- Family Travel: California/Bay Area - wonderful time staying with Dad and Ann and being spoiled by their incredible hospitality, exploring San Francisco by foot (Veronica and Melissa walked while Jimmy and Ashlynn ran for half marathon distance, hanging with Monique and Sarah, Marine Mammal Center, sleepovers at Leigh and Mike’s, Golden Gate Bridge photo shoot, helping a lost dog when we visited the nature reserve where Eden works, Melissa staying overnight at Darlene and Mike’s, Ashlynn having a fun test shoot; California/San Diego - staying with Dan and Nancy, fantastic to reconnect with old friends at party at Kathy and Phil’s, Ashlynn’s teenage experience, hashing, aquarium, La Jolla Cove, Balboa Park, Extraordinary Desserts, Jimmy and Ashlynn’s long run; Ireland - Jimmy and Ashlynn diving, Fungie the Dingle dolphin, Ashlynn’s first wreck dive, “Single Pringles in Dingle ready to mingle,” hiking in Killarney National Park, high tea, massages and pools at spa, Jimmy’s coat stolen but recovered, great Irish music, Ashlynn went to Leprechaun Museum and gym on her own, Veronica loved first Outdoor Ultimate Frisbee Tournament at club level and going out with Aye-Aye, great walking tour of Dublin, Book of Kells at Trinity College for Melissa’s birthday; Netherlands - helped organize an incredibly successful Dutch Nash Hash Weekend on sailing ships visiting three cities in three days: Lelystad, Volendam and Amsterdam; loved seeing Jimmy dressed as a pirate as he led the other “ballbreakers” to jump overboard to swim to the start of their trail, dressing up as four mermaids for the big party
- Jimmy/Melissa Travel: Germany - visited Jim and Nina in Bonn, awesome cycle ride along the Ahr and Rhine rivers, great hike up to a beer garden, WhatsApp call with Veronica while she was on a Mozambique beach timelapsing stars; England - hiking 205 miles across Northern England on Coast-2-Coast route with Carlin and Kent, lots of sheep, no injuries or blisters, we never got lost nor did our luggage, fantastic waterfalls and scenery, incredible feeling of accomplishment
- Melissa/Ashlynn Travel: London - The Woman in Black play, Sky Garden with Camilla and Beatrix, exploring Shoreditch, Vegan Festival, 30% discount at Brandy Melville, great catching up with Camilla and Tristram over wonderful vegan meals
- Jimmy Travel: Berlin - going to Swiss Embassy for panel discussion, Modern Art Museum, typewriter room at hotel; Singapore - solar panel factory, Marina Bay Sands Hotel bar on rooftop, sweating during morning runs, jungle run with professor, out until 3 a.m. at graduation of Executive Renewable Energy Management Course (REM)
- Veronica Travel: London - The Lion King, Sky Garden, spending time with Jason and Adelina; Mozambique - seeing and photographing the Milky Way, lots of diving including with a whale shark and hearing baby and mama humpback whales, illuminated jellyfish at surface while snorkeling, painting school classroom; Slapton - getting to spend really good time with future housemates on Environmental Science field trip, spending time on beach, star photography, beach bonfire; South Africa - safari with seeing four of the “Big Five” (elephant, lion, cheetah and water buffalo, but no rhino), photographer’s dream, amazing safari lodge, passion fruit
- Ashlynn Travel: Belgium - first music festival at Pukkelpop, camping with friends, dancing until 5 a.m. everyday, the Boiler Room, Dusky; Dorset, England - freedom while staying in an amazing house during four-night geography trip, meeting new people beyond friend group, getting to know Rebecca, hike, all-nighter; London - quality time and shopping with Sophie, seeing The Bodyguard; Tanzania - “I’d give it a 6,” “Same same, but different,” meeting some of the most amazing people, realizing that there are people like her on this planet, being inspired by Joelle, amazing diving including a drift dive, getting Advanced and Rescue Diver, EFR Interactive Course, surviving the long drop, no scorpions, no WiFi or electricity, stargazing, hammock, visiting New Bar, Rhama, teaching at local school, sleeping on the beach with Patrick, happy to have a mattress, staying in a hostel alone for the first time, riding on a motorbike to the airport, NUDIBRANCH!
- Norwich: Melissa and Carlin helped Veronica move into her new house, exploring Norfolk Broads with Carlin; Andrew staying with Ashlynn in Veronica’s dorm room, showing Sally around Norwich; weekend with entire family, Biddy’s Tea Room, BBQ jackfruit at Bia Kitchen, bar hopping but Skittles drink was gross, Ashlynn enjoyed seeing Veronica drunk for the first time
- Visitors: more summer visitors than any other year; Cisa and Hrvoje visiting from Croatia with their seven-year-old son Legolas, going boating with them in Giethoorn and Leiden; Buddy hanging out with us for a few days; Allison, daughter of my oldest friend Holly, spent two nights with us; Jim popping in from Germany; Melissa and Pieter coming up from Frankfurt for another hash weekend; Bill and his nephew Hagen spent three nights with us; two classmates visited Veronica, she had an awesome birthday celebration with Sam in Amsterdam, she and Freya enjoyed clubbing in Amsterdam; Ashlynn was sick when fellow IMG model Gabi came to visit, but they still managed to meet up with two other models to go pedal boating in Utrecht
- Proud Parents: girls started The Vegan Princesses Instagram account together; Veronica - got a First, the highest grading classification, for her first year at UEA; Ashlynn - achieving fantastic GCSE results, tying with Veronica
- Jimmy: ten minutes after Melissa fell we knew that she wouldn’t be leaving us; successfully organized REM Reunion with tour of largest Heineken factory, boat trip to wind farm and walking tour of Rotterdam
- Melissa: surviving first time as Religious Advisor at a big hash weekend, ending in the Olympic Stadium at her first Amsterdam 8K
- Veronica: falling in love for the first time, Ultimate Frisbee tournaments and making it to Nationals, dressing up as Darth Vader at one tournament, taking Ashlynn to House Crawl and on hydrology field trip, LCR, moving in with some of her best friends, running for and winning UEA Environmental Officer, Great British Bake Off, Aye-Aye naked calendar photo shoot, interesting oceanography lectures, Mark and David visiting UEA, beautiful revision notes, visiting Bea in Oxford, cycling with David to Amsterdam
- Ashlynn: going vegan, two hours after Melissa fell she realized that possession probably wasn’t real, Mura Masa and Flume concerts, house parties, first editorial, swimming, Project Africa fundraising events, photographing Bye Bye Blue, New Year’s Eve Penthouse Party, Year 11 Prom, burning GCSE notes
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!
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