Boating to Leiden...

On a rare warm and sunny day in early May, Lynnette, Patrick and Fiona invited us to go boating into Leiden. Ashlynn missed out because she was at Vlietland with some friends.

Patrick gave us each a turn at the wheel, although I didn’t last long.

This is the restaurant where the Y11 (10th grade) Prom will be held in late June. It’s an impressive setting, but unfortunately there’s no way that Jimmy can set up to take squish pics there.

Veronica’s Big Exams...

Veronica’s last day of classes was on May 8, which was a non-uniform day. As of that afternoon, she was on study leave. Her first of 18 GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams was on May 13 and her last on June 19. These  Y11 (10th grade) standardized exams are given to students throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I was so impressed with her dedication to studying. She spent long stretches of time in her bedroom surrounded by flash cards that she made for math, biology, chemistry and physics. To relax, she went on some long runs and watched The Simpsons.

On the back of her door, were important quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies and A View from the Bridge. Along her wall and her cabinet were history timelines of major events in regards to the rise of Hitler and the American Civil Rights Movement. We won’t know if all her hard work paid off until I pick up her scores on August 22 while she’s in California visiting my parents.

Kati Meets the Dutch Lawnmowers...

I’d last seen the Dutch lawnmowers in our neighborhood back in November. As spring finally started to arrive in early May, they were back.

Kati didn’t know what to make of these strange creatures along our normal walking path. I felt pretty stupid to learn afterwards that the fence was electric. Luckily Kati didn’t learn the hard way.

Tulip Bike Hash...

I was happy that the Amsterdam Hash hosted a Tulip Bike Hash again this year. While Jimmy was in Bonn, Germany spending the weekend with Jim, I took the train up to Haarlem with my bike. The weather was perfect for the 45K (28 mile) ride. Here I am with Abbie at a viewpoint. You can see that many of the fields still have no tulips.

The hyacinths were still in full bloom.

This was definitely the best field we saw.

The hashers got in the act after the owner of this car asked me to take a photo of his car, which wasn’t a particularly special model, with the flowers.

Time for Obedience School...

Just two weeks after Kati moved in, it was time to start obedience training. Ashlynn would be the primary trainer, but I tagged along. The class meets twice per week in front of the local fire station for 45 minutes and is taught by brothers. Luckily one of them works directly with Ashlynn in English.

Several of the others are rescue dogs who also missed taking the puppy classes, so Kati isn’t the only one behind in her training.

Kati was quite skittish at first, but was curious when the dogs met each other.

Ashlynn is definitely a proud dog owner. She regularly gathers up a bunch of her friends to take Kati on walks.

High Tea on the SS Rotterdam...

I felt very honored when I received an invitation to attend a 70th birthday celebration for Georgia, a long-term member of the AWC. How exciting that her party was aboard the SS Rotterdam, which was built in Rotterdam and sailed from 1959 through 2000. Georgia actually moved to the Netherlands aboard a ship, but not one this fancy.

During the high tea there were some wonderful speeches from Georgia’s daughter and many of Georgia’s friends from different aspects of her life. No doubt that she’s an amazing woman!

The ship is now permanently moored in Rotterdam and has been converted to a hotel with several restaurants. Johanna and I went exploring, but we didn’t get very far before a security guard told us we’d have to pay for a tour to see the rest.

As Johanna and I were heading to her car, a porter offered to take my photo in front of one of the elevators. The weather was so nice that Johanna popped the top down on her Mini, which made for a great ride home.

May Day Cycle Ride...

While Jimmy had May 1 off of work, the girls had to go to school. So the two of us had a free day and we decided to use it cycling to the bulb fields. We stopped in Warmond for lunch thinking that we could find a café along the water. No luck with that, but we had a nice lunch with some delicious homemade peppermint. Once we got out to the fields, we came across some workers cutting the flowers.

The fields were weeks behind due to the cold winter with the hyacinths still in bloom and just a sprinkling of tulips.

In Noordwijkerhout we came across this sign made out of flowers to thank Queen Beatrix for her years of service (1980 – 2013). Directly across the street, a fellow was kind enough to place a ladder in front of his house with a sign that people were welcome to climb up to get a better shot.