Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet

Christmas is a very festive time of year here in the Netherlands as much if not more than in America. It is celebrated different and spread out more. It started this year on the night of November 16th. Children place their shoes next to the fire place so that when Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet come into town, they can fill the shoes with treats and/or presents. Our kids made sure to place their shows out and behold, he even visited the Americans:



On Saturday morning the 17th, the kids found their shoes full of goodies. Later that day, Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet rode into town led by a band and surrounded by other Zwarte Piets handing out cookies and goodies. Unfortunatly, we were not aware that this would be happening until after he had arrived. I went to the store by myself and heard the band from a distance. By the time I realized what was happening, Sinterklaas was in the town plaza by in the center of the mall and was singing to the crowd. I hurried home and grabbed the kids and we were able to see him before he left.

Next, on December 5th, Sinterklaas should visit each house and leave presents in a nap sack on the doorsteps for the children. This is in celebration of the birthday of Sinterklaas on December 6th. We all hope he visits our house.

We all know who Sinterklaas is but Americans are not familair with Zwarte Piet. He is Black Piet, the helper of Sinterklaas. Whenever Sinterklaas is around, you will find several Black Piets. Kristal and I were in the mall this morning and there were 3 Black Piets, one on stilts, handing out balloon animals:





In a different mall, we say a display of Sinterklaas and a small Zwarte Piet:



Last but not least with Christmas is the fact that here one day of Christmas is not enough. The 25th is celebrated as normal but also the 26th is celebrated. Officially this is Boxing Day. A day to box up all your old crap that was replaced on Christmas, at least that's how I look at it.

If you would like to learn more about Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, CLICK HERE.

Family Shopping

Friday November 23rd we decided to hop on the Metro and take a trip to a large shopping mall about 4 kilometers from our home which is near Novell. I have been there a few times during lunch but wanted to take the family to see it. Hannah, as usual, had control of the camera and took some pictures on our way:


Us walking near our home on our way to the metro. Notice the brick roads. Most neighborhood roads are brick. Only main highways and freeways are pavement. This brick road was just replaced a few days before.


Hannah wanted to show what the metro looks like. It is an elevated train in some areas, like near our house, but underground in other areas, like near our church.


We didn't take many pictures on the shopping trip but I took this one of one of the most beautiful buildings I have seen yet. Well, I don't know if the building is so grand, it was more the sign on top. If I was to turn around from here, I would be right in front of the megastores part of the mall. The mall we are at is called Alexandrium. It started with one mall but they have connected 2 more malls in the last 10 years so there is now Alexandrium I, II & III. This mall is massive. I would compare it to University Mall, Provo Towne Center Mall and maybe South Towne Mall connected. I have not been able see all of it yet, but I am sure someday I will.


The kids all had some spending money for their birthdays from Grandma Peck and Great-Grandma Otteson. Although Alex's birthday isn't until February, we did not want to leave them out. They all scored with many toys. Since we have not yet had their boxes with the few toys they kept shipped, they are really happy to have new ones.

Family Time

So far we have not done too much in the area. We are still getting used to the area and the things that the area provide. Within 5 minutes of our house is a shopping mall with about 100 stores including 2 grocery stores, a library, our bank and the metro. We have spent a lot of time walking the mall and generally just hanging out. Our family has also spent a lot of time playing with cards. Here is a picture Hannah captured of us playing solitaire both with cards and on the computers in out living room:



We do not yet have our computer room set up or purchased a DVD player so the computers tend to be at home on the coffee table or in our laps a lot. Sometimes, there is actually enough room on the coffee table for little boys to crash:



Right outside of our house is a little pond that always has ducks in them:

Our Home

Before moving to the Netherlands, we were told that to "think small because everything is smaller". We have found that this has been the case, mostly. The home we expected would be very cramped with small rooms. This has not been the case at all. The home Novell got for us is a standard home with 4 bedrooms 1 full bath and 1 washroom. The 4th bedroom is actually the loft area which Isaac and Alex are sharing as well as calling it the play room. The entire house had hardwood flooring except for the kitchen which is tiled. It is about 150 square meters which is about 1600 square feet, with each floor being about 50 square meters. The levels are seperated by spiral staircases which are kind of weird. Here is a picture of Isaac climbing up to his room:



Here are some pictures of our house. Some of you may have seen some of them but there are also new ones so PAY ATTENTION!!!:


Front and Back Yard


Bedroom


Bathroom


Kitchen


Family Room

Welcome!

This is the first post for The Peck Family blog. I will make this short and sweet as this will be more of an introduction. As most of you know, we are now in Holland for work for Novell. We arrived on Friday, November 2 and so far, have enjoyed the experience very much. We created this blog so that all family and friends can keep up on what we are doing and view some pictures.

Yesterday we went to church here for the second time and meet many new people. Everyone has been very nice and been willing to help whenever needed. We have chosen to listen to most lessons in Dutch to hopefully help us learn faster but translators are always available. During Sacrament Meeting, someone sits on the stands and translates via headphones. We met a young women from Orem yesterday that is here because she is studying music. She plays the flute. A new missionary was in the ward from Logan. It is amazing that you can travel 6,000 miles and still run into people from your home state. Of course, I doubt this would ever happen without church but I will take it any way I can get it. A missionary mentioned that it was great to hear a Utah accent. I thought I would never hear that in my life. Anyway, above is a picture of our church.

Our home is probably temporary. Novell signed and paid for a 3 month lease for where we are currently staying. The address is:

Merellaan 139
2903 GC Capelle aan den Ijssel
Netherlands

Just so you know, Merellaan 139 is the Street Name and house number. 2903 GC is the Zip Code and Capelle aan den Ijssel is the City. My phone number is +31.6.535.46866. This is my mobile phone for work but anyone can feel free to call anytime. Currently Kristal is holding on to the phone so I can reach here when I am at work. Kristal will have a phone probably by the end of the week. Later I will upload pictures of our house but for now, I must go.