Flooded by Hail

We watched a typical rain storm roll in tonight, thinking nothing of it and trying to assure William that it wouldn't be scary and that everything was going to be fine.

It quickly picked up and hail was added to the mix, get bigger and bigger and coming down fast and faster by the minute.

It filled all of our flower pots, flooded the roads, the sidewalks and the whole yard.

Within minutes it looked as if we had had a snow storm.

It started coming in through the front door, which is one flight of stairs down from our apartment.

The storage unit we just moved from flooded as well, and it started leaking into our new one but we caught it in time and nothing got ruined.

Once it stopped the kids threw their boots on and we all headed outside to get a closer look at the damage.

It washed everything away, every plant was covered, beauty bark and dirt were washed from one end of the apartment complex to the other.

William was standing in the shallow part of this puddle and it still went above his ankles.

The worst part however was the garden that I have been working so hard on is completely ruined. Everything is crushed and broken by all of the hail.

30 Weeks Baby #3

31 Weeks with Kaelyn

30 Weeks with Baby #3

Well it seems to be official, I'm much bigger with this baby than I was with William or Kaelyn. This baby is sitting so low, that for weeks my belly has been getting in the way and William and Kaelyn have become my floor cleaners. Nick laughs every time I get on the floor because he knows I wont be able to get up on my own. I can't reach my toes, so the only shoes I wear now are slip-on's, no matter what the weather is. This last weekend was a little rough, I had some pretty intense contractions so I spent a lot of time laying down, not doing much around the house. I have another appointment tomorrow, but as far as I can tell the baby is moving as he/she should and everything is looking normal! Probably less than 10 weeks and I'll get to meet my little one, the excitement is almost too much for me at times, not knowing if they are a boy or girl but I am so glad that I am waiting to find out. There aren't too many good surprises in life anymore, so I want to keep this one last one.

25 Weeks with Baby #3

25 Weeks with baby #3

26 Weeks with Kaelyn

This pregnancy has been so different than with William or Kaelyn. I am feeling so much bigger, and much lower than any other time making things harder to do earlier. I am finally started to feel good though. My prenatal vitamins were making me sick, so once I switched that things got better. Now if I could just find a way to magically pick things up off the floor so I didn't have to bend over, that would be great! We have  been talking about names, Astrid Fionn for a girl, Atticus Lee for a boy. I think I've decided where I want to deliver, here in Germany you tour any hospital you want usually about 28 weeks so that you can make a decision and get registered with that hospital. Things are done so differently here, it's been fun and stressful at the same time. They do an ultrasound at every appointment, so that is a nice thing that I am able to enjoy,

25 Weeks with William

Perfect Evening in Holland

After the garden we headed to our next hotel. This was the same style, a mobile home but in a huge campground/amusement park. They had a grocery store, bowling alley and restaurants all within that park, as well as unlimited access to a water park and the amusement park which we were too late for. 

We grabbed some food and started cooking dinner, William was so excited to be able to help grill our dinner that night.

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Nick and I sat snacking on treats while the kids chased birds, played in the grass, and ran around our little camp area. We both commented that it was one of those moments that you wish you could just freeze in time. The kids were being great, the weather was perfect and we had awesome food. Life doesn't get any better than that.

The next day we headed into Amsterdam, which we hated. We decided not to get out and look at anything because of how scarce and expensive parking was. It took forever to get out of the city, and with all of the cyclist riding every (Amsterdam holds the record for the most cyclists) my anxiety was through the roof so we just headed back home.

Kückenhoff Gardens

Hold on to your hats, there are going to be a lot of flowers!

Our second day we went to the Kückenhoff Gardens, they have the largest selection of Tulips in the world, and it is the most popular places to go for the Tulip festival every year.

Acres upon acres of beautifully landscaped flower beds show casing every type and color of Tulips.

There were I believe 5 different buildings that had different types of displays, but the first was by far our favorite.

They had dresses, clothing and other things designed either with flowers, or around a particular flower.

We got the chance to go up into a historic windmill, as well as an over sized clog.

And of course, when ice cream is available, you always have to get some.

After walking through half the park the kids were more than ready for some free time. 

They had a tiny petting zoo where they got to pet a 4 week old goat, and a pretty large play group they were able to get their energy out on.

They even had a zipline that the kids were dying to try. Kaelyn went after William, but somehow I managed to turn off the recording after only a couple of seconds.

It was such a beautiful, perfect day. We had so much fun, and were all pretty tired and flowered out by the end.