Another 10,000 Kilometers...

On April 28, the odometer on my bike hit 9,999.9 kilometers (6,214 miles). Unlike the last time back in June 2010 when I discovered that it goes from 9,999.9 to 0.0, I took my odometer off my bike until I could take a photo. I don’t cycle as much since moving to Voorschoten, but when I do make the journey into The Hague, I get some great exercise.

More Kati...

Kati sheds like crazy, but luckily she doesn’t seem to mind being brushed and the special furminator brush seems to be working to get her hair under control.

We’re attempting to train Kati to only sit on a dog bed on the couch, but we aren’t very good about following through when she jumps onto our laps and stretches out across the couch.

Kati is very possessive of Ashlynn and even tries to stop us from kissing Ashlynn goodnight. At least she makes up for it by jumping up on our bed each morning for some loving.

Kati’s First Canoe Ride...

On a rare warm day in April, Jimmy thought it would be fun to take Kati out on the canoe in the pond behind our house.

Kati was a bit nervous at first, but eventually relaxed in Ashlynn’s arms.

They paddled over to visit Lucy, whose father took this photo from the top floor of their house.

Flowers on Demand...

For months, we saw this little truck in our neighborhood each Wednesday night. We wondered if our neighbors used a plant service.

Finally, one Wednesday in April, I was outside talking to my next door neighbor when the truck pulled up. It turned out to be a flower delivery truck. I was happy to learn that they visit our street weekly and they have a good assortment of flowers at reasonable prices. 

Winning the Big Bucks...

While Ashlynn actually considered skipping this race to go to a friend’s birthday party, we were happy that she followed through with her commitment to completing the circuit.

She was happy because she came in 1st place for the girls 15 or under for the circuit (5 out of 8 races). It was very exciting seeing her on the podium again.

It was also very exciting to see Andrew up on the podium for the first time. He thought he was a long shot, but then he broke 20 minutes with a 19:55 and came in 1st for boys 15 or under, beating the boy who previously was in 3rd place for the circuit. It’s been so fun watching his progress this year.

Both kids were all smiles posing with their prizes. Bummer that Veronica, John and David weren’t along to share in the excitement.

Last Circuit Race...

Jimmy and I were happy that Sally had room in her car for both of us to go along to the final circuit race in Noordwijkerhout. It was a nice sunny day in April, but it was still chilly. Ashlynn wore an US Olympic jacket given to her by Grandma’s best friend, who happens to be Dutch and whose granddaughter swam for the US Olympic team. I thought this photo was adorable with these little girls getting into the spirit for Queen’s Day, which was the next weekend.

Ashlynn didn’t have high expectations, but it was great fun watching her not only beat her father but also overtake this other man. Obviously neither of them could match her once she broke into a sprint. She finished the 5.3K in 22:08 (6:43/mile), which was 1:41 minutes faster than last year. She was the 7th woman and 2nd girl 15 or under.

AWC Spring Beach Party...

Rather than hosting a gala this year, the AWC kept things simple with a beach party instead (which ended up inside rather than on the beach because of bad weather). We started the evening at Terri and Chris’ then headed to the Carlton Beach for a BBQ buffet. We looked a bit silly in our Big Dog Hawaiian shirts, but since we acted more than a bit silly on the dance floor, we were dressed perfectly.

After Roberta, who is over 70-years-old, proved that she could still do the splits, Jimmy proved that he couldn’t.

If there was a dance contest, we clearly wouldn’t have won. While we didn’t win any lottery prizes, we did win the silent auction prize of ten days of dogsitting.