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30 april 2007

Keukenhof Lisse

lia with her mother in the keukenhof.jpg
this is how you do that.jpgnice coulors.jpg
many colours at the keukenhof.jpgfour swans in the keukenhof.jpg
tulip forest.jpgdead cat.jpg
old trees left.jpghello lia.jpgold trees right.jpg
lia surrounded by rodondendron flowers.jpgdutch tourist in own country.jpglia in sculpture.jpg
business never stops.jpgyoung couple.jpgtulip closeup.jpg
old soldiers.jpg
swan.jpgwil had to pose again for johan.jpglisten very carefully this time.jpg
higher daddy.jpg
you dont see often raymond like this.jpgok now jump.jpghappy dreams.jpg
mike and merle taking care of the little ones.jpglots of attention.jpg
always fun with merle.jpgesther enjoys prive moments.jpg
holland at dawn.jpg

Lately the weather is very very beautiful. So a good reason to take Lia's mother to The Keukenhof. This is very close by for us. Lisse is in the backyard of Abbenes so to speak. Just in time because the beautiful weather is taking its toll for the tulips. They can't stand the heat. After having a very nice dinner with Han, Wil, Maarten and Nathalie we could cool off in the pool with our children. ......26 degrees.
Today it is queensday and another enjoyable day to relax .
Have fun and talk to you later, Lia and Johan

Posted by johan at 09:47 am | | Comments (393)

23 april 2007

Baby sitting weekend

jade sees airplane above abbenes.jpg
lijnzaad at hoofdweg.jpgspiderman tol.jpg
marijn is helping granddaddy making a sandbox.jpgis it real or fake.jpgfeeling at home.jpg
marijn with cleaning net.jpghello kitten.jpgsleep well.jpglia and marijn in the garden.jpgcleaning up by marijn.jpg
come and.jpggo.jpg

After our active weekends we spent a 'quiet' weekend with our grandchildren Marijn and Jade. As a matter of fact keeping an eye on the little children is probably more intensive than everything else. As you know we have 2 little ponds and a pool so no time for dozing away this time. We enjoyed it very much and we have the feeling that Jade and Marijn had great fun too. Fixing a brand new sandbox is good news for 3-5 year old beach lovers. Holland is 'suffering' global warming so this was something to repeat soon.
Have fun and talk to you later
Lia and Johan

Posted by johan at 05:50 pm |

16 april 2007

Middelburg april 07

frank hetty maarten nathalie lia and johan.jpgdis & that is our favourite shop in middelburg.jpg
sitting in a 1650 environment.jpglong john.jpgjohan with maarten in middelburg.jpg
vulture and liberty.jpgpostman for vliegend hert.jpgfranks front door.jpg
nice detail.jpgevening light.jpgthis we saw after wakening up.jpg
middelburg zeeland.jpgmiddelburg is beautiful.jpgsmiling pot.jpg
good morning lia.jpgearly birds maarten and nathalie.jpgdutch bloembollenvelden.jpg
tulips all over the place.jpglisten very carefully I only say this once.jpg
lia and arjan after work.jpg

Together with Maarten and Nathalie we were invited by Frank and Hetty for a weekend in Middelburg. Not only the sunny weather and nice temperatures made this quality time; The hospitality of Frank and Hetty gave the final touch. Middelburg is a wonderful city in Zeeland with lots of beautiful restored monuments. The images give an impression about the nice environment of this 'Old Zealand'. Frank is enjoying his retirement playing golf and travelling. It was good to see him in good shape.
Near our home all the flowerbulbs are colouring the fields.
Keep you posted and we say hi from a sunny Holland.
Lia and Johan.

Posted by johan at 09:18 am | | Comments (404)

12 april 2007

Easter weekend in Istanbul

first bridge.jpg
old friends at sunday brunch.jpgfleur lia tarik patric and little ties.jpg
akmerkez lunch with lia itir ece johan rezzan ceren and ayla.jpgayla and ceren having seconds.jpg
lia in front of first bridge.jpgistanbul is a fairy tale.jpg
harold opens doors.jpgpatric and the founders of c&a.jpgdikkat lia ve ayla var.jpg
harold muharram patric lia johan and steven.jpg
as a tourist in your own city.jpgayla and lia love tulips.jpgin front of dutch consulate near taksim square.jpg
istanbul lifestyle.jpgtimeless.jpg
the bridge as it is right now.jpgthis is so typical.jpgwe missed you very much.jpg
it is a mans world.jpg
fleur and patric enjoying ties.jpgflat tire in ortakoy.jpg
dutch turkish tulips.jpgeasy going.jpg
ceren is capturing lias transformation.jpgayla and ceren.jpg
ayla lia burc ece and johan posing for waitress.jpg
haghia sophia closed at mondays.jpgold man in front of mosk.jpgthis we missed too.jpg

Last week we spent a long weekend in Istanbul to visit old friends. It was great to see many of them back. So sorry we could not see them all; .... a very good reason to revisit this second home city. We were amazed that we blended in as if the 8 months of absence never occured. We would like to thank everybody again for their hospitality and warm welcoms. Unfortunately we had to return to Holland for business, but we are very motivated to visit Istanbul again.
We enjoyed the sunny weather, another reason to come back soon.
Love from Lia and Johan.

Posted by johan at 12:45 pm | | Comments (3)

03 april 2007

Grandmother 80 years

everybody present for the group picture.jpg
stefan neshla brian and marley.jpgmarijn difficult to handle for his dad.jpg
lia s mother cutting the cake.jpgon top of oma s birthday cake.jpgloes and lia toasting.jpg
coen willem melle and wolbrand.jpg
king crown flowers in front yard.jpgistanbul here we come.jpg

Today Lia's mother becomes 80 years old and last saturday we celebrated her birthday at Marcel&Debby's new house in Berkel Roderijs. (almost) Everybody showed up and we had a full house so to say. Oma enjoyed it very much like all of us. Other than that we have a 'regular' week preparing for a week Istanbul. We are looking forward to see all of our dear friends at easter holiday coming weekend.
We keep you posted.
Hi from Lia and Johan.

Posted by johan at 10:56 am | | Comments (388)