxi will pick us up at 8:30 and we will surely make it to the airport on time, where we can expect long lines, angry passengers, and delays. We will be stopping over in Philadelphia, where weather could, again, leave us in a rut. If we assume that we don't get any delays (or cancellations!!!), then we should be touching down in Orlando at around 9pm. Uncle Thijs and Aunty Christyl will be getting married on Sunday. (Read: if delays hold us for more than a day, we're screwed!!!) Aunty Panda and Aunty Rox will be joining us until New Year's Eve. We'll be staying at a very child-friendly hotel just ten minutes from Downtown Disney. While we aren't planning on entering the Disney parks, there will be enough excitement on the schedule. We'll try to update as much as possible, but there are rumors of no WiFi in the hotel... so we'll see.  Either way, Merry Christmas!!!

Santa Surprises Evie!

This past week Evie expressed her concerns for Santa's upcoming nocturnal visit. She decided we should send him an email explaining that it's too scary and that he is better off not coming to our house. We tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted, so we sent an email to Santa.

This afternoon, however, when we returned from the grocery store there was a note from Santa!!! He understood Evie's fears and decided he should come while we weren't home and hide the presents in the drawer under the Christmas Tree! Evie was so excited! When Papa got home from work, she went straight to the gifts.
Presents under the tree.
The smart little lady went straight for the smallest present - jewelry!
She was just as excited for the biggest present - a princess pillow!
Felix was taking a nap, so Evie went ahead and opened his presents, too.

Thank you, Santa, for being so flexible!

Random Pictures

Three Schuttes on a couch.
Poor little dude has a cold... but he keeps smiling!
...and playing,
... and drooling!
Felix got so exctied to see Carla that he crawled right up and gave her a big kiss!

Felix claps his hands!

Yesterday Felix clapped his hands for the first time. Ever the teacher, Evie showed him how to do it properly. This evening we filmed the excitement again and put together this little video showcasing Felix and his hand-clapping. Evie is heard singing her little song of encouragment.

Frosty the Snowman

There has been a little snow here in The Hague for the past few days. This morning, however, was the first really snowy day. Luckily for everyone, it is also a lazy sunday! After a late breakfast, Evie and Papa donned their snow gear and headed out to make a snowman.
Papa went right to work while Evie explored a little first.
It didn't take long for Evie to join in the fun!

With no carrots on hand and only white rocks in the garden, this snowman has a pickle nose and wasabi cracker eyes/buttons. The neighbor cat says, "Thank you."
Evie got very creative and original when naming this snow creation. Meet "Frosty the Snowman!"
Just like in the movie, Evie insisted on making a dance around the snowman.
Our activity yesterday was the crafting of a cardboard Christmas tree. We cut out little ornaments, including pictures of Evie's favorite holiday shows, then she got to glue them onto the tree. The resulting tree will hopefully be a part of our December decorations for years to come. Below you can see it in front of our live Christmas tree. Don't let the angle deceive you, our tree is no more than three feet tall.