Superhero Party...

For the first time, Veronica attended a co-ed sleepover when her friend Adelina (in the center) hosted a very belated 16th birthday party with a superhero theme.

There were some very creative costumes.

This is definitely the coolest photo that Veronica took at the party.

Check out those muscles!

Celebrating the Last Day of School...

Veronica hosted her first co-ed party immediately following her final exam. She was very happy that she was able to convince most of the group to jump in the canal. I was happy that I was home to capture this cool series of photos...

I’m also happy that Veronica has such a great group of friends.

No More Uniform....

Here was our big girl on her first day of wearing a uniform back in November 2005 in Year 4 (3rd grade).

And here she was on June 19, when she took her final Year 11 (10th grade) exam. Not only was it her last day of school, but it was also her last day of wearing a school uniform. When she returns to school in the fall, she’ll be in the 6th Form and will be allowed to wear what she wants (within reason, of course). She’s actually liked not having to worry about fashion all these years. Looks like we have some shopping to do.

First Swim in the Canal...

The afternoon before her final exam, Veronica thought it was time for a quick dip into the canal in front of our house.

It didn’t take long for the cold to hit.

Fun in Amsterdam with an Old Hash Buddy...

I was happy that I could spend the day with John (aka Deep Throat) when he spent a day in Amsterdam after his three-week journey around Europe. I last saw him when we visited San Diego in 2007.

It was good to finally see the exterior of the Rijksmuseum fully renovated. We didn’t visit the museum, but did pass under the middle passage which had been closed for years. I was surprised, but also relieved, at how light the crowds were when we visited the newly renovated Van Gogh Museum.

We covered a lot of ground and had a lot of fun. We had lunch near the Anne Frank Museum, had jenevers at Wynank Fockink, wandered the Red Light District and had an Indian dinner by Leidseplein. Managed to make it back to Amsterdam Centraal just in time to catch the last train home.

Bring a Kid to Work Day...

Ashlynn was happy that she didn’t have to visit Jimmy’s office alone as several of her friends have fathers that work at the agency as well. She was also lucky that the dads worked together to try to keep the day interesting. Here they are on the roof.

Ashlynn’s favorite part of the day was actually the coffee breaks, but she also enjoyed using the microphones in the conference room and the session with the bullet-proof vests.

The kids ran around so they could see how heavy the gear is. Of course, it also made for a good photo op.

Kati’s First Birthday...

Jimmy and I took Kati to a festival at the farm next to the Voorschoten train station. There were various vendors with food and crafts. I bought a cool purse made out of recycled bicycle tires. Kati wasn’t too crazy about the slide.

Ashlynn gave Kati her birthday present: a treat dispenser. Kati quickly figured out how to lift up the flaps with her nose to get to the treats.

After buying a lot of dog supplies, the pet store gave us a free doggy sugar-free carrot muffin mix that Ashlynn saved to cook for Kati’s birthday.

Another Low Bridge...

I met the canoe along the Vliet just as they were about to enter the smaller canal in our neighborhood.

I stood on the final bridge to capture how they have to lie down to clear it. You can now see why I’m not a big can of canoeing from our house.

Plant Shopping in Voorschoten...

Rather than needing to rent a Greenwheels car to go to the gardening center, Jimmy was really happy to discover that he could go plant shopping by canoe from our new house. I met him, Ashlynn and Kati in the village to help pick out plants and take photos.

They laid down the plants in anticipation of going under some low bridges.

I was relieved not to be in the canoe with them when I saw just how low this bridge was.

Death of the Travel Bug Hotel...

I was really confused when we got a few emails that said there was a fence on top of the travel bug hotel that Jimmy built with the girls a few years ago. So I stopped by our old house and saw that the emails were right. Apparently the new renters have three dogs and needed a fence built. Clearly whoever was hired wasn’t smart enough to confirm that the ground was solid because a portion of the fence sits on top of the lid to the cache.