[From Beth and Mike] Today we were able to rally early for our three-hour train ride into Amsterdam. Upon arriving, we bought the kids pre-lunch snacks (see how we’re learning?) and then were able to tackle the how-to-find-street-signs and whether-to-take-the-tram-bus-metro-or-canal-bus questions without breaking into fist-a-cuffs before an official lunch.

We had lunch kitty-corner from Westerkerk, listening to the same bells Anne Frank could hear from her room, and people-watched for a little while, then boarded a canal bus for a slow circuit around Central Amsterdam.

Out of dozens of museums, we were able to make it through exactly one floor of the Van Gogh museum before Colin declared it officially stupid. Mike tried to invent a dozen new games about finding random objects such as windmills (a few), flowers (a bunch) or skulls (at least two that we know of, but only one in this whole collection), before we all got tired of “Speed Museum” and decided to leave. We honestly forget the poor kid is eight years old and we have a habit of seeking out and dragging both boys through some of the least kid friendly stuff in the world. For the most part they’re pretty good sports.