1940’s Day...

One of the coolest things they do each year at the elementary school is to bring over a group from the UK called History Off the Page, which helps to bring history to life. As part of their 20th century studies, the kids dressed in 1940’s school uniforms (we found
Ashlynn’s dress at a local shop and borrowed the shirt and tie.) They started the morning in a classroom setting using quills and ink then a slate. In the afternoon, I came to help. We looked through suitcases filled with authentic artifacts from a few of the 1 million children that were evacuees from London sent to the countryside during WWII. I loved that I also learned about a part of history I’d never studied before.

Hanging at the Monster Dutch Nash Hash...

This year’s Dutch Nash Hash took place near the town of Monster at a beach vacation park. I helped with registration and the raffle, Jimmy helped with the raffle and cooking Sunday’s breakfast, and the girls helped whenever they could. Jimmy also was a hare on Saturday’s run, which was great but too long as he and Sperm Bank can’t judge distance. Ashlynn stayed behind, but Veronica did 12 miles with me. Her highpoint was when she jumped onto a horse buggy with Webfoot. It didn’t take her far, but was cool just the same. For the monster-themed party, we decided to go subtle. Not sure if anyone actually figured out why Veronica was dressed as Sarah Palin (her idea!), Ashlynn was a fan of Hannah Montana, and Jimmy and I were tourists. We may be warped, but we definitely had a fun weekend!

Queen’s Day 2009...

Bill and Nina didn’t know quite what to expect on Queen’s Day, but we made sure they were dressed appropriately. We took them by bus into Leiden for the afternoon. We walked through the free market (a huge yard sale) and bought a bunch of junk (ice skates, red purse, skirt, dvd, game.) Bill got the best deal as he got those great orange sungalsses for free.
We did a quick pilgrim tour, then headed to one of our favorite restaurants, De Grote Beer (The Big Bear.) We sat along the river and were surprised to see a boat with a mini-calliope. We were especially impressed that the captain had the musical controls in one hand and a Heineken in the other. 

What Goes on At the Hash...Stays At the Hash...

...that is unless you have a blog. In that case, anything goes. Actually, this is what we’ve told the girls since they were little. We told them they could sing the songs during the hash, but not anywhere else. They’ve taken this warning very seriously as they’ve stopped me from singing a hash song at home more than once. They might have been confused that the entire world acts this way, so we’ve occasionally had to remind them. Like when their PE coach donned a red dress and came along to his first hash. We told them that they could think of him as their friend at the hash, but had to forget all about it when they’re at school. Or when their classmate’s dad ran with us who’s a lawyer for a major oil company. Or, most importantly, when their daddy pretended that he had muscles. 

Special Moments at the Red Dress Hash...

When on a special dress-up hash, we’re always looking for unique photo ops. This year, we couldn’t pass up taking a photo in front of the Queen’s “working palace” on a ritzy shopping street (this is opposed to her “living palace” which is in the woods near Ashlynn’s school.)  No surprise, but she didn’t invite us in for tea. Jimmy also stopped a group to take a photo under this rainbow flag, not that there’s anything wrong with it. 

Red Dress Hashing Again...

We were so excited that Bill & Nina (aka Webfoot from San Diego and Lily Pad his wife from Freiberg, Germany) arrived in time to join us for the 3rd annual Red Dress Hash. It was a beautiful night as we gathered at the Malieveld for a fun run through the center of The Hague. We started out past the carnival set up for the Queen’s birthday (frankly, I have a hard time picturing her on any of those rides), through the central restaurant area, past public housing and back into the ritzy shopping district. Rather than stopping for a beer break, we gathered by a statue for a traditional orange genever in honor of the Queen. A fun time was had by all! 

Baby Storks at School...

Since the beginning of May, we’ve been happily watching on the Internet the progress of the baby storks that hatched in the nest high above the playground at Ashlynn’s school. Two years ago, the storks built the nest and have returned each year. Last year, thanks to the efforts of Ashlynn’s 2nd grade teacher, the PTA installed a video camera so we could watch the storks on close circuit TV at the school. Then this year, a national bird watching group posted a link on their website so we could watch the video cam live whenever we liked (of course, it’s hard to see in the dark.) This has created a bit of press and when Mr. Taylor was interviewed for a local newspaper, he included Ashlynn for a photo of some of the kids especially interested in the storks.