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 :)

Happy Father's Day and of course Happy Grandpa's Day Too!

Today we headed to Twello to enjoy Father's Day with Opa and Oma so we called it Grandpa's Day too! We made a special treat for Opa that we will make for our Dad's when we come home: Lemon Meringue Pie!! It was very delicious, Patrick had a good time sampling it while we were making it last night :)

Our Lemon Meringue Pies we Made

Of course when we arrived at Oma and Opa's we were very excited to see them as they were to see us. But most of all Tam's little boyfriend Nick had to come over and tell her that his bracelet was broken and he needed another one! And also to show us his new bike that he got on Wednesday. What a cute kid! We sat outside and enjoyed a tea or coffee and piece of pie with Hans, Annette, Opa, Oma, Nick, Patrick and Tam. Annette noticed that Nick was smitten by Tam and asked Nick "Denk je dat Tam mooi is?" (Do you think Tam is pretty?) Nick answered "Ja" (Yes) with the cutest little smile ever! It really made Tam's day. What a great day it was to be celebrating Father's and Grandpa's Day. We also enjoyed a delicious supper with Marcel and had a very lovely visit. Thank you Opa and Oma for a wonderful day!

   We could not be with our Dad's today but we wanted to say Thank You. Thank you helping us achieve our dreams, being there in hard times and just being you. Tam found a poem that she wanted to share with both of you, Frank and Keith! Happy Father's Day! We love you both very much!

Happy Father's Day to the special men in our lives!

Love From,

P&T in Twello, Holland

A Day of Celebration

Today we headed to Har and Karin's to celebrate Tamara's birthday, she was turning 15 years old. As our gift to Tamara we wrote her 15 Pieces of Advice for Life in English, Tim Tam made her a friendship bracelet and we gave her a little something extra. It was nice to have almost all the family there; Monique & Adri, Dennis, Angelique & Colin, Patrick & Tim Tam and of course Har, Karin, Rogier, and the Birthday Girl Tamara. We enjoyed some delicious pie and coffee and tea before heading out with the children to the park to play a game of "Piggy in the Middle." After almost everyone left from Tamara's party, Tim Tam wanted to get a family picture to post on the blog for Mama Yvonne and Papa Frank. So they can see all the family and how big everyone is getting. :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMARA! Thank you for the invite!

(Back row left to right) Har, Rogier, Patrick, Adri, Dennis

(Front row left to right) Karin, Tamara, Tim Tam, Angelique, Colin, Monique

After the birthday party, Adri, Monique, Dennis, Angelique, Colin, Patrick and Tam went out to find some geocaches. We found 3 geocaches that were in a series of caches that Monique and Adri started last weekend and we all helped them complete it! Good job Team Ernie! We came home and Monique made us Witlof for supper which Tam had for the first time and Patrick tried it again after not eating it for a long time. We made a special treat for Opa tomorrow for Grandpa's Day and for Keith, Tam's Dad and Frank, Patrick's Dad but they will get theirs when we get home! What a busy but wonderful day!

 Dennis, Colin, Patrick & Monique

 Colin found a Geocache

The witlof we enjoyed at supper. Eet smakelijk!

Love From,

P&T in Deventer, Holland





A Day of Expression

Have you ever wondered where life was going to take you? What each corner had in store for you? If it was possible that dreams could really come true? Well watching your dreams come true really is possible... Patrick and I got the chance to share our dream of backpacking through Europe together which really is nice to have someone to share all the stories and accomplishments with and even the hardships. It makes you a stronger person and helps you to handle sudden problems within your plans and when things go right can celebrate on the amazing adventure.
     For me, it wasn't easy leaving my family as I never travelled this far from my family and had to do something this big without their guidance. I have always been very close with my family. We have a saying in our family "We work hard and play harder together." So thinking that I would be leaving my mom at the busiest times on the farm when I have always been her "special helper" was hard for me. But of course my mom wanted me to follow my dreams and she will be following hers in a month time when she joins us in Ireland. After my time in Europe I realized that my family will always be there as will Patrick's family will be there for him. Like Frank says "Your home will be here when you get back." It has been a dream come true being able to see all the different countries, culture, people, food, and meeting new friends and family along the way. It hasn't always been a cup of tea though, I have had my days where I was homesick and missed my family and friends same as Patrick has. But we have each other to talk to and of course, Patrick's family here in Holland. I also think that this will make our relationships stronger with our families and friends and hopefully be an inspiration to other people that dreams do really come true and that anything is possible if you take that big step and just DO IT! We know we couldn't have done it without the encouragment from our family and friends but are thrilled that they follow on our blog and when we do run into problems they are just a phone call away for advice or help. This adventure has really added a special part to the book in my life and am so blessed with the families and friends I have encountered in my life and will continue to add. :) I just want to say thank you for all the support, advice, and everlasting love and helping me follow my dreams.

Love From
Tam in Deventer, Holland

An Exciting Day!

Yesterday we were up at 6:00am! Patrick was going to work with his uncle Dennis at van Gansewinkel and Tam was going to watch Colin while Angelique went to work in Twello at the Hair Salon.
    Patrick and Dennis had to be at work by 7:00am so they could be done work earlier. They picked up the garbage truck and drove to Nijbroek where they had to pick up two guys that stand on the back of the garbage truck. But when they got there they figured out they had to wait 20 minutes for them to show up. Dennis said lets do a couple of kliko's because by the time we finish them the two guys will be there. Patrick got out and helped Dennis for a bit to see how its done. After he did it by himself! What a good helper standing on the back of the truck and helping speed up the process. Patrick said Dennis was the best truck driver he has ever seen, squeezing threw tight spaces and taking very tricky corners. He learned a lot from going to work with Dennis. Thank you Dennis! Dennis and Patrick finished work around 1:00pm.
    Colin and Angelique arrived at 7:00am where Tam was waiting downstairs with her tea. Angelique filled Tam in on everything she needed to know and headed off to work. Tam and Colin played marbles where they took a box and made 3 holes worth different points. Colin ended up beating Tam 21 to 14. After Colin was hungry so he helped Tam make a hard boiled egg. They sat down and ate breakfast together. After they started to make the dough for Gingerbread Cookies. They made shapes and watched them bake in the oven. Tam and Colin made purple, green and red icing for when the cookies were cooled. They had fun decorating cookies then played a game of hide and seek. Tam got worried in the one round because she couldn't find Colin until she went outside to ask Monique if she had seen Colin and there he was hiding outside! If Tam lost him what would she say to Angelique and Dennis! "Uh sorry but your kid is gone, we tried to find him but we failed. Sorry!" After Hide and Seek they played LEGO and built a house with a garage. They went outside to play catch but Dennis showed up right at that moment but they played catch for a little bit. Thanks Colin for being such a good kid, Tam enjoyed our day!
After Dennis and Colin went home we had a relaxing afternoon and watched the Euro Cup against Holland and Denmark where they lost 1-0.
What a very good and amazing day!
Love From
P&T in Deventer, Holland

Day of Volunteer for Tam

Tam was very excited to attend a day of volunteer with Angelique at the Child Care Program during lunch time within Colin's school. We put on our bright yellow vests and awaited the bells to ring warning us that the herds of children will be coming our way! Tam was excited but nervous as she doesn't speak fluent Dutch yet but to her surprise the children were very interested in her. When outside supervising the children in our group (Gr. 3 children) there was a little boy laying in the sun. Tam asked the little boy "How's the sun-tanning?" The little boy looked at Tam with a puzzled look on his face and said to her "Speak Nederlands." Tam replied "I'm sorry I only speak Engels."  He got up and smiled at Tam and we continued to go inside so the children could eat. One little girl asked "Are you from Turkey?" Tam said "No I am from Canada." The same little boy Tam encountered outside asked "Where is Canada?" We pulled up the World Map and showed the children where I live and another child replied "How long does it take to get to Canada?" Tam replied "9.5 hours by plane." The same boy asked "Can you a take a boat?" Angelique translated to the boy that is takes longer by a boat but it is possible. Tam asked the children "What can you say in English?" One little girl said "Yes, no, hello, how are you?" Another boy said "One, two, three....ten." And the little comedian (the boy from earlier) said "I'm sexy and you know it!" Tam instantly started laughing and enjoyed the answer, very creative. Another boy said "Your sexy and you know it" and the comedian came up and said "Your not sexy," and started laughing after saying it. Of course, all Tam could do was laugh, and thought to herself children really do SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS. Guess that's why Tam loves working with kids, they are always full of surprises.
   Thanks Angelique for letting me be a volunteer for the day, I really enjoyed it!
Love From
Tam in Deventer, Holland
and Patty too :)

Har, Karin, Tamara and Rogier

Finally! Tam got to meet the rest of the family! We stayed with Har, Karin, Tamara and Rogier on Sunday and had an amazing visit. We had an early dinner and headed to the Fair in Deventer! What fun we had! Tamara, Rogier, Patty and Tim Tam first went in the Booby Trap Hotel where we had to be careful where we stepped and avoid big punching bags being swung at us. We made it threw and headed to the Shooting Range where Rogier shot 10 for 10! He did better than Tam would ever do shooting gophers on the farm. After Har, Tamara, Rogier and Tim Tam jumped in the Bumper Cars and bumped into each other when the chance arose! Tim Tam was driving Fast Five style drifting and wishing her Bumper Car drove faster cause she drives faster in real life :) After Tamara, Patty and Tim Tam jumped in the roller coaster. Tim Tam did great until we got high up and she could see the street below us then she was full of laughter and a few screams from the spinning roller coaster which made it entertaining for Tamara and Patty. After we headed home because Tamara and Rogier had school the next day. We visited until 11:00pm then called it a night.

 Tamara, Tim Tam, Patty and Rogier

Har and Karin

On Monday, Tamara and Rogier were done school early so we were able to visit before we headed back to Monique and Adri's after supper. We want to thank Har, Karin, Tamara and Rogier for letting us stay with them and taking us to the fair! We had an amazing time and can't wait to get together soon!

Love From,

P&T in Deventer, Holland



Excursion to Copenhagen, Denmark

What an experience we had! We decided on our trip to Copenhagen, Denmark we would take the overnight train from Arnhem, Holland to Copenhagen, Denmark. Well we both only got 3 hours of sleep if we were lucky. The train ride was very rough with hard sudden stops and now we know why there are bars on the side of your bed. Its to hold you in your bed on the rough ride. Well we finally arrived in Copenhagen at 11:00am and headed to the Tourist Information to get a map of the city of Copenhagen. After we called Mette at her work but she was in a meeting so her colleague said he would meet us to take our luggage. When we walked up to where she worked we were in awe as she works at the Det Ny Teater (The New Theatre.) Her colleague told us some places we had to see in Copenhagen so we continued out to journey around the city. But we realized we were hungry and we went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe where the bathroom door says No Drugs or Nuclear Weapons Allowed, really?! We had a good laugh about it! After we continued on our Walking Tour threw the city. We first started at Town Hall and continued towards the King's Gardens and Rosenborg Castle. When we walked into the Gardens the first thing Tam said is "My mom sure would love to have a garden like this, the only bad thing we would never see her except for her sun hat bouncing across the yard." We played in the children's area within the King's Gardens as you could ride on dragons! Then we continued to Kastellet an old Military Base and finally continued to the statue of the Little Mermaid. Then we continued our walk past The Gefion Fountain which was absolutely stunning and towards Amalienborg Castle , Nyhavn and saw Sand Sculptures be created which was interesting! We continued our walk back to Mette's work and she gave us a tour within the theatre! The Phantom of the Opera, Singing in the Rain, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins are some of the famous musicals that have played in their theatre. Right now they're preparing to premier Love Never Dies and will be the 3rd theatre in the world to show this musical which is the sequel to Phantom of the Opera. We then went home with Mette to meet Dick (Frank's friend from school) and stay with them for 2 nights. We really enjoyed the visits with Bettina (Dick's daughter), Emiel (Dick's son), Dick and Mette and want to thank them deeply for their amazing hopsitality during our stay. We really loved our trip to Copenhagen! We decided we were going to take the day train back to Holland yesterday and even got to take a ferry across with the train below. It was a different experience for Tam but even when the waves were rough she made it through. We arrived back in Deventer yesterday around 7:40pm and lucky for us Monique was there to pick us up.

 The King's Garden

 One of the many parts within the Gardens

The Little Mermaid

Love From,

P&T in Copenhagen, Denmark