Since Tuesday was our anniversary, my sweet sister offered to babysit Anna while Mike and I went off on a little adventure to celebrate. Our initial plan was to go canoeing, an activity we loved in our child-free days. Since I'm not Pocahontas, paddling down a river with a baby strapped to my back just hasn't been an option the last 18 months.
With no real destination in mind, we settled on Holland. It's only about an hour from our house, is right on Lake Michigan, and is the town where Mike was born. Plus, with the exception of a wedding I attended with Kristin a few nights before, I had never been. And did I mention that there are lots of Dutch people there?
Maybe it's because my heritage is a mish-mash of a whole bunch of different things, but I think it's really cool that Mike is 100% Dutch - he's the first American born in his family. I love that he calls his grandma "Oma" (and that Anna has an Oma and Opa, too!) and that he loves the color orange and I even love the fact that he devours these disgusting Dutch candies called Double Salts (extra salty black licorice - gross!).
So a whole town of people just like Mike? Awesome. We sat out on a patio and drank beer. We watched fireworks. We scarfed treats from the Dutch bakery. We walked along Lake Michigan. We found the house Mike's Oma and Opa used to live in. We even went to a wooden shoe factory.
We had such a good time just wandering around and laughing and reminiscing about our wedding, know what we forgot to do? Go canoeing. Maybe my inner Pocahontas will be making an appearance this summer after all...
Mike was really happy to be, as he put it, "amongst his people".
This is what I like to call "Mama Juice". As in, "No, Anna, you can't drink that. It's Mama Juice."
You're still falling for that whole "I'm Dutch" thing?
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary!! Glad you had such a great time in Holland with or without canoes ; )
ReplyDeleteP.S. Saying Mama juice makes me giggle...