Settling back into Maastricht

Goed dag allemand--we're back (and have been for a while) and enjoying sweet Maastricht. The trees and shrubs are greening up and the tulips and daffodils are in bloom--it's a nice change from the Minnesota winter. It seems we missed the party of the year--Carnival weekend was the first in February but there are still vestiges of an enormous gala that Ellie and I missed but Ryan enjoyed. There are layers of confetti jammed between the cobblestones, gaudy boa feathers from gaudier costumes seem to come from nowhere and surprise you by clinging to your jacket and the broken glass from champagne and beer bottles still sparkles in the hard to reach street corners. Though the street cleaners have been over these many many times by now, it takes really heavy downpours to clean deep between the cobblestones. We've been having a few of those as well. It's hard to tell which is better--freezing bitter cold in a car culture or windy rainy raw weather in a bike culture. Ellie also vividly remembers the time we tipped over in the wind while biking and has a real fear of that happening again. And as I get larger, so do I. We're making it through though. Ellie was going to be going to school three times a week but due to a registration mix up is back down to twice. However, as I look out at the wind rocking the trees, I'm thankful that I'm not biking up to her school 3X/week. Ellie has a new friend--another Medtronic family has moved into our apartment area with a daughter Ellie's age. It's great for her to be able to speak in English as she plays. She has a couple other friends who are so sweet but as she isn't fluent in Spanish or Swedish a lot of their communication is limited. Ryan is working very hard--his project is in its busiest time yet. We don't hardly see him and are looking forward to a visit to the south of France this weekend when we can all relax--more after we're a bit more rested. Cheers to you all!