Stepping Stones...

Ashlynn has been working with Kati on how to hop across the stepping stones in the pond near our house. She’s also teaching Kati to climb through a tunnel in the park. Perhaps one day she’ll try taking Kati to an official agility course.

Windmill Photos in Leiden...

We couldn’t resist taking some family photos in front of the De Valk Windmill in Leiden as we were on our way back to the train station to catch the bus home. We were all impressed with how well Kati survived her first big day in the city.

Leiden on Queen’s Day...

Unlike Voorschoten, which was shutting down the flea market when we left, Leiden was still in full swing. The market was still going strong along the main canal and Breestraat.

Kati was well behaved when we had lunch at a new organic café, and also when we snuck up to the top floor of the department store to check out the view.

The main canal was full of boats on one side of the bridge. On the other side, a  kayak basketball game being played.

Kati met a beautiful husky pup, which is the kind of puppy I had as a teenager.

Kati’s First Bus Ride...

After we walked around Voorschoten, we decided to head to Leiden. Kati was surprisingly calm on her first bus ride.

Queen’s Day in Voorschoten...

We considered going to Amsterdam to experience all the excitement of the abdication by Queen Beatrix and inauguration of King Willem-Alexander (the first King in the Netherlands in 123 years), but decided to watch it on TV in the morning instead. Then we got decked out in orange for our walk into the village.

We paid € 0.10 for Kati to pose for a photo with this big dog; unfortunately Kati wasn’t too thrilled with the idea.

Veronica hung off a church fence to capture the perfect shot.

While we perused the variety of junk that folks were selling, Kati quickly learned that there was a lot of food scraps on the ground. She was one happy dog!

Celebrating the Final Queen’s Night...

Kati was patient during her
transformation to a Dutch lion

April 30th is a national holiday in the Netherlands to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. There is always a big party the evening before in the center of The Hague with live bands and a carnival. This year was extra special since the Queen would be abdicating on the 30th in order for her son to become King.

Veronica was excited to be going into town with Fiona to meet up with a bunch of their friends to go to the carnival. I was on the same train to meet up with Jimmy. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the previous Queen’s Nights that we’d been to, I was willing to give it another try.

We had a fun night, which included dinner at a small café, listening to some music, chatting with some friends we ran into and wading through the huge crowds to visit the fun house. 

The country typically turns orange for Queen’s Day and this year was no exception.

Post-Canoeing Bath...

Ashlynn, Veronica and Lucy worked together to give Kati her first bath. She didn’t really like it, but at least she cooperated.

Adventures in Canoeing...

Veronica decided to take the canoe for a little solo ride. She was very happy as she easily skimmed across the water. It wasn’t until she tried to turn around that she realized that she’d had a nice tailwind helping her along. She soon discovered that she couldn’t paddle alone into the wind and had to abandon the canoe at another beach and run barefoot back to us. Luckily Jimmy and Ashlynn had no problem paddling together into the wind.

I met the canoe along the Vliet as they were about to enter our neighborhood’s canal.

Boats along our canal have a remote control to swing open this bridge. Rather than merely ducking, those who travel by canoe have to lay down in order to avoid hitting their head.

Canoeing and Swimming at Vlietland...

On a rare sunny Sunday in late April, we headed to Vlietland, a nearby lake and recreational area. Jimmy canoed to the main beach with Ashlynn, Kati and Lucy. While I cycled, Veronica ran the 4K (2.5 miles) to the beach.

Technically, no dogs are allowed on the beach after April 1, but since it was otherwise empty, the girls enjoyed running along with her.

Since Jimmy’s convinced that Kati’s webbed feet make her a natural swimmer, he decided to test her abilities. While she didn’t seem thrilled with the idea, probably because of the cold water, she did prove that she can swim. 

Another 10,000 Kilometers...

On April 28, the odometer on my bike hit 9,999.9 kilometers (6,214 miles). Unlike the last time back in June 2010 when I discovered that it goes from 9,999.9 to 0.0, I took my odometer off my bike until I could take a photo. I don’t cycle as much since moving to Voorschoten, but when I do make the journey into The Hague, I get some great exercise.

More Kati...

Kati sheds like crazy, but luckily she doesn’t seem to mind being brushed and the special furminator brush seems to be working to get her hair under control.

We’re attempting to train Kati to only sit on a dog bed on the couch, but we aren’t very good about following through when she jumps onto our laps and stretches out across the couch.

Kati is very possessive of Ashlynn and even tries to stop us from kissing Ashlynn goodnight. At least she makes up for it by jumping up on our bed each morning for some loving.

Kati’s First Canoe Ride...

On a rare warm day in April, Jimmy thought it would be fun to take Kati out on the canoe in the pond behind our house.

Kati was a bit nervous at first, but eventually relaxed in Ashlynn’s arms.

They paddled over to visit Lucy, whose father took this photo from the top floor of their house.

Flowers on Demand...

For months, we saw this little truck in our neighborhood each Wednesday night. We wondered if our neighbors used a plant service.

Finally, one Wednesday in April, I was outside talking to my next door neighbor when the truck pulled up. It turned out to be a flower delivery truck. I was happy to learn that they visit our street weekly and they have a good assortment of flowers at reasonable prices. 

Winning the Big Bucks...

While Ashlynn actually considered skipping this race to go to a friend’s birthday party, we were happy that she followed through with her commitment to completing the circuit.

She was happy because she came in 1st place for the girls 15 or under for the circuit (5 out of 8 races). It was very exciting seeing her on the podium again.

It was also very exciting to see Andrew up on the podium for the first time. He thought he was a long shot, but then he broke 20 minutes with a 19:55 and came in 1st for boys 15 or under, beating the boy who previously was in 3rd place for the circuit. It’s been so fun watching his progress this year.

Both kids were all smiles posing with their prizes. Bummer that Veronica, John and David weren’t along to share in the excitement.

Last Circuit Race...

Jimmy and I were happy that Sally had room in her car for both of us to go along to the final circuit race in Noordwijkerhout. It was a nice sunny day in April, but it was still chilly. Ashlynn wore an US Olympic jacket given to her by Grandma’s best friend, who happens to be Dutch and whose granddaughter swam for the US Olympic team. I thought this photo was adorable with these little girls getting into the spirit for Queen’s Day, which was the next weekend.

Ashlynn didn’t have high expectations, but it was great fun watching her not only beat her father but also overtake this other man. Obviously neither of them could match her once she broke into a sprint. She finished the 5.3K in 22:08 (6:43/mile), which was 1:41 minutes faster than last year. She was the 7th woman and 2nd girl 15 or under.

AWC Spring Beach Party...

Rather than hosting a gala this year, the AWC kept things simple with a beach party instead (which ended up inside rather than on the beach because of bad weather). We started the evening at Terri and Chris’ then headed to the Carlton Beach for a BBQ buffet. We looked a bit silly in our Big Dog Hawaiian shirts, but since we acted more than a bit silly on the dance floor, we were dressed perfectly.

After Roberta, who is over 70-years-old, proved that she could still do the splits, Jimmy proved that he couldn’t.

If there was a dance contest, we clearly wouldn’t have won. While we didn’t win any lottery prizes, we did win the silent auction prize of ten days of dogsitting.