Too Much Punch for Judy...

Veronica is enjoying taking Drama as a GCSE option. She went with her class to see a Dutch version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Luckily she knew the story well and her Dutch must be improving because she really loved it. She also performed with three classmates in front of the Year 10 (9th grade) parents in a short skit. It was very strange seeing her play the part of a drunken floozie and especially funny when the four of them sang the Hash Hymm: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. You can see it for yourself here. While parts are quite humorous, it’s no surprise by the title that it doesn’t have a happy ending.

Travelling in Style...

I’d originally planned on renting a dress, but Terri convinced me to buy this dress instead and I’m so glad she did. I must admit that this dress made me feel more glamorous than I’d ever felt before. Maybe that’s why I thought it was extra funny that we took the tram home from the Ball. It was very fun doing a photo shoot once the car emptied out.

236th Marine Corps Birthday Celebration...

This year’s Marine Corps Ball was held at the Nieuwe Kerk (new church), built in 1656. What a great venue! Dinner was served on the main floor where the services were held until the church became a concert hall in 1969. After dinner, we danced in what was once the crypt. The AWC had a great turnout, but only the real party animals were still around when Jimmy took photos at 11p.m.

Playing Photographer in Clingendael Park...

It might be embarrassing to admit, but I still use my camera on auto 99% of the time. Luckily, it’s a good camera and can make up for much of my lack of photographic skill (and it helps that I can do basic fixes on Photoshop, if necessary). The girls are also pretty good subjects, so I manage to get some decent shots.

Veronica knows how much I like reflections and she pointed out this cool one so I could capture it. She’s starting to get into photography now that she has our old camera.

Fall in The Hague...

After years of photographing other people, Jimmy thought it was finally time to hire a professional photographer to photograph us. He’d been watching fall arrive for several weeks as he cycles through Clingendael Park on the way to work and knew that the time was right to get outdoors for some family portraits. Luckily, Vinita Salome had the flexibility to meet us in the park at the last minute. Hats off to Vinita for managing to capture us surrounded by the beauty of fall, but without being able to tell that I wanted to kill Ashlynn because she was being a pain. 

More Fall Family Portraits...

Wicked Day...

Here the girls are with Zoe Rainey, who played Nessarose, Elphaba’s crippled sister who becomes the Wicked Witch of the East.

After the show, we had hung around the stage door in hopes of seeing some of the stars. We had a nice chat with Niall Sheehy, who was Fiero’s understudy. It was nice to see him again in good lighting.

For the second time that week, Veronica was asked questions by reporters. We know that she and Jimmy were cut from the report in Stratford because Jane’s parents had watched the news. We have no idea if or where this second report was to air.