Amsterdam Botanical Gardens...

After lunch, we visited the Botanical Gardens, which Debbie especially loved.

While I’m not a huge fan of botanical gardens, I enjoyed seeing the butterflies and turtles.

I got a good laugh out of this sign in the restroom. Not surprised that paper towels are listed, but since when are diapers and tampons recycled? That evening we hung out at home chatting with Jimmy. A short, but sweet visit.

Testing Amsterdam Yeasts and Fungi...

Debbie is finishing up her post-doc at Duke University in molecular genetics and microbiology studying the evolution of virulence in fungi. She travels with collection swabs and permits from the Center of Disease Control and USDA to import samples collected on her travels. It was fun watching her swab beers and trees.

Visitors from North Carolina...

Our second set of visitors for the month were also just staying for one night. We met Heiko at the Sir Walter Raleigh Hash around 1997 and were thrilled that he was finally making it to Holland after visiting his family in Germany. It was also great to meet his girlfriend, Debbie. I met them at the Van Gogh Museum to spend a day in Amsterdam.

Both Heiko and Debbie are very into beer, so we made several stops including at our favorite crooked bar, Café de Sluyswacht, and at a microbrewery.

Saw several cool things around town today, including this solar mobile phone charging station at Museumplein...

...and this adorable Dutch Lady from the 2009 citywide art exhibit and fundraiser called the Elephant Parade.

Kati and Her Boyfriend...

I had an early train to catch to meet up with some friends in Amsterdam, so Gillian offered to drive me to the station after taking the dogs for a walk behind the school. It’s rare for me to have my camera along on a walk, so I had to take a few photos.

Kati’s boyfriend Beauly is also usually off leash, but occasionally he decides to wander off and has to be reeled in for a little while.

Later, Veronica took some great shots of both dogs.

Leiden Marathon 5K...

Rather than pushing herself, Ashlynn enjoyed taking a leisurely run with her daddy through the streets of downtown Leiden.

Felicia Visits...

We visited the De Valk Molen Museum and then saw De Put, the other windmill in the center of Leiden.

That evening, we took the train and tram into Scheveningen to meet Jimmy for dinner at the beach.

We had a great time eating mussels and catching up.

A Day in Leiden...

Felicia, one of Jimmy’s childhood friends from Jacksonville, came to the Netherlands to visit her daughter who was doing a semester abroad in Rotterdam. She spent the final night of her trip with us. I’d only met her a few times years ago, but was happy to play tour guide while Jimmy was at work. It was a beautiful day and we cycled into Leiden for lunch and a stroll around. We saw the Rembrandt statue placed near where he was born in 1606.

We walked up to the Burcht to see the view of the Hooglandse Kerk, a large Gothic church built in 1391 that is still an active church today.

 The old port is filled with cool old sailing ships.

Someone has done an amazing job restoring this step-gabled house from 1612.

How to Dissolve Bodies 101...

The head of the school’s science department approached Veronica and asked her to make a video to enter into the COBIS (Council of British International Schools) Young Scientist Film Awards. The aim was to start with an introduction to their school, then to teach something scientific to kids of their own age. Veronica recruited her friend Adelina. They’d been discussing acids in Chemistry and Veronica suggested they make a time-lapse while dissolving things. Adelina then suggested that they try to dissolve a body like in the TV show Breaking Bad.

It was amazing what they managed to create in just a few days, which you can see here (don’t worry, they didn’t use a real body). How exciting to learn that they won for Best Chemistry Film!

Ashlynn’s First Track Meet...

One Saturday in May, Ashlynn and I spent much of the day at a track meet in Leiden. She joined Voorschoten 97 Athletics in September and this was the first time that she’d competed on their behalf in their lovely green and yellow striped uniform.

The Dutch are very strict about how far they will allow each age group to run at track meets. As Ashlynn was still just 13, she was limited to the 1,000-meter individual and the 80-meter relay.

Ashlynn is not a sprinter and was easily overtaken in the 1,000-meter. She really enjoyed running in the relay.

It was pouring much of the day. We took a break between events to head to V&D for soup. Luckily it had stopped raining for the cycle ride home. I finally remembered to take a photo of Ashlynn and her new omafiets (grandma bike).

Fast Kids, Fast Teacher...

Turns out there was a fourth winner from their school as the kids’ Ultimate Frisbee coach Jamie Lowe placed in the 10-miler. Ironically, it was Jamie that first introduced all three kids to running while they were in elementary school.

In addition to their bouquets, they also received a houseplant at this race in the bulb fields.

Three Kids on the Podium...

It has been exciting to see Ashlynn on the podium after each of the three Zorg en Zekerheid Race Circuits that she has competed.

This year she came in 2nd girl 15 or under, which includes a € 75 cash prize. As you can see, she towers over the 1st place girl, who’s actually standing on a higher step.

It was great seeing Andrew back on the podium, coming in 1st for boys 15 and under.

David skipped the circuit last year, but was back this year in 1st place for men 16 to 19. Fantastic way to end his final circuit as next year he’ll be busy studying engineering at Cambridge.

Final Circuit Race...

Jimmy and I cycled to Noordwijkerhout to watch Ashlynn run in the final circuit race of the season. This is a slightly longer route at 5.3K. With a time of 19:51 (only her 3rd race below 20 minutes), she actually ran her fastest with an average of 6:02 minutes per mile. She improved over last year’s time by over two minutes. Look what the incentive of a cash prize can do!

2014 Flower Parade...

There were lovely blue skies during the parade. The theme of Energy led to many weird floats. These are a few of the more normal floats.

I did a lousy job capturing this float as it was rather funny: a whale eating a taxi.

I also did a lousy job capturing this float, which was my favorite: a cow riding a motorcycle.

Love the Kiddie Flower Parade...

This year Jimmy and I cycled to Voorhout to watch the Flower Parade. We always choose this particular city to view the parade because of its wonderful Kiddie Flower Parade. The theme this year was Energy, which explains the Energizer Bunnies, I mean Duracell Bunnies, making an appearance.

Check out the solar panels on this wagon.

Not sure how energetic this puppy was, but he was cute.

A greenhouse is definitely appropriate for this parade.

Not sure how this snowman fit into the theme, but he was adorable.

Ready for the Ball...

The Junior Ball was coming up shortly and we’d asked to see Rachel’s dress. Ironically, Veronica had purchased a navy blue dress to put away for her Year 13 Ball that won’t be until next June.

How nice to see our lovely young ladies together for some final photos before we left for the airport to return home.

They also posed with the little ones, who aren’t so little anymore.