"February in review" is what happens when you're a procrastinating blogger...

Time to play major catch up.. Beginning of the month began with a road trip with my friend Remon. If you've read my blogs before, then you know he's one of my CouchSurfing friends who I really enjoy spending time (he's the worlds best Netherlands tour guide and a fantastic photographer!) I met up with him at his apartment and with no real plans picked out for the day I recommended we flip a coin.. A few people know that is my method of choice when making decisions.. in fact, that was how I decided to move to Europe.. a British guy once told me, tails never fails, and it hasn't failed me yet. Our flip of the euro coin determined we were going to Northern Holland to take pictures and enjoy the day together. We jumped in the car and drove around an hour up to De Rijp where Remon's family originally lived.. walked around the canals, looking at the beautiful homes, and sitting down in a very intricate restaurant filled with antique instruments hanging from the ceiling and had a cup of tea. Then we were off to the fishing village of Enkhuizen which is a stunning location on the lake in Northern Holland.. I saw my first dyke which extends from one side of the lake to the other side, three men wearing wooden clogs (which I NEVER see) and a very cute dog in a scarf :) We walked around the center, taking pictures, and enjoying the day. Looking forward to other road trips around Holland.

Valentine's Day this year was eventful to say the least. We woke up early, went to my youngest, Jacob's girlfriend's house to drop off a dozen roses we had picked up the following weekend.. in the backseat sat Emma and Christiaan who had also brought along the video camera in sibling style. I am so thankful they did. Christiaan filmed as a very anxious and nervous Jacob ran to the front door with roses and a homemade card in hand- only to trip halfway to the door. He rang the doorbell, then we could see him hand her the roses- she was completely surprised he was at the house at 8am, and her mother ran into the living room and gave me the thumb ups sign from the window. He scored so many points! He stayed only a few minutes, running back to the car, smiling like a Cheshire cat, almost getting ran over by a biker, then jumping in the car bumping his head on the way in.. Young love at it's finest.  Even though they have been together four years, and they are only nine, this Valentine's gesture filled me with hope for men and of romance. I love, love, love the video that Christiaan filmed, and as a group in the car we decided that we would all be each others Valentines, so instead of just one- I had multiple Valentine's for the day..Following the overly sweet and hilarious morning, Kristian, a fellow au pair and myself went for lunch in Haarlem to the delicious cafe called Annie&Max's.. amazing sandwiches and tea/coffee. On the way to the restaurant, Kristian and I talked about my past Valentínes.. in 5th grade, a surprise bracelet and Tasmanian devil card in my desk from Skyler Olsen being my youngest memory, years of carnations and roses in between, and then Ben Northern with style, like a rose in a Bud Light bottle, or a small house fire with tea lights and mood music. I love that I was able to talk to him this year although we are miles and miles apart and laugh about all the past V-days we shared..  Although I believe Valentine's day to be a bit of a Halmark holiday, and the Dutch definitely aren't huge celebrators of the day(romance, what's that?) Kristian and I ended up in our favorite man cave, celebrating the typical way with a few drinks. Needless to say, even though I was miles away from home- I still had a great day with the people I care about whether currently in love or not. I will always be a romantic at heart. I'm in love with the idea of being in love.