Wandering Browns

Elise said pretty much everything that needed to be said about Amsterdam, so I get to talk about the part she wasn't there for: The National Maritime Museum.  After our canal cruise, we went our separate ways so Landon and I could have some boy time. View of the museum from the ship Kind of like the car museum, it sounded like it would be awesome for a toddler who is into all kinds of transportation, but most of the exhibits weren't geared particularly for toddlers (especially tired ones).  There were a half-dozen or so unique exhibits ranging from Dutch maritime history to maps to maritime navigational instruments to a window into the workings of the Port of Amsterdam, and two big highlights for Landon: a whale exhibit, and a big ship. The whale exhibit went through the whole history of human interaction with whales.  It started off with some stories of big, scary sea monsters, then went through the ups and downs of the whole whaling movement, and finally on t

We stay way out in the suburbs when we're back in the Chicago area, so it's a good hour at least to get into the city to do anything. We contemplated going in to the city to a Cubs or White Sox game, but after looking at the schedule of our local independent league team, the Schaumburg Boomers, we opted to drive 10 minutes instead and enjoy some baseball! We sat on the lawn on the visitor's side and Landon spent some time watching the bull pen warm up. He terrorized a little boy playing catch with his dad until the boy let him join in. He played with and lost his brand new hot wheels car. He watched a teensy bit of the game. He ran away at least 5 times to try to get into the bounce house play area. We didn't let him because it cost $5 and we were there to watch baseball, dang it! We got out of it by telling him he could play there when he's older..  Hanging on the grass Climbing the railing,,, Later on in the night, Landon was on the jumbotron with a

Watching the ball... On the day we were set to leave for China, Austin got an email saying to stay put if we hadn't already left. So, suddenly we had a sad little boy who was disappointed not to be getting on an airplane, and a whole day ahead of us with no plans. It was threatening rain, so we decided to introduce Landon to the great American pastime of bowling.  Wide leg stance Landon was amused by the funny shoes we had to wear. We looked around for the lightest, smallest ball and ended up with a six pounder. It was still very big and heavy for him, and to make matters worse, a birthday party was using both of the kiddy ramps. The neatest thing about going was that our lane had retractable bumpers. Although we all could have used bumpers, the bumpers would go up for Landon and come back down for the adults. I am not a bowling whiz, but with the quality of competition I ended up winning both games.  My boys after the games Landon tried many different

Like Elise has written about, if there is a Temple close to where my assignment is, we try to make it at least once.  This time, it was in The Hague.  Since we had to split up to keep Landon from running into a windmill or something else, Elise and I thought it would be fun if I took him to a car museum during her session. I went in with pretty high expectations, and I probably hyped it up a little bit too much for Landon.  His idea of a car museum is probably more like a room full of Hot Wheels than the "World's oldest private car collection," that was the Louwman Museum.  The fatal flaw of the whole trip was that Landon saw a Thomas the Tank Engine book in the gift shop before we went inside to see the real, live cars.  He really just wanted to hang out there and thumb through the book. After quite a bit of convincing followed by several tears shed, we agreed to take the elevator up to look at the actual cars.  The first part of the museum was dedicat

Landon and the back half of the penguin suit. It was adorable. When we found out that Cambria and Eric were going to be in Chicago at the same time as us for probably the last time ever, we jumped at the chance to see them and their cute boys one more time before they move cross-country back to the West. Landon and I took the train in to the city to meet them at Shedd Aquarium. Last time we were at the aquarium, Landon was one, and we only bought general admission tickets for the main floor. The main floor of the aquarium is underwhelming except for the giant tank in the middle. This time, we bought tickets to see the whale and dolphin show, which also gave us access to the marine mammals and reef exhibits.  Landon and I rarely go to major attractions like this with other people we know. With our ever-changing schedule and time spent in foreign lands alone, I did not appreciate how much more fun things can be with friends! Cambria and Eric's boys surround Landon in age

Playing at the beach... the water was COLD Although this is partially so I can remember what we did in April when we came back to the U.S. to see family, I also thought others might be slightly entertained by our crazy lives and the amount of travel this toddler of ours can handle. My sister, Mariah, was graduating from BYU at the end of April. Austin had a week left of work in the Netherlands so he dropped us off at the Amsterdam airport on Sunday, April 19th. Landon and I flew to Chicago, where I had a midwife appointment scheduled for Monday, April 20th.  We had to pay for the hotel because Austin and I were separating by choice and so Austin booked me at a hotel close to the storage unit. It was not one that we typically stay at, and it was dirty and gross. On top of that, Landon and I were super jet-lagged so we fell asleep early and woke up around 2, went back to sleep at 3 and slept until 5. A grab and go breakfast was set to start at 6. We went downstairs right at 6

Receiving her diploma Austin's sister, Emily, graduated! We are so proud of her for all she was able to accomplish while in school at the University of Utah. She did a double major and was very active in her sorority among other things. She is now preparing to apply to law schools this next year.   Yay E BIM! At commencement, President Eyring received an honorary doctorate, and I brushed against his sleeve as I walked in the basketball arena to take my seat. At first, I just thought to myself, "This guy looks really familiar!" and then when I went and sat down I realized, "Oh, that was President Eyring!" The formal processional was canceled due to rain. The speaker was the new Secretary of the VA, and he gave a good speech.  Sisters Auntie Em with our little family It was a rainy weekend in Salt Lake! It rained for both Commencement and Convocation ceremonies, canceling the processionals and making it hard to take picture