40 Toothpicks and Counting

Allow me to introduce you to some of my amazing family…some extended family that lives on the other side of the world; the Dennis’. These fine folk are exactly that – amazing; and the best part is that they’re coming HERE – to Canada – to visit us :D

Let’s start with Jen. A wonderful mom, sister & aunt. Jen’s the one with the radiant smile and laugh that truly brightens a room. She’s down to earth, funny, soooo easy to get along with and hospitable. She can speak pig Latin like it’s her mother tongue and actually have conversations with my Dad (for hours, if we let them!). She used to have a lion cub as a pet for a little bit (maybe she was babysitting it). Some days I wish I could go back and see what it was like to be her at a young age, with my Dad and uncle Andrew as big brothers. I’m sure she was picked on like none other, but I have no doubt she was also her Daddy’s little girl, AND was able to hold her own. Sometimes my mom can see Jen in the expressions I have…which I love hearing; makes me feel like I have a piece of her in me.

Then there’s Kev. A great father, brother and uncle. My fondest memories of Kev will always include his mischievous grin, like he was planning something; or perhaps wanting to build something, fix something, redesign something. He was always thinking! Last year when I went back with Logan to visit, he still called me by the nickname he gave me when I was little girl: Cha-nin. Not ‘Sh’, but ‘Ch’. I loved it; I loved being called that. It was like a little connection between my uncle and me that was just us. He always seemed like a stable guy; the kind that would give wise advice but only if you asked for it. The kind of guy that would let you do your own thing until you messed up – but he wouldn’t belittle you because of it. Now granted I was never ‘parented’ by him, but I would imagine that he’d be that kind of a Dad. Just…solid. Present. Loving.

Then there’s Greg. Or Gregorius. Or Greg Shawn. Or just Gregory Shawn Dennis(!) when Jen is mad at him. Greg is the cousin that is closest to me in age – he just turned 22. I think being close in age, we got along pretty well; often playing Cops & Robbers around their house and our backyards. Greg has a gentle soul in the inside and peaceful personality. He’s incredibly likeable, and I really mean that – everyone likes him (at least from what I’ve observed). He’s like your all-around good guy; always playing sports and sticking up for others. He’s even nice(ish) to his sister! We had a blast as kids and we’d usually see each other every weekend or so. I still remember watching/hearing the summer storms roll in and smelling the air, even as we continued to play outside; tag, hide-and-go-seek, treehouse…whatever it was – we were in our own little worlds and having fun. I am most saddened to be writing this, but Greg actually can’t make the trip out here with the rest of his family. He’s got a job and responsibilities that he can’t get out of unfortunately…but I of course included him in this post because he’s a member of the Dennis’!


And finally we have Haylee Girl. Or Haylee Paulina as my Dad calls her. Haylee was born just two years before we left to come to Canada, and she’s now 17. Good Lord! From what I recall about her at the age of 2, she was literally a bundle of joy (as per the picture below). Always moving, always wanting to sit on your lap or hug you or play Barbies – and by play I mean walk around the house dragging the poor doll by its hair. She also always wanted to be a part of the games Greg, Gareth & I played but alas – a two year old can’t quite hold their own in the games we played, hah. She was an adorable little thing, and still is to this day. She’s grown into an amazing young woman while vocal pipes like none other. She can act, sing and dance (I think) – what they like to call a ‘triple threat’. She’s my only girl cousin on my Dad’s side so needless to say I have this small protective nature thing going on when I get updates about her. She’s all grown up now (tear)…


So, there you have the Dennis’ – and three out of four will be landing at YVR in 40 days. I. CAN’T. WAIT. In my family we have a tradition for counting things down, by putting toothpicks in a potato and taking one out every day.

So here’s to 40 toothpicks and counting…

Entry 6 - April 1, 2009 – still…

Back at the hostel now, it’s about 7:30 pm. The Keukenhof was spectacular – just as I had hoped it would be. Our train ride on the other hand…we accidentally went an hour too far on our ride and had to backtrack to Leiden Centraal. I said it before and I’ll say it again; I could swear we never passed a “Leiden Centraal” at all! I would have noticed! So I think we were on a different line and then had to get on the right line. I had to literally draw out the map because there weren’t any to take with us.

Anyway, it was still beautiful and so immaculately manicured that I think my Dad would go nuts; huge tall trees, bright green lawns, lakes, streams, cafes, shops, and of course, tulips. And tons of other types of flowers too. I got enough pictures to last a lifetime, which they will!

And thank the Lord; we just got our heater fixed – hallelujah! Tonight we’re not really sure what the plan is – it’s just about 8 and we technically haven’t had dinner yet. Tomorrow we want to go up the Westerkerk Tower before heading off to the airport. Oh and Jane’s not here anymore so I assume she got the job at the Flying Pig Uptown. Nick is lying on his bunk right now, fast asleep…looking forward to packing tonight…not.

Entry 5 - April 1, 2009

Yesterday was a great day: started off by going to the Anne Frank House and it surprised me how much her family went through to hide themselves. It was quite eye-opening. (Side note: She and her family were forced to go into hiding to escape Hitler's persecution of the Jews – she wrote everything down in a diary when she was 13, which later become published as The Diary of Anne Frank). One of the things we read just as we were exiting was a quote by Nelson Mandela in 1994: “Being able to read Anne Frank while in prison gave us hope…” He wrote that while on Robben Island – interesting considering we plan to go there too!

Next we headed down to Vondel Park, which seems to be like a “Central Park” or something similar. It was quite pretty; lots of grass, bike paths, walking paths, bridges, benches, dogs, people…sunshine! We found ourselves a bench and just soaked it all in – it was beautiful. After that we headed for lunch at none other than the Hard Rock Café right alongside one of the hundreds of canals. Our feet were throbbing but the food was great.

Next we headed back up to the Bloomenmarket, where they sell hundreds upon hundreds of bulbs, seeds, tulips, daffodils, souvenirs and clogs; pretty hustin’ & bustlin’! After that we slowly walked back to the hostel, rested our feet/backs and checked Facebook (duh). We did a little shopping right outside on Nieuwendijk Street and went back to our room. As soon as we got there, we soon realized we now had a roommate! They were in the shower at the time, but we came to the conclusion that she was a backpacker, and a masculine one at that. Five minutes later, out walks Nick – a guy! Hahah, so much for what we thought were girls-only dorm rooms! I think that rule only applies to the bigger, 12+ rooms. Anyway, so Nick is originally from Ireland, but was travelling in from Germany where he’s doing a year abroad to study law! Nice guy, although I think little shy around two girls (understandably!). So we chatted with him for a bit before heading out for a bit to eat. Not five minutes after coming back, in walks Jane - our 2nd roommate! She had just arrived from London with her whole life in 2 bags – coming to Amsterdam to start over again. She had been living in London for the past 12 months and before that in Melbourne, Aus. I was so in awe that she would just pick up and leave. She didn’t have a job to go to or anything, but was hoping to get one at the Flying Pig Uptown. So we may or may not have a 2nd roommate tonight! We all hung out in the bar downstairs for a bit but headed to bed around 11 pm.

THEN, at about 8 am, the WORST sounding fire alarm goes off so loudly and wakes the whole place up. Jane and I shot right up in bed, our bodies trembling. It ended after about a minute, but seriously… waking up to that was not pleasant.

So now, April 1st, 11 am – we’re now on the train again to Leiden and the Keukenhof Tulip fields. It’s about an hour outside the city so we’re about half way I think. The sun has come out and it looks to be another beautiful day. I’m looking forward to this; all the bright colours and beautiful smells. Anyway, time to start taking train pics…OH and I bought a fisheye camera yesterday too! Can’t wait to see how those come out...

Entry 4 - March 31, 2009

So we had a two hour nap yesterday knowing it would probably mess with our sleeping pattern…sure enough we went to bed around 1 am and woke up again thinking it was already 7:30 – nope, it was only 3:15! We’d be sleeping for 2 hours. So needless to say, it was a bit of a restless night; not to mention the fact that we can’t turn off the freaking heater! It seems to be an overcast day out there, but I hope it burns off – we have a full day ahead of us!

Entry 3 - March 30, 2009 – still…

It’s now noon in Amsterdam. It’s so hard to believe that I was at church this morning, saying goodbye to people and worrying about luggage restrictions – and here we are at the Flying Pig in Amsterdam about to go to bed after hours of exploring!

This place is beautiful – and very much like I had expected; except for the bicycles. There are WAY more bicycles here than I ever thought. The bikes lanes, the child-accommodating bikes, the locks, the speed at which they cycle…good grief; I’m surprised more people don’t get run over by them! The canals are so picturesque and the buildings…seriously so old and stoic-looking (we saw one built in 1606!). There are tons of cafes – not to be mistaken with the ‘coffee shops’, where just walking past the doors could get you a little high! And the obsession with sex is astounding, especially in the Red Light District, of course. But all in all, it’s been a great day. Tomorrow we plan to go to the Anne Frank House, the famous tulip market, Vondel Park, etc…basically the west side of the city; maybe a canal tour as well.

Lord thank you again for keeping us safe and secure on our trip here and while we’re here; I know you are keeping a protective watch over us. We are truly blessed to be here – IN AMSTERDAM!!

Entry 2 - March 30, 2009

It’s about 3 AM Vancouver time and yet we’re sitting here on our flight looking out at sunshine and clouds – weird to think we’ll be arriving in Amsterdam in about an hour! Both our suitcases were over, but we got through the security checks with no problem at all, P-T-L! We also got to sit in bulkhead seats just behind business class; yay for more leg room! Turns out that the Flying Pig Hostel doesn’t actually have a shuttle, so we’ll be taking the train into the city and traipsing through the streets with our huge bags – should be fun times, hah. We’re both pretty tired right now, but I think the adrenaline will kick in when we land.

Entry 1 - March 28, 2009

So it’s the night before we leave and needless to say, I can’t sleep. My mind is reeling with thoughts, worries, questions and “what ifs”. And yet somehow I really do feel ready for this. I just can’t believe we’re here, at this point. We started planning this over a year ago! I remember going for dessert with Logan at White Spot and she had this grin on her face: "So...I want to go to Africa...want to come with me?" Haha, I guess it still hasn’t hit me yet; maybe when we’re at the airport.

I know this is going to be a trip of a lifetime and I’m so grateful that I get to take it! I’m grateful that I have a job that pays me enough, that I have a boss/co-workers that allow me so much time off (and understanding), and parents that are so supportive – albeit, cautiously. I’ll admit I’m a little nervous too; we’re going to Egypt which could be quite dangerous for us – and we’re doing a few risky activities on top of that! I still love the shocked faces that I see when I tell people what we’ll be doing: “…Shan, are you serious?!” Ahh, I love it!

Lord, thank you for the opportunity. Thank you that I get to explore a bit more of your beautiful creation and see my family again (it’s been 9 years!). I pray that you be with Logan and I in every sense of the word; safety, health, money, directions, wisdom, friendship…tonight I just pray that you go before us and keep us safe. EEEEEEEEEK!! One more sleep…