Icicles...

We’ve had cold winters before, but this was likely our coldest with several weeks in January when it never got above freezing. This was the first time we’d ever lived anywhere where icicles grew in the windows.

This icicle was especially interesting as it dripped onto the icy banister and looked like it might eventually join up. It was actually quite nerve-wrecking when the icicles went crashing down after the temperatures finally warmed up.

First Snow of 2013...

It started to snow on January 14. When we woke up the next morning, we found 5 inches on the ground. While Ashlynn was hoping that school would be cancelled, Veronica actually didn’t want to miss her mocks (practice exams). Granted, school should have been cancelled because the roads were a mess, but the girls could easily walk.

Now they’ll be able to tell their kids that they trudged one mile to school through the snow. 

 Love the view from my desk.

Here’s the view from the end of our street (our house is the one with the tree on the right).

First Race of 2013...

The first race of the New Year was on January 6th in Leiden through the woods on the border of Oostgest. It was unseasonably warm and Ashlynn ran in shorts without any problems. (Three weeks later, the next circuit race was cancelled due to ice.)

Andrew was speedy, missing breaking 20:00 by just 2 seconds.

Ashlynn was exactly one minute behind him with a time of 21:02 (6:46/mile). We stuck around after the race to wait for Jimmy, who was running the 10K, then went out for a late all-you-can-eat sushi lunch as a celebration of Veronica’s hard work on her upcoming mock GCSEs (practice of year-end exams) and to wish Ashlynn luck for her upcoming racing season.

Breaking in our Bathtub...

We are spoiled by having a large master bathroom (although it is a bit weird that it doesn’t have a toilet). After Hannah got muddy on a walk, the girls decided that she should be the first to use our bathtub. We all enjoyed having her spend the entire holiday break with us.

Love this shot of Hannah shaking herself dry.

Happy New Year!

Despite some rain showers, James and Jon helped the four kids shoot off a lot of fireworks at midnight, while Helen and I enjoyed the view from inside. Only Ashlynn and Lucy managed to get in any of the photos.

 Veronica enjoyed taking sparkler photos.

New Year’s Eve...

We started the evening by having Lucy’s family over for dinner. Then we walked over to their house for bubbly and dessert.

Lucy made apple tart and Ashlynn made ice cream.

The girls enjoyed the late night sugar rush.

Fancy Cupcakes...

Ashlynn and Lucy were classmates several years ago. They were happy to discover that they now live just around the corner from each other. They were also happy to discover that they both like to bake. We all enjoyed getting to eat their rainbow cupcakes.

The rainbow wasn’t just on the outside.

Our Holidays...

As usual, we tried to light the Hanukkah lights every night, but we missed a few. We had one big Hanukkah meal, complete with Jimmy’s latkes and my kugel.

We were happy to be in our new warm house on Christmas morning. Veronica photographed us with our stockings.

We couldn’t spend the entire day in our pajamas because we were dogsitting Hannah and had to take her for a walk. Luckily the oven that we bought for our old place fit in our new kitchen perfectly. We haven’t hooked up the gas, but the electric rotisserie works great and our chicken dinner was delicious.

High Tea on Christmas Eve...

We continued with our new tradition of going out for high tea over the holidays. We again went to Hotel Des Indes and enjoyed a three-course meal with appetizers, mains and desserts.

The portions might be small, but we left stuffed. 

I don’t drink tea, but did enjoy a glass of Prosecco. Afterwards, we went to see the movie Life of Pi, which we all really enjoyed.

Getting Ready for the Holidays...

Ashlynn was in charge of putting the tree together, while Veronica helped with the lights along the banister.

It was so nice that we had the space so our tree wasn’t just squeezed into the room and that we could actually decorate all around it. Our ornaments aren’t fancy, but many of them have special memories of places visited.

We don’t have a fireplace, but found a good place to hang our stockings.

I took a class with the British Club to make this lovely holiday centerpiece. I was so impressed with the instructor — she found the greens and pine cones in the forest, baked the salt dough stars and dried some crabapples and oranges. I was so proud when the girls asked where I bought it.

Getting Into the Act...

Before everyone left the party, Jimmy had to get into the act, too. 

Once Jimmy stopped goofing around, it was time to take a photo that could be used for a holiday card. Here was the winner!

What a Great Group of Girls!

We are so impressed with Veronica’s group of friends and were happy to have them over for a party. In addition to being really good students, they are really sweet to each other. I think they all enjoyed the party complete with a squish pic session. These are some of my favorite shots.

The girls all brought junk food and sweets, which filled up the dining room table. We served homemade tomato cream soup, which was eaten on the floor.

Preparing for Veronica’s Party...

Veronica was excited about being in our new house in time to host a holiday party again for her friends on the night before the final day of the term. This year, she wanted to take advantage of our large living room to be able to do a photo shoot. Luckily the painting railing was strong enough to support the big photo backdrop.

Veronica looked lovely in a sundress her grandma bought her in California.

Ashlynn was again lucky that her big sister let her join in on the festivities, which included a gift exchange.

First Snow of the Season...

After record high temps in November, it was surprising that we got a dusting of snow as early as December 7. This is the view from my desk looking out the back windows.

 And this is the view looking out our front door.

Veronica took this great photo of the school, which ended up on the school’s official Facebook page.

Along the Bike Path...

My cycle ride into The Hague to get to the American Women’s Club might only be an extra 5K further since our move, but most of that 5K is across open fields which can be horrible to cross because of the powerful winds. Early on December 5, I came across some Zwart Piets (Sinterklaas’ helpers) on the bike path. Luckily I had my camera along to capture this unique sight.

Further along on that same morning, I came across a field with over a dozen storks.

Apple Time in the Fall...

Just found these photos on the girls’ computer that Veronica took during October break. Sally took the girls along with her boys to a farm outside of Haarlem to go apple picking (unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room in the car for me to go).

While Ashlynn and Veronica came home with one bag of apples to use for school lunches and apple pie, Sally, David and Andrew took home three bags which they will store so that they will last for several months.