Denim & Diamonds...

In 2010, the American Women’s Club of The Hague turned 80 years old. To celebrate, the AWC threw a Denim & Diamonds Party on May 8th. Tony just happened to be speaking at a doctor’s conference in Antwerp and Vivynne tagged along with the intention of spending the weekend with us. They were good sports to go along to a fundraiser where they knew no one but us. It was a lot of fun sharing a table with Terri & Chris and her friend Maggie and her boyfriend Paul. Terri and I were really proud of the 8-page program for the night that we’d worked on together; it was our first attempt at a color print job and it turned out great.
As you can see, we had a great time dancing to the band (made up of teachers from the American School in Wassenaar). We also had fun bidding on things in the silent auction and went home the proud owners of a Tumi duffel bag, a certificate for a family portrait and a certificate for a couple’s massage.

Dutch Nash Hash...

It was great fun having Marc along at the Dutch Nash Hash weekend. Opee was a co-hare, so he headed out in the morning to Lage Vuursche (north of Utrecht) to help lay trail. Friday night there was a messed up pub crawl, but Marc helped save the night be starting a Beatles sing-along with his guitar at the one pub. Veronica ran with me on Saturday (or rather she skipped most of the time so I could keep up) through the most beautiful woods we’ve seen in Holland. After down-downs with the human 60th birthday cake shown here, we watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’m afraid the photos aren’t appropriate to share, but overall we behaved ourselves. Sunday’s hangover hash was in the rain, so the girls stayed behind to rewatch the movie in an attempt to analyze it. As usual, we got a down-down for our great parenting style.

Playing Tour Guide with Marc...

After reading about Marc’s many trips to various countries, I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever see him in Holland. I was both surprised and thrilled when he bought a plane ticket and registered for the Dutch Nash Hash. What a whirlwind tour he received! After the Red Dress Hash, I took the girls home, and the boys went to Koninginnacht (Queen’s Night) in The Hague to see some bands Marc knew from the US. On other nights, James took him to Leiden and Amsterdam for late night sightseeing. My travel guide services weren’t as in demand, but I enjoyed having lunch together at the beach and bringing him to my favorite museum, the Mauritshuis.

A Family That Dresses Alike...

...must be hashers! Wanted to get the same dress for The Hague H3’s Red Dress Hash for all four of us, but was just a bit too tight on poor Opee so he couldn’t match. As the entire city was turning orange in honor of the Queen’s birthday the next day, we created quite a stir while running through the center wearing red. Here we are in front of the Queen’s working palace. A news crew stopped 5 Pack and another hasher for an interview and the girls were near enough to get caught on film.

Hup Holland Hup!

Despite following American football when I was in high school and college, I’ve spent the last several decades completely oblivious to spectator sports. When the World Cup was last played in 2006, I didn’t pay any attention to it. But when our entire neighborhood was decorated in orange in honor of Holland playing in Euro Cup in 2008, we tuned in. Gotta admit, football (aka soccer) is so much more fun to watch as the action never stops. Now we even have some orange banners in the yard (this house in just down the street) and have bought the infamous Heineken beer hats. Tonight the girls will stay up late to watch Holland play Uruguay in the semi-finals. Here’s hoping that Holland makes it to the finals Sunday night! Hup Holland Hup!

Outstanding Achievement Award...

For the second night in a row, we were back at the middle school to see Veronica on stage. This time it was at the annual prize giving. What a thrill to see her receive one of the four Outstanding Achievement Awards given to 7th graders. Apparently, in previous years, prizes were awarded for each individual subject. This year, all of the teachers submitted a list of their top students. What an honor that Veronica was chosen. She received a dictionary (British, of course) as her prize.

Shakespeare’s Shorts...

Gotta admit that I still have a tough time understanding much of Shakespeare, so when Veronica said she was going to be part of the school’s Shakespeare Festival called Shakespeare’s Shorts, I hardly jumped up and down. However, the whole event was very impressive. While some of the older students were using their scenes for part of their performing arts grades, the younger students such as Veronica and her three friends volunteered to participate. They put together a 5-minute scene from Twelfth Night with Veronica playing Sir Toby Belch as a hippie, the same part my father had such a great time performing in their backyard version in 2007. The ending of the evening was especially entertaining when four teens and their instructor came out in matching boxer shorts in keeping with theme of the evening.