Ashlynn’s Collection...

Back when we first visited Europe in May 2004, we considered what to buy from places we visited. It’d have to be small and unbreakable since we were backpacking. While in Holland, we bought each girl a pin and that led to buying pins everywhere we went. Three and a half years later, they each have quite a collection spanning 12 countries. When Ashlynn was asked to bring a collection to school while studying museums, she brought in her pins. I helped her with the display board and Veronica solved the problem of labeling the pins with the clever use of pipe cleaners. She had to do a speech in front of her class about her pins and then share them with the entire school as part of Museum Day.

It Takes Teamwork...

Besides all the individual adventure activities, Veronica’s Ardennes trip also focused on teamwork. It took cooperation to do build a raft from stakes and barrels--it actually floated, but Veronica was disappointed that she ended up with a middle seat and couldn’t help paddle.
It also took teamwork to get anywhere while on these strange skis. Other team activities included a night hike without flashlights, double kayaking and a contest for the cleanest room (despite being in the winning room, she seemed to forget those skills as soon as she returned home). It was definitely a great way for the class to bond, especially since half the students were new to the school. No doubt it’ll be one of the high points of Veronica’s final year in elementary school.

Our Adventure Girl...

Veronica has looked forward to the 5th Grade trip to the Ardennes Mountains in Belgium since she 1st toured the school in 2005. Three weeks after school started this year, she boarded a bus for the 4-hour drive to the hostel where her class along with one other would spend 3 nights. She had a great time as each day they set out to do adventure activities such as

rock climbing, the postman's walk (crossing a river while walking on a wire and holding onto another), the long zip wire across a river and, most daring of all, the telegraph pole (climbing the above pole and then jumping off while attempting to reach out to a trapeze--she was brave enough to make the jump, but missed the trapeze).

Just Bullet-Proof Glass Away from Royalty...

Through Jimmy’s office, I got a special pass for Sally and I to witness the arrival of the Golden Carriage (built in 1903) at the Ridderzaal (built in 1280) on Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day) on September 18th for the Queen to open parliament. I was very excited about this opportunity until I realized it meant standing behind a police barricade for 3 hours waiting for Queen Beatrix, Prince Willem- Alexander and his wife Princess Maxima to pass by. It also meant watching the backs of the armed forces along the parade route for over 2 hours. Luckily, the police officer above got tired of starring in all my photos and was nice enough to move aside just in time for me to get the photo below.

Unusual Sights in Eindhoven...

After a night in Valkenburg, we headed to Eindhoven for a dollhouse show where the girls bought some great furniture for their Dutch dollhouse. We also visited a maritime festival, an art museum and a light bulb museum. However, the most interesting things we saw in this town weren’t in any museums. We’d never seen the signs above, which are missing the tell-tale red slash. They might mean no peeing in public or drinking from a glass, but could also mean no peeing in a glass. Of course, perhaps the city planners had the blokes at the bar on wheels, bike wheels that is, in mind when they put it up.

Top Ten Sights in Europe?

A week after my appendix surgery, we tagged along on one of Jimmy’s business trips to the southern part of Holland. After he finished his business, we headed to Valkenburg, the closest thing Holland has to a mountain town (although the mountain is more like a small hill). There we visited the Valkenburg Grotto Aquarium, which claims to be among the Top Ten Sights of Europe. Don’t necessarily agree with that, but did enjoy this unique underground aquarium lit only by the lights in the tanks.

A House Floating By...

We see a lot of different types of boats and barges passing in front of our windows, but this was a first--a house floating by. While clearly this is a houseboat, it’s obviously not the type that folks rent to take for a spin for summer holidays. We were surprised when we noticed that the tugboat was empty, but then saw that the fellow on the back of the house was using a remote control to steer. The other fellow hoisted up the ladder to confirm that they’d clear the train bridge, but as you can see it wasn’t by much.

Now Taking Orders...

After last year’s fantastic Culinary Festival in Leiden, we were quite disappointed by Den Haag’s attempt this summer to do the same. Although we opted to skip the food for falafels, it wasn't a complete bust. As we were leaving, Veronica noticed a sign for a fashion show and asked if we could stay. The catwalk was in the middle of the street and there

were still seats available, so we stuck around. It was the best laugh we’d had in weeks as you can see from these photos. These fashions were from the “Read Me a Story” Collection; I’m surprised we didn’t have nightmares from the giant arm and other scary things the models carried or their weird fake eyelashes that looked like teardrops. Another collection was made from recycled materials, including having rollers from skates on the tops of shoes and a bizarre sci-fi thing with glass tubes over the models’ heads. What will they think of next? Click here to see more on a new Picasa Web Album that I’ve finally figured out how to use.

Valuable US Transport Lessons

* When you borrow a friend’s car, it’s best to make sure they have a spare key. Sadly, I managed to lose Steve’s BMW key somewhere in his house. Luckily Steve has a good sense of humor, only works 2 miles from home and enjoyed having James chauffeur him in another car we borrowed (although somehow we failed to remember to mention this incident to that friend). $100 later, Steve now has 2 new keys.
* The doors to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) don’t open just because you shove your arm through as they’re closing. Luckily we weren’t injured, but quite a panic ensued after Veronica jumped onto the subway and the door closed before Ashlynn and I were able to get on. It was a bit ironic that after 20 months of riding the rails, we manage to finally get separated on our first outing in California. I was admonished by the BART employee for banging on the doors especially since it turned out that the doors would have reopened anyways because the train wasn’t leaving for another 3 minutes (although there was no sign to that effect).

Tattoos and Blubber Galore...

After being away from the US for almost two years, it’s not surprising that some things have changed. There were two things that were especially obvious. The first was that Southerner’s waistlines have gotten even larger since we left. The other was that Californians are definitely keeping the tattoo parlors in business. From the shoulder to just above the elbow seems to be the new favorite place to cover up. Our buddy Mike’s new homage to the Stones is actually quite small compared to many of the tattoos we saw. We’re hoping the girls will follow his lead and wait until they’re over 50 to decide if they really want a tattoo.

Muscle Mamas...

It might not take muscle power to be an Expat Mum, but it does take strength--inner strength, that is. Strength to say good-bye to old friends and family, settle in a new country with an unfamiliar culture and language, and to say good-bye to new friends as they move onto their next assignment or return home. Stacie and I met at a Thanksgiving dinner at the Busch’s the week we both arrived in Holland. We became instant friends and day trip buddies. Sadly, we had to say farewell in July when Lon’s job moved back to the US. Lucky for me, they live just an hour from my dad; her family joined us there for a pool party and we were able to spend a night at her house. While I’m bummed she’s not here with me in Holland, I’m thrilled to know I’ll get to see her whenever I visit my dad.

Getting Techie in Silicon Valley...

I might not be tech savvy, but both my husband and my father clearly are. Unfortunately, Jimmy missed going to the Computer History Museum where Dad had arranged a private behind-the-scenes tour. He’d been interviewed by the museum as one of Intel’s earliest chip designers for a future exhibit. Although we couldn’t see his name in lights, we were able to see the progression of computers throughout history and a small section on memory, as shown in the above photo. The girls were especially impressed with the small robots. While we went into the 70,000 sq ft warehouse to see the 50,000+ artifacts and 50 million documents that there currently isn’t space to display, the girls stayed behind to play chess. Perhaps they might be future computer nerds.

Totally Cool Tour...

Although I didn’t feel guilty about being away on Veronica’s 10th b’day, I thought I should do something unique to celebrate her special day. I came up with the idea of touring Toyota’s first manufacturing plant in the US in nearby Fremont. NUMMI is a joint venture with GMC that opened in 1984 in an abandoned GMC factory. Ashlynn couldn’t go since visitors had to be 10, but my dad joined us. I had mentioned that we were celebrating Veronica’s b’day and the tour guide surprised her with a few pins and we all sang to her. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos, but it was totally awesome going on a tram through the 5.3 million square foot factory and watching a combination of people and robots making Toyota Corollas, Toyota Tacoma trucks and Pontiac Vibes. This factory stamps out the bodies for 1,000 vehicles out of 1 million pounds of steel each day, then adds motors, glass, seats, tires and various other parts made around the country and Japan, Canada and Mexico. Now Ashlynn’s looking forward to turning 10 so she can go, too.

Shakespeare’s Never Been Funnier...

It still brings a smile to my face to think about what an impressive job the four stars did in “The Twelfth Night.” It was a rather complicated play of mistaken identities with everyone playing at least two parts and poor Grandma playing four parts. Two moments in particular stay in my memory. On the left, you’ll see Ashlynn right before she discovers that she has both swords in her belt, which creates a fair bit of confusion off stage while searching for the missing sword. And on the right, you can guess what Grandpa is doing as he came on stage as Sir Toby Belch. All the hard work paid off--the acting was superb and the costumes were great. Can’t wait to see what they come up with in 2009!

The Secret Thing...

For close to a year, the girls have been plotting with their grandparents about “The Secret Thing.” During past visits, the girls have put on puppet shows for us. We just assumed that they were planning on another this summer, but perhaps on a bigger scale since they had the week without us to work on it. Turns out Grandma suggested they put on “Little Red Riding Hood” and had already found a wolf costume to rent for Grandpa. However, Ashlynn said she didn’t really want to put on a fairytale and Veronica suggested they do Shakespeare’s “The Twelfth Night.” She worked hard to adapt the famous play into a 20-minute production. Looks like that fancy education might be paying off after all.

One Hell of a Hike...

Living in a flat country, we don’t get to hike very often, so I was looking forward to hiking in the hills above Avalon. 88% of this island is owned by the Catalina Island Conservancy with the intent to keep it wild and we had to get a permit to hike. It had been awhile since I’d been in that kind of heat and desert climate as you can see by my red face, so I had to take it slow. The 1.7 miles to the summit was a series of switchbacks with some great views of the harbor. The above photo shows a couple of the fire roads which were put to good use when a 4,000 acre fire broke out in May and Avalon had to be evacuated.