Reflections on our 6th Year - Part 2...

We’re happy that our list of highs is once again considerably longer than our lows:

• Family Travel: Bonaire - scuba diving, donkey sanctuary, night dive, underwater egg hunt, windsurfing, kayaking, caving; Curacao - Royal Sea Aquarium Resort, Queen’s Day, scootering to ostrich farm, UrbEx, seeing dolphins from underwater while snorkeling, dancing at beach café on Koninginnenacht;  Disneyland Paris: car stunt show, Tower of Terror, juggling in line, restaurant along Pirates of the Caribbean; England - staying at Jane and Mike’s cottage, Cadbury World, cycling in Forest of Dean, performance by Royal Shakespeare Company; Kent - seeing Camilla and family, panto; London - Wicked, War Horse, dinners with Phil, mudrucking; Scotland - hiking to castle, seeing Naomi and family, orienteering, exploring Edinborough; US - best home leave yet, staying at good friends’ (Darlene,  Erika, Jim, Lisa, and Vivynne) white water rafting, whale watching, hiking in Carmel Valley, iPad from Grandpa, family reunion in Jacksonville, 30th high school reunion, Crocodile Crossing at Alligator Farm, kayaking trip, NASA tour; Wales - Big Pit
• Solo Trips:  Ardennes, Belgium (Ashlynn) - mountain biking, trekking, kayaking; Israel (Melissa) -  Old Jerusalem, floating in Dead Sea; Poole, England (Veronica) - sailing, water park; South of France (Jimmy) - thrilled to learn to paraglide, klettersteig, skiing, seeing Curt and Vero
• Sports: girls getting Open Water dive certifications, tubing during White Christmas, Jimmy and Ashlynn running Amsterdam Marathon’s 8K together
• Visitors: Steve’s visit included one wild night in Amsterdam,  awesome having Buddy help with photos during Bye Bye Blue
• Dogsitting Max and Hannah
• Eurohash was awesome: perfect weather, dancing to Madly, Jimmy haring in Valkenburg for 500 hashers, laser tag in a cave
• Our geocache: awarded 34 favorites as of today
• Performances: YMCA and song from Oliver during school International Festival, Veronica sings a Disney medley during BSN on Broadway, Jimmy getting a part in the Panto (last time on stage was 6th grade)
• Awards: Veronica - 2nd prize in Anybook writing competition,Year 9 (8th grade) Creative Award; Ashlynn - Year 6 (5th grade) French Award
• Good Deeds: Ashlynn “adopted” Comet the orca, Veronica and Melissa donated their hair for wigs for cancer patients, Jimmy organized getting 24 computers installed in two schools in Sandland
• Jimmy: watching Veronica diving with a sea turtle, Go Pro camera, solar heating design worked, being several 1,000 feet in the air supported by only 8 kilos of gear
• Melissa: like-minded small tour group in Israel, Going Dutch magazine, surprising the girls with cool hotel in Curacao
• Veronica:  13.5 scuba diving birthday party, NESDA training
• Ashlynn: kissed by a seal, making movie at Ellie’s cottage, being a Zwarte Piet

Reflections on our 6th Year - Part 1

Happy New Year! We’re heading out soon to a New Year’s Eve party, but first I wanted to squeeze in a few extra postings. Our 6th anniversary in Holland was on November 22nd, but due to a crazy schedule, we didn’t manage to have our traditional anniversary dinner at La Lantera Pizzeria in Scheveningen until last night. As usual, between courses, we reflected on the highs and lows of our 6th year. Luckily the list of lows is fairly short:

• Missing out on getting another rental house because outbid by another family
• Bummed that Jimmy couldn’t join us in Scotland, Kent, Raleigh or Massachusetts
• Melissa: missing diving with the girls because got ear squeeze during first dive, nearly constant bickering between daughters (which Ashlynn claims is normal sibling communication)
• Jimmy: disappointing atmosphere and outcomes at work
• Veronica: monthly visits to the orthodontist, drama camp being cancelled so had to spend vacation with the family
• Ashlynn: injuring arm during Ultimate Frisbee Jr Nationals and losing to the Year 6s (5th graders), Masha switching schools, dead deer in the water while kayaking

Entertainment at Warwick Castle...

We watched several bird shows at the castle. It was impressive seeing owls flying in the center court. The bald eagle wasn’t part of a show, but he was squawking away when the falconer showed us some of the owls up close. We thought the eagle was upset, but the falconer claimed he was just trying to say hello. The day ended with a display of the trebuchet, the world’s largest catapult. It was funny watching the soldiers running in what looked like a giant hamster wheel to fling the flaming ball across the field.

Exploring the Castle...

The kids were very excited that we got tickets to visit the Dragon Tower, which is a special exhibition for the BBC show Merlin, the legend of young Arthur and Merlin of Camelot. Veronica liked pretending to dance with the wax model of Merlin.

The Great Hall and a few of the other rooms were decorated for Halloween. 

There was a funny show about Dr. Frankenstein in one of the rooms surrounded by old paintings and furniture. In the 15th century this castle was used to imprison the English king, Edward IV; now there’s a wax model of Queen Elizabeth standing in the formal dining room.

Warwick Castle...

Jimmy had some work to do on our last day in the countryside, so he missed out on a fun day at Warwick Castle (pronounced Warick). This massive castle was originally built out of wood in the 11th century. It was then rebuilt out of stone in the 12th century with many additions and renovations over the centuries. Amazingly, it was owned by one family from 1759 until 1978, who sold out to an entertainment company.

The views from the ramparts were lovely of the city of Warwick and surrounding countryside.

To Be or Not to Be in Stratford-Upon-Avon...

We had a great day in Stratford-upon-Avon, a cute market town that owes it popularity today to William Shakespeare. We started with visiting his birthplace, a restored 16th century Tudor home. Here you see his “second best bed,” which is all he left his wife in his will. We also visited his grave at Holy Trinity Church. After dinner, we saw a fantastic version of A Midsummer’s Night Dream performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Ironically, a reporter asked Veronica and Jimmy what they thought about the idea of a new movie that contends that William Shakespeare was not actually the author of all those plays and sonnets, known for the last 150 years as the Shakespeare Conspiracy. It just happened that Veronica was preparing a speech on that subject for a speech tournament in December.

Amazing Rainbows...

We saw some truly amazing rainbows in England. We could actually see the end of this one in Stratford, so Ashlynn ran out to look for the pot of gold. She didn’t find it, but enjoyed posing for some photos.

This rainbow was huge and lasted a very long time. It might be hard to see, but both girls are in this phone booth.

We saw this rainbow the next day when we visited Warwick Castle. The individual colors were really clear. Check out our shadows and the reflection of this same rainbow shown below.  

Two Quick Stops in Wales...

We made a quick stop at the Blaenavon Ironworks, which was built in 1789 and was instrumental in the industrial revolution in Wales. While the industrial sites were basically ruins, I enjoyed visiting the restored employee houses and seeing the dramatic changes over the years. 

Our last stop was at Keeper’s Pond, built as a water source in 1824. We especially liked seeing the horses; Jane said they aren’t actually wild, but are free to roam. It was extremely windy, so only Jack braved the weather to follow the path around the entire pond.

The Big Pit...

Our next adventure was to visit an UNESCO World Heritage Site: the National Coal Museum, known as the Big Pit, in Blaenavon, Wales. Shortly after getting on the highway, we lost track of Mike and missed a turn. Luckily we had a good map and I managed to navigate us on the back roads through small Welsh towns to our destination. When it was our turn to go on the underground tour, we had to hand over everything with a battery (watches, cameras, phones, etc.), because all it would take is a single spark for the whole place to blow! We were outfitted with a belt carrying a 10-pound enclosed battery for our miner’s headlamps, which would be the only lights we’d have once we traveled down the elevator 300 feet underground.

The Big Pit was a working coal mine from 1860 until 1980. Our tour guide was great; he had worked at a nearby mine and was clearly proud to share his life as a miner with us. What a tough way of life! Hard to believe that at one time 1,400 men would have worked down there in those small shafts. It’s a good thing that we wore hard hats, because I hit my head multiple times.

After the underground tour, we explored the other exhibits. Shockingly, the mine was open for decades without showers, so the miners used to drag all that coal dust home. Thus, it was a big deal when the Pithead Baths were installed in 1939. Ashlynn and Ellie were excited when they found their locker numbers.

Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Happy 2012!

Geocaching in the Midlands...

Now that Jimmy and the girls have made their own geocache, they’ve had a resurgence of interest in finding other’s geocaches. After our ride in the Forest of Dean, we met up with the men for lunch, then took some long walks as we searched for two caches. The first was in the botanical gardens; this one was right near the bike path, but we bushwhacked through the woods instead.

On our last morning at the cottage, we took Ellie along to find a nearby cache. It was raining when we visited the remains of the Backney railway bridge (built in 1855 and closed in the 1960s) over the River Rye.

Cycling in the Forest of Dean...

On Sunday, we headed to the Forest of Dean, an ancient woodland, to go cycling. James and Mike split off to go mountain biking (which they said was quite challenging) while Jane and I took the four kids on an easy 11-mile family route. The weather was great and the scenery was beautiful.

The kids were really impressed when they heard that these woods were used in Harry Potter 7 - Part 1 and in the BBC Show Merlin. They had already started working on their own movie, so we occasionally stopped along the way to film a scene. Veronica’s gotten pretty good with the video camera and you might enjoy some of her movie magic: Part 1 and Part 2.

Cadbury World...

Our October half term break was spent in the UK. We flew into northern London because Veronica was supposed to go to drama camp. Unfortunately, the camp was cancelled, so she came with us to Ashlynn’s friend Ellie’s cottage for five nights. We had a several hour drive to get to the tiny village of Bridstow, in the Midlands near Ross-on-Wye. Along the way, we pulled off the freeway for lunch and saw signs to Cadbury World. A lot of the girls’ friends are crazy about Cadbury chocolate, so we decided to take a spontaneous detour. We’d hoped for a full factory tour, but as that’s not offered, were happy to see the packaging plant in operation. Photos were only allowed in the demonstration area where you see this fellow making a giant chocolate soccer ball. Despite a lot of corniness, it was a fun and tasty detour.

European Language Village...

An exciting day for new middle schoolers is getting to visit the European Language Village for the first time. International reps set up booths with activities and foods from their countries in an effort to teach the kids some new vocabulary. As the American rep, I’m not invited to participate, but I’d heard about it for years. Veronica forgot something that day, so I dropped by the school and got to take a walk around. It is truly impressive! I was surprised by how elaborate the booths were and can now understand how the school has managed to win awards with their efforts.

While I didn’t see either girl when I was there, Ashlynn’s French teacher was nice enough to send me a few photos. Here is Ashlynn with Sophie and Ellie, her closest friends in her class.

Check Out That Smile!

Check out Ashlynn’s official time! At only 11-years-old, she came in 215th woman and 809th overall out of 3,532 runners with a pace of 8:32 minutes/mile. 

That’s one proud Dad! Jimmy really enjoyed running with Ashlynn and watching her pass thousands of adults. Click here to see the great video that Veronica made.

Ashlynn Finishes Her First 8K!

How exciting it was to sit in the Olympic Stadium built for the 1928 games in Amsterdam and watch the runners come in. What a shock it was to see 15-year-old David come in 7th out of 3,525 runners! Of course, Ashlynn came in much later, but her actual time was much better than the time on the clock as shown above because she crossed the start line so late (you should be able to spot her in the orange shirt between the two clocks). The bottom photo shows how crowded the chutes were when she came in.

An 8K in Amsterdam...

 Bright and early one Sunday in October, we journeyed to Amsterdam so Ashlynn could run her first 8K as part of the Amsterdam Marathon. Jimmy didn’t want her to run that distance alone, so he registered to run with her.

While David made sure that he started near the front of the race, Jimmy intentionally held Ashlynn back so that she wouldn’t be stuck walking in a big pack, but could run freely at the start. Ashlynn hadn’t done much training, so I was worried that she might not be able to run that long distance. I needn’t have worried as she kicked butt!

One Dedicated Captain...

Ashlynn was also a team captain. This year her Green Team played in an under 12s category so they were finally not the smallest team. The down side was the playing field was much smaller, which led to a lot of out of bounds throws. Unfortunately, during the first game she fell onto her wrist and had to go to the first aid station to get her arm iced and wrapped. She was supposed to sit out two games, but she just couldn’t resist going back in after just one game. They came in 2nd, losing to an even younger team from their school. Ashlynn was excited to bring home the trophy as the captain. Her team also won the Spirit of the Game, which is quite an honor as it is voted on by the other teams.

The Gray Lionesses...

In early October, it was time to head to another Dutch Junior National Ultimate Frisbee Tournament near Utrecht. David and some of the other older guys were on a school trip, so for the first time, the school entered an all-female team. Lucky for Veronica, the team is made up of her closest friends. Not only did the girls make their own team shirts, but Adelina brought delicious team cupcakes. The weather held out until the last round, which was played in the rain. Veronica was the team captain of the Lionesses and they came in 5th out of 16 teams in the Under 15s category. 

I Love Broadway...

The quality of BSN on Broadway was truly amazing. The atrium was decorated with playbills and posters from musicals performed at the school over the years. The hall was set up cabaret-style with tables rather than the usual rows of seats. And you could even buy wine by the bottle! The variety of performances was also amazing with kids as young as 11 singing. The organizers set up a green screen and asked Jimmy to take photos of both performers and attendees (you can see Ashlynn enjoyed posing with her friends as well).  The main goal of the evening was to prove to the administration that the kids really want do a proper musical this year, but unfortunately the request fell on deaf ears.

Veronica Performs at BSN on Broadway...

Shortly after school started, Veronica auditioned with Lizzy to perform at BSN on Broadway, a show fully organized by the Year 13 (seniors). She sang while Lizzy accompanied her on violin to a song from Wicked. They were accepted for the event, but rather than singing a duet, they joined up with Lily and Kelly to sing a medley of Disney Princess Songs.

No surprise that it brought tears to my eyes to hear Veronica sing a few solo lines. You can check out a video of their performance here. 

Leiden Liberation Parade...

After lunch, Deb and I staked out a prime viewing spot for the parade. The weather was fantastic as it was the warmest October 3rd ever recorded. This year was the 125th anniversary of the parade and the theme was High Leiden, recalling great moments in past parades. Frankly, there were too many great entries to include them all. Only in Holland could you find a six-person band (complete with a tuba player!) on a custom bike.

 There were a few live animals including a group of two-humped camels and this merry band of geese.

There were lots of great costumes including several entries with alien and futuristic themes.