Times are Changing

Well 2 weeks have passed and I wanted to post on the blog awhile ago to let everyone know what has been going on in our lives since our return from our amazing trip to Europe.
      We are living back in Red Deer with Frank and Yvonne and as of Tuesday we are all now employed in Red Deer. Patrick handed out his first resume to a new restaurant that is opening in Red Deer called "State and Main" and they hired him on the spot as a Prep Cook. He can also put his work hours towards his Apprenticeship hours and they want to cross train him as a Line Cook too. He has been very busy the last couple of evenings with training and had his first official day today starting to prep some food. I am so proud of him! :) Things are finally falling into place for all of us. I started back with Red Deer Child Care Society and am working as the Head Supervisor at Holy Family School Age. The kids had their backpacks packed and their first day was September 4. It was an amazing first day and now I have to prepare the program to move into the gym so it has been keeping me busy with paperwork, cleaning and organizing. We have had some time to tell stories about our trip and I finally made it threw our first disk of pictures but have not yet ordered the prints from Costco so I can start scrapbooking our amazing adventure. But hopefully when work slows down, I can maybe get around to ordering some prints so I can work on probably many of scrapbooks! We will talk again soon!
Love From,
Tam and of course Patrick

In Tam's Uncle's field

Home Sweet Home

Well we have been home almost 2 whole days and what a great time it has been. We arrived in Calgary at 8:00pm on Wednesday, August 22 after a very long layover in London Heathrow but we finally arrived back on Canadian soil. We walked as we are on the worlds biggest mission: to get to the people we love who were waiting for us. We had a great welcoming party who were waiting for us: Frank, Yvonne, Dennis, Angelique, Sandy, Tara and of course 2 little boys who were very excited to see us: Jordan and Colin. When we finally cleared customs we walked through the magical doors and Tam walked right up to her little buddy, Jordan who had worked hard on making her a Welcome Home sign. Tears were shed as they exchanged the longest embrace and Patrick gave his parents the greatest biggest hugs ever. Frank had a parcel for Patrick that he gave him that Tam had shipped to their home address as it was easier to have Patrick's birthday present sent home and what was in the parcel you must be asking? But a Lego Volkswagon Van that Patrick said he would really like to have. :) Happy Birthday Honey, have fun building. We loaded the bags and headed to Airdrie to get a bite or drink and then headed to Red Deer where Patrick said goodbye to Dennis, Angelique, Colin, and his parents until Saturday as we were headed to Stettler to spend time with Jordan and Tam's family. It feels great to be home and we are looking forward to seeing everyone at Our Welcome Home Party on Saturday!
     We would like to thank everyone who helped make our Euro-trip possible. Thanks to Adri, Monique, Oma and Opa who opened their homes to us and helping us when we needed it. Thanks to Dennis, Angelique, Colin, Har, Karin, Rogier, Tamara, Rene, Geert-Jan and Roze for the fun times in Holland that we will never forget it. And of course to Marcel, Annette and Hans for the fun times too, they really meant a lot to us and hope to see you soon! :)We would also like to thank everyone who we met along the way who took us in and let us be part of your families we enjoyed absolutely every stop we made :) We of course would like to thank our parents for all the support, guidance and phone calls on our trip we couldn't have done it without you and now to start planning for our next trip whenever that may arise :)
Love From
P&T in Stettler, Alberta, Canada

Happy Birthday Patrick!

In the last 2 days we celebrated Patrick's Birthday 2 times. Double the fun, double the memories, and being able to celebrate Patrick's champagne birthday. The parties were amazing and we enjoyed that everyone came together so we could also say goodbye until the next time we meet again.

   

   Now it is my time to write something for my handsome Birthday Boy :) Happy Birthday to my best friend and my partner. I hope all your dreams come true and that you get everything you have ever asked for. I want to say you deserve the best in life and I will always be here through the good and bad times. I want you to know I love you and thank you for an amazing trip in Europe. Happy Birthday Honey!
Love From,
Tam in Deventer, Holland

Camping Success and a trip to Wijchen

What a success! Even with the rain we had our first

and last night we still managed to stay dry and enjoy our trip to Friesland. On August 15 we ventured to one of the Wadden Islands, Texel where Tam finally got to see a lighthouse and was able to climb up the stairs to the 6th level! She was so happy it brought a tears to her eyes. We got to enjoy the amazing panoramic view of the Wadden and North Seas. After we ventured towards De Koog where we stopped to play in the North Sea and watch Jesse and Patrick bury themselves under sand and make a sand castle. We also got to witness seals swimming in the sea and of course Tam collected more seashells :) WE crossed back on the ferry to Den Helder where we drove right into a huge rain storm. The rain just came down in buckets the whole drive back to Sneek but we arrived safe and sound.

    

Texel Lighthouse

Us on the 6th floor of the Lighthouse

The boys building a sandcastle

Tam enjoying the North Sea

Yesterday we drove to Wijchen to take Jesse home and say goodbye to Jesse's Dad, Cor and then continue onto Elizabeth's home. Patrick was greeted warmly by Guus and Suzanne and of course Elizabeth. They also gave Tam a nice welcome too! Elizabeth invited us to stay for supper and her husband, Gerard came home from a day of work and we had a nice visit with Gerard also. Elizabeth and Gerard were just married on July 6th! Congratulations once again! We had a delicious supper and had an amazing visit. We said goodbye sometime after 10pm as we had an hour drive back to Deventer. What an amazing night we had!

Talk to you all soon!

Love From,

P&T in Deventer, Holland

Camping to Friesland

Tomorrow we are headed to Sneek to go camping for 3 days before we celebrate Patrick's birthday on August 19th (his actual birthday is August 20). The exciting thing is we have another friend joining us on Tuesday night: Jesse Timmermans! He is taking the train up to join us and then will ride back home with us. We are very excited that we get to spend some time with Jesse before we head back home to Canada.
    Today we had to do the prep work to make sure we have everything for our camping experience. We set aside the tent, sleeping bags, extension cord, and all the other gadgets you need to go camping. We then went to the Lidl to buy some food to freeze for the trip to the campsite which is located on a farmer's field. We are very excited to go out and go camping and to enjoy the area around Friesland and even make a trip to Texel Island, one of the five Dutch Wadden Islands. We will get to view a totally different province within Holland and even cross the big afsluitdijk to get to Den Helder where we take the ferry to Texel. Tam sure is hoping we can find a lighthouse for her to go in as she has been looking for a lighthouse on this WHOLE trip. :) Here is to an amazing time in Friesland!
We will talk soon!
Love From
P&T in Deventer, Holland

Fishing with the Family

Last night we went fishing with Dennis, Angelique, Colin, Har, Rogier and Tamara at the IJssel. What fun we had fishing! Tam even went fishing, first time ever! But don't ask her to touch the fish because that definitely won't happen! They are gross and slimy! But we could definitely supply supper for our family, haha with our 7 tiny fish we caught between the 2 of us.

 Almost the whole family

 Har finally caught a fish and it was a BIG one! Good job Har!

 Oh yeah! There's supper! Yum

Fishing Beauty!

What a fun night! Thanks Dennis for inviting us out and also for the amazing fishing spot!

Love From,

P&T in Deventer, Holland

A Very Busy Weekend

On Friday we headed to Twello to spend a few days with Oma and Opa. Well as soon as we arrived Nick, the neighbor-boy was over ASAP to see us. We enjoyed a nice cup of tea and coffee outside then headed to the Twello Market. It was very sad as the Olive Guy wasn't there :( but we did get to say hi to the Cheese Man. He's the one that likes Canada :) After we headed out to a farmer to get special beans for supper and boy were they ever delicious! Then on the way back to Oma and Opa's we stopped by Hans and Annette's for a visit. We showed everyone our pictures of Ireland and had an amazing visit! What a great day!

Eating our delicious stroopwafels at the Markt

   On Saturday we visited with Oma and Opa and they even took us to Teuge Airport to see the parachuters land. Was it ever amazing to see them come in so fast and land so perfectly! It made me want to do it but maybe another day. After we went to the Fruit Farmer outside of Twello and got some fresh fruit. Then we headed back to Twello to visit over a nice tea and coffee. Nick was over immediately and Patrick was wrestling Nick on the grass. Nick won! After we went out back and played soccer with Nick. He's so full of energy. Then we enjoyed a delicious supper. After we got to have a Skype Date with Frank and Yvonne, what a great visit! They surprised us by bringing Tam's Shovel Buddy, Karl over to say hi. Tam shed a few tears she was that excited to see Karl. We visited for 2 hours and we are very excited to go home and see them and everyone else. After our visit, Marcel came over to visit so we visited with Marcel, Opa and Oma for a bit before heading to the train station to head back to Deventer as we are volunteering at the Boeken Markt (Book Market) with Monique tomorrow.

The parachuters

 Yesterday we were up at 5:30am to get ready to help out at the Boeken Markt, the largest Boeken Markt in Europe. There were over 800 stalls and 120,000 people came to visit this wonderful sight. We helped set up the stand by running back and worth to grab a car load of books. Good thing is Tam remebered to drive on the right side of the road and not the left after driving in Ireland for 2 weeks. We then waited for people to come to our stall to look and buy books. Tam did a great job and even sold 3 books by herself and spoke dutch to the customers. "Twee euro alsjeblieft" and after "Dank je wel." She was nervous but she did it! What a long day it was though, we left at 1:00pm to come home and eat some food and have a nap before heading back at 4:00pm to help pack everything up. We sold over €700,- worth of books! What a great day! And what a sight to see all those stands and books and people, another story to our trip :)

Patrick working at the Boeken Markt

Love From

P&T in Deventer, Holland

A Day of Thinking

I cannot believe that our trip to Europe has gone by so fast and people always ask me what's my favorite? I can honestly say I can't pick a favorite... this has been the trip of a lifetime and I loved all of it. Everything from the culture, to the sounds, to the food to the countryside it has all been amazing. I can say though I am pretty lucky that I could share it with my love, Patrick and 16 amazing days in Ireland with my Mom. I am a pretty lucky girl. I have met some amazing people along the way and even made some new friends. I have learnt so much from this trip and found myself and where I want to go in my life. I have to say thank you to my parents and Patrick's parents for the support they gave us on this journey. I couldn't have done it without you guys. But of course, I have to thank Patrick for sharing everyday with me and showing me his old life in Holland. I also have to thank him for putting up with me during my sad, frustrated, crazy, funny and happy times. This trip will be apart of our lives everyday and we will be able to overcome obstacles that may face us in the future. I couldn't have asked for a better travelling partner; I got to travel with my best friend and boyfriend and we got to know each other on a much deeper level. We got to share many first's and see the excitement in each other's faces and also support each other through the difficult times. I cannot believe we have less than 3 weeks until we come home to Canada but I know that we are both very excited to see our families and friends. We will be able to share our amazing life experience with everyone and of course numerous pictures. It will be something we will never forget. Our Euro-trip 2012 :)

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

 “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill



See you soon!
Love From,
Tam in Deventer, Holland

Galway to Dublin back to Holland

On July 29 we ventured along the West Coast and what a beautiful drive. It was really worth going back for! We arrived in Keem on the beach and watched a sailboat come towards the bay and we got to see the most amazing view ever!! There were 3 dolphins beside the boat! If we were any later or sooner we would have missed it, we sure were lucky to see that. We made the trek back to Galway and enjoyed a delicious supper. After we packed our bags and got ready to head back to Dublin on the 30th. We arrived in Dublin and delivered the car back to the rental company, Tam teared up a bit as she was letting go of her baby for the 2 weeks we had her. It was an amazing car and we really put the kilometers on her. Over 4,000kms to travel all around Ireland and see the beautiful greenery, cities, countryside and enjoy Mom's company. We just vegged in Dublin the last 2 days because we had to be up at 4:30am to head to the airport to catch our plane for 7:00am and Mom's plane departed at 10:40am to Heathrow, then carried onto Calgary. Tears were exchanged this morning as Tam had to say goodbye to her Mom. She really did enjoy having her Mom come over and share the experience of Ireland with us. It really was the most amazing part of our trip and one that neither of us will forget. It is an amazing thing we can share and talk about for the rest of our lives. Mom just texted us and said she found her gate in Heathrow with 15 minutes to spare, good job Mom! Tam says its because of the lucky clover she gave you before departing today :) We knew you could do it. We arrived safely back to Adri and Monique's but will have to get used to a 2 person trio, Mom will be missed dearly especially with the giggles Tam and Mom got! Thanks Mom for an amazing experience and wanting to share it with us. We love you so much! Now onto our next adventure; it will be full of surprises! See you next time readers! Mwahaha

Tam & Mom before departing



Love From
P&T in Deventer, Holland

Bushmills through Belfast to Dundalk to Galway AGAIN!

We had an amazing time in Bushmills at Finn McCool's Bed and Breakfast Hostel. We were only a 200meter walk to the Giant's Causeway but after we got checked into our room, we drove into Bushmills to get some British Pounds as were in the United Kingdom. After we headed to the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge where we hiked across onto the Carrick Island. Mom did good getting across but let's just say it didn't go as smoothly on the way back but she did it. We were both very proud of her and said we wouldn't do anything else outside her comfort zone until Newgrange Passage Tomb just outside of Dundalk. After we went back to our hostel to enjoy a nice BBQ which was an option for us to enjoy double quarter pound cheeseburgers. It was only £3.50 per person for us to eat some GOOD FOOD! After we hiked down to the Giant's Causeway where we watched the sunset and hike up and down the pillars of stone. It was amazing to see that they were all perfectly shaped polygons and it sure did make you wonder how they were developed in such amazing shapes and laid so close to the ocean. It was funny to hear the locals talk about the fables or myths behind the Giant's Causeway. We also had an amazing visit with each other and took numerous pictures. After we ventured back to our hostel where we talked to Steve who owns the place and what we should see on our drive through Belfast tomorrow. The only thing he said "THE BLACK TAXI TOUR." Well we did the Black Taxi Tour and it was amazing to get the history on the battle between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics within Northern Ireland. We saw the murals on the walls within the Protestant Community and the 3 1/2 mile Peace Wall that reaches 42 feet high at the highest point to separate the 2 communities. After we saw the RIA wall and understood how much power the IRA has over Northern Ireland. We also got to see a beautiful Roman Catholic Church, it was absolutely breath-taking. After we continued on our drive to Dundalk where we stayed for 2 nights and as you know, something always has to go wrong when you are travelling. We arrived at our Bed and Breakfast just outside Dundalk and we had reserved our room for 2 nights in June but when we arrived they had no reservation for us. The good thing was they had room for us the first night but we needed to move the second night as there was no room for us. But lucky the B&B next door did have room for us. We walked along the beach of the Irish Sea where Tam collected sea shells and the following day we ventured around the County of Louth where we saw Newgrange Passage Tomb, Battle of the Boyne and had a beautiful drive. Today we headed back to Galway as we missed the most important of Ireland, the west coast close to Westport which is what we will do tomorrow. :) Busy busy busy but a lot of amazing memories. We will talk again soon!

Tam and Mom on Giant's Causeway 

 Giant's Causeway

Our "Black" Taxi Tour

Love From
PS&T in Galway, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, Surfing and onwards to Bushmills

We arrived in Galway on July 21 and had a day of vegging as tomorrow we were off to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. On July 22 we got all packed up and headed out early that morning to the Cliffs. We walked along the path to witness the amazing view and even walked to the furthest lookout tower. Mom did an amazing job as Mom sure does hate heights. She wanted to wear a T-shirt that says I walk the inside you walk the outside! Haha she is too funny. After we took the scenic route through the Burren which covers a large area around Galway. It was an amazing day! The morning of the 23 we headed north to Strandhill to a Surf n Stay Hostel. The weather was very cloudy and rainy when we arrived and they cancelled surf lessons for the day. There weren't even any locals out surfing so you knew it was too bad to go out. On the 24th we got suited up and headed out at 10am to have surfing lessons by J-Man and Mom was our professional photographer. We did an amazing job but man it sure was tiring! Patrick was the first to stand up and Tam stood up the 2nd try! We had to take a break from the waves as our legs were killing us but we had an amazing time! We got to surf for 2 hours! Tam rated the day 15 out of 10! After we went out for a nice bowl of soup or chowder to warm our bones back up. Then we headed to Sligo to the tourist information to get a map for Mom to take home to show everyone where we have been. Tam also parked in the wrong place as she went into the tourist information. A guy knocked on the window and asked Patrick and Mom to move so Patrick jumped in the drivers seat to move the car. He did an amazing job! He didn't even scratch it up. Today we jumped in the car and headed towards Bushmills and went even more North into Northern Ireland. What an amazing part of Ireland. The view was absolutely incredible where we even saw the bog being harvested and the tree lines where trees were being cut down. We arrived just down from the Giant's Causeway where our hostel is located and then we headed into Bushmills to get some pounds then went out to the Carriackrade-Rope Bridge. We had an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean and could even see a working lighthouse! Mom felt like she was having a heart-attack walking over the rope bridge that was suspended over 100ft in the air over the ocean. At the time it sure was funny until Tam went to cross it too and finally got a little nervous. We took some pictures and then ventured back towards the main-land and headed back to our hostel. We even get hamburgers made by the guy that runs our hostel. After supper we will be venturing to the Giants Causeway to see the sunset and take some more pictures. Tomorrow we will have a hot Irish breakfast and then head into Bushmills to the Old Bushmills Distillery and then head to Belfast if we can still drive after the whiskey! Just kidding, Tam will be the designated driver. We will finally stop at Dundalk where we will stay for 2 nights then carry on to Westport on the West Coast. We sure have so much more to see and only 6 days left to go! Here's to many more adventures.

 Practice before we enter the water

 Us after surfing

Tam and Mom watching the other surfers



Love From
PS&T in Bushmills, Northern Ireland

Ring of Kerry & Skellig Ring to West Cork Routes

Have you ever wondered how people can put on so many kilometers in one day? Yesterday we put on over 400 kilometers worth of driving on the Ring of Kerry and the Skellig Ring but the views we got to witness were so worth the driving. We took a de-tour (Thanks to Tam) down towards the Gap of Dunloe where we took a jaunting car experience down through the valley passed Echo Lake, Purple Mountain and our last stop through the Gap of Dunloe. The view was absolutely breath-taking, even brought tears to Mom and Tam's eyes that is how amazing the view was. Scooby-Doo our horse who carried us through to the Gap of Dunloe sure did work hard and it was a very nice experience to be part of. After we enjoyed the 2 hour jaunting-car experience we jumped back into the car and looked at the beautiful scenery along the way of the Ring of Kerry. We got to the ferry to head to the Skellig Ring, where Tam did an amazing job of driving onto the ferry to the Island. It was Tam's first time ever driving on a ferry and she was a professional at it. We stopped at the Skelling Interpretation Centre but could not get to the Skellig Islands as it was booked up until Saturday so we continued our drive along the coast. It was amazing to see land and the ocean couldn't have been a better view. We stopped at a place along the road where you could see the most beautiful cliffs in Kerry and the Skellig Islands which were very close at this point. We met a very nice Scottish man who took our picture and was going to charge us €40 for the picture. We sure did give him a laugh. After we enjoyed the amazing view we drove more along the coast and more and more until we came back to the Point of the Ring of Kerry. We stopped a couple more times along the way and finally made it back to our hostel around 11:15pm. Were we ever exhausted after being on the road for over 12 hours! We had no problem sleeping at all! But had an amazing day!
    Today we headed to the West Cork Route where we stopped in a small town to view a very large Model Train Village. Tam's Dad, Keith would of loved it! The had the small villages around the area, an old military base and trains going outside and through the villages. After we jumped back in the car to head to Galley Head where we were going to see a Lighthouse. But once we arrived close to Galley Head we were not allowed to go any further. Tam was pretty bummed out but will look for another lighthouse we can hopefully see the inside of. We did enjoy a short walk to the cliffs though near the Lighthouse where Tam's Mom made a new friend. A cute black laborador puppy who wanted Mom to play fetch with her. After we got back in the car and headed to the small village of Baltimore to wander through the Pirate Castle and see where the Pirates were in the area. That was the end of our trail and we made the 1 1/2hour tour back to the hostel where we made a delicious stir-fry for supper. We cannot believe that tomorrow we are off to Galway, the adventure just keeps getting better and better!

 The Gap of Dunloe, #1 of our trip

 The jaunting car we took back to the 5th Lake

The view on the Ring of Kerry Drive



Love From,
PS&T on the road around Cork, Ireland

Dublin to Kilkenny to Cork

Tam's Mom arrived safe and sound on July 15th in Dublin. Was it ever amazing to see her but the wait for Mom to get off the airplane was painful as we were so excited to see Tam's Mom after 4.5 months of being away. Tears were exchanged between us all and after we got everything together we headed to get our car and hit the road to our hotel in Dublin. After one night in Dublin we headed to Kilkenny where we spent 2 nights and got to enjoy the City of Kilkenny by seeing: The Black Abbey, Kilkenny Castle, The Smithwicks Brewery, St. Canice Cathedral and hike up the 1200 year old St. Canice Tower. Mom did it and are we ever proud of her as the steps got narrow near the top, it was a tight fit. Today we left Kilkenny and headed to Dunmore Caves before making our trip to the City of Cork. We got checked into our hostel Bru Bar and Hostel and then headed to the Blarney Castle and Gardens. Mom and Tam bent over to kiss the Blarney Stone but Patrick said I don't need to kiss the stone as I am already lucky as I have Tam. :) It was so cute! After we ventured to see the Gardens around the Castle. We got to see the Posion Garden which you were not allowed to smell, eat or touch the plants as they were poisonous. We also ventured to the Fern Garden for Mom as she loves ferns and she's jealous that we cannot grow them in Alberta. After we headed towards the entrance to head back to our hostel. The next couple of days will be busy as we are hoping to see: The Skellig Islands, Ring of Kerry and Killarney so we have a very busy couple of days and then off to Galway. It has been an amazing adventure and we are so glad that we could share it with Mom. Here's to more amazing memories.

Tam, Patrick & Mom

Love From,
PS&T in Cork City, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

We arrived in Dublin safe and sound on July 10th around 6:00pm. We ventured out to find our free shuttle to the hostel we were staying at, Paddy's Palace and were we ever in for a treat when we stepped outside. IT WAS POURING! We ran and waited for our shuttle and took the 30 minute drive to our hostel. We got checked in, dried off and were hungry so asked the guy at the hostel where we could go for some good Irish food. O'Shea's which was just down the street from our hostel was the place to go. We sat down and enjoyed a delicious bowl of Irish stew. We called it a night early as we were exhausted from the day of travelling. On July 11th we were up early to enjoy a free breakfast from our hostel and then headed out to the National Leprechaun Museum. We even got to sit in a Giant's Chair, Patrick finally got to know how Tam feels. :) After we continued to the Old Jameson Distillery to see how the famous Irish Whiskey is made. We got to enjoy an hour tour and really enjoyed it. At the end of the tour we got to enjoy a nice Jameson. We headed out to the supermarket to buy some food to make supper. We made a great tasting spaghetti and called it a night as we had to be up early to enjoy a free tour to Kilkenny. July 12th was an early start for Tam as she was up at 6:45am to get ready for the tour and then woke Patrick up at 7:00pm so he could get ready as well. We sat down and ate breakfast and then headed out for the tour at 8:00am. We first went through the beautiful Wicklow Mountains to a Monk Monestary, Saint Kevin's. We got to take a 3km hike to the Upper Lake which both reminded us of Lake Louise, absolutely beautiful. After we headed more into the Wicklow Mountains to head towards Carlow where a Portal Tomb was at. It was like a hunebed but instead of small rocks there was one large rock placed on top. We got back on the bus and headed to Kilkenny where we got to spend 2.5 hours. We decided not to spend any money as we will be spending 2 days with Tam's Mom in Kilkenny but know where we want to go with Sandy when she comes. We got back on the bus around and arrived in Dublin around 6:00pm. We visited with Jason, a guy from Austrailia in our room and invited him to join us for supper at a small pub, The Celt. It was an amazing night, we had a great visit and a delicious meal. We headed back to our room and exchanged numbers with Jason to host each other when we go to Austrailia and when he comes to Canada. We called it a night as we were all exhausted. Today we slept in as long as we could as we were tired from the day before. We got up and enjoyed breakfast and then got ready to tour around Dublin. We met Jimmy, a guy from Manchester, who is staying in our room and he showed us some things to see in Dublin. We ventured towards the Dublin Port and towards their beautiful glass Stadium. It was a day of relaxing and visiting with the roomies in our room. What an amazing time in Ireland we have had so far! Just to think it will become even more amazing when Tam's Mom arrives in 2 days. We cannot wait for her to come and where the real adventure begins.
Love From,
P&T in Dublin, Ireland

A Day with Oma, Opa and Annette

Today we headed to Twello to spend some time with Oma and Opa before heading to Ireland for 3 weeks. Oma and Opa picked us up around 10:00am at Adri and Monique's and we were headed to Twello. As soon as we arrived, Nick, the little neighbor boy and Tam's little boyfriend came over to visit. They were leaving at noon to Belgium to go on holidays for 7 nights. Tam made Nick a new friendship bracelet as his broke and he was so excited to have a new one! Nick also had to show us that he could tie his own shoes and even helped Patrick tie his shoes! It was so cute! We had a tea/coffee and visited outside until Nick's Mom, Cindy and his 6 month old brother came over for a visit. And of course Tam was very excited to hold Daan. Opa took of picture of her and her boy's they are so cute!

Nick, Tam and Daan

Nick tying Patrick's shoes

After Nick left we enjoyed a late lunch and then headed to Annette and Hans to have a visit. Hans was at work and we were sad that we missed him but will go see them when we get back from Ireland. We had a very nice visit with Annette and she showed us pictures from their holiday to Greece as they just returned home on Friday. Annette wanted to go to the new Ijssalon (Ice Salon) so we said we could go for a bowl of ice cream. It was such a nice afternoon. Thank you Annette!

Annette, Patrick and Tam

    After we headed back to Oma and Opa's where we visited some more and had a delicious meal. Opa gave us a ride back after supper to Adri and Monique's as we needed to finish packing and getting ready for our new adventure tomorrow. Thank you Oma and Opa for an amazing day and we will see each other when we get back from Ireland.

      Tam is very excited to head to Ireland as it means it is getting closer for her Mom, Sandy to arrive. We will see you in 6 days Mom!!

     We would like to inform our family and friends that we may not post on the blog as often when we are in Ireland but when we can we will. See you all soon!

Love From,

P&T in Twello, Holland

A Busy Deventer Weekend

On July 5-July 8 there is a huge festival in Deventer called "Deventer Op Stelten" where performances are done on stilts. The amazing thing about this outdoor festival is that its FREE! On July 6th we went to a late performance with Monique. The story was about the Fesitval of the Dead and the crazy part about this performance was when one of the performers jumped over a skipping rope on fire on STILTS! It was absolutely amazing to see! After the performance we headed home to bed as it was just after midnight. On July 7th, we made a date out of the day. We headed to the Schouwburg Theatre to watch break-dancing and hip-hop on stilts! It was a breath-taking performance and to see the performers bulging muscles you understood why they needed so much muscles. One guy bent over in half and stood on his feet and the stilts did the performing! You can't even imagine how they do it. Amazing!

Break-dancing on Stilts

After we went to 3 other performances, one was where 3 people created a story 7 meters high on a special metal construction and the second one was a large wheel where bikes were attached and they danced above us all in heaven. The performances name was: Biking in Heaven. It was amazing to see and the last performance we went with Adri and Monique to a film set, it was amazing to see and very funny. Also during Deventer Op Stelten there were 27 giraffes walking around the city of Deventer. And we got to see them twice!

A few of the 27 giraffes

Yesterday we got to enjoy the day with Marcel, Patrick's Uncle, and it was an amazing day! The weather didn't really participate with us as it rained and Marcel wanted to take us to a Bio-Organic Farm in the Deventer area. So instead we stayed at Marcel's place and had a wonderful visit. We talked about Canada, beer, our trip around Europe and some of our plans in Ireland. After we took the bus to downtown Deventer where we enjoyed Indonesian food. It was delicious! After we went back to Marcel's where we visited for a bit and then headed back to Adri and Monique's to visit with Rene, Roze, and Geert-Jan as it would be our last time seeing them as we are off to Ireland tomorrow! Tam is very excited as her Mom, Sandy comes in 6 DAYS! And Europe's going to know when her Mom lands too! Ireland's in for a big awakening! But it will be an amazing 2 weeks!

Patrick, Tam and Marcel

Love From,

P&T in Deventer, Holland

Day of Memories

What a busy day! Today I cleaned the house, did laundry and made supper with the help of Patrick. As I worked I thought of the wonderful months that lay behind me and the month that lies ahead of us. I thought of all the amazing people that I met and the beautiful countries I got to see. Sometimes I feel like I am living in a dream and need to pinch myself but when I do that it HURTS! so I know I am not living in a dream. Haha! I have loved every minute of our adventure even when things were rough because I realize it has made me a stronger person and I know I can do anything that I put my heart into. I got to know my best friend on a different level and am finally starting to let people help me as that has been a hard thing for me to do. I have also got to know who my true friends are and be able to let the other "friends" go as I must not waste my energy on "friends" like that. I also have realized that my calling in life is to work with children as they bring so much happiness to my life. Hearing their stories, giggles and see them reach for their dreams and goals. It truly is an amazing thing that I can be part of children's lives and that I don't ever pressure them to grow up, I just let them be kids as they grow up fast enough on their own. This adventure has really helped me to find myself and be able to express myself in ways that I have forgotten how to do so.
    I have also remembered a very important lady who is no longer with us but know that she would be so proud of me. That lady is my Grandma Sutton and she is very important in my life. She always taught me to follow my dreams and never be in a rush as life will turn out the way its suppose to. Well she is right and its funny that finally I know what she means. I love you Grandma, I miss you, and I hope your following me from heaven because it has been an amazing adventure.
   I am also very thankful to have 2 amazing families that have supported us on our adventure and hope that all our dreams come true. Well my dreams have come true; I have the most amazing families ever, know what I want to do in life, am healthy and happy and have the best friend and partner I could ask for. I also have another dream coming true in 12 days when my Mom joins us in Ireland. I am very excited to be able to spend 2 amazing weeks with my other best friend, my Mom. This has been the adventure of my dreams and am so happy I was able to do it. It will be one that I will never forget. :)

"We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves." May Lamberton Becker

"A grownup is a child with layers on." Woody Harrelson

"Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers." Josef Albers

Love From,

Tam in Deventer, Holland



Sports After School Program

Today we spent an amazing 2.5 hours within a Sports After School Program, De Uitdaging, (The Challenge) in Deventer and enjoyed EVERY minute of it! This program is very relaxed compared to our programs in Alberta but has some wonderful insights towards sports and just letting kids be kids! This of course is the most important part. Why do we want kids to grow up so fast? Why can't we just let them be kids? In this program it is based on the children's interests as ours are in Alberta but ours is based on S.P.I.C.E (Social, Physical, Intellectual, Creativity, and Emotional Development) and theirs is based on getting children active and letting them be outside but also uses a Sports Facility that if children want to play games inside they are able to do so and for when the weather doesn't co-operate. We had an amazing time playing outside with the children and of course Tam was also interested in the running of the program as she wants to open her own Child Care Facility one day. So she was talking with Tim and Kim about funding, their schooling, how they get ideas and the rates of child care in Holland. It was amazing and thank you to Tim and Kim for your information and letting us be a part of your program. We look forward to volunteering again on Thursday. Also thank you to Angelique for getting us in contact with Tim, it is greatly appreciated and we LOVED it!

 Patrick playing with the kids

 Their kitchen they use

 The area for the kids to play games inside

 The facility they use

The soccer field they have access to

Love From,

P&T in Deventer, Holland

Date Night

Last night we had a chance to have a Date Night. You may think, they're on a date for 6 months what more could you ask for? Yes, we are with together every day for 6 months in another continent but there are times where it is nice to just sit down and relax together and talk about our time together in Europe. It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday so we decided it was nice to have a fire outside and to enjoy the setting sun and talk about our adventures. Of course, Patrick had to teach me how to cook bread over a campfire as that is what he did with his Mom, Yvonne and Dad, Frank when they went camping. I loved the idea and cannot wait to show my family and of course my little buddy, Jordan when we get home. They are going to love the idea too!

Making bread over the campfire

We sat outside and asked each other about what we liked best about our adventure, what was the worse part and what learning experiences we are going to take away from this wonderful adventure. As we were sitting outside we watched a man go fishing until the sun went down. Of course I thought of my favorite country song: Fishing in the Dark by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and we had to play it during that moment. And I want to share it with you :) Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVL2NGpkUGE 

As the night began to cool and our tummies became full with bread we called it a night. It was the best and most amazing date night ever! Couldn't have asked for a better date night with my best friend and partner.

Love From,

Tam in Deventer, Holland

And of course Patrick too!

Apenheul!!

Have you ever wondered about animals in a Zoo? Do they have enough space? Do they have enough food and water? Yesterday when we arrived at the Apenheul, Tam was amazed at the park for these monkeys. This park was located within a forest and each different type of monkey had a huge grass area to run, play, eat and drink. Some of the monkeys were even able to WALK FREELY within the park and because they walk free we needed a MONKEY PROOF BAG. Don't worry they can't run away as there are fences with plastic sheeting at the top and there is 4 meters between the rest of the forest so they monkeys stay within the park. When we first walked into the park we were welcomed by the cutest and tiniest Squirrel Monkeys. After we continued pass the Howler Monkeys which can range in size from 22 to 36 inches. Then we walked to the Lemurs and watched them being fed. Patrick and Tam had a Mama and Baby Lemur only an arm lengths away from us!! All of the lemurs come from Madagascar. It was the most amazing thing ever!! Then we stopped for a bite to eat and went to watch the Gorillas be fed. What a view! There were 14 gorillas in the area and 7 of those were kids; 3 of them being cute adorable babies! The gorillas eat 70kg of vegetable/day. Also a male adult becomes a silver-back after 15 years of age. The males can still double their weight after turning 15. Their silver-back, Jambo, is 18 years old and weights 200kg of pure muscle. So Patrick is going to see if he can eat 5kg of food every day as that is how much each gorilla averages a day. Who thinks he can do it? One of the fascinating stories was one of the females was going to give birth. She was starting her contractions but no baby came out so they rushed her to the Lukas Hospital in Apeldoorn. They grabbed a vacuum to extract the baby out and after the baby was born they named him Lukas. After we continued onto the Orangutans where we learnt that full grown adults can have an arm span of 2.5 meters! Patrick's arm span is 1.85 meters and Tam's is 1.61 meters.

Tam= 1.61m

Patrick=1.85m
We also pretended to be monkeys on the rope outside the Orangutan area. After the Orangutans the Nasenaffen Monkeys came on our path with their big noses. The Barbary Macaques area was closed so we continued to see the Gorillas inside their cave. It was funny to see that Moms just steal food from the babies mouths. Its sad but they have to learn to eat fast! When we got to the Gibbons the park was closing so we were not allowed to see anymore monkeys as there were signs that said "De Apen gaan slapen" (The monkeys are going to sleep.) We stopped at the souvenir shop so Tam could buy a postcard to put in our scrapbook when we get back to Canada. When we came out Adri asked Patrick " Did you bring the right monkey with you?" As Tam gets into the monkey pose and made a monkey noise. Patrick said "I sure did!" After Monique wanted to show Tam the Wild Boars so we walked to the area where the Wild Boars were kept. Tam's first words out of her mouth, "When they're young they look so cute, when they grow up they sure are UGLY." The only thing Patrick thought was that they taste amazing as we tasted wild boar in Faro, Portugal. We continued back to the car where Monique let Tam drive the 21kms back; it was a little rough at the start especially when Tam stalled out at the lights. But once she got going she did an amazing job! What an amazing day! Today's rating 15/10!
Love From,
P&T in Apenheul, Apeldoorn, Holland

Last couple of days in Deventer

Yesterday Patrick went fishing with Dennis yesterday and they caught a big karp! While Tam stayed with Angelique and visited and Tam helped Angelique out around the house. Tam also ventured to Colin's school by herself by the bike to get Colin after a day of school. She didn't get lost so she was very proud of herself. After supper with the Bruin family we went out to enjoy a game of European football.
    Today was a very exciting day for us as we could finally On-line Check In for our flight to Dublin! Which means there is 14 days until we fly into Dublin and 19 days until Tam's Mom lands in Dublin too! It is getting so close and one little girl is getting very excited to see her Mom! It will be an amazing 2 weeks with Mama Sandy! We cannot wait!!
     After we taught Dennis how to play 21, our favorite game because it has to do with BASKETBALL! Patrick won two games and Dennis won one and Tam well she was practicing :) Today Patrick went with Dennis to help a friend move a couch while Tam stayed to help Angelique. When Patrick came at the house of Dennis and Angelique's friend, their neighbor came to help and the funny thing is that his name was Patrick too. Even creepier the name of his girlfriend was Tamara! Patrick really had to shake himself up because you don't really hear of that too often. Its good they didn't look like us :) They moved the couch up and brought Dennis and Angelique's old couch down. Patrick and Patrick had to wait for Dennis because he was putting the couch together so P&P sat outside on the couch enjoying the sun. What an amazing time. While Dennis and Patrick were gone, Tam and Angelique made supper and Tam learned how to make speklappen. It sure was delicious! After supper Dennis, Colin and Patrick went outside to play European football (soccer) with some neighbors in the neighborhood. Tam and Angelique joined them later with Choplin, their puppy. Dennis let Tam drive on the way home and her driving is impecable, she's starting to drive like a professional! Patrick is super proud of her! What an amazing day we had!

 Patrick and Dennis playing 21

Choplin, DAC's puppy

Tam, Professional Driver

Love From
P&T in Deventer, Holland

The Weekend's Events

Yesterday was a very exciting day for Tam as Dennis let her drive his car and she started out rough as she was driving a manual and had to get use to the narrow roads. But we all made it through, like Tam told Colin "Nobody died, yeah!" We enjoyed homemade hamburgers made by Tam with Dennis, Angelique and Colin. After supper we were listening to country music and Dennis had a CD for Tam, so Dennis and Tam went to DAC's home to go get the CD. Tam drove them of course and did much better the 2nd time since she was more comfortable. After supper we went to Geert-Jan's to see his place and have a visit. We enjoyed a couple of drinks and watched the movie "The Hangover." We got back home around 1:30am but had an amazing evening!
    Now today is a special day as we have a Mama who is celebrating a BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday to this very special lady. We love you and hope you have a fantastic day!
     Today we were also suppose to go to the Apenheul with Adri and Monique but the weather isn't very nice in Deventer. Its windy and raining so we decided it wouldn't be a good day to go as the little monkeys wouldn't be out. So we will keep that in our mind when the weather co-operates with us and will go on a better day.
Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!
Love From,
P&T in Deventer, Holland

Belgium Chocolate and Beer!

After an amazing 4 days in Belgium we made it back to Deventer safe and sound and wet as we got caught in a thunderstorm on our way to the train station.
   But to start off on our adventure to Antwerpen, Belgium on June 18, 2012. We boarded the train at 11:44am to head to Roosendaal to transfer onto another train to Antwerpen. We arrived in Antwerpen Centraal Station at 3:30pm. We ventured around Antwerpen as Anneke was working until 6:00pm. We walked down by the pedestrian shopping mall and stepped into a store where the famous chocolatier, Dominique Persoone (Shock-o-latier) made large figures and even a chocolate dress for Miss Belgium. His work was absolutely breath-taking and we even saw a worker creating a character from Spongebob Square Pants. After we walked to Anneke and Stefaan's home where they let us stay for 3 nights. Anneke made a delicious spaghetti supper for all of us and then we enjoyed each other's company outside underneath a heater. :) 
    On June 19, 2012 we started our day by jumping on the train to Brugge, Belgium. We got in Brugge around 12:30pm. We stopped at a grocery store to buy some food and then carried on our walk through the city. We saw the beautiful churches and the market square. We saw the St. John's Hospital that is one of the oldest preserved hospital buildings in Europe and it is absolutely beautiful. After we continued towards "De Halve Maan Brewery" (The Half Moon Brewery) where we enjoyed a 45 minute tour of a 6 generation family run brewery and enjoyed one of their unfiltered prize winning beers. During the tour we went into this room to look at their small collection of beer glasses. FACT: Belgium has 1500 different beers and EACH beer has its own glass! That's a lot of beer glasses! After we wanted to go to the Chocolate Museum but we got there just as it was closing at 5pm. But Tam will be adding that to her list of return to Europe as she really wanted to go and see the history of chocolate. Yum :) So we continued down the main street towards the train station and made a stop at Choco-holic to buy some bon-bons since Anneke adviced us that we had to try the chocolate. Well that was some delicious tasting advice!
    On June 20, 2012 we toured around Antwerpen and we used the bikes to get to Het Steen Castle. Now that was an experience for Tam since she hasn't rode a bike in years. But we made it! Tam trailing behind Patrick. After we walked through the castle we continued towards Grote Markt (Large Market) and saw the beautiful Catherdral of Our Lady! What a magnificent building! We continued on our walk pass the Fashion Museum, Ruben's House, Museo and Diamond Lane! Now that is a lot of diamonds on one street and EXPENSIVE! We then walked back to Anneke and Stefaan's as we were going Geocaching with Anneke in a nice neighborhood of Antwerpen. This neighborhood used to be the poorest neighborhood and was home to many artists that spruced the neighborhood up. Now the neighborhood is one of the most expensive areas to live in. The series of questions we had to find took us on a lovely walk around this neighborhood and at the end point we stopped to enjoy a "bolleke" and figure out the final co-ordinates to find the geocache. The geocache was hidden in a "bush" but Tam didn't realize that they were brandnetels and Tam was wearing shorts. So when she came out her legs were starting to develop some tiny bumps and were very itchy and Anneke developed some on her arms as she was wearing pants. So unfortunately we had to give up on the geocache. After we headed to a restaurant where we enjoyed supper with Anneke and Stefaan and got to enjoy some typical Belgium food. After we went home to enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee outside under the heater and visited until 12:30am.
     Yesterday we were up at 7:30am as Stefaan and Anneke both had to work and we wanted to say goodbye and thank you for the amazing time in Antwerpen and opening their home to us. Anneke and Stefaan, thank you so much for the amazing time in your home. We thoroughly enjoyed the visits and getting to know you both. We had a fantastic time. After we got up and started our day as we were headed to Wijchen to enjoy a barbecue with Jesse and his family. We departed from Antwerpen at 1:00pm as we made a tour down the Pedestrian Shopping Mall to pick up some treats before heading to the barbecue. We were on the train arriving in Den Bosch when Jesse texted us saying he was arriving into Den Bosch also. We called Jesse and said we were on the same train as him so we continued onto Wijchen together. It was very nice to meet Cor, Hanneke, Paul and Jesse's girlfriend Lobke. It was an amazing evening with a dutch barbecue and an fantastic visit. Thank you for the great night! As we walked to the train station to head back to Deventer we got caught in a rainstorm and by the time we reached the train station we were soaked to the bone and had an 1.5hour ride on the train. Monique was waiting for us when we arrived and we made it home around 10:50pm. What an amazing experience in Belgium!

 Antwerpen Centraal Station

 Dominique Persoone, famous chocolatier

Patty in front of Brewery sign

Love From,

P&T in Antwerpen, Belgium

Antwerpen, Belgium

Who thought that I could ever be excited to travel? Whoever thought I could be nervous like going to your first day of school? I have always been a "home-body" and really enjoyed being at home. But this morning I was wide awake at 5am and there was no way I was going back to sleep. I had a huge sense of excitement and thrill that we are going to a new country today. As I creep out of our room, I pack and get everything ready for our departure at 11:44am so Patrick can sleep a little longer today. :) I am very excited to go to Belgium and taste some of the best chocolate in the world. Good thing we are going to walk around Antwerpen so I can lose the calories I will be eating. LOL! We are very excited to be staying with Anneke, a friend and old colleague of Yvonne's who will tell us the highlights of Antwerpen and Brugge as that is one of the other places we would like to visit while we are in Belgium. We will be staying in Belgium until Thursday and hopefully the weather will participate for us as of right now we are having a thunderstorm and a good rain :( Here's to a new experience and talk to you all in a couple days!
Love From,
Tam in Deventer, Holland
and Patty too but he's sleeping :)