On the ground...

Today was our first day in Amsterdam. The flight over was surprisingly uneventful, and even mostly painless.

We had a super productive day today! Alex and I are now registered with the Dutch equivalent of a social security number (including our biometrics recorded - no life of crime for us!). We got Dutch phone numbers (don't worry - our 650 numbers still work).

We got a giant delivery from IKEA. See picture below. We were able to assemble two beds before we fell over in exhaustion. (We may have left the drawers that go under the bed for a later time, but no one will notice.) We still need to assemble the couch, two end tables and some lamps, but overall we got a lot done today with furniture.

We got bikes delivered, so our main mode of transportation is now available. We're already looking forward to our first bike ride tomorrow!

Alex and I made our first foray into Albert Heijn (the main grocery store here). It's a little tough with all of the labels in Dutch, but it just means we'll get some "interesting" purchases.

It's definitely hitting a bit hard to be away from Home 1.0. (We're calling this "Home 2.0" where "Home 1.0" is California.) But we realize that missing something (and all of you!) means we love and cherish those things that we miss. That makes us feel good.

As usual, Mike is already adjusted to the time change. Alex and I are struggling a bit, but it hasn't been too bad for us.

We miss you all (even Chonkles the cat - see below for a picture).