The Broughtby's European Adventures

Photos of our Amsterdam house  here

Blue Boat Canal Cruise for Saturday evening.  This specific cruise has a audio option and a follow along booklet specifically for kids which is why I chose it. I would say it was successfull due to the various potty-related references. That is definitely on point for Sam's interests. 💩

Amstelpark - a kid's dream. Would need a lot of € in the games section to get very far.  Luckily Sam liked the free playground and gelato shop.

There is a floating cat rescue in Amsterdam!  Of course this was at the top of the list for Sam and I to visit.

NEMO Museum today.  Very interactive for kids which meant I mostly sat while Sam interacted.   And 2nd injury of Amsterdam for Sam.

Today Sam and I officially became Dutch residents (Ryan already is).  Process was pretty painless.  Except having to get up in the morning and figure out how to function in the new house.   This is an opportunity to share the initial challenges of expat life (at least for me): - Heat:  air conditioning is rare in Amsterdam and we don't have it.  We did anticipate our needs and ordered an air conditioner for our bedroom which is arriving tomorrow.  But I did struggle with the heat on night #1.  We did setup a fan but the air didn't make it's way to me (i.e. Ryan monopolized the fan). - Shortness: I am short.  Dutch people, apparently, are not.  The bathroom mirrors are too tall for me.  If I go on my tip toes I can almost see my chin.  That makes for a challenge in getting ready in the morning. - Electricity:  there are European plugs here, which we prepared for with converters.  But some things we have already have a ...

Here is our new house!  Sam's room is the one with the small balcony (2nd floor).  More pictures to come once we settle in more.   When we arrived, Ryan went to play volleyball with his new volleyball friends (insert sarcasm here), Sam started on his new Harry Potter Lego set that Ryan bought for him last time he was there, and I defied the ultimate overseas travel rule and took a nap.   Sam and I walked (approx 35 minutes) to watch the end of Ryan's volleyball and I accomplished finding out how long Sam could walk without complaining.  It is 5 minutes.  😩   On the way back from volleyball Ryan gave Sam a ride on his bike. There is a thing here where they have playgrounds attached to bars/cafes.  I immediately pursued that.  This is  De Vondeltuin in Vondelpark which is a 3 minute walk from our house.  There is another one similar to this in Vondelpark which we will explore tomorrow. Amsterdam playgrounds ar...

Today we fly to Amsterdam.  As you can see, although a lot of our stuff was already shipped over to Amsterdam or brought by Ryan on prior trips, we had quite a load on this last trip.   Sam did OK for his first international trip. Ryan tells me he didn't sleep much which I don't know because I did.  This picture is pretend-sleeping. 

My home  for a very long time.  The only home Sam has ever known.  Today on his last day of 2nd grade, it is also our last day in Chicago as we move on to a new life in Europe.  Chicago is more than a city for the Broughtbys - where Ryan and I met, Sam came in to the world, we raised and lost our pets Lucy and Jack, we explored (and changed) careers and made friends.  The view of the Willis/Sears Tower from Sam's school is quite different from the corn fields I saw every day leaving school when I was growing up.  A sad day but we will see you again Chicago. 

After what feels like an eternity, we are moving to Amsterdam the middle of June.  Between the initial discussions on if we would do this (I was aggressively in favor of the move regardless of practicality), the discussions with his company, making the final decision, planning and preparation, it feels like it has been a very long journey to get to this point.   As we often say, we know this is not going to be all rainbows and unicorns but most signs lead to this is going to be pretty amazing.  We have had some bumps in the road.  If I had another (repeated) conversation with Ryan about where an item was going to be moved to I may have needed to move to Amsterdam all by myself.   From leaving my job, our house, Sam's school and now Chicago, it is a lot of change.  While I am very ready to leave, it has been my home for a long time and it is also sad.