Finally, an update! I have half finished pages for Christmas still and some other little things, but until those are finished enjoy some pictures/stories from beautiful Holland! Sorry it is so very long, but what we just couldn't stop snapping pictures and it was almost impossible to narrow it down to the best ones! And a reminder that I use these in their individual scrapbooks so there may be some repetition. Hope this finds everyone well, we are doing much better here now that the sun has come out and the colds sneaking into submission! Tomorrow we celebrate Victoria's first birthday and our next trip is coming up in June to the Spanish coast. Happy springtime everyone!

Welcome to Holland, land of the flowers! We began the day at 5am in order to make it to Floraholland, the leading flower auction in the world. In terms of floor space, the building itself is the second largest in the world and accommodates 48 million plants and flowers a day! In the auction room buyers can view the flowers as they pass through the room, transported by mechanical grooves in the floor. Above, the screen shows the price and quantity available, both of which go down over time. The buyers push a button to tell the auctioneer (in a little booth down by the flowers) how much they want to buy. The longer they wait, the lower the price...but wait too long and you miss it all together. Each lot of flowers takes only seconds or minutes to sell. Many of the flowers bought in the early morning will be in homes by the end of that very day, while some are shipped out on planes to farther away locations. The sheer size of the operation was absolutely staggering and worth the early hours (even though the children are pictured in pajamas!)

Our little Victoria outshone all the flowers in the garden! A mob of Asian tourists surrounded her and her sister in the above picture, ignoring the flowers and snapping pictures of them! Victoria loved being with her Daddy and riding on Mommy's shoulders...her favorite way to get around! She cruises in the stroller as well (to the right) and was also quiet happy in the petting zoo :)

Nancy bloomed birghter than all the flowers in the garden! A mob of Asian tourists surrounded her and her sister in the above picture, ignoring the flowers and snapping pictures of them instead! Above, Nancy didn't hesitate to run up and pet all the animals at the petting zoo. She was very brave there... as well as on the bridges and by the water and pretty much everywhere else! What a fun little playmate!