oranje boven, leve de koning (en maxima!)

April 30th, 2013. A special date for the Dutch, and so a special day for the Koots. The day Holland said goodbye to Queen Beatrix and welcomed its first King in well over 100 years, and we celebrated right along with the country that raised us, and raised us well. Sander hung orange flags all over the front of our house (despite it not being allowed by our HOA, luckily the HOA enforcer is nuts about us and didn't make a big problem), we ate our beloved Indonesian food - nasi, chicken sateh, peanut sauce, kroepoek -, dressed in orange, enjoyed poffertjes for breakfast, and watched the abdication of the throne and all the celebrations that followed on the internet. I think I have to admit I was genuinely homesick yesterday! I have such great memories of the freemarkets, walking around Belgisch Park in The Hague with the kids on Queen's Day, riding the scariest rides at the Queen's Day Fair with Liz... it is absolutely my favorite Dutch holiday. We have no plans as of right now, but Sander and I have decided that when we do make it back to Holland for a visit, it will be during this time of year!

This was Elliot's face after he realized all the poffertjes were gone. Awwwwww.